Guided Tours of Scotland
Private Tours With Driver-Guide Greg Kain
Reviews & Testimonials
Dear Greg,
I want to thank you for the wonderful day we spent with you going to Culzean Castle. The weather Gods were certainly with us and made every place we saw even more spectacular. We were so happy we had your very comfortable van to be in rather than herded on the buses from the ship!!! Passing along the Ayrshire coast was breathtaking and all the little towns......I especially remember Largs and all the sail boats we saw in the water.......most impressive. The town of Alloway where Robert Burns was born was lovely also. That area of Scotland is truly beautiful. We will certainly pass your name along to any of our friends headed your way so they can enjoy what we saw.
Thanks so much again for wonderful memories!
Sincerely,
Nancy Lee Grey, USA
From: Annette McGinlay
Subject: Kirkintilloch and Cumnock
Date: Friday, 5 November, 2010, 21:50
I just wanted to write to let you know what a fantastic two days we had with you. For David to see his childhood home and haunts in such a relaxed way was something we will always treasure. I had always hoped that this would be the highlight of our trip but it so exceeded our expectations.We would like to thank you for the effort you put in to make those two days so memorable for us and especially David. The fact that we were able to see everything we wanted to and extra was due to your research and planning and it was much appreciated.We have been singing you praises far and wide and hope this will bring you some more business.
Thanks again
Annette and David McGinlay, Christchurch, New Zealand
From:famiglia.zito@virgilio.it
Subject: esperienza del tour
Date: Tuesday, 7 June, 2011, 18:55
Ciao Greg
Voglio testimoniare il piacere di aver trascorso tre giorni in tua compagnia. La tua professionalità è risultata eccellente come la tua cortesia e puntualità. I tour che abbiamo fatto, io e mia moglie, si sono rilevati ottimi sia come percorsi che come suggerimenti da te proposti. I paesaggi li abbiamo ammirati con la giusta calma e comodità. Insomma, poter godere dei confort che la tua auto, comodissima, offre senza essere trattati come numeri da portare in giro su percorsi prestabiliti con tempi di sosta brevi, dove tutto è programmato come dove fermarsi per un pasto o per fare compere e addirittura anche per andare in bagno è stato stupendo. Grazie Greg.
Lo consiglio vivamente a tutti coloro che vogliono godersi una vacanza in SCOZIA
From: Frani Smith <fmsmith83@verizon.net>
Subject: Re: Transportation Request
Date: Saturday, 9 July, 2011, 1:33
Thank you, Greg . . . . beautiful country, beautiful people - we enjoyed it all and hope to comeback someday. Will certainly recommend your services to friends visiting the area. Thank you for the smooth ride & hospitality.
Best, Frani Smith
From: Howard Fagan handefagan@q.com
Sent: Friday, 8 June 2012, 23:44
Subject: Our Recent Tours
Dear Greg,
We want to thank you for the tours you provided for us in Glasgow and in Edinburgh last month. You met us at the cruise ship pier in Glasgow and we were impressed with you, the vehicle you used, the manner in which you conducted yourself, and the day you had planned for us. We were so impressed that we cancelled the ship's excursion in Edinburgh and booked that day with you too. You were so friendly, so polite, so knowledgeable, and so eager to answer all our questions, even the ones you decided to research for us. You even fulfilled our request to put our fingers into the North Sea! You made us feel important and we appreciate that very much.
We would recommend your company to everyone wanting a pleasant, specially-tailored day of touring in Scotland. In fact, should we return to Scotland, we will contact you right away.
Sincerely,
Howie and Elaine Fagan
Tucson, Arizona USA
From: Jerry Viene <jviene@bellsouth.net>
Sent: Sunday, 29 April 2012, 19:03
Subject: Scotland Tour
I am writing to thank you so much for the services you provided to us (the Viene & Finleon Party) on Tuesday, April 17 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The vehicle was perfect and our driver Greg Kain was wonderful, so knowledgeable about Scotland. The itenerary that was planned gave us the opportunity to utilize our limited time to the fullest. If the opportunity arises we would gladly recommend Greg and your compnay. Please give Greg the attached picture.
Sincerely,
Jerry & Jeannette Viene
Grand Princess Cruise ship.
May 16, 2013
Dear Greg,
I would like to thank you for the great time we had with you during our Scotland visit. You showed us some beautiful places and were very knowledgable about every where we went. Betty and I enjoyed it very much.
I f you have any future Americans wanting references fell free to let me know and I will send you a email you can foward to them.
Say hello to your wife for us. If ya'll come to South Carolina let us know maybe we can help you a little.
And how do you say it?
Best regards,
Earl and Betty Buchanan
From: Mary MacLeod <..........@shaw.ca>
Sent: Saturday, 4 January 2014, 3:24
Subject: Re: Greetings from Calgary MacLeods
Hello Greg!
Happiest of New Year's to you and your family for 2014! I hope this finds you well, happy and warm :-). We are just on the returning to everyday life around here with kids getting ready to go back to school next week and the turkey bits now frozen for other meals once we've forgotten how much of it we have eaten.
I do need to apologize for not getting you the video of the sheep in the bus stop! The camera I borrowed would not allow me to download the file onto the Mac and I've had a bit of a time trying to find a conversion program but, I think that I may have one that will work. Our family camera had its own adventure travelling about western Canada in a rental car in October and November. It has found its way back to us and more importantly the travel photos have made it back too! I will be downloading our photos and videos this week and will send you a few once I've gone through them.
I'll also send along a note about how wonderful our Scotland trip truly was as a testimonial. You made us comfortable, took care of us and showed us a truly magical time. We all awoke on the last day a little sad because we knew we were missing your company that day.We think of our summer holiday often and you are remembered in our conversations with fondness. I do intend to keep my promise and get the video to you, hopefully without much more fuss.
All the best for the coming year Greg,
Mary
From: Aggie Kostovick <..............@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2014 12:34 AM
Subject: YOU
Dear Greg, Hope you remember us: Dave & Amy Peelstrom& Aggie...We still speak of you so often - like a householdname...Just thought I would send you a note to say Helloand to let you know how much I still have England - andthanks to you - Scotland in my heart...My family loved all my photos - ( Davey & I gave a little travelogue when we were all together at Thanksgiving.) Well Greg, I hope you are fine and that your business isfaring brilliantly...Always remember you have a group here inthe States that think the world of you - and miss you...Youare the BEST! All the best from Aggie with hugs from thethree of us...(P.S. - I continue to read about Scotland, takeout videos from the library - where I located the seriesTaggart, the detective from Glasgow...just loved it...So, take special care of yourself, dear Greg, and keep safe on the roads. Blessings.
April 20, 2014
Dear Greg
I can’t believe it’s been a week already since we left Scotland! But, however busy, I think Carole will agree, thoughts of Scotland and our wonderful 6 days with you were frequent.
We enjoyed Edinburg and Glasgow, but, “THE VERY BEST” part of our trip was our customized (bespoke) Highlands and Islands tour with Guided Tours of Scotland. No way to ever express our appreciation for your attention to our individual needs, requests, and impromptu “shopping desires”.
As someone who has traveled extensively both for work and pleasure, I personally found your Company and you to be Five Star, and, the best customized tour I have ever engaged. As our Guide you were an Experienced and Safe driver, Personable/Witty, Versatile, Flexible, Knowledgeable about contemporary and historical Scotland, Attentive to details i.e. communications in trip planning, travel related cost/benefits, client personal requirements, etc. And, you have an exceptionally comfortable and clean vehicle with viewing windows (plus water and caramels!)
So, that said, the main message to convey to you is:
Thank You so very much for helping make our visit to Scotland become not just a vacation, but, a special memory.
Best Wishes,
Jean Beatie
Carole Ouellet
From: Gaston <..........@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 9:50 PM
Subject: Re:
Greg,
We are back home and back to the daily grind! Thanks again for your help to make it a great trip.
We had a wonderful time. We thoroughly enjoyed the in depth information that you provided. Traveling is more than just seeing great views. It is about understanding other people and cultures in a more in depth manner. You provided all of the above and more. A great experience.
Gaston
From: Cynthia Kisser
Sent: Sunday, 28 June 2015, 17:20
Subject: See testimonial attached
Dear Greg,
Unquestionably, your services made my family’s visit to Scotland extraordinary. First, having you drive the five of us from Edinburgh Airport to our self-catering house on the west coast was much faster and more convenient than if we had taken the bus or train, avoided the changes in Glasgow for the travel north; and the cost was no greater than had we bought public transport tickets for all of us instead.
But what really made the trip special was hiring you to give us a full one-day tour a week later that started on the west coast and returned us to Edinburgh, where we had booked additional lodging. I want to tell those who read this testimonial that Greg is a wonderful tour guide. He planned an excellent itinerary for us for our drive through the Highlands to Edinburgh that allowed us to enjoy scenic beauty such as Glencoe, yet also visit such architectural and historical gems as Stirling Castle and Doune Castle. He knew the perfect pub in a small village for us to have lunch with marvelous, unique menu selections. While driving us, both on the initial drive from the airport and on the later day tour, Greg was able to seamlessly sift from talking about the history of Scotland to its environment and natural wildlife to the contemporary political and social issues it faces, depending of the interests each of us, with diverse backgrounds, brought to our trip. He allowed us to set the pace for the tour in terms of the time we wanted to spend at locations where we stopped, and intuitively understood when to share background on the areas through which we passed, and when to give us time to talk among ourselves. He always gave us our own privacy at each of the locations at which we stopped to wander the area, take photographs, browse gift stores and buy a cup of tea or coffee. An added bonus was that in advance of the trip, Gregg willingly answered my many emails soliciting ideas for activities our family could undertake while on our own in the Highlands and then in Edinburgh and recommendations on restaurants at which to eat. I had my own expert on Scotland at my fingertips in advance of our trip to maximize my family’s time in Scotland.
We obtained far better value by using the services of Guided Tours of Scotland, both for the initial transport, and then for the day long tour, than we would have had we used public transport to try to get around Scotland and taken the many commercial tours that would have been necessary to see all the areas we visited on the tour. Instead of being crowded in tour buses and expected to adopt schedules set by the tour companies, we were able to comfortably travel in a roomy mini-van for our exclusive use, and stop whenever and wherever we wanted for the day.
The level of service you provide Greg is extraordinary, and if anyone reading this review is thinking of using his services, rest assured that Guided Tours of Scotland will exceed your expectations.
Best wishes,
Cynthia
From: Jane Robbins <...............@hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, 4 July 2015, 18:30
Subject: Re: flight
Hi Greg
Hope you received our payment. Once again thank you for a wonderful week, you are truly in the right profession. If you ever need a letter of recommendation please ask. We also felt safe and cared for .
Take care,Jane ,Wayne,Jeff and Leighann.
Sent from my iPad
from:Kapil Garg kapeelgarg1969@rediffmail.com
to:greg
21 July 2017 at 17:03
Hi Greg,
Sorry for writing you late.
We all wanted to thank you for a wonderful experience you gave us. The drive was always a pleasure, very safe and fantastic control on the cozy and very comfortable vehicle. Your knowledge about the architecture, culture, history, explaining and describing elaborately and clearly and taking us to many such places that are generally not covered in any of the conducted tours made the experience very special and memorable for us. We will cherish the memories for a very long time and whenever we will think of the trip you will also flash for sure.
Once again, We thank you for a fantastic tour.
Warm Regards
Vandita, Tanvi, Kanu and Kapil Garg
Gurgaon, India
9811220969
On Thu, 23 Aug 2018 at 14:07, junzo sugiguchi _____@skyblue.ocn.ne.jp> wrote:
Hello! Greg,
We came back home safely a few days ago.
We are still a bit tired with a jet-lag.
We had a good time all the way in Scotland together with you.
We appreciate your kindness and help.
Now we are making a schedule through Scotland for next year.
We’d like to let you know it when it is fixed.
Thank you again.
Best regards,
Junzo & Eiko
Cynthia and Fred Schmidt
Minnesota, USA
Traveled on a Guided Tour Late September, Early October, 2018
It is with great admiration and joy that we (I) compose this letter of recommendation to you on behalf of Guided Tours of Scotland! Fred and I are still talking about the wonderful trip of a lifetime, which could never have happened without you, your expertise, the comfortable transportation (your van was perfect), but most of all YOU. Even though your knowledge of Scotland, its history, landmarks, tragedies and triumphs is borderline encyclopedic, the real fun was spending that adventurous week with you. Thanks for turning moments into memories. Whomever else is reading this “review’, you are one of those folks who pays attention to every detail anticipated by your clients; you have knowledge of the best places to dine, shop, accommodations, the daily scrumptious toffee, and, considering my love for photography, you knew where I could get just the right shot! I was literally brought to tears at the beauty, history, architecture, Highland Cows, castles, lakes, waterfalls, bridges and about a million other images of Scotland and her people. Thanks for handling my being overwhelmed! I suspect you knew how dear Scotland was becoming in my heart.
For anyone considering touring Scotland and other destinations in the UK, the choice is simple: Greg Kain.
On a final note, since we’ve returned home, we remembered our local little tavern (Al’s Center City Saloon) has quite an extensive (at least 20) collection of Scottish whiskies. Yup, Dalwhinnie & Talisker to name a two. We’ve been sampling, and of course, the memories flow right along with the whisky!
No goodbyes, just bon voyage until we meet again! Slainte!
Cyn and Fred
(please feel free to contact me should you be thinking of touring with Greg)
On Tue, 26 Oct 2021 at 19:46, Cynthia Schmidt <cynschmidt124@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Greg,
Our initial guided tour with you back in 2018 filled our hearts with all things Scotland. That said, we stayed the course and made it back lovely Scotland for our second tour with Guided Tours of Scotland, just weeks ago in 2021.
As ever, your outstanding knowledge of Scotland’s recent and past history is unparalleled. Return trips is highly recommended, as there are so many treasures to be found, and whiskies to be sampled!
Our October 2021 highlights were as diverse as our 2018 adventure. That said, your new van is a luxury and so comfortable. We journeyed totally different sites than the first time, and there are still hundreds of destinations to explore upon a return trip! When the time is good, all we do is contact Greg, who assists with making all your Scotland and beyond, travel dreams a reality. Greg is the consummate professional, kind, gracious, excyclpedic knowledge, and accommodating if there is a special request to…for example, stop and pet a Highland Cow!
So bravo Guided Tours of Scotland, Greg Kain, and thank you for all the special attention to details, and being a joyful, dear friend!
Until we return, Slainte’
Cynthia and Fred Schmidt
Wisconsin, United States
Dove Krueger to Guided Tours of Scotland
27 October 2022
Guided Tours of Scotland: Greg Kain;
I would like to thank you Greg for our wonderful trip to Scotland we had with you as our Tour Guide. Our first trip was canceled in 2020 do to Covid, but we managed to hang in there and make it in October 2021. Greg worked constantly on our itinerary and answered all our many questions. He was able to put together a fantastic tour and show us all the wonders of Scotland. His knowledge of the history of Scotland was outstanding and his fun loving jokes and stories were such great fun!! It was an amazing journey of a life time for me and so thankful for Greg to help make it a dream come true.
I highly recommend Greg Kain and Guided Tours of Scotland for anyone who is looking for a private tour and see the many wonders of Scotland. The Story of Scotland by Nigel Tranter is an awesome read!!! Enjoying it immensely!! Thanks Again Greg!
Dove Krueger---Las Vegas, Nevada USA
Craig & Dianna Krueger---Lindstrom, Minnesota USA
On Mon, 30 May 2022 at 17:08, Margaret Westermaier <.................com> wrote:
Hi Greg, Thanks so much for an inspiring trip to Iona and the Highlands. We got home safely—the COVID certificates were just what we needed. Already missing your excellent driving and good choices for “lunch” as well as historical context. Like traveling with family. Best wishes for a great season and many more.
Margaret
Hi Greg,
Sorry this note has taken several days. Thank you for your very kind note. I met with Grace today and sang your praises. I also gave her your brochures which she was delighted to have. She said she would take them to her office to share with her colleagues who wanted to know how she found this private tour. She will tell Linda about our delight in this vacation! Really as we remember our trip , it gets better! Thank you for all the history, politics, and geography of the Highlands and Scotland that you taught us. Besides learning about the geological differences in the Highlands was fascinating. You worked so hard for us and we enjoyed it all. As Margaret said, the COVID test would not have worked if you had not been able to find the site we needed. I have heard other horror stories of results not arriving for hours. You were so patient with two old ladies who took up valuable tour time to shop !!
It was so beneficial to take the more scenic roads rather than the tourist highways. Your van was so comfortable and felt like home after being on Iona. Thank you. We met so many kind and interesting people in Scotland. Such positive memories! We thank you.
Have a good week.
Vicky, New Jersey, USA
On Sat, 6 Apr 2024 at 13:22, Brian Butler <________@yahoo.com> wrote:
Good morning Greg and thank you so much for the time not only for that day but in the preparation and now for the beautiful planting of the tree and kind words. Our family had a wonderful time with you and it would be our hope that if we are blessed to make it back to Scotland that we would definitely reach out for your services. The amount of information that we learned from you was amazing and we would love to learn more! Thank you for your willingness to help Mia and the patience you showed with all the kids. Thank you again, we do look forward to watching your travels on Facebook!!
Jim Shira <________@gmail.com>
13 Jan 2025, 17:34
to me
Hi Greg!
We all thoroughly enjoyed our trip with you. I can honestly say it was the best touring we have ever done. I am so glad the weather cooperated with us and that the bad weather held off until we left! Kevin, Bryan, Jim and I are committed to going back to Scotland and doing more touring probably on the east coast, and doing some touring of northern England. I personally have an eye on touring northern Scotland and the islands…..Shetland, Lerwick and Orkney…..probably in a different trip….but we will definitely be back.
Our trip left an indelible impression on both of our boys. We had such a great time as a family and your tour made it all so easy for us. We have no complaints at all. The hospitality was great, we felt safe at all times…..even with the black ice and bad weather and appreciated your flexibility with our itinerary and your inputs on places to stop and take a look.
Thank you so much for donating trees to your grove on behalf of our trip…..what a lovely sentiment! So glad we could contribute positively to the reforestation of the Caledonian Forest.
Wishing you much health, happiness and good business this year and hope to be able to tour with you again in the next couple of years!
Warm wishes,
Karen Shira
My wife and I live in the USA. In 2024, we decided to return to Scotland in 2025 for the 5 th time and opted to look for a guide online. I ran across Greg Kain’s “Guided Tours of Scotland” website and decided to ask him a few questions. One email led to an email exchange that involved “talking” about which destinations in the Outer Hebrides might work best for us. Greg’s overall knowledge and quick responses very much impressed us so we booked a 7-night excursion. He accepted a credit card payment for the deposit and final payment which was a big plus. Ironically, one day before we were to be picked up at our hotel in Oban, Greg emailed that
the Cal Mac ferry we were going to take from Oban to the Isle of Barra had mechanical problems and was going to be out of service for several days. Since we couldn’t get to the Isle of Barra the first night, he quickly figured out how to salvage the trip and also found us another overnight accommodation. He saved the day! Over the next 7 days, we got to know Greg and he got to know us. He was easy to talk to and answered our questions. He was also very flexible when we changed our minds about a particular attraction. The trip was about what we wanted to see and do, not what was on his list. In addition to Greg’s other attributes, he is a super safe driver which was important to us because we were often on single tract roads high up in the hills. If we ever decide to return to Scotland for a 6 th visit, we will definitely use Greg again.
Bruce Stevenson (6/1/25)
In French, we say "jamais deux sans trois." I am not sure of the English equivalent, but I would say "never two without three." My third trip in Scotland with Guided Tours of Scotland, and once again, what a trip!
This time, I was delighted to have my 17-year-old son with me, for his first time in Scotland. The drive from Glasgow to and through the Highlands, Glencoe, his first ferry to Skye, then the crossing to Harris where a magnificent sunset awaited us! It was Thibault's first day, and he couldn't pick a single favorite moment: he loved everything about that first day. And at the end of our road trip, the same observation: everything about our 5-day tour was fantastic!
This was my third trip in Scotland with Guided Tours of Scotland, which I can highly recommend for Greg's professionalism, kindness, and hospitality.
Many thanks to Greg for perfectly organizing this trip, for sharing your knowledge of Scotland, and for the always fascinating discussions about its history, culture, environment, and much more. Thank you also for your flexibility and immediate understanding of our needs and pace. A huge thank you for the hike and the adventure on Conachair, an unforgettable experience! :)
All the best and take care.
Karine and Thibault
Trip June 19-23 2025
We originally had planned on booking one of the many advertised small group tours (around 15 people). As we were looking into those tours, nothing totally met our interests. In any given package, some stops would be a “heck yeah!” and others would be “ugh… yawn”. I mentioned this to a friend who had been to Scotland many times, and he brought up the idea of doing a private tour. He referred us to Greg, as he had used him on his vacation in Scotland.
We figured out pretty quickly that Greg was going to be great. He started by asking us what we wanted to see. He asked a lot of questions to figure out our interests and then suggested an itinerary. And then he tweaked the itinerary based on our feedback. Once we got that figured out, he suggested places to stay, places to have dinner & made everything easy to navigate.
Regarding pricing, I did the math. The packaged tours sound great because they include x amount of meals, accommodations & entry fees, etc. The reality is, the pricing between the 2 types of tours ended up being very close. Best as I can tell, our tour cost a little bit more, but we splurged on our meals and accommodations. One of our hotels was a 5 star- we’d never done that before & the experience was awesome. I don’t know this, but I would guess that when a package includes things like meals & accommodations, those things might be a little more budget oriented.
Lastly & most importantly, our time with Greg was amazing. The guy is a walking (or driving) encyclopedia of Scottish history. We got the backstory on everywhere we visited, which really helped us appreciate what we were seeing. His van is very comfortable (lots of legroom!) and he even has a microphone hooked up to the vehicle’s sound system, which is great for hard of hearing folks like me.
Now that I have the benefit of hindsight, I’m glad we did a private tour and I’m glad we had Greg to guide us. For about the same cost as a pre-packaged group tour, we got to customize our tour with an expert advisor, pick where we wanted to eat, where we wanted to stay and have an expert guide that was committed to making our trip an incredible experience. He absolutely succeeded!
Greg & Linda McGuirk, July 2025
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