Step into the pages of Scotland’s most beloved stories on this unforgettable 8-day literary journey. From the cobbled closes of Edinburgh, a UNESCO City of Literature, to the rugged Highlands that inspired legends like Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, you’ll experience Scotland through the eyes of its greatest writers. Along the way, enjoy cozy afternoon teas, guided walks through historic castles and battlefields, and evenings filled with storytelling, music, and camaraderie. Perfect for book lovers and adventurers alike, this tour blends culture, history, and literature into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Explore Scotland with an exclusive small group of women. This trip is being co-run by The Book Club Tour and The Selkie Sisters.
We intentionally keep this group small — just 12 women — and we hand-select each guest to make sure the group dynamic is right. A good book club depends on the people around the table, and so does this tour.
The application takes about two minutes. Just tell us a little about yourself, your reading life, and what draws you to Scotland. We’ll be in touch shortly, usually within a few days.
To sign up for this tour, please fill out this application or hit the Apply Here button, and we will get back to you very soon!
Questions before you apply? Email us at thebookclubtour@gmail.com — we love hearing from you.
This trip will cover a large part of Scotland, beginning and ending in Edinburgh. We will explore Edinburgh, home to many famous writers; we then head to the Highlands to explore Outlander sites and iconic Scottish landscapes and history. Here are a few things we will be experiencing on the tour:
This isn’t just a tour, it’s a book club that comes to life. Before we leave, we’ll be reading, discussing, and falling deeper in love with Scotland through its literature, so that when we finally stand in these places, we’re ready to feel everything.
After your application is accepted, you’ll be welcomed into a private group with reading guides, discussion prompts, and optional Zoom calls to get to know your fellow travelers before you meet in Edinburgh. There’s a good mix of classic and modern, fiction and nonfiction — something for every kind of reader.
Not a fast reader? No problem. Audiobooks count. Movies count. Even reading one or two books will make the experience richer. Here’s where we’d suggest starting:
The full reading guide arrives after booking, but here’s a taste of what we’ll be reading our way through.
| Outlander Diana Gabaldon | Lallybroch, Culloden, Clava Cairns. Read it and weep. Then read it again. |
| Rob Roy Sir Walter Scott | His grave is in Balquhidder. We’ll hike Glen Shiel in his footsteps. Start here. |
| Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson | A Highland chase through the exact landscapes we’ll be crossing. |
| The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde R.L. Stevenson | Written in Edinburgh. Walk Deacon Brodie’s close on Day 1 and it all clicks. |
| The Bookseller of Inverness S.G. MacLean | Set in the shadow of Culloden — perfect reading for our final days in the Highlands. |
| Highland Witch Susan Fletcher | Haunting novel set at Glencoe. Bring tissues. |
| Sunset Song Lewis Grassic Gibbon | Scotland’s soul in a single book. |
| The Highland Clans Alistair Moffat | Our nonfiction anchor — and Alistair joins us for dinner on the final night. |
| Selected Poems Robert Burns | Read “The Birks of Aberfeldy” before Day 5. You’ll hear it read aloud where Burns wrote it. |
| Knots & Crosses Ian Rankin | For the crime fiction lovers — we’ll walk through Rebus country on the Fife Coast. |
| The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame | Optional but delightful — our welcome dinner is held in his childhood home. |
Audiobooks count. Movies count. Anything that gets the story into your bones before you arrive — counts.
What’s Covered:
Cari and MacKenzie are two sisters bound by a shared belief that the best travel isn’t sightseeing, it’s listening. Listening to the soul of a place through its people, its stories, and the landscape that shaped them both.
Cari knows the UK not as a tourist, but as someone who packed up her entire life (husband, four kids, and all) and moved there. For three years she wandered through castle ruins and village lanes, mastered the art of a proper cuppa, and built an ever-growing network of local artists, historians, and storytellers who share their world with her guests in ways no guidebook can replicate. She doesn’t just know Scotland. She knows the people of Scotland.
MacKenzie believes a great journey begins long before you board the plane. She prepares for every trip by building the perfect playlist, diving deep into the literature, and letting the stories take over her imagination, so that when she finally stands in the place, she’s ready to feel everything. For a literary tour, that instinct isn’t just a bonus. It’s exactly the right guide to have beside you.
Together through Selkie Sisters Travel, they design experiences where the magic of a place is felt as much as it’s seen and where the friendships formed along the way become part of the story too.
Two sisters, bound by their love of books, stories, and the magic of travel, wander the world where myth and reality meet. Like selkies of old, they are drawn to distant shores, forever balancing the pull of home with the call of the unknown. Rooted in the present but guided by the past, these Selkie Sisters weave ethereal narratives that transport others—inviting them to trade the ordinary for the transformative, to feel the ache of wanderlust, and to return changed. Every journey, like every story, leaves a mark on the soul.
Vanessa’s love of Scotland isn’t borrowed from a book — it started in childhood, when she lived there while her grandmother pursued her PhD in British Literature. Those formative years shaped everything: her passion for literary history, her instinct for finding the story behind the landscape, and her conviction that the best way to understand a great book is to stand where it was written.
Years later, as a teenager, she and her grandmother discovered Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander together, listening to all the books on audio together on road trips. The highlands she had walked as a child suddenly had a whole new layer of story. She’s never quite recovered.
She’s been returning to Scotland ever since, tracing the footsteps of Burns, Scott, and Stevenson through cobbled closes and windswept glens. As founder of The Book Club Tour and host of the Brit Lit Book Club podcast, she’s spent years helping readers move from the page to the place, and this tour is the one closest to her heart.
Tamara has always been a bookworm, finding childhood kindred spirits in Matilda, Anne Shirley, and Ramona. Her love affair with books continued through college years spent working as a bookseller, a literary study abroad in the UK, and habitually starting book clubs (five at last count).
She has worn many hats, most notably as a National Park ranger in Alaska and an elementary school teacher. These days you will find her helping run an online business with her husband and homeschooling her two children in Tennessee. She is very excited to team up with Vanessa for Book Club Tours, which combines her favorite things; books, travel, and friends.
The Scottish Book Club Tour is priced at $7,500 per person (double occupancy).
That’s 8 days in Scotland — 7 nights of accommodation, most meals, all entrance fees and activities, private transportation throughout, and three expert guides who have taken care of every single detail so you don’t have to think about a thing except showing up and falling in love with Scotland.
Broken down, you’re looking at just over $900 per day for a fully curated, small-group literary experience with a maximum of 12 women. No planning, no logistics, no eating alone, no wondering if you’re missing something better around the corner. Just the best of literary Scotland, thoughtfully arranged for you.
What’s included:
Not included: Flights to/from Edinburgh, travel insurance, alcohol, and personal spending money.
To secure your spot: A deposit of $500 holds your place, with the full balance due 30 days before departure. Payment plans are available — just ask.
If you would like your own room, a $1500 single supplement will be applied.
The Scottish Book Club Tour is for like-minded women who have a deep appreciation for Scottish literature and culture. There will be a fun and interactive book club leading up to the trip, where we can all get to know each other and get to know the authors before we walk in their footsteps together. This trip is meant to be educational, relaxing, communal, and fun!
The Scottish Book Club Tour does require a good amount of walking. Please be sure you are physically fit enough to walk several miles daily.
We will be using a large van for transportation. If you suffer from car sickness, please keep this in mind and plan accordingly.
We will only be allowing only 12 participants on the Scottish Book Club Tour. We want to keep this group small so that we will be able to take private tours, enjoy dining together, and bond over our love of literature. You’re sure to make friends for life on this trip!
The cost for the Scottish Book Club Tour is:
Absolutely! We can set up a payment plan, just get in touch.
A deposit of $500 is required to secure your place on this tour.
All payments must be made in full 30 days prior to departure.
Your deposit is nonrefundable. If you cancel after making payment in full, if we find a replacement, we will refund you your payment.
Please fill out the application here. We’ll be in touch shortly with more information! If you have any questions before booking, please email us at thebookclubtour@gmail.com
