Jacobite Steam Train tours from Edinburgh take you north to the West Highland Line and home again, by coach or private car. Some ride the train one way, some sell the ride as a dearer option, and some stop at Glenfinnan to watch it cross.
Check in 15 minutes before departure; your booking gives the start point. The coach crosses the Forth Bridge and drives the west coast to Mallaig, where you board the Jacobite for Fort William. Glen Coe and Rannoch Moor bring you home late.
From $261 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Check in at 8:00am at the bus stop outside West Register House, 17 Charlotte Square, for an 8:15am start. Callander, Glen Coe's Three Sisters and lunch in Fort William come before 90 minutes at the viaduct. You watch; you do not board.
From $60 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Leave from Castle Terrace at 7:15am or 8:15am. Entry to the Glenfinnan visitor centre and the walk to the viewpoint are in the fare, with 75 minutes to watch the train cross. There are no toilets on the bus, so use the breaks.
From $75 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Meet beside The Elephant House on George IV Bridge. The fare shown is the coach day; the dearer option adds a standard-class seat for about 2 hours 10 minutes, allocated at random. Your guide stays with the coach while you ride.
From $78 per person
Full refund if cancelled up to 21 days in advance
The 6:00am start from Frankenstein, 26 George IV Bridge. The coach-only fare cannot be refunded; the train option adds about two hours from Fort William to Mallaig. A tour manager travels with you. Eat before you board.
From $79 per person
Non-refundable: this fare cannot be cancelled or changed once booked.
Meet at 192 High Street in the Old Town. Day one runs north to Culloden and Loch Ness, with a night in Fort Augustus. Day two rides the Jacobite one way and comes home through Glen Coe. Full refund up to 14 days ahead.
From $469 per person
Full refund if cancelled up to 14 days in advance
Two nights on Skye in a three-star bed and breakfast, reached by Mercedes-Benz midi-coach by way of Loch Ness and Eilean Donan Castle. The headline fare leaves out the train; the dearer option adds it on April to October departures.
From $487 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three nights: Fort Augustus, then two on Skye. On the last morning you sail from Armadale to Mallaig and ride the Jacobite to Fort William in summer. Eilean Donan Castle entry is in the fare; refunds need 28 days' notice.
From $1,044 per person
Full refund if cancelled up to 28 days in advance
A private minivan collects you from your Edinburgh address. Water and Scottish snacks are on board, and you get 90 minutes at the viaduct to watch the train. One price covers up to four; lunch and entry tickets are extra.
From $901 per group, up to 4
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Pickup at 8:30am from your Edinburgh hotel, Airbnb or guest house. A private guide drives your party to Glenfinnan for 90 minutes at the viaduct, with snacks, water and carrots for the Highland cows. Priced per group of up to four.
From $1,063 per group, up to 4
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Board the Jacobite at Mallaig, steam across the viaduct to Fort William, then ride the coach home through Glen Coe, for $261 a person.
Check availabilityIt is a long day by coach, or a trip with nights, that starts in the capital and reaches the West Highland Line at Fort William, Glenfinnan or Mallaig. The train itself runs only from Fort William, so from Edinburgh you always travel to it first.
What changes is what you do when you get there. A ride tour puts you on the Jacobite for one leg. A train-optional tour sells that leg as an upgrade. A viewing tour stops at the Glenfinnan Viaduct so you can watch the train cross from the viewpoint, and never boards. Every card above says which one you are buying.
Ride, train optional, watch, private or with nights: you can book all of them from Edinburgh. From Inverness you can only ride, and from Glasgow only watch. If you have not decided yet, read ride the train or watch it cross first.
The cheapest way to see the train leaves from Charlotte Square, at $60 a person, with 90 minutes at the viaduct. The ride day costs $261, and the train-optional coach days start from $78 before the option.
The shared tours meet in the Old Town and New Town: Charlotte Square, Castle Terrace, George IV Bridge and High Street. The private days collect you from your hotel, guest house or Airbnb instead.
If thirteen hours in a day is too much, the two-, three- and four-day trips from Edinburgh break the road up and add Loch Ness or Skye. They are set out on multi-day tours with the train.
The departure city decides the road, the start time and the kind of tour you can buy. Here is how the three compare, from each listing's own details.
| From Edinburgh | From Inverness | From Glasgow | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ride the train | Yes, one way; or as an option | Yes, one way | No |
| Watch it cross | Yes, shared or private | No | Yes, private only |
| Day length | 10 to 14 hours | 12 hours 30 minutes | 12 hours |
| Start | From 6:00am, central Edinburgh or your hotel | Union Street | 8:30am, your hotel |
| Day tour fare | $60 to $1,063 | $261 a person | $955 per group of up to 4 |
| With nights | 2, 3 or 4 days | 3 days with Skye | None |
If you are staying in Glasgow, the West Highland Line and the private day are covered in jacobite steam train tour from glasgow. If you are in Inverness, the Jacobite day from Inverness rides the train from Fort William.
90 minutes at the viaduct and Loch Shiel, with Glen Coe on the way, for $60 a person. You watch; you do not board.
Check availabilityEvery fare, direct and on tours, is compared in Jacobite ticket prices, direct and on tours.
Anyone already in Fort William. Buy a direct return from West Coast Railways and ride the whole line both ways. The steps are in the Jacobite without a tour.
Anyone staying in Inverness. The day from Inverness rides the train and starts hours closer. See day tours with the Jacobite.
Families with children under five. Most shared day tours from Edinburgh set a minimum age of four to six. The private days list no minimum age and carry infant seats.
Anyone who cannot face thirteen hours. Take a trip with a night in it, or sleep in Fort William and book the train direct.
Tours from every city, and the direct ticket, sit side by side on Jacobite Steam Train Tours.