Discover the beauty and royal heritage of the Royal Deeside on this small-group tour from Aberdeen. Head first for Balmoral Castle where you can walk in the footsteps of the royals who have called the castle home. Afterward, head through the east Cairngorms to Ballater, a charming Victorian village of Ballater with royal connections. On the way back to Aberdeen, you'll visit the Cambus O'May suspension bridge, the Tomnavarie Stone Circle, and the Queen's View, one of Queen Victoria's favorite Aberdeenshire views.

Explore the royal heritage of Aberdeenshire
Small-group tour (maximum seven): A more intimate experience
See multiple landmarks, including Balmoral Castle
Learn about the history of Royal Deeside from your guide

What's Included

WiFi on board

Lunch
Gratuities
Entries & Tour fees

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

William Wallace Statue
Union Terrace, Aberdeen AB10 1NP, UK
Next to the William Wallace Statue in front of His Majesty's Theatre on Rosemount Viaduct. (AB10 1NP)

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Balmoral Castle

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Gairnshiel Bridge

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ballater

1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Cambus O' May Suspension Bridge

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Tomnaverie Stone Circle

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

B9119

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 7 travelers

Operated by Grampian Escapes Tours Ltd

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

14 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 14 reviews

Tour guide Alex Duncan...

Dwight_H, Sep 2023

Tour guide Alex Duncan impressed us with his breadth and depth of knowledge. We learned more about Scotland and the Deeside than we ever expected to.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thank you very much for your kind review and we are delighted you had a wonderful experience with Alex.

Our tour and guide were exceptional.

Douglas_D, Sep 2023

This was an exceptional experience. We really enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. Our driver and guide, Alex, was informative, entertaining, and always safe. We felt we were on a private tour. He encouraged questions and often combined his answers within stories to help give more context to his responses. The weather was wonderful which made the tour even more enjoyable. Having only 4 visitors on the tour made a real difference and we highly recommend a small tour in the future for everyone.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thank you for your review and we are so happy to hear you enjoyed your day with Alex. Thank you for booking your tour with us and hope to see you again.

Callum was a great guide...

Thomas_S, Aug 2023

Callum was a great guide and was very informative and very understanding. We had a great time. Thanks for the memories

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thank you for sharing your experience with Calum, we are happy to hear you enjoyed your tour and have happy memories to bring home.

Once in a lifetime experience

Eric_F, Aug 2023

Breathtaking views, excellent tour guide, quick witted, punctual, knowledgeable of everything Aberdeen. Thank you!

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thank you Eric for your review. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your tour with us and hope this won't be the last time you visit Aberdeen?

Balmoral Castle

Gordon_F, Jul 2023

Alex the driver was excellent kept us well informed and looked after my wife who has some walking difficulties by driving us up to the Castle to get a mobility scooter

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thank you for sharing your experience. Happy to hear that Alex was able to make the experience more comfortable for your wife.

Balmoral Great But not sufficient time was allowed to explore.

felicia_f, Jun 2023

Balmoral was wonderful. The bad part was that not enough time was given to explore Balmoral. Considering that most people came on the tour to see Balmoral- 2 hours was insufficient and that some the other sites could have been sacrificed to give proper time to Balmoral.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the tour. It can be challenging to balance times at different stops, as guests have different preferences and interests. It is something we will look at going forward.

Wonderful Day with Canadian & Scottish Relatives!!

Valerie_M, Jun 2023

Our Guide, the views, the route up and different route back were fabulous and the entire trip to Balmoral and return was a wonderful learning, sightseeing and amazing experience! We were all overwhelmed with the wonderful personality and knowledge of Alex!

Response from Host, Jun 2023

So happy to hear you had a great day with Alex. He is a gem and ws are lucky to have him.

Professional, informative and hugely rewarding day tour to Balmoral

Linda_B, Jun 2023

Our guide, Alex, was there to greet us well before our arranged meet-up time. From the start, he shared a wealth of fascinating facts about the areas we passed through or stopped to visit. The Tour took us into the Scottish countryside, past rivers, waterfalls, fields, forests and quaint towns. The journey was exactly as described and is a terrific way in which to explore Balmoral and other attractions. Guiding is a fine art: too much information overwhelms travellers, while too little reflects a lack of interest and knowledge. Alex got the balance exactly right, skilfully crafting his narrative and answering questions enthusiastically. I felt I came away with much more than I had anticipated. Highly recommended.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you Linda, it sounds like you had an amazing time with Alex. Thank you for your review and enthusiastic feedback.

Tea at Balmoral

jack_s, Jul 2022

Of course we didn’t have tea with the Queen but bought tea at the little cafe & enjoyed the view. We were allowed to walk the grounds & enter one wing. The stone circle & view stops were great. Our guide did a nice job & worked around changing weather conditions to optimize our experience.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you for your review and we are delighted to enjoyed your day.

Balmoral Castle

JosephT_P, Jun 2022

Jacqueline led an excellent tour to Balmoral castle and Breamar as well as to the winter Gardens. She told interesting stories and was very gracious. I think I were in town longer so that I could go with her on any of her other tours.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Thank you for joining me on tour and the kind review. I am glad you enjoyed your day.