About Us

Why choose Macleod Heilan Tours?

Heilan is a word we use here in Scotland meaning "Highland." We are a tour company with a strong focus on visiting this area more specifically the Isle of Skye so we thought this would resinate well in the naming of our "wee" tour company.

With an abundance of beauty, history and culture here in Scotland it would only be right to plan your trip with advisors who know the lay of the land and where to find its hidden gems to ensure you make the most of your trip.

Unlike bigger coach tours we will craft the journey to your exact details, whilst on tour we are always looking how to improve your experience by remaining dynamic and changing the tour to suit weather and any other factors that might influence the overall experience.

We have many starting locations around Scotland to choose from with local experienced guides & partners ready to work hard to ensure they deliver the best experience possible for you.

Choosing us you will ensure you ride in style with our fleet of luxury minivans all equipped with the latest comforts, technologies (usb/usc ports) and dual climate air conditioning ready to give you a comfortable touring experience ready to create memories that will last a lifetime.

Our Story

Macleod Heilan Tours was formed on St Andrews Day, 2022. Based just outside Glasgow in the small town of Troon, South Ayrshire, it provides private guided tours around Scotland with our usual starting points in the cities of Edinburgh & Glasgow along with the Isle of Skye.

Company founder and owner John Sheedy was born and raised on the island of Skye. It was important to him to use the Macleod name as it is the clan his mother was born into. His vision was to showcase some of Scotlands finest scenery along with sharing stories of the deep history & culture attached to the land and its people to give guests lasting memories of the trip of a lifetime to this spectacular wee country we call Scotland.

Our Fleet

We use a mixture of Mercedes V-Class and Ford Custom Tourneo minivans for our tours, which provide ample space and luxury standard comfort with leather interiors in each vehicle, along with charging ports for mobile devices.

In addition to the onboard comforts, we are continually working to renew our vehicles to help reduce our carbon footprint and are about to welcome a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) into the fleet for the 2025 season.

Our guides will always walk you through the vehicle at the start of each tour to ensure you enjoy your experience onboard.

Driver Guide Team

We take pride in our outstanding core team of driver guides, each with extensive experience in the tourism industry.

Many of our guides have transitioned from coach tours because they are dedicated to showcasing Scotland in a way that truly highlights its beauty—far from the rushed, mixed group experiences. Our day tours on Skye are led by local experts who share invaluable insights that only true locals can provide.

With a proven track record of five-star reviews for all our guides from last season, we are confident in our ability to maintain this reputation in the year ahead.

Owner & Founder

Born on the Isle of Skye in the small fishing village of Kyleakin - the gateway to the island. John speaks fondly of his memories of the Skye and the CalMac ferries that serviced the island before it was connected to the mainland by the, now famous, Skye Bridge. His family served on the ferries which has given him some great memories of an era preserved in time.

He left the island in 2005 to pursue his own nautical experience, but instead chose to go under the sea rather than sail the seas. He joined the Submarine service, serving in the Royal Navy for 14 years. He routinely trained in the waters around the Isle of Skye, seeing his village from periscope depth on numerous occasions.

John then went in pursuit of a new challenge, although still out of the ordinary 9-5, he tried his hand at offshore oil and gas in the North Sea for 3 years before realising his real passion was exploring his country & sharing that with guests from all around the World.

One of his favourite activities is hiking and when it comes to hiking what better place to live than Scotland, where it is famous for its Munro mountains (Mountains above 3000ft.) He is a "Munro Bagger" and is working his way to becoming a "completist" and climb all 282 Munro Mountains.