NEW YORK -- Tours are not just about geography but also about how
clients access it, said Sven Lindblad, president of Lindblad
Expeditions here, pitching his new yacht cruise on Scotland's
canals and lakes.
"The whole idea of being able to float through Scotland makes
visiting [it] much more appealing," he said.
Lindblad Expeditions' Heart of the Highlands program cuts across
the Scottish countryside, from the east to west coasts through the
Caledonia Canal, on a 54-passenger yacht called the Lord of the
Glens.
It's an 11-night journey through 29 locks and several lochs; at
night, the ship docks, and passengers can walk or bicycle around
the towns and villages.
"There's a general tendency among people to slow down," said
Lindblad. "The old 'grand tour,' something like 35 countries in 35
days, is of diminishing interest.
"If I go back 15 to 20 years, people probably would have said
'no' to the idea of making a major initiative to one part of
Britain," he added. "But now people have changed sufficiently to
make it a good idea."
Heart of the Highlands, offered May through September, is priced
from $4,990 per person, double.
After a welcome reception in Edinburgh, guests overnight at the
George Hotel and spend the next day exploring the Scottish
capital.
The tour includes Edinburgh Castle and the local residence of
Queen Elizabeth II, Holyrood Palace.
After a second night in Edinburgh, the group takes a three-hour
train ride to Inverness, a port city on Scotland's east coast,
where they board the Lord of the Glens.
The ship plies the Caledonian Canal through Loch Oich, Loch
Lochy, Fort William, Glencoe, Mallaig, the Isle of Skye, the Isle
of Mull, Iona, Loch Sunnart and Oban.
There, passengers disembark and travel by motorcoach along the
shores of Loch Lomond to Glasgow, the itinerary's final stop.
A longer version of the program, using the Royal Scotsman train,
is priced from $7,770.
For more information or to book, call (800) EXPEDITION; e-mail
[email protected]; or visit the Web site at www.lindbladexpeditions.com.
For the complete itinerary of Heart of the Highlands, visit http://itins.expeditions.com/tour.asp?ItinID=159.
For the itinerary with the version of the tour that uses the
Royal Scotsman train, see http://itins.expeditions.com/tour.asp?ItinID=160.