40+-DAY SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS BIKE-PACK TREK (includes thru hikes of  the Great Glen Way & West Highland Way trails) and finishing with a cycling of THE NORTH COAST 500 in Scotland OR biking from Dublin to Cork-Limerick and other points in Ireland.

$2600.00 ALL INCLUSIVE W/ AIRFARE & BIKE RENTAL /  $2400 BRING YOUR OWN BIKE (SEE FULL ITINERARY BELOW)

SPOTS REMAINING:  4/5

DATES:   June 7/8, 2025 - July 15-18, 2005

 

ALL-INCLUSIVE  (Includes Round Trip airfare, from New York City. (Transportation or flights from your destination to NYC not included). All Food, trail food, camping, hotels, group dinners with guides, includes trail food to cook (while on the bike-trek in Scotland, you will cook your own food, on your own stove with your own fuel, we provide all fuel and camp food to cook, or feel free to bring your own).DOES NOT INCLUDE SNACK OR DRINK STOPS OR BOOZE IF 18+). Includes entrance fees to any museums, train tickets, etc. 

 

THE MOST POPULAR TREK! You asked for it again, the bike treks are a staple of lore in Turtles High Adventure! This bike pack Trek, consist of two thru hikes before biking. I would say its 75% hiking and 25% biking. The Biking section will be absolutely brutal, and after the hiking section of two different rails in Scotland, you will all have the option of biking in Ireland instead, from Dublin to Cork and points in between. For those of you adamant about making sure the Scottish 500 being a key part  of this Trek, reach out to me. This is our third bike-pack trek. We will be renting much better bikes than usual, as a section of this is very, very intense.Once signing up, you can bring your own bike. Keep in mind that if you do so, you will have to bring the back on various trains, as well as FLIGHTS out of Scotland into Ireland and of course from the US to the UK.  Watch the video above of some of the scenery you'll see and the insane bikers who did the entire 500 miles in three days :) The Majority of this trek are the two main hiking trails with the Bike Camping portion being the remaining days. Cowboy camping, or free camping, is part of the Scottish constitution. I free camped most nights and then when I wanted some juice for apps, or a good shower, I would camp at many legal paid campsites along the way. You will also have the option of taking the tram up to Ben Nevis, which is the UK's highest mountain.

 

 

 

We will fly into (most likely London or Paris), then either an overnight in those cities for a short flight to Edinburgh or Glasgow the next day. From there we will take the train to Inverness, and begin the Great-Glen Way, right at the official start at the base of Inverness Castle. After we complete the Great Glen Way, we will take a day at the hiking town of Fort William, and its very cool, with a giant sprawling commercial downtown. Then from there, we take the train to Milngavie for a big resupply, and start on the official national hiking trail of the West Highland Way. We finish back in Fort Williams, after some very remote hikes, and some great loch beach stays at campsites along the way. Most places take contactless and cards, but having British pounds before you head out, cant hurt.

 

This is Scotland's Route 66, there is so much to see on this bike trek, it's beyond imagination. Take a peak HERE. The circular route starts and finishes in Inverness, the unofficial Capital of the Highlands. First, the NC500 leads south-west to the Applecross peninsula, Shieldaig and the Torridon mountains. It then turns north towards Gairloch, Ullapool and the mountainous Assynt region. Not to mention the amazing castles, like THESE, that you will see en route as well as sleepy seaside towns, where we will stay for group dinners or needed showers. Majority of this route is cowboy camping. If you are not comfortable in any fashion with cowboy camping, please do not make it difficult for the rest of the group. You have an option for a single supplement that would put you in hostels or hotels if there are ones in the areas where we are cowboy camping. Many times we will be miles away from any place to stay. Keep this mind before signing up.

 

(All pictures here are our own that we or our participants have taken of our bike-pack treks in the past and are not stock photos *unless indicated as such*. Pictures below are of our last two bike-pack treks. One was biking from Copenhagen, Denmark to Berlin, Germany and the second during the worldwide lockdown with covid, we managed to go from London to Paris, and spent time in Normandy!)

 

ROUTE

GREAT GLEN WAY v

WEST HIGHLAND WAY v

ITINERARY

  • Thru hike of the Great Glen Way
  • Thru hike of the West Highland Way
  • Complete cycle of the North Coast 500 OR cycling trip in Ireland (Dublin-Cork-Limerick-Galway)
  • Meet Up in NYC on June 8/9
  • Flight to London or Paris N/S Scotland, June 8/9
  • Traditional Scottish group dinner Edinburgh 
  • Train to Inverness (one night prep, trail food shopping)
  • Begin thru hike of the Great Glen Way (acclimating hike to prep for the West Highland Way
  • Should take about a week on the Great Glen Way
  • Finish Great Glen Way in Fort Williams, one night group dinner at finish
  • Train back North to Milngavie
  • Resupply Milngavie,(Glasgow) area. Head out on the West Highland Way
  • Should take around 8-10 days on the trail and finish again at Ben Nevis and Fort Williams
  • From Fort Williams, decide as a group if you want to stay in Scotland, and do the NorthCoast 500 cycling route, in which we 
  • we then take the train again north back to Inverness or proceed to Glasgow or another airport to fly to Dublin to cycle there.
  • Finish in Dublin (regardless of where we decide to cycle). Bar-hop, explore Irish castles. Local Guide for sites
  • Return flight from US from Dublin to NYC

OTHER IMPORTANT INFO

 

  • You may sign up by yourself, with a friend, your entire family, a group, a troop or crew, or your grandfather
  • Anyone, of any age, or gender, 15+ is allowed to sign up. If you are 17 or under, you can come solo, and will quickly find you will fit right in. (Parental permission of course anyone 17 or under is required for this trek)
  • If you are signing up outside the United States, the price will change with airfare, so please reach out before signing up so we can go over a set price, with or without airfare included. 
  • Trek is all inclusive- with RT airfare, all meals, all ground transportation, hotels or hostels and all food including on trail and in towns along the way. It is advised you bring your own snacks or dietary items, or trek items you need that my trek may not provide.
  • Once you sign up, please go HERE, or at your earliest convenience to get a new ETA authorization to enter the UK. It will be good for two years. This is a new mandatory entrance requirement even for US Citizens. You can download the app, available for both Android and IOS. Reach out to me for any questions in regards to the application. The application fee is 10 pounds, and can be subtracted from the cost of the Trek total 
  • Bike-Pack treks are the most popular treks; with repeat participants. You bring your own gear, your own tenting equipment, which we carry on our backs, while cycling. We do not have a day to day itinerary. We bike until we are tired, we eat when we want as a group, we prepare our own food, using the mess kit and stoves you bring (if you want a hot meal that is), we use rented bikes that usually are not suitable for long distance biking, but we manage, its why we can keep the trek price so low. If you want a more detailed day to day itinerary, this is not for you. 
  • If you want to bring your own bike, you of course should, and can. On the registration page there is an option to sign up for those bringing their own bikes. Once you have been ticketed, you will have to go to the airlines website and add your bike as a check on. Usually it is $75-150 USD each way. If your bike can be placed in a duffel bag, and taken apart, you can probably get away with checking it as normal luggage if under 50 pounds.
  • Cowboy camping or free camping in Scotland, is part of Scottish Law, but of course so many ruin it for those like us who heavily practice LNT. Pack it in, pack it out. If you are not comfortable with free camping while cycling, reach out and you have options to stay as a solo supplement along the way.
  • A more detailed suggested packing list and gear list will be sent a month or two before departure.
  • There will be group discounts for more than one person, or if you are bringing a friend
  • Deposits can be made via Vemo, Zelle, Apple Pay, and CashApp for US Citizens only. Bank transfers or deposits are available for anyone in the US as well, but it is the only to pay for treks or deposits if outside the United States. 
  • All treks are non-refundable for any and every reason, unless the trek is completely cancelled for lack of interest
  • Trek itinerary can change at any time, for any reason, and may be related, but not limited to covid restrictions changing while on trek, acts of God, trail conditions, injuries, or for safety reasons. Every effort will be made to get around any situations which may prevent us from completing the trek. Alternate routes and the like will be discussed with the group, if for any reason we need to adjust the itinerary from which you have signed up for
  • BE FLEXIBLE. NO DRAMA. NO COMPLAINING. BE PREPARED

 

TO SIGN UP CLICK THE BLUE BOX AT THE TOP, THE REGISTRATION TAB ON THE TOP OF WEBSITE, OR CLICK HERE