Take the ‘Tour of a Lifetime’ to the Outer Hebrides

If you could choose a travel tour of a lifetime, what would it be? Eating your way through Turkey? Kayaking the canals of Venice? Climbing the mountains of Kashmir?

According to National Geographic Traveler, these are just some of the world’s ‘Tours of a Lifetime’, as listed in the May issue of the magazine.  They’re the type of travel experiences that the Editors say leave us “refreshed, smarter, and most important, wiser.”  These global experts have outlined the 50 best tours to take this year, split between six continents – and one of them is right here in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

“What better way,” writes Contributing Editor Margaret Loftus, “to celebrate Scotland’s Year of Homecoming—when the diaspora are invited back to explore their heritage—than to wander its coastal machairs (fields), peaks, and glens on the far-flung islands of Skye, Harris, and Lewis.”

What better way indeed! The week-long walking tour, run by Wilderness Scotland, takes you from Sligachan and the Old Man of Storr on Skye to the beaches, hills, and rocky terrain of Harris, before finishing up in Stornoway via the brooding sight of the Callanish Stones.

There’s all that and so much more to see in the Outer Hebrides, as I’ve said many times on this blog.  Of course, everyone here already knows that these islands are something special, and definitely deserving of their inclusion on this global list; it’s always nice to see others taking note.

Whether you join the National Geographic-approved tour, or head to the Hebrides yourself, you won’t be disappointed (not even if it rains!).