Accessible tours

Finding accessible tours that suit all of your friends and family shouldn’t be difficult. Yet somehow this often seems to be the case. Not with us!

If you have a registered disability or problems with mobility, this probably doesn’t stop you living a perfectly normal life with some adjustments.

Short-sighted? You probably wear glasses.

Slower on your feet than you used to be? You probably give yourself more time and enjoy the gentler pace.

It’s the same with our accessible tours. We speak to you when we are designing them, so we can work out exactly how you will see and experience the best of Scotland, just the same as anyone else.

Remember, it’s all about you. It’s an infinite Scotland – you can create your own infinite Scotland too!

Before we meet

Contact

We want to make contacting us as simple as possible, whether you prefer short written messages, long discussions in writing, or a friendly voice on the phone.

We can even chat via WhatsApp video link if it reassures you to see the smiling face you are dealing with!

Discussing your requirements

Everyone has different requirements, and the best way for us to understand your specific needs are to find out what these are, and what they mean for you on a day to day basis.

We do this at the same time as discussing what you want to see and do in Scotland, so that rather than feeling that your accessibility needs are driving the itinerary, or that we are forcing a tour to fit in with your requirements, instead we are building a fabulous tour, from scratch, especially for you.

This is just what we do for everyone!

Research

We know that you will be doing your own research too.

Good places to start are:

Euan’s Guide – Now recognised as a worldwide resource for accessible travel, we are proud that Euan’s Guide was founded right in the heart of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. It contains listings for multiple venues and accommodation around the country, as well as visitors’ own reviews.
Individual visitor attraction, restaurant or accommodation websites – many of these have their own access statement or accessibility guide online, in a simple format, making it easy to compare across multiple sites.
Us! We visit multiple attractions, activity and accommodation providers every year. We are always spotting where they shine in their provision for those who have specific needs, and also where there could be improvements. Ask us! And if we don’t know, we will find out – whether that is through a phone call to the location, or to one of our friends in the industry, or simply visiting again ourselves.

Photos

We know that these are often the best ways to check whether a location is accessible to you or not. The majority of online accessibility guides for individual visitor attractions, restaurants, cafes or accommodation (as above) include photos.

But if they don’t, please ask us. We have a huge back-catalogue of photos, but even if the location in question doesn’t feature, we will still do our best to get photos for you.

During your tour

Customer care

All of our guides have disability awareness training and will be on hand, during the stated guiding hours, to ensure that you receive the best possible experience during your tour.

Should there be any issues during your tour that your guide or the third party provider (visitor attraction, restaurant, café or accommodation provider) is not able to resolve, please contact us as soon as you can.

Communication

Tours are delivered verbally by Infinite Scotland guides in the English language.

All guides will be happy to wear microphones or other audio-enhancers if arranged with you in advance.

Additionally some visitor attractions may offer their own written and hand-held visual guides, as well as tours in other languages including British Sign Language, to assist with accessible tours.

Getting to us

If you are on a driving tour with us, we will collect you directly from your arrival transport hub, whether this is at an airport, train or bus station; or directly from your accommodation.

We will be in the same vehicle as we will use for the rest of the tour (see below), unless otherwise discussed with you in advance.

If you are joining us on a walking tour, for example of Edinburgh, we will give clear directions to the starting point (which may even be your accommodation!) as well as recommendations for accessible transport to that point, whether using public transport (buses or trams) or a private taxi hire.

Getting around

If you are on a driving tour with us, we will discuss your requirements in advance and will reserve a vehicle specific to your needs, whether this includes a ramp, extra space for a wheelchair, or anything else. We will send and agree all details of the vehicle with you in advance.

If you are on a walking tour with us, we will discuss your requirements in advance to understand any particular restrictions or needs. From this, we will fully research and adapt the route so that you gain maximum enjoyment without having to worry about specific access requirements along the way.

To be clear, walking tours are also accessible to those in wheelchairs or other walking aids, although power-assisted wheelchairs are recommended for cities such as Edinburgh, or outdoor nature trails, which may include a few hills or slightly uneven surfaces.

Accommodation

Infinite Scotland does not book accommodation on your behalf. We do give recommendations depending on the tour itinerary, and we will liaise with accommodation providers after you have reserved your accommodation to discuss their provisions in relation to your specific accessibility requirements.

However, we recommend that you check the online accessibility guides provided by the accommodation providers on their own websites, as well as contacting them directly, to discuss your accessibility requirements with them prior to booking.

Attractions

Many of Scotland’s key visitor attractions, whether castles, distilleries or even battlefields, are accessible to all visitors with some adaptations, be they level access, ramps, lifts/elevators, hearing loops, visual aids or special opening hours.

However it is recognised that a number of our attractions are, by their very nature, historic and in some cases it is difficult to make adaptations to historic fabric or building materials.

By discussing your accessibility requirements in advance, we aim to build your very own tour incorporating those visitor attractions that are more fully accessible to you.

Where you are particularly keen to visit an attraction that is less accessible, we will explain the restrictions in advance, as well as making alternative recommendations. This way the final decision rests with you as to whether to include this attraction in your tour or not.

Euan’s Guide is a great place to start!

Hidden gems…

Never worry that Scotland’s hidden gems or out-of-the-way sites of interest are inaccessible. We know of all sorts of secret sites that can be accessed by people with physical, visual or hearing impairments, or those who simply prefer to be away from the crowds.

Indeed, Scotland is full of attractions where a sense of space and peace can be fully appreciated. Come and explore them with us!

Activities

We love to include experiences and activities in all of our tours, to really give you that sense of living and breathing Scotland. Our accessible tours are no different.

Some examples of activities that we can include in our accessible tours:

Food and drink tours, tastings and meeting the producers
Nature walks, many lower level walks also accessible to power-assisted wheelchairs
Canoeing or kayaking on one of our beautiful and peaceful lochs (lakes)
Pony trekking through our stunning hills and forests
Wildlife tours: walking (some also wheelchair accessible) or in an off-road vehicle or on a boat
“Make your own” craft courses, whether woodwork, felting or other hand-crafts
“Eat your own” cookery courses!

Some of these are delivered by third-party providers. We work with them and discuss the details both with them and with you in advance, so that all parties know exactly what adaptations will be required and how the activity will proceed from arrival to departure.

Simply contact us to start discussing your options!