Scotland Local Travel Experts

Rough Guides worked with us from July 2022 until June 8th, 2023, the day we flew out of Scotland. They were very invested in our trip, taking what we thought we wanted to see and do and making it happen. They made the car rental-pick-up and return very easy. Arnold Clark Car Rental was awesome and easy to work with. We did not need the car navigator as we used Google Maps on my daughter's phone. Rough Guides had someone pick us up at the Airport and drive us to our hotel in Edinburgh, then a taxi to pick us up the next morning to drive us to Arnold Clark to pick up our car. The detailed itinerary was great and easy to follow. Anna and Becca were the ones we corresponded with the most, but Becca is the one we reached out to when we had questions or concerns while we were in Scotland. She always answered back in a very timely manner. Everything was great and we loved our adventure in Scotland. The only thing I would change is I would not do the Dunevegan Castle, it was beautiful but not as interesting as the Eilean Donan Castle, which we toured on our own. I also would not have taken the Jacobite train trip. This is not Rough Guides fault, we asked for the train trip, thinking it was more than it really was. This was a wasted 5 hours we could have used to drive to Edinburgh and visited more on the way from Ft. Williams. All the accommodations were excellent except for Westlands of Pitlochry, it just wasn't as welcoming or comfortable. Premier Inn allowed us to check in early and we ate supper there, very comfortable beds. Inverglen Guest House was awesome, very welcoming and breakfast was a great English Style breakfast. We loved Borve Country House Hotel. Room was clean, comfortable and quiet. Food was also delicious. Eilean A Chou Guest House was beautiful and very comfortable and the hostess was very helpful and informative. Breakfast was also very good. Torbeag House was like a country house in the country, so beautiful and felt welcoming and friendly. Food was very good. The only lodging complaint we had was our final stay at Motel One Edinburgh-Royal. Even though it was a very nice hotel, they do not have double beds in their rooms. Only a queen size. We did complain about that to Becca, who was able to get an extra room for my daughter, as she really does not like to share beds. The bad thing about Motel One was how far it was from parking areas. We had 5 pieces of luggage, my daughter dropped myself and our luggage at Motel One, drove to the nearest parking lot and had to walk back to Motel One, which was about 4 blocks away. This was at 11:00 pm and she has asthma, so a woman walking alone and in the cool night air was not good. My daughter had a work presentation for the morning of June 7th, and Becca arranged for a taxi to take us to and from the facility. If I ever take another trip abroad I will definitely contact Rough Guides to help me.

I just wanted to write a quick note to thank you for putting together a fantastic trip for us. With just a couple minor hiccups, everything went very smoothly and we had a great time. The days were full and we never were challenged trying to figure out what to see and do. The accommodations were very comfortable and the transfers were overall very smooth. I do have a couple suggestions that could help customers in the future that I'll share via message. Thanks again for a wonderful trip and we have no problems giving high marks for the job done by Insight Guides and you.

I had a really great time through Rough Guides. They helped me plan a two week trip to Wales. I provided places I wanted to stay/see, and they reserved the rental car and all lodging. Yana and Marcela were so helpful!

Ask questions about details prior to trip. Our trip went well with minor bumps. This is my first experience with Insight Guides. In hindsight, I wish that I had reviewed all plans in detail and asked more questions in advance of the trip. We missed the correct train from London to York and subsequently missed the taxi to the hotel. I still don't fully understand how it happened. Our itinerary mentioned that taxis were included but learned that they were not for the return to London and the night before departure, although hotel booked by Insight for us. The hotel "near the airport" was very nice but was 30 minute ride to the airport. I will book another tour using Insight using the knowledge gained from this trip. A good time was had by all but with some avoidable stressful moments.

Based on the excellent references we've seen, we contacted them to organize a customized trip to Ireland, which saved us a lot of time and avoided potential trouble. The support they offered until the end of the trip, the suggested spots to visit along our itinerary and the rather good selection of lodging all contributed to create a memorable experience.

Marcela organised a ten day road trip to Ireland for my wife and I this summer using the brief we provided. We were not disappointed. The reps we dealt with online were both responsive and helpful. A good selection of stop overs together with a very good mix of accommodations helped make our first visit to the republic one to remember. We would definitely recommend using their services again.

I would definitely recommend the service (and their teams), and will absolutely call upon them again. They knew the inner workings of the areas that interested us, and could thus make excellent suggestions for accommodations and not-to-be-missed attractions. The hotels, apartments, and B+Bs were top notch, and often 'cozy' – which I absolutely loved! Right at the beginning of my interaction, I told them a lot about us (our likes, dislikes and limitations). That helped them customise our itinerary. We were not bound to any particular events, however, and so our wanderings even took us to a World Cup Cricket match in Cardiff, Wales. What was especially valuable was knowing we had easy-access 'support' throughout our 9-day trip. At one point, we missed a 'last train' and the folks quickly found us 'emergency accommodations' for the night! That's it. I am SOLD! 👏👏👏

Our travel around England was wonderful, thanks to Becca at Rough Guides! It was so great to have an adventure without the headaches of figuring out where to stay, where to go, making reservations, etc. and Becca was always there for us, 24x7, via Whatsapp!