Guide to the Best Scotland Outlander Tours 2023

Are you a fan of Outlander and would love to visit some of the locations that appear in the show? Read our guide to discover the best Scotland Outlander tours for 2023 and to help you to choose the best option for you!

If you’re a fan of the hit TV show Outlander, then you won’t want to miss seeing the locations featured in the series during your visit to Scotland. The simplest way to make sure you explore the key sights is to book onto an organised tour, letting your driver whisk you around while an enthusiast guide tells you tales of Scotland’s dramatic past.

There are lots of Scotland Outlander tour packages to pick from, including walking, day, private, multi-day and small group trips. As locations like Doune castle are incredibly popular, it’s a great way to make sure you get to visit such places, capturing them on camera and gathering stories to share with your nearest and dearest back home.

The first option listed here is a two hour walking tour of the Scottish capital, which could easily be combined with longer Outlander trips from Edinburgh, or even Glasgow or Inverness if you’ll be staying in either of those. 

With a number of day trips covered – as well as 4 and 2 day Outlander tours from Edinburgh – this guide is sure to help you find the perfect Outlander bus tour of Scotland to suit your timescale, budget and preferences. Just make sure you book early to avoid having to settle for second best!

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Outlander tours from Edinburgh

Outlander walking tour

• Duration: 2 hours

• Destinations: St. Giles Cathedral, Canongate Kirk, Tolbooth Jail & World’s End Tavern

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: The Mercat Cross, High Street, Edinburgh

• What’s included: Award-winning local guide, group or private tour

• What’s not included: Lunch, hotel pick-up

This walking Outlander Edinburgh tour will transport you back in time to the 18th century, as you visit locations featured in the hit TV series. See Claire, Jamie and the rise of the Jacobites brought to life right in front of your eyes.

You’ll visit the real life Old Town locations featured in the novels and show, as the rebellion took hold of the Scottish capital in 1745. These include St. Giles Cathedral, Tolbooth Jail, Canongate Kirk and the World’s End Tavern.

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Full day private Outlander tour 

• Duration: 8 hours

• Destinations: Castle Leoch, Winterfell, Lallybroch & ‘Black Jack’ prison HQ

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Hotel pick-up included

• What’s included: Personal guide, transport, snacks & drinks

• What’s not included: Lunch, entry fees

The settings for Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander novels that inspired the TV show are explored in this private Outlander day tour from Edinburgh. If you’re very lucky, you may even get to see the cast and crew in action as the next series is filmed.

Like the character Claire, you can get a real sense of life in the 18th century as you visit the home of the Duke of Sandringham, Castle Leoch and the train station and prison featured in the show. You can also take in the incredible Scottish landscapes as you tour the filming locations with your own personal guide.

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Small group personal Outlander tour

• Duration: 8 hours

• Destinations: Tailor made to fit your interests

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Hotel pick-up included

• What’s included: Personal guide, transport

• What’s not included: Lunch, entry fees

If you want to fix your own itinerary for your Outlander Scotland tour, this small group tour for up to three includes a personal guide. This means you can pick the exact Outlander locations you’d like to visit – including lots of glorious landscapes and fascinating, ancient castles. 

Choose between places like Doune Castle aka Castle Leoch, Linlithgow Palace aka Wentworth Prison, Culross in Fife aka Cranesmuir, Blackness Castle aka Fort William, Midhope Castle aka Lallybroch, and the Duke of Sandringham’s residence.

Click to book the Small group personal Outlander tour

Outlander adventure tour

• Duration: 9 hours

• Destinations: Highlands, Doune, Blackness & Midhope Castles, Linlithgow Palace 

• Departure time: 9.15am 

• Departure point: Rabbie’s Cafe, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh

• What’s included: Storytelling guide, luxury mini coach

• What’s not included: Hotel pick-up, lunch, entry fees

This Outlander tour from Edinburgh will whisk you up to the Scottish Highlands to see the seaside village that doubles up as Cranesmuir. You’ll then visit a clutch of castles and a palace before heading back to the city via pretty South Queensferry. 

The majestic castles of Blackness, Doune and Midhope Castles that featured in the hit show are all part of the day’s itinerary, as is Linlithgow Palace. During the day you can explore Monty Python locations as well as various settings for the Outlander story.

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Jacobites, palaces & Outlander tour

• Duration: 9 hours

• Destinations: Linlithgow Palace, Callandar House, Falkland, Royal Burgh of Culross

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Ensign Ewart pub, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh

• What’s included: Local guide, transport

• What’s not included: Hotel pick-up, lunch, entry fees

This packed nine hour itinerary begins during the warmer months with a stop at Midhope Castle. You’ll then head to the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow to see the palace, then 14th century Callandar House, before visiting Falkland, aka the fictional version of Inverness. 

Another Royal Burgh – that of Culross – is next on the agenda, including Claire’s herb garden, and the market cross in Cranesmuir. Time permitting, a photo opportunity at the Tuilyies Standing Stones is next, before heading back to the capital via the dramatic Forth Bridge.

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Two day Outlander tour experience 

• Duration: 2 days

• Destinations: Scottish Highlands, Clava Cairns, Culloden Battlefield, Deanston distillery

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Varies

• What’s included: Local guide, transport, en-suite overnight accommodation 

• What’s not included: Hotel pick-up, meals, entry fees

If you’d like to spend a little longer tracing the footsteps of your favourite Outlander characters, this is one of the best Outlander tours from Edinburgh to book. The two day itinerary will take you to various Scottish locations, including the Highlands.

During the trip you’ll take in the Highland Folk Museum, Clava Cairns and a trio of castles that featured in the TV series. You can also explore Falkland Village and see Culloden Battlefield, as well as sampling peaty Scotch whisky at Deanston distillery. 

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Four day Outlander tour experience

• Duration: 4 days

• Destinations: Scottish Highlands, Glen Affric, Culross, Culloden, castles & more

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Varies

• What’s included: Storytelling guide, luxury mini coach, 3 nights’ B&B accommodation What’s not included: Hotel pick-up, meals, entry fees

This tour takes you way beyond the Outlander sights in Edinburgh, giving you so much more than a glimpse of where the TV show was filmed. Along the way you can see a famous Harry Potter location, as well as Glencoe and the Fort William castle from Outlander.

The four day trip begins with a stop at Culloden Battlefield before moving on to the Clava Cairns standing stones and the Clan MacKenzie castle. Other highlights include Glen Affric, Loch Ness, the Glenfinnan viaduct, Ben Nevis, Glencoe and the Firth of Forth. 

Click to book the Four day Outlander tour experience

Outlander tours from Edinburgh or Glasgow

Outlander locations tour

• Duration: 9 hours

• Destinations: Dalneigh Parish Church, Castle Leoch, Randall’s castle & Lallybroch

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Pick-up from Edinburgh or Glasgow

• What’s included: Local guide, transport

• What’s not included: Lunch, entry fees, under 3 booster seats

An expert local guide and former member of BAFTA will take you to all the key locations featured in Outlander, reading excerpts from the novel as you go. Stopping in the Scottish Highlands, you can see Claire’s garden Cranesmuir during the first part of the day.

Later you’ll then call at Doune Castle, aka the castle of the Clan MacKenzie, Claire and Frank’s railway station and Lallybroch, the childhood home of Jamie Fraser. This nine-hour tour ends in the early evening, either in Edinburgh or Glasgow. 

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Outlander tours from Glasgow

One day Outlander Adventure tour

• Duration: 9 hours

• Destinations: Doune, Midhope & Blackness, Falkland, Culross & Linlithgow Palace

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station, Killermont Street, Glasgow

• What’s included: Local guide, luxury mini coach

• What’s not included: Lunch, entry fees

This is one of the best outlander tours from Glasgow that means you can see the key sights in a day. Via Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument you’ll travel to Doune Castle, aka Castle Leoch. The small town of Falkland is next, followed by the cobbled streets of Culross.

Midhope and Blackness castles will fill the first part of the afternoon before the final stop of the day at Linlithgow Palace. You’ll arrive back in Glasgow in the early evening, just in time for dinner. 

Click to book the One day Outlander Adventure tour

Outlander day tour

• Duration: 9 hours

• Destinations: Doune, Blackness & Midhope, Culross, Falkland, & Linlithgow Palace

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: 266 George Street, Glasgow

• What’s included: Local guide, transport, snacks & bottled water

• What’s not included: Lunch, entry fees

A major stop on this Outlander day tour from Glasgow is at the famous Doune castle, aka Castle Leoch, which was not only in Outlander but also Game of Thrones, in which it was used for filming scenes set at Winterfell. 

You can also explore historic Falkland and the charming cobbled streets of Culross, as well as the ruined Midhope Castle on the Hopetoun Estate. The final stops are in Blackness and Dalmeny before your return to the city. 

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Outlander tours from Inverness

Outlander Highlands day tour

• Duration: 8 hours

• Destinations: Loch Ness, Wardlaw Mausoleum, Beauly Priory, Culloden, Clava Cairns

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Hotel pick-up included

• What’s included: Local guide, transport

• What’s not included: Lunch, entry fees

This Inverness Outlander tour begins in northern Scotland, giving you more time to see the sights in this part of the country. The world-famous site of Loch Ness is first up, before you’ll be taken to see historic Wardlaw Mausoleum, the Fraser clan’s burial place. 

Beauly Priory is next on the agenda, where Claire met Jamie’s grandfather, then Culloden Battlefield, where battle reached its savage climax. The burial chambers and standing stones of Clava Cairns round off a day of touring some of Scotland’s most stirring sights.

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One day Loch Ness & Outlander trip

• Duration: 9 hours

• Destinations: Loch Ness, Wardlaw Mausoleum, Beauly Priory, Culloden, Clava Cairns

• Departure time: Varies

• Departure point: Stance 6, Inverness Bus Station

• What’s included: Local guide, transport, Loch Ness cruise, Urquhart Castle & Beauly Priory

• What’s not included: Hotel pick-up, lunch, other entry fees

The itinerary of this Outlander tour of Scotland in 1 day is quite different from the previously listed trip, so you can pick which one most appeals to you. During the day, your guide will also outline the real life stories that inspired parts of the Outlander stories, and how various locations play a key part.

First up is a cruise across Loch Ness to the ruins of Urquhart Castle, where you can explore on foot before heading to Beauly for a lunch break. Visits to Culloden Battlefield and Clava Cairns will occupy you during the afternoon before the return trip to Inverness. 

Click to book the One day Loch Ness & Outlander trip

Which of these Scotland Outlander Tours will you take?

Which Outlander tour from Glasgow, Edinburgh or even Inverness appeals to you most? Whichever you take, a tour of the Outlander sites in Scotland means seeing some of the country’s most atmospheric sights.

You may even get to glimpse locations from Harry Potter, Monty Python or Game of Thrones along the way. Just don’t forget to snap up the one you want as soon as you’ve decided. Even if your plans do change, you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund.