Why Wilderness?

Seeing as you can’t test drive a holiday, the best guide you’ll get to whether a particular travel experience is any good comes from those who have been there before. With over 4,000 independent traveller reviews and an average trip rating of 4.87 out of 5, we’re confident that our customer feedback is among the very best you’ll find. And just because our rating is high, doesn’t mean we can’t improve. We’re passionate about progress – all the feedback we receive is individually reviewed to see how we can make a great travel experience even better.

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While every single aspect of our trips is important, it is our guides that have the ability to turn an already brilliant holiday into a potentially transformative travel experience. It is, for this reason, that we have invested in recruiting the very best in the business. By providing industry-leading working conditions, training opportunities, and consistent travel support, we have built a team of truly amazing individuals who are committed to delivering extraordinary experiences. Those who holiday with us agree, with 94% of clients awarding their guide the highest possible score post-trip, resulting in an average rating of 4.93 out of 5.

We also provide excellent guide-to-guest ratios. For example, on our road cycling and mountain biking adventures, we provide two fully qualified and professional guides on every trip, resulting in the best possible service on and off the trail. Similarly, with our sea kayaking trips, we work on a ratio of one guide to a maximum of four guests. 

While our commitment to guide quality, and guide-to-guest ratios, means that our trips are sometimes more expensive than the competition, we believe they are signature features of a Wilderness trip that make a real difference and deliver excellent value for money. 

Our Guides

Alongside the outstanding calibre of our guiding team, we make significant investments each year to ensure our clients can enjoy the stunning Scottish wilderness to its fullest. From our best-in-class sea kayaking equipment to our top-tier bike rental fleet – we strive for excellence and have the kit to match. In addition, while we design all trips to maximise time spent in the great outdoors, when you do travel, it’ll be from the comfort of one of our 9-seater mini-vans which are replaced every three years.

When it comes to the all-important accommodation side of things, we have spent over two decades developing and refining relationships with a wide range of hotels, lodges, guest houses and exclusive-use venues. We have two dedicated and amazing members of staff: Ruth Howarth and Fiona Johnston, who manage these relationships on a full-time basis. This personal attention means that not only will you stay at the best choice of accommodation for the trip type, but also ensures you receive the highest standard of service when you arrive.

Our passionate and loyal Office Team have an incredible wealth of experience in operating trips throughout Scotland and in the rest of the UK – resulting in an almost encyclopaedic local knowledge of the mountains, coasts, towns and cities in which we live. This expertise allows us to craft inspiring and innovative trips that are guaranteed to exceed expectations. 

As well as drawing upon the Wilderness team’s knowledge, each trip is subject to countless hours of behind-the-scenes research in both the office and the field. Our know-how and relationships throughout the country mean you’ll not only explore places far beyond the tourist map but also sample those experiences not found in any guidebook. With the logistics taken care of, you can simply enjoy your holiday exactly the way you wish to. 

We’ll never offer a new itinerary unless we believe in it 100% and are confident it will be met with the same delight and enjoyment experienced on our current range of 70+ trips.

We feel lucky to live and work in such an incredible country. Looking after the environment which provides the amazing natural canvas for our adventures is not only the right thing to do but also makes sound business sense.

Sustainability and Scotland’s wild places are important to us and therefore we are working decisively towards a sustainable future. With an industry-leading position on climate change, we are dedicated to achieving true net zero by 2030. In 2021 we implemented a carbon-labelling project that allows us to measure the carbon impact of the entire business, as well as each and every trip. This data means that we can accurately record our impact and work on removing, reducing and mitigating our carbon output.

Our Wilderness Conservation and Community Fund is another important project. Since its launch, our Wilderness Conservation and Community Fund has raised more than £50,000 for grassroots environmental protection and is one of the reasons why we’ve twice won the Best Green Tour Operator at the World Travel Awards. 

Wilderness Sustainability