Can I combine two private tours into one longer trip?
Yes. Any of my Hebridean Isles tours – the Isle of Skye on its own, or Skye combined with the Outer Hebrides — can be paired with either of my Northern Isles tours, Orkney or Shetland, into one longer private journey. The only thing that changes between combinations is whether you need a buffer day in Inverness in between, and that comes down to one simple rule: a buffer day is needed whenever the Outer Hebrides is part of the trip. If your Hebridean leg is the Isle of Skye alone, the two tours run straight into each other with no gap required at all.
My usual recommendation is to run the Northern tour first – Orkney or Shetland – and the Hebridean leg second. Orkney's crossing (via Scrabster or John o' Groats) and Shetland's overnight sailing are both considerably more weather-resilient than the Outer Hebrides' Minch crossings, so starting with the more dependable leg means any uncertainty in the trip sits at the very end, right before the one crossing that benefits from a buffer, rather than being carried through the whole itinerary. That said, this order is not fixed – depending on your travel dates, ferry sailings or your own preference, I may suggest running it in reverse. The buffer-day logic holds either way; it simply sits on whichever side of the trip borders the Outer Hebrides.
Combining Skye with Orkney or Shetland – no buffer needed
If your Hebridean leg is Skye on its own – either the 3 Day Isle of Skye and Highlands Tour or the 5 Day Isle of Skye and Highlands Tour – it can run directly alongside the 4 Day Orkney and Highlands Tour or the 5 Day Shetland and Highlands Tour with no gap in between. Skye is reached by road over the Skye Bridge rather than a ferry crossing, so there's no timing dependency to build a buffer around — we simply finish one tour and begin the next.
Combining the Outer Hebrides with Orkney or Shetland — a buffer day
If your western leg includes the Outer Hebrides — either the 4 Day Outer Hebrides Tour on its own, or the 5 Day Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye Tour – I build in a free day in Inverness immediately alongside that leg. This gives a genuine margin against the one part of any combined itinerary most exposed to disruption: the Ullapool–Stornoway crossing. Most guests are glad of the pause regardless — a chance to rest, walk along the River Ness, and explore the Highland capital at your own pace before or after the island legs of the trip.
Turning the free day into a touring day
If you would rather tour than rest, the free day can instead become a full day of Inverness-based touring, drawn from my 3 Day Cairns to Clans Private Tour – Day 1 (Culloden, Clava Cairns, Sueno's Stone, Elgin Cathedral), Day 2 (the Seaboard Trail, Tarbat Discovery Centre, the Eagle Stone, Knockfarrel) or Day 3 (Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Glen Shiel and Eilean Donan Castle) – priced at £700 for the day. Any of the three works if the Outer Hebrides tour is followed by Orkney or Shetland with nothing else planned afterward. If you're continuing on to Skye as part of the same trip, I would leave out Day 3 specifically, since it retraces the same road you'll already be driving on the way to Skye itself.
The one combination I do not currently offer
The single pairing not available at present is Orkney with Shetland directly. Both island groups reward unhurried attention in their own right, and I'd rather guide each properly as its own trip than rush the two together back to back. If Orkney and Shetland are both on your list, I'm happy to talk through the best way to see them across two separate visits.
How do I enquire about a combined tour?
The first step is simply to email me directly at info@thehebrideanexplorer.com, or complete a Tour Enquiry Form, with your ideal travel dates and which two tours you would like to combine. I will then reply with availability, the best sequencing for your dates, and a detailed tour quotation – with absolutely no obligation to proceed at this stage. I usually reply to enquiries within 24 hours.