My wife and I echo the previously-expressed sentiments that five stars are insufficient to rate the extraordinary excellence of our week with John. Indeed, on our flight back to North Carolina, my wife and I agreed that John is the best guide we have engaged to date anywhere in the world. His historical knowledge, geniality, and attention to detail all are first-rate, making for a wonderful, informative, and relaxing journey throughout Macdonald and Stewart lands of the Scottish Highlands and Inner Hebrides islands. (And because our trip required significant automobile travel, we add that John’s driving skills also are first-rate.)

If you book a tour with John, we encourage you to remember it is bespoke—John loved nothing more than to receive our requests for alterations of the default itinerary, which he then researched and fulfilled appropriately. We also encourage you to follow his suggestions regarding where and when to book lodging and dinners, as none of them steered us wrong. Because of John we had a memorable trip, and we cannot thank him enough.

Having just returned from our 4th tour with The Hebridean Explorer, John Macdonald, we were once again thrilled with our 5 days in the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye. Scotland is simply stunning in September, with the golden light, the misty glens and rainbows that seemed to appear around each bend—more than a dozen during our stay. John not only knows and willingly shares the rich history of the highlands and islands but takes you to viewpoints only known by the locals, whether it is a pristine beach with turquoise waters, the tallest pre-Stonehenge standing stone in Scotland that we would have never found on our own, or even an early morning jaunt to a popular tourist site that is rarely frequented so early and thus gave us our own private space to take in the view. Our only complaint was that the time flew by and we parted with John wishing for more. However, we will return, and are already planning our next adventure, since The Hebridean Explorer tours define the best of Scotland, and John Macdonald himself is the ideal guide.

In search of our ancestral Clan Donald, we found John on-line over a year ago and began planning our 6 day tour. As I write this review, memories of a most amazing trip flood my mind! This man - a scholar, a historian of all things 'Scotland', tour guide, with attention to detail, absolutely exceeded our expections! How he was able to pack so much into 6 days, still baffles my mind. We 'learned'; we laughed; we bonded! Being seniors, we had our concerns for comfort, pace of tour, aging limitation. No problem ~ very intuitive and adjusted our daily adventures accordingly. There is not enough space in this comment section to express our pure satisfaction and enjoyment in booking this tour with John. He has found his 'calling' in life. We cannot thank him enough for giving us an experience of a lifetime. Look forward to another THE HEBRIDEAN EXPLORER tour in the future.