Castle Bagging is Castle Hunting and there are about 300 castles in Aberdeenshire. Karl, our tour guide has taken people all over the UK and Europe and now he only takes people around his home turf in Scotland. Lucky for visitors to Aberdeen as Karl is unbelievably knowledgeable, only does small groups and makes sure every single person has a good time. Had lunch at Fraser Castle. Saw 5 castles, then Karl took us to a hidden castle ruin, way off the tourist trail, and a Pictish circle! An excellent tour with an excellent guide. He even knows where the pet cemeteries are.

Went on a lovely drive through the Highlands with stops at a very nice cafe and arrived at Loch Ness having been entertained and informed of everything we could ask by Karl, our great guide. Karl has been touring people around the UK and Europe for years and now sticks to his home county of Aberdeenshire. A true professional, Karl makes sure everyone in his groups is having a nice time. Took a boat to Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, has time to climb around, went back, and had a lovely, informative ride through the Highlands back. No monsters tho!

We booked two tours - each on a different day. Our guide on both days was Carl. Carl was great!! Carl shared his knowledge of the area and took us to beautiful places. He went out of his way to make sure we were able to see things we were interested in seeing. He had great recommendations on meals. Can't say enough about how good Carl was as our guide.

Today, my husband and I did the Balmoral Castle tour. This was an excellent way to spend the day. It's about a 1.5 hour drive to the castle where our guide Carl filled us in with all kinds of stories and facts about the area. Once there, we explored the church and then headed to the castle. I loved that we had over 2.5 hours to explore the grounds on our own and still have plenty of time for lunch and a walk around the river. We chose the option of going to the distillery which was a quaint and personalized experience. We were also lucky enough to set the salmon jumping in the river. Overall, it was an excellent tour, loved our guide, the mix of sites was good, as was being with a very small group.

I tried to book Aberdeen tours by sending an email request. Karl replied he would open that date for us. He then replied and hour later we were too late and someone else had booked the day. He obviously does not want custome nor understands how to work with his potentail customers.

I did a private tour with Karl (he does groups of no more than 8, but I booked him out for the day). I had a list of castles that had been recommended to me, and he reviewed it and I let him decide where to go. Which was a good idea. We stopped at a number of different, incredible castles - each with deep history that he knew a lot about. We also went to Old Aberdeen, stopped at some fantastic churches, a Stone Circle, a waterfall where we saw salmon trying to get upstream and through amazing country roads and breathtaking vistas. We finished the tour with some delicious ice cream at a lovely beachside spot. Carl had great insight into not just the history, but current status of the landowners, how the castles are maintained and he is an expert in identifying the local flora. It was a delightful day and I highly recommend using Karl and his service.

Anyone planning to take a tour in the countryside parting from Aberdeen must contact this company. I had the pleasure to have Karl guide us to the Castle of Balmoral and there was not one single moment when this man was not unwinding stories of Scotland and its surroundings. He explained everything in a wonderful and lively storyteller manner. Absolutely worth the price. A must do when coming to Aberdeen.

Pick up point was by the information centre in Union Street. Karl was a great tour guide had a wealth of knowledge and a good sense of humour.He asked us before the tour what we would like to see so he had an idea where to go .The vehicle was very comfortable 6 people on trip nice number. Everywhere we went was beautiful scenery and was given time to take photos. We stopped for a break in Ballater for something to eat own expense ,we eat in Victoria's café had a lovely roast beef never tasted such flavours and beef melted in your mouth very reasonable. Moved on to other areas around Royal Deeside again great views. This time of year it gets dark quicker but the weather was kind to us enabling us to see what we saw .On return to Aberdeen it started to rain but it was dark so we did not miss anything Karl dropped us back at our hotel which helped us not get wet. It was a great trip and as we have not been to Aberdeen before it gave us an insight beyond Aberdeen.

Loch Ness is worth visiting without a tour, but the tour made it even more special. We were lucky with a good weather. Got to see a lot.

Our group booked 3 private tour dates with Aberdeen Tours. We were hoping that they would guide us to all of the "must see sites and locations" in Aberdeen area. Our expectations were completely exceeded! Karl was a very knowledgeable guide who provided options for our agenda, local lore and interesting facts. He was extremely flexible and very patient with our many questions and the diverse interests of our group. He also willingly provided suggestions for additional items to see, do, and places to enjoy local libations on the days we were on our own. I would highly recommend Aberdeen Tours to anyone looking for a fantastic Scottish experience. It represented excellent value for the money, and certainly showed us areas of Scotland we would not have seen left to our own devices.

This was such an enjoyable day, easy pick-up, lovely drive to fascinating places, plenty of time to appreciate Loch Ness, fascinating sights at every stop and Carl with his wealth of interesting information. Nice to be in a small, friendly group, I was traveling alone, not in a huge coach. Very good value for money. Sorry I had to leave quickly at the end so did not have the opportunity to thank you personally for the day.

Looking for day tours starting from Aberdeen? Look no further otherwise you will be wasting off your money. Contact Carl and leave the rest in his professional hands. Carl is a driving encyclopedia!! He goes out of his way to make sure that clients are well served with all the history.......no matter whether it rains or not. Well done Carl and keep up with the excellent work. Sometime you ought to visit Malta and have a taste of our local ice cream :) William & Joyce MALTA

Had a great day out on this tour - Karl is so full of information, you are guaranteed to learn something, whether Scottish history, industry, or flora and fauna along the roadside. I second the comments on his impeccable van and driving, and only wish we were in town longer to take another tour with Karl!

We toured with Carl around Balmoral yesterday and it was a fantastic experience! He was so knowledgeable and very witty. The tour was amazing! We visited Carthie Kirk, Balmoral, Royal Whisky distillery, the River Feuge and a drive around the country side. It was a perfect day!

Karl took us to the Glenfiddich & Glenlivet distilleries for walking tours & tasting. He was right on time showed up and delivered exactly what was represented. We were very pleased. He was even accommodating enough to drop one of the stops and add another at our request. More than we expected or could have asked for. I would highly, highly recommend Aberdeen Tours to anyone planning to visit Aberdeen and have an interest in the Whisky tours.