1 Day Isle of Skye and Scottish Highlands Tour

The cows were adorable...

The cows were adorable staff was friendly and let us grab a coffee before they opened would definitely recommend

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Left behind at the first stop — and apparently not noticed missing for six hours

At the very first stop of my full-day Inverness-to-Isle-of-Skye tour, we got off the coach to take pictures of Urquhart Castle. The driver told us we had 10 minutes. I started a timer as I got off the bus. I returned to the parking area within that time. At approximately the 8–9 minute mark, I watched the coach leave. I ran after it waving my arms and was directly behind it as it turned onto the highway, but the driver did not see me. All of my belongings were still on the coach, including my wallet and warm clothing. There was essentially no mobile signal at Urquhart Castle, so my attempts to call and email the company did not successfully reach them. I waited in the rain until a public bus arrived and eventually made my own way back toward Inverness. What concerns me even more than being left behind is what happened afterward. Approximately six hours later, I finally received a message from the tour asking me to return to the coach. Until then, the tour had apparently continued through the Highlands and onto Skye without anyone realizing that one of its 11 passengers had been missing since the first stop. When I met the coach back in Inverness that evening to retrieve my belongings, the driver explained to me that he had mistakenly been counting for 10 passengers rather than 11. That apparently explains why subsequent passenger counts did not identify that I was missing. The company has since emphasized that it did not receive my attempts to contact them and says that, had it known, it could have tried to arrange transportation for me to rejoin the tour. I accept that poor mobile reception may explain why my initial communications failed. But I don't think that addresses the fundamental problem: a passenger should not have to alert a tour company that its coach has departed without them. Accounting for everyone before leaving a stop is supposed to prevent that situation in the first place. And by the time reliable communication was possible, the coach was already hours ahead. Rejoining it could not have restored much of the Skye tour I had already missed. To the company's credit, The Hairy Coo apologized and gave me a full refund. I subsequently asked whether they would consider any additional goodwill compensation for losing what was the centerpiece of my Highlands trip. They declined, saying the refund was all they were prepared to offer. I understand that the original mistake was human error, and I have nothing personally against the driver. But being left behind at the first stop of an all-day tour, with my belongings still aboard, followed by the tour continuing for approximately six hours without realizing that one of 11 passengers was missing, is something I think prospective customers should know about.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are genuinely sorry this happened and understand how disappointing it was to miss the Isle of Skye, particularly as it was a highlight of your Highlands trip. The driver made a human error when counting passengers at Urquhart Castle, and we acknowledge that this should not have happened. We sincerely apologise for the distress and inconvenience caused. However, we would like to clarify that we did not receive any calls or messages from you while you were at the stop or after you returned to Inverness. When the driver realised his mistake, we contacted you immediately. Had we been made aware sooner, when you reached Inverness for example, we would have explored options to help you rejoin the tour or arrange an alternative experience. We issued a full refund as soon as we understood the situation and ensured you retrieved all your belongings when the coach returned to Inverness. While we appreciate that this could not make up for the experience you missed, we were unable to offer the additional £200 compensation that you then requested. We take this incident seriously and recognise that we fell short of the standards we expect. We are truly sorry that your day ended this way and appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention.

via Viator

Beautiful Skye

Was a great day on Isle of Skye! We had an opportunity to see a lot of different places. Our tour guide was friendly and had a lot of funny stories.

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Expensive, but great experience

5* for the guide! 5* for the experience/the trip! 4* for the comfort on the bus. 3* for not having a bottle of water to the passengers. 3* for the price.

via Viator

A lot of time on the bus

Skye is beautiful and the driver was pleasant, but lacked any knowledge of the area. There seemed to o be a lot of back tracking and a lot of time on the bus. We saw the features described, but this could be organized in a more efficient way, and stop at more viewpoints and break up the time on the bus.

via Tripadvisor