Hebrides Sea Safari review: exploring Scotland’s wild west
No passport needed for this island-hopping expedition to Jura and beyond – just a steady pair of sea legs
Back in 2019, Scotland might have seemed like an odd destination for a newly launched safari. Now, after four years of flight cancellations, strikes and protests – when foreign travel wasn’t banned outright – this Hebridean island adventure is bang on trend.
What you need to know
Glenapp Castle, a five-star hotel on the Ayrshire coast, offers the sea safari as part of a four-night package. Guests spend the first two nights in the castle, enjoying its luxury suites and extensive woods and gardens. Then comes the main event: a private three-day voyage through the inner Hebrides on the hotel’s own boat.
The itinerary can be tailored to the interests of those aboard, adding history, wildlife and whisky according to taste. By day you will zip between islands on a high-power motorboat, jumping ashore to visit the ruin of an early Christian chapel – or a modern distillery. Then, each evening, you will return to a rocky headland on the eastern edge of Jura, where you will sleep in Glenapp’s well-furnished tents, surrounded on three sides by the sea.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What makes it special?
The Hebridean sea safari may differ in a few key details from the classic African game drive (a boat instead of a 4x4, sea lions instead of the land-based variety), but the call of the wild is still loud and clear. In fact, some of the places I visited when I joined a trip earlier this summer are accessible only by private boat, and get fewer visitors all year than the Serengeti does in a day.
The wildlife was no less plentiful, either. I saw a minke whale, a common sight here, as are Atlantic seals and porpoises. Twitchers will be in their element, too: one small island alone, Ailsa Craig, is home to 40,000 birds, including puffins, guillemots, gannets and razorbills. Further north, I saw an osprey and then a sea eagle chick on its nest, an unnerving combination of youthful plumage and a beak that already meant business.
As on a more traditional safari, we had an expert guide – a marine biologist, who passed on her knowledge and enthusiasm for this landscape and everything that lives in it. The evening we spent with the whale was the most memorable, watching for the waterspout, seeing her back rise through the waves two or three times, then once more, arching more steeply, before she dived back into the deep. Ten minutes later we would see the waterspout again, half a mile away, catching the golden evening light.
Board and lodging
It would be hard to imagine a more perfect campsite, perched on the water’s edge. Each tent, which is large enough to stand in, comes equipped with a proper double bed, linens from the hotel and a candelabra carrying dozens of tea lights – a glimmering treat to welcome you in from the campfire after dinner and a dram. The food is prepared by a chef who travels ahead to prepare a three-course meal in the evening – including mackerel you catch yourself, if you have the time and skill. At breakfast, the bracing full Scottish of haggis, bacon, sausages, eggs and all the usual trimmings is self-recommending.
A private five-day, four-night Hebridean Sea Safari starts from £15,950 for two people, half board while at Glenapp Castle and all-inclusive while at sea. Holden Frith travelled as a guest of Glenapp Castle on a shorter itinerary. See the hotel website for more information or to discuss bespoke options
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Holden Frith is The Week’s digital director. He also makes regular appearances on “The Week Unwrapped”, speaking about subjects as diverse as vaccine development and bionic bomb-sniffing locusts. He joined The Week in 2013, spending five years editing the magazine’s website. Before that, he was deputy digital editor at The Sunday Times. He has also been TheTimes.co.uk’s technology editor and the launch editor of Wired magazine’s UK website. Holden has worked in journalism for nearly two decades, having started his professional career while completing an English literature degree at Cambridge University. He followed that with a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago. A keen photographer, he also writes travel features whenever he gets the chance.
-
What the chancellor's pension megafund plans mean for your money
Rachel Reeves wants pension schemes to merge and back UK infrastructure – but is it putting your money at risk?
By Marc Shoffman, The Week UK Published
-
Why Māori are protesting in New Zealand
A controversial bill has ignited a 'flashpoint in race relations' as opponents claim it will undermine the rights of Indigenous people
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 21, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Outer Hebrides: a top travel destination
The Week Recommends Discover 'unspoiled beauty' of the Western Isles
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
Discovering Perthshire, a Scottish wonderland
In Depth Make your own magic in this gateway to the Highlands
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
A foodie guide to St Andrews
The Week Recommends The Scottish seaside town has it all, from cheese toastie shacks to Michelin-starred restaurants
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
10 spectacular hotels for golfers that have just the right swing
The Week Recommends These properties are stunners off the links and on
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Isles of Scilly: discover the abundant joys of island life
The Week Recommends Ramble, sail and feast your way around Scilly to experience a region like no other
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Discover the raw beauty of Orkney's northern isles
The Week Recommends The archipelago is home to a collection of 'fabulous archaeological sites'
By The Week UK Published
-
Three Chimneys restaurant and The House Over-By review: Skye's sumptuous rural hideaway
The Week Recommends The award-winning restaurant with rooms is well worth battling the elements to reach
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
Mexico City travel guide: art and design
The Week Recommends Modern vibrancy, design legacy and ancient heritage puts Mexico's jewel alongside other art capitals of the world
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published