Sustainable Wildlife Cruising on the West Coast of Scotland since 1996
Hebrides Cruises is a family-run business and the leading luxury wildlife cruise company on the west coast of Scotland, owning and operating three ocean-going vessels. Owner Rob Barlow has been introducing people to the islands of the West Coast of Scotland for the past 29 years.
Rob and his son-in-law James Fairbairns are qualified Skippers and Rob’s daughter Emma Fairbairns is Shore Manager, the helpful contact for guests from their first communication to post-cruise feedback.
We are very fortunate that the majority of our crew members return to us. Through having a continuous relationship with us, our crews have a shared bank of knowledge about our vessels, our guest hospitality, our itineraries and anchorages and the wildlife which greatly enhances the service they provide for our guests.
All our crew members are highly qualified in their various disciplines. Every post-cruise review we receive from our guests praises the crew on their cruise!
We were very honoured to received a double award at the 2023 Herald Scottish Family Business Awards, firstly for Customer Service Excellence and then for the overall micro Scottish Family Business of the Year.
Sustainability and a love of nature is at the heart of our company and we are proud to have gained the Green Tourism Gold Award standard for the third year, with a very high percentage level of passes.
Hebrides Cruises is WiSe accredited. The Wildlife Safe Scheme (WiSe) is the British standard for wildlife watching which provides training and accreditation for wildlife cruise operators and many other types of craft. The scheme advises operators on how best to view and interact with marine wildlife while minimising disturbance. In 2017 Rob was awarded the Gold WiSe Standard at a WiSe ‘Masters’ Course Read more about Rob's WiSe Gold Standard Award here>
We are very proud to have been closely associated with the development of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) "Whale Track App" followed by testing the App on board our ships prior to its launch. In October 2018 we were very pleased to support the work of HWDT by becoming a Corporate Partner.
Hello Emma - As you can see from the grades that we have put below, we could not have been more pleased with our time on Elizabeth G. We were blessed with exceptionally fine weather which obviously colours our views a little, but our enjoyment of the whole time would not have been anywhere as much had it not been for the service we received. Food was excellent, leaving nothing to be desired. Wildlife sightings were exceptional including all the bird life that we expected, plus bonuses like Snowy owl, Humpback whale, Sunfish, Risso’s dolphin, Minke whale and very close encounters with a large pod of common dolphins. All of these were made possible by the local knowledge and skill at spotting of the crew. Onshore trips were well organised and we visited and also moored in some beautiful places. Many thanks for making this holiday such a memorable experience. We would recommend it to anyone, especially people who enjoy good food, natural history and beautiful scenery. Jim & Margaret Oakley.
Jim Oakley: 17 July 2021St Kilda and the isles of the Outer Hebrides