Historical Tours
6+ hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
£1,500
per group
MAD GOAT Offbeat Tours of Scotland
MAD GOAT Offbeat Tours of Scotland
MAD GOAT Offbeat Tours of Scotland
5
City ToursMulti-day ToursSightseeing ToursPrivate ToursDay Trips
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Full view
About
MAD GOAT- Offbeat Tours of Scotland is the answer for travellers who are inquisitive explorers. If you want to know who we are and for what our company stands for, you need to understand the difference between goats and sheep. Goats are browsers, curious and very independent creatures. They are engaging and interactive with the environment. That’s how we are and so are the travellers who book their private tours with us. MAD is self-explanatory. We are “good” mad (not mad enough to join a flock or a herd, though). Mad to go a bit further, mad in the belief that there is always something new to discover. If you identify with that, book a tour with us today! If you do not, just join a flock or keep following the herd.
Tours and Tickets by MAD GOAT Offbeat Tours of Scotland
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Walking Tours
3 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
£500
per group
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5.0
61 reviews
Excellent
58
Very good
2
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Glenn D
Edinburgh, UK61 contributions
Jul 2020 • Friends
We had a wonderful 3 days exploring Skye. Raphael our guide was knowledgeable and showed us the island without feeling rushed.
We had a couple of sights to visit and hikes to do when in Skye and we are pleased to have managed it all.
I would certainly recommend MAD GOAT if you are looking for private tours in and around Scotland
We had a couple of sights to visit and hikes to do when in Skye and we are pleased to have managed it all.
I would certainly recommend MAD GOAT if you are looking for private tours in and around Scotland
Written 28 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Uillihans Dias
3 contributions
Jul 2020
We opted for a personalised experience of the Scottish Highlands on a 3 day trip from Edinburgh, on a small group of 4 people. Rafael took us through the must-see sights of Isle of Skye with ease and efficiency. Stop at Dunkeld waterfalls, Kyle, Portree, Old man of Storr, Fairy Pools, Glencoe along the way, and we also upgrade to include a cruise on the legendary Elgol. Every traveller has that one particular trip that changed them forever – this has to be one of my most memorable travel experience. I can’t thank you enough, Rafael. Highly recommended tour and a well deserved 5 star rating!
Written 24 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aung
4 contributions
Jul 2020 • Friends
After spending some time on the Internet searching for private tour operators we decided to use mad goat tour.
Truly happy with our two days trips to Isle of skye. We were greeted by friendly and funny personality our tour guide ( Rafael ).
He is very knowledgeable and flexible with the tour. He offered us take some historic attractions along the way and that was a treat !! While we were in Skype he tooks us to a few hidden beauty spots most tourists don't know about! We were delighted!
I would totally recommend if you want to have a amazing holiday!
Truly happy with our two days trips to Isle of skye. We were greeted by friendly and funny personality our tour guide ( Rafael ).
He is very knowledgeable and flexible with the tour. He offered us take some historic attractions along the way and that was a treat !! While we were in Skype he tooks us to a few hidden beauty spots most tourists don't know about! We were delighted!
I would totally recommend if you want to have a amazing holiday!
Written 23 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
steph
Melbourne, Australia6 contributions
Dec 2019 • Friends
We spent a gorgeous day with Mad Goat tours exploring Loch Lomond and surrounding areas and sites such as, Stirling Castle, Doune Castle, Linlithgow and more.
We only had a short stay in Edinburgh which meant we needed to be efficient with how we spent our time. This tour was perfect for us as Mad Goat was able to customise the itinerary to our needs.
Our tour guide Rafael was incredibly knowledgeable which meant we learned a great deal while taking in the sites. His warm and vibrant nature meant he kept us engaged and entertained for the entire day; no small feat!
We could not recommend this tour more. We look forward to returning to this absolutely beautiful country and will be sure to lock in another of Mad Goat’s tours.
We only had a short stay in Edinburgh which meant we needed to be efficient with how we spent our time. This tour was perfect for us as Mad Goat was able to customise the itinerary to our needs.
Our tour guide Rafael was incredibly knowledgeable which meant we learned a great deal while taking in the sites. His warm and vibrant nature meant he kept us engaged and entertained for the entire day; no small feat!
We could not recommend this tour more. We look forward to returning to this absolutely beautiful country and will be sure to lock in another of Mad Goat’s tours.
Written 29 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Roberta F
Lincolnshire, IL5 contributions
Sep 2019
We booked two tours with Mad Goat. One was a day tour to St. Andrews and a distillery, and that was truly an excellent tour. The guide was outstanding, but he was a sub-contractor for Mad Goat, so not one of their employees. This review is about the other tour, which was a walking tour of Edinburgh. The tour cost 120 Euros. We were provided with a very inexperienced and unknowledgeable guide who is from Italy and has lived in Edinburgh less than 3 years. She tours occasionally because she is a full-time student and has another job. And it showed. Almost every question we asked was met with "I don't know". She was also difficult to understand. What I expect from a private tour of Edinburgh is someone who does this on a regular basis, i.e., their job is guiding and who is truly a "local" with in-depth knowledge of the history. You'd get better and more information from the Hop on Hop off bus tours than you would get with this guide. And I don't like bus tours! Definitely prefer a walking tour which is more intimate and should be able to go places a bus can't. And when we sent an email following the tour to the operator expressing our concerns and disappointment with the quality of the tour for the price, he basically turned it around and implied, we were at fault because no one ever complains about his tours. I would avoid this tour operator at all costs!
Written 23 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anastasia R
Buzau, Romania1 contribution
Jul 2019 • Friends
We had the chance to discover awesome things in Scotland and the experience was great. Best tour with the best guidance❤️
Written 20 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jack F
Pennington, NJ67 contributions
Aug 2019
If you want a local guide to make sure you hit the right spots at the right times without worrying if you have the right shoes, MAD Goat Tours is the ticket. We wanted to spend a day in the Scottish countryside while staying in Edinburgh, which put a premium on speed, efficiency, and flexibility from someone who knew the prime locations and had an opinion about the value of each. Owner/operator Rafael Fonseca checked all of those boxes. And when yours truly reserved the wrong date, he was able to accommodate me with his friend and fellow docent Mauricio, who was equally knowledgeable about the terrain and the history of Scotland.
To be sure, most visitors want the Harry Potter scenery, the Game of Thrones scenery, or the Highlander scenery. But you can also get your fill of William Wallace (Mel Gibson in Braveheart) or Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine in Outlaw King or Angus Macfadyen in Robert the Bruce). Based on the crowds, I’d say the Harry Potter fans ruled the highlands. Mauricio got us to each of the well-traveled spots (e.g., Hogwarts Express crossing the trestle outside Glencoe), but also to Eilean na Moine (the island where Albus Dumbledore was interred). We skipped Loch Ness, saving roughly eight hours of driving time (there’s no monster, and there are more scenic lochs), but made The Hermitage (beautiful waterfalls). We had layers of clothes in the boot of our private car, because temperatures and winds changed by the hour. When we were ready to leave an area, we left. We chose our dining and rest stops from multiple locations, sometimes mingling with local folk, sometimes playing our role as tourists with cameras and strange shirts.
We learned both Scottish national history (e.g., the Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1297) and local review board customs (building owners in Edinburgh’s historic districts aren’t allowed to clean the soot off the stone walls; property taxes are assessed by the number of windows on the outside of your city building leading some owners to board up perfectly good windows). We had marvelous photo and scotch-tasting opportunities (not saying we partook, but we had the opportunities). Most importantly, we got to know a genuinely positive and earnest young man who went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable, all in about 12 hours across Scottish countryside.
To be sure, most visitors want the Harry Potter scenery, the Game of Thrones scenery, or the Highlander scenery. But you can also get your fill of William Wallace (Mel Gibson in Braveheart) or Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine in Outlaw King or Angus Macfadyen in Robert the Bruce). Based on the crowds, I’d say the Harry Potter fans ruled the highlands. Mauricio got us to each of the well-traveled spots (e.g., Hogwarts Express crossing the trestle outside Glencoe), but also to Eilean na Moine (the island where Albus Dumbledore was interred). We skipped Loch Ness, saving roughly eight hours of driving time (there’s no monster, and there are more scenic lochs), but made The Hermitage (beautiful waterfalls). We had layers of clothes in the boot of our private car, because temperatures and winds changed by the hour. When we were ready to leave an area, we left. We chose our dining and rest stops from multiple locations, sometimes mingling with local folk, sometimes playing our role as tourists with cameras and strange shirts.
We learned both Scottish national history (e.g., the Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1297) and local review board customs (building owners in Edinburgh’s historic districts aren’t allowed to clean the soot off the stone walls; property taxes are assessed by the number of windows on the outside of your city building leading some owners to board up perfectly good windows). We had marvelous photo and scotch-tasting opportunities (not saying we partook, but we had the opportunities). Most importantly, we got to know a genuinely positive and earnest young man who went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable, all in about 12 hours across Scottish countryside.
Written 4 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hell yeah!
There was a lot of though putting into this review Jack, thank you very much : )!
I am very happy that I was able to pair you guys up with a guide that was competent, friendly and who did his best for you bunch to have a blast here in Scotland.
Thanks for travelling with us and for voicing your happy experience!
Cheers,
Written 4 September 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hamoud Al-Rubaian
Kuwait166 contributions
Jul 2019 • Couples
The Harry Potter tour was just amazing and magical at the same time.
There were moments where I was nostalgic just remembering the scenes and imagining them infront of me in all locations.
The scenery was out of this world,
The tour guide was so helpful and informative.
I would absolutely recommend this tour to everyone.
There were moments where I was nostalgic just remembering the scenes and imagining them infront of me in all locations.
The scenery was out of this world,
The tour guide was so helpful and informative.
I would absolutely recommend this tour to everyone.
Written 8 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leslie B
9 contributions
Aug 2018 • Couples
Did 2 tours with Mad Goat. . The first was with Rafael (owner). He picked us up at the port as scheduled. We had arranged it several months in advance. He was very easy to deal with and was always quick to communicate back with us. He customized the tour to be what ever we wanted. He knew where to go and the short cuts to take. When we stopped in the little villages he was knowledgeable about them. As much as we enjoyed our time with Rapfael we did have one negative. The next day we were scheduled for a 3 hr walking tour. When we said something to him in the afternoon, (we started the day with him at 8am), he said he was unable to do it and he could ask someone else. He said he had a tour the next day for 35 people and he needed to do that. We understood. The guy has to make a living and we were only 4. So now in the afternoon he was scrambling to get us a guide. I guess I don't understand why he didn't tell us this upfront so he had more time to work the issue. that being said, he arranged for John to be our guide after some debate. John was from Portugal but did an excellent job. He took us all over and was a walking encyclopedia of Scottish history.
Overall both did an excellent job. I gave mad goat 4 stars instead of 5 because none of the 4 of us liked the way the walking tour issue was handled. Had we been told upfront in the morning, perhaps we could have had other choices.
Overall both did an excellent job. I gave mad goat 4 stars instead of 5 because none of the 4 of us liked the way the walking tour issue was handled. Had we been told upfront in the morning, perhaps we could have had other choices.
Written 22 August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Milan V
Slovakia34 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
I highly recommend to choose Mad Goat tours. You can choose one of the trip offered, but I recommend to speak to Rafael (owner) directly to adjust tour according to your preferences. He is friendly, highly knowledgeable and will give you valuable hints.
Of course, you can also change plans as you travel.
We also bothered Rafael out of business hours as our different tour was cancelled and he was able to organize our tour in few minutes, and it was just morning 7:00AM :) Then our day was perfectly managed.
Of course, you can also change plans as you travel.
We also bothered Rafael out of business hours as our different tour was cancelled and he was able to organize our tour in few minutes, and it was just morning 7:00AM :) Then our day was perfectly managed.
Written 31 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience