Private Outer Hebrides Tour – Lewis & Harris (7 or 8 Days)

This is our private Outer Hebrides tour — a 7 or 8 day island tour of Scotland focused on Lewis and Harris, with Skye and the Highlands on the way, and the option to extend into other islands if you have the time.

It's fully private: just you (or your group) and Dave. No big coaches, no fixed schedule, and no rushing around with 40 strangers. We shape the days around what you actually want to see.

Lewis and Harris are the heart of the Outer Hebrides for most visitors — Callanish standing stones, empty Harris beaches, peat moors, fishing villages, and the ferry crossings that make the islands feel properly remote. That's the core of this itinerary. If you want more of the Outer Hebrides beyond Lewis and Harris, we can extend the trip and build that in together on our custom itinerary page: https://www.dirtydaves.co.uk/offers/we-build-your-itinerary-together

Why 7 or 8 days?

We've designed this tour to work in either 7 or 8 days, depending on how much time you have and how relaxed you want the pace to be.

Seven days keeps things moving. You still get Lewis, Harris, Skye, and the Highlands, but the overnights are tighter and there's less room to linger. It's the right call if you're watching your holiday allowance but still want the full Outer Hebrides experience.

Eight days adds breathing room. An extra overnight means we can take the pace down a notch — longer on the Harris beaches, more time at Callanish, a slower start one morning, or an extra stop you'd otherwise have to skip. Most people who can swing the eighth day end up glad they did.

Either way, the route is the same starting point. We'll talk through the pacing with you and recommend 7 or 8 based on your group and how you like to travel.

Sample 7/8 Day Route

Day 1 – Edinburgh/Glasgow to Pitlochry: Pick-up in Edinburgh or Glasgow → photo stop at the Queensferry Crossing → scenic Fife coastal route → Crail harbour → St Andrews driving tour (golf course, university, castle, cathedral) → optional Dunkeld/Hermitage stop → overnight in Pitlochry.
Day 2 – Pitlochry to Inverness: Dalwhinnie Whisky Distillery → Ruthven Barracks → Cairngorms National Park and Loch Morlich → Clava Cairns standing stones → Culloden Battlefield → overnight in Inverness.
Day 3 – Inverness to Ullapool + Ferry to Lewis: Loch Ness → Beauly Priory → Corrieshalloch Gorge → Ullapool → ferry to the Isle of Lewis. Overnight is usually in Stornoway after the crossing. Depending on ferry times, an overnight in Ullapool before the sailing may be needed — we'll plan that around the timetable when we build your dates.
Day 4 – Isle of Lewis day tour: Full day exploring Lewis (including Callanish and the main historic and scenic highlights) → overnight in Stornoway.
Day 5 – South Harris + Ferry to Skye: Scenic South Harris loop → ferry from Tarbert (Harris) across to Uig on the Isle of Skye → overnight in Portree.
Day 6 – Isle of Skye Day Tour + to Fort William: Full day exploring the Isle of Skye → Ben Nevis viewpoint and Commando Memorial → overnight in Fort William.
Day 7 – Fort William to Edinburgh or Glasgow: Glencoe → meet a hairy coo at Kilmahog → Callander → Doune Castle → extra stops time permitting → drop-off for Edinburgh or Glasgow.
Day 8 (optional) – Extra day: Adding an eighth day is optional but highly recommended. It gives more time on Skye, or a slower pace through the Highlands, instead of packing everything into seven days. We'll use the extra day where it helps most for your group — more Skye, more Highlands, or simply less rushing.

Tell us your dates

Want more of the Outer Hebrides?

Lewis and Harris are the headline act, but the Outer Hebrides don't stop there. If you've got the time and the appetite, we can extend this route south through the rest of the island chain — Berneray, North Uist, South Uist, Eriskay, and down to Barra with its famous beach runway.

Each island has its own character: quieter beaches, different standing stones, machair wildflowers in season, and a slower, more remote feel the further south you go. The ferries stitch it together, and because the tour is private, we can build the extra islands in around however many days you've got.

Adding the southern islands usually means extending the trip beyond 8 days, but it's worth it if you want the full Outer Hebrides experience rather than just the top of the chain. Tell us how far you want to go and we'll work out the route, the ferries, and the overnights.

Want us to build a custom version that takes in more of the Outer Hebrides? See our custom tour page: https://www.dirtydaves.co.uk/offers/we-build-your-itinerary-together

Completely flexible

This isn't a rigid package. Almost everything can be adjusted:

Add or remove stops along the route
Spend longer on the Harris beaches or at Callanish
Change overnight locations to suit your pace
Choose 7 or 8 days — or stretch it longer if you've got the time
Extend into other Outer Hebrides islands (Berneray, the Uists, Barra and beyond)
We sort the final version once we know what you actually care about seeing.

Price & how it works

All tours are priced per group (maximum 8 people). The more people you bring, the better the value per person.

Guide price: £1000–£1200 per day, per group.

Final price depends on group size, the exact route, and time of year (summer is usually at the higher end). Ferry crossings to the Outer Hebrides are included.

Included:

Private vehicle

Guiding

Driver/guide's hotel and food

Fuel, parking and other running costs of the tour

Vehicle ferry costs

Not included:

Your accommodation

Your food and drink

Attraction entrance fees

Personal spending

You choose the standard of accommodation — from simple to luxury. Full details on our Stay Your Way page: https://www.dirtydaves.co.uk/offers/stay-your-way

Ready to book or customise?

Want this exact itinerary, a 7 or 8 day version of it, or something that pushes further into the Outer Hebrides?

Tell us your dates, roughly how many people, and whether you'd rather do 7 or 8 days (or longer). We'll take it from there and build the rest with you.

Get in touch here: https://www.dirtydaves.co.uk/contact

Other sample itineraries

Looking for a different length or focus? Here are our other sample itineraries: