Thistle Excursions, Yes I do! - We were on a cruise, and the ship was not offering the tour we wanted, so I did some research and found the perfect tour with Thistle Excursions. We were visiting the Loch ness, we had time to shop in town to buy souvenirs, see cows and some historical remains, and we taste some whiskey. What more to ask! Our guide was Moe, she was great and interesting, a real living encyclopedia about Scotland and also about the rest of the world! We were only 4 on our tour, so it was like a private tour without the price! Before the trip, I contacted Thistle Excursions by email, as I wanted to plan something special for my girlfriend during our tour. Maxine, the owner, contacted me quickly and said that she would be very happy to help me with my request. I wanted to do a wedding proposal to my girlfriend. Maxine did a brainstorm with her team, and she came back to me with some amazing ideas. We agreed to do the proposal in front of Loch Ness while visiting the Urquhart Castle. I had a special request to have a bagpiper, she found me the best, and she made all the arrangements for me. She also offered to have a photograph to do a video and some pictures of the special moment. David, who is also a guide, was on a tour with another group, and he met us at the location and took nice pictures and a great video. The bagpiper name was Dougie. He was the real thing. Wearing his bagpiper uniform with his kilt. He was a real gentleman, and he played like a real master, some classics and some special demands. I made my proposal, and my girlfriend said YES! We went for lunch after, and Dougie played the bagpipe while we were eating and drinking champagne, which Maxine generously offered to us. After this, we went to visit the Singleton distillery. It was really interesting, and it included a delicious tasting. In one day we really felt that we saw the best of what the Highlands have to offer while meeting with great local people. Thank you, Maxine, Moe, David, and Dougie, for making my dream proposal come true and for the amazing moment we experienced because of all of you. Don’t be afraid to book a tour with them, even if you are on a cruise with limited time. They were waiting for us when the boat arrived, and they made sure that we were back on the boat with plenty of time before departure. We would book another tour with them, ANYTIME!

Top excursion, with pointed guide - Very well organized. Guide was just great. All very well, detailed, understandably explained. Enjoyed the day.

Perfect tour - Highly recommend this tour! Our tour guide was hands down one of the best we encountered on our entire vacation! She was extremely knowledgeable and aware of time constraints for those of us coming from a cruise. She utilized every second of our time keeping us interested and wanting more! She even carved out time for Bad girl bakery (an absolute must) and souvenirs containing lochness monster! If you enjoy hearing about your surroundings as you drive from place to place this is definitely for you! The castle was breathtaking, the highland cows were great to see (especially if you are an outlander fan), walking on your own in Inverness after getting a quick history was just what the soul needed, and the Whisky tasting was not a disappointment to the whisky drinkers in the family.

A perfect day in the Scottish Highlands. - To begin, Thistle Tours is so well organized!!! Walking out of port, they were prepared to meet and direct each of us to our assigned tours. On our specific tour, our guide, Lorraine, was very informative and was truly vested in the area. From Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness to Singleton Distillery and then to meet the Highland cows at Robertson’s in Beauly it was a perfect day.

A memorable experience - Our guide Mo was very attentive to our needs and went out of her way to show us and tell us as much as possible. There were only four of us on the tour so it felt much like a private tour! …An extra bonus for us was that the other couple who attended the tour had an even more memorable experience—he proposed to her at Urquhart Castle, and hired a bagpiper to make the event even more special! Mo & Thistle staff coordinated this event very nicely, and we felt lucky to be a part of the special day!

Surprisingly good - We had a fun and educational day. The guide was very good. Recommended. Was our first Tripadvisor experience. Don't do anything else anymore

Great day in Scotland. - We had a wonderful day with Emma Macaulay and Thistle Excursions on our trip to Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness with stops for Scotch tasting and to visit the Highland cows and a local farm. I highly recommend this tour.

We saw so much. A full day. - Our tour was amazing. We did so much in so little time and never felt rushed. I highly recommend. Tour guide was amazing

Trip to singleton distillery and dunrobin castle - Our tour guide June from Thistle tours did an amazing job hosting our small group. Like other reviews, this is a “choose your own adventure” itinerary based on your groups needs and the time you have available. For example, we couldn’t fit in the black rock gorge trip because our cruise ran late to dock and our group prioritized whiskey tasting. Additionally, you don’t have time for all the whiskey distilleries on the list so don’t plan on hitting every single one. It’s just not possible to fit it all in one day.

Don’t take this tour! - We expected more information and guidance on the tour. It felt like it was an expensive taxi ride. The tour guide , Chaz, was not very knowledgeable. He just dropped us at Inverness to be on our own for 1 1/2hours. He dropped us at castle ruins on our own again for 2 hours. He was very sarcastic and rude to the point where if you asked a question, his response would ridicule the person. We enjoyed the Distillary tour very much. The distillery tour guide was excellent. We were late getting to the distillery tour and he had to ask permission for us to join late. And we were a bit late getting back to our cruise ship. Fortunately the ship was leaving later in the evening.