Discover the Scottish Isles & Hebrides

Your fare excludes:

Day 1 - Embark in Glasgow (Fairlie)

Start in Scotland's vibrant city of culture

A former industrial powerhouse, Glasgow has reinvented itself as a cultural hot spot, packed with museums, galleries, and parks. Discover the splendid Art Nouveau architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh before your expedition cruise begins.

You'll embark your ship MS Spitsbergen in Fairlie, a small community outside of Glasgow. Lying on the shores of the Firth of Clyde and nestled against a backdrop of the North Ayrshire Hills, this area is known for coastal towns that boast both Viking heritage and scenic walks.

Get to know the ship before meeting the Expedition Team, your guides for the adventure ahead. Enjoy your first onboard dinner as it sails.

Day 2 - Beautiful Isle of Arran

Discover Arran's Grandeur

Welcome to Arran, an island cloaked in heather. Known as 'Scotland in miniature', Arran's varied landscape is split by the Highland Boundary Fault, giving the island its distinctive highland peaks in the north and lush lowlands in the south.

You can try a hike with views of Goat Fell's craggy peaks and see if you can spot Scotland's 'Big Five': the golden eagle, red deer, red squirrel, otter, and harbour seal, all of which can be found on Arran.

While here, discover the grandeur of Brodick Castle, and explore the gardens which will be brimming with spring life.

Day 3 - Islay's whisky and nature

Fire up your spirit of discovery on 'Whisky Island'

Islay, the 'Queen of the Hebrides', is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides. It's the proud home of world-famous peaty single malts, but that's far from the only reason to visit.

Enjoy the company of your fellow travellers and the Expedition Team as you explore the coastline on foot. From its sandy beaches, you can sometimes spot dolphins and basking sharks.

Join a local guide on a heritage walk, and of course, no trip to Islay is complete without a wee dram from one of the island's famous and historic whisky producers, such as Laphroaig or Ardbeg.

Day 4 - Sustainable Isle of Gigha

Discover a slice of paradise in the Hebrides

Scottish Isles cruise continues to tiny Gigha (pronounced 'Gee-a'), a sandy slice of paradise in the Hebrides. Community-owned since 2002, when it was bought by its 163 residents, the island has a strong sense of local stewardship and sustainability. It's well worth sampling the fresh local seafood, such as Gigha halibut and oysters.

At only seven miles long, the main way to get around Gigha is on foot or by renting a bike. Visit the woodland gardens of Achamore House and admire the colourful rhododendrons. Then explore white sandy coves and the turquoise waters along the coast.

Day 5 - Mull's colourful fishing port

Get ready for the dreamy beauty of the Sound of Mull

Brightly coloured Georgian houses line the waterfront in the picturesque fishing port of Tobermory, located on the Isle of Mull. As we explore, your local guide will bring the port to life with stories of its vibrant past and present.

Learn about the local heritage at the Mull Museum, try a dram of local whisky, stroll the harbour, or walk along the wooded coastal path, with views across the Ardnamurchan Peninsula.

On a walk with the Expedition Team, watch for white-tailed eagles soaring above the coast. While here, you'll have the opportunity to visit one of the historic castles that guarded these waterways when the Lord of the Isles ruled the region in the 12th century.

Day 6 - Expedition day

Explore the tranquil islands of the Outer Hebrides

Today it is planned to explore the Outer Hebrides, including a landing at one of the many tiny islands. Your Captain and Expedition Leader will choose the best landing site depending on the conditions of the day.

The mighty wind and waves of the Atlantic have carved sheltered harbours here, allowing settlements to arise as far back as the Neolithic period. Perhaps will visit a remote community and gain insight into their way of life, or land on a pristine white sand beach. May also cruise along the coast on our Zodiacs, in search of wildlife, such as puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes, and seals.

Day 7 - Stalwart Stornoway

Experience 'Scotland's Stonehenge' and find your tweed

The next stop is Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. Visit Gothic-style Lews Castle, with its trails and fantastic views. Lewis is also home to 'Scotland's Stonehenge', the 5,000-year-old Callanish Standing Stones. You'll also experience surviving legacies such as the art of crafting Harris Tweed.

Also cruise the wild and beautiful Shiant Isles, a tiny archipelago set in the Minch Strait. It's one of the most important breeding colonies for seabirds in Europe, so keep an eye out for European shags, common eiders, northern fulmars, and great skuas in the surrounding waters or on volcanic ledges.

Day 8 - Isles of beauty

Get close to dramatic scenery and wonderful wildlife on Skye and the Small Isles

Sail to Loch Scavaig on the Isle of Skye, where dramatic scenery surrounds.

"The wildest scene in the Highlands" is how the Victorian poet Lord Tennyson described Loch Coruisk and the surrounding craggy peaks of the Cuillin Mountains.

Put on hiking boots to explore the loch with the Expedition Team.

Next stop is the remote Isle of Eigg, home to incredible wildlife. You might spot golden and white-tailed eagles, red-throated divers, stonechats, seals, dolphins, and porpoises. Stroll along the white sands of Laig Bay to the quartz beach where the sand sings.

Day 9 - The spirit of Iona

See Iona's sacred abbey and Fingal's Cave on Staffa

Your adventure continues to Iona, off the coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. You can visit the restored 6th-century abbey, one of Scotland's oldest and most sacred Christian pilgrimage sites. Join the Expedition Team for a hike or enjoy a walk at your leisure to the aptly named 'Bay at the Back of the Ocean'. This sweeping white sand bay faces the wild Atlantic Ocean head-on and is fringed with machair, a typical grassy vegetation of the Hebrides.

If conditions allow, also sail to Staffa. Attempt to take Zodiacs for a closer look at Fingal's Cave, marvelling at the hexagonal basalt columns, superb natural acoustics, and mesmerising, coloured waters.

Day 10 - Colonsay birds and blooms

Immerse yourself in unspoiled island beauty

Take a coastal walk on the Isle of Colonsay and enjoy breathtaking views from Kiloran Bay and Plaide Mhòr. Or if you're lucky enough to be in a kayak, you may catch sight of whales, porpoises and dolphins.

Flora thrives on Colonsay, with over 400 species of plants present. You'll see some of them in the woodland gardens of Colonsay House. It's a paradise for birdwatchers, with choughs, Red Northern Divers, eagles, fulmars, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags among the birds you can spot. Later in the spring, be sure to listen out for the rattle of the elusive corncrake.

Day 11 - Back to Glasgow

Your island-hopping odyssey comes to an end in Scotland's vibrant city

Your adventure to the wild Scottish Isles ends back in Glasgow (Fairlie).

Wander the small community of Fairlie before making your way back to vibrant Glasgow as the final stop of your island-hopping odyssey. Its impressive fishing and shipping heritage is manifest in the Victorian architecture of the west end of town. It's well worth exploring this area some more if you have time before you head home.

* Please note that cruise itineraries are subject to change at any time and are not guaranteed

Departing 6 April 2027

• Polar Outside from $10,951 $10,403 pp twin share / $22,097 $21,433 pp sole use*
• Arctic Superior from $12,622 $11,990 pp twin share / $21,015 $20,383 pp sole use*
• Expedition Suite from $31,196 $29,636 pp twin share*

* Please note: prices are subject to availability at the time of booking and may change or be withdrawn at any time without notice.

MS Spitsbergen

Rebuilt in 2016 and extensively refurbished in 2025, MS Spitsbergen combines modern expedition capability and adaptability with elegance and simplicity. With space for just 150 guests, she offers a relaxed, intimate atmosphere that speaks to Scandinavian style — and the agility to access remote places larger ships can’t.  

How long is the expedition?

11 days.

Which region is explored?

The Scottish Isles and Hebrides.

What is included?

Accommodation, meals, and guided expedition activities.

What wildlife may be seen?

Seabirds, seals, and dolphins.

Who is this expedition ideal for?

Perfect for nature, history, and coastal scenery lovers.