Loch Ness & Glencoe from Edinburgh: will you get there before dark?
Short answer: 6 Nov 2026: Glencoe at 11:00: in daylight. Sun up 07:42–16:28.
A 12-hour loop through the Highlands. Glencoe comes mid-morning and Loch Ness around lunch, so the main stops are in daylight even in December; the return through the Cairngorms is in the dark from October.
Fri 6 November 2026
Key stops in daylight
Glencoe at 11:00: in daylight. Sun up 07:42–16:28.
Glencoe out, Cairngorms back ✓
Leaves Edinburgh about 08:00, back about 20:00. Find this tour
| Stop | Arrive | Light |
|---|---|---|
| Kilmahog (Trossachs) | 20 min | Daylight the whole visit Sunrise 07:37 · sunset 16:27 |
| Glencoe (main stop) | 30 min | Daylight the whole visit Sunrise 07:42 · sunset 16:28 |
| Loch Ness at Fort Augustus (main stop) | 120 min | Sun up, but low Sunrise 07:42 · sunset 16:25 |
| Pitlochry | 30 min | Dark Sunrise 07:37 · sunset 16:23 |
Arrival times are typical for these tours; change them to match your booking and the light updates.
Book the right version
Itineraries differ between operators and change with the season, so check the stop times on the booking page and enter them above.
- Glencoe out, Cairngorms back: see tours
Through the year (main stops)
| 15th of | Glencoe out, Cairngorms back |
|---|---|
| January | In daylight |
| February | In daylight |
| March | In daylight |
| April | In daylight |
| May | In daylight |
| June | In daylight |
| July | In daylight |
| August | In daylight |
| September | In daylight |
| October | In daylight |
| November | In daylight |
| December | In daylight |
Winter months
Questions
Will it be dark at Glencoe and Loch Ness at Fort Augustus on the Loch Ness & Glencoe tour in December?
On 15 December 2026: Glencoe at 11:00: in daylight. Sun up 08:52–15:42.
In which months does the Loch Ness & Glencoe tour reach Glencoe and Loch Ness at Fort Augustus after dark?
None: with the usual timing the main stops are in daylight all year. Later stops can still be in the dark from November to January.
Which Loch Ness & Glencoe tour should I book in winter?
Pick the earliest departure you can find; every 30 minutes earlier helps in December. Enter the times from your booking above to check.
How do you work out whether a stop is in daylight?
For each stop we calculate the sun's height above the horizon every 5 minutes of the visit, at that stop's own location and on your date. "In daylight" means the sun is up for the whole visit; twilight means the sun has set but the sky is still light. Mountains and cloud make it darker earlier than the calculation shows.
Sunrise and sunset are calculated for each stop's coordinates and are accurate to about 2 minutes. Arrival times are typical for these tours as listed in 2026; traffic, weather and the operator's own timetable decide the real ones. Times are local (Europe/London).