Wilderness Scotland is an award-winning Scottish company focused primarily on guided hiking but they do offer a few self-guided inn to inn hiking trips and self-drive trips that are top-notch. They are highly respected in the travel industry for their leadership in promoting sustainable practices and they have a huge fan base of happy customers. For these reasons and more, Wilderness Scotland earns our Local Choice for walking holidays in Scotland.
Review of Wilderness Scotland Site
Wilderness Scotland focuses on small group travel so the bulk of their content falls under that category. They have excellent search filters for their guided trips, including multi-sport activities, women only and family adventures. Self-guided walking and self-drive options are minimal so they’re easy to search. They clearly explain their trip grading system and include miles and feet along with metric units, which we Americans greatly appreciate. We wish they would include more details or samples of lodging. They offer an upgrade to book best available lodging but it’s difficult to know whether or not you should pay more if you don’t know what the standard lodging looks like. To truly see what this company is capable of, read their blog posts or look at their Private Tours page and watch the beautifully crafted videos they created for their Insider Experiences.
Wilderness Scotland doesn’t just preach sustainable travel, they actively pursue and promote it. They are one of the original signatories of the Glasgow Declaration, which challenges the tourism industry to reach net zero emissions before 2050. If this is important to you (and we think it should be), you’ll find a link for more info on their site.
Things to Like about Wilderness Scotland
- Locally based with knowledgeable staff and expert guides
- Consistent 5 star reviews on AITO, Trustpilot and similar sites
- Multi-award winner in several categories, including responsible travel, great place to work and best adventure company
- Provides authentic experiences that are private versions of their guided trips or completely customized
Trip Types
- Inn to inn hiking
- Trekking
Destinations include
- United Kingdom
- Ireland