Award-winning company takes Toro for Highland adventures

Scotland’s leading youth travel company, Haggis Adventures, has added two Optare Toro luxury mini-coaches to its 13 vehicle fleet.

The 28-seater Toros are being used by the Edinburgh-based company – part of the Radical Travel Group – on a wide range of trips around Scotland. These include tours of up to eight days aimed primarily at young, independent travellers from around the world. Since 1993 the company has carried well over 100,000 people on its tours.

Finished in the highly distinctive yellow livery of Haggis Adventures, the Toros are already a familiar sight right across the Highlands and Islands. The model’s compact size and excellent manoeuvrability make it well suited to narrow Highland roads and allows easier access to places that are off the beaten track.

Although compact in overall size, the Toro offers plenty of internal space. Passengers sit in comfortable high-back reclining seats with gangway armrests and three-point seat belts. Deep side windows afford a great view of the spectacular Highland scenery and the use of tinted glass and full-draw curtains add to the sense of luxury whilst also contributing to the maintenance of a pleasant travelling environment.

For small personal belongings there’s a full-length parcel rack, which also houses individual reading lights and air nozzles. The large rear boot and two side lockers provide plenty of luggage space and the boot has a low threshold to make loading and unloading easier.

Peter Smith, Group Operations Manager at Haggis Adventures, says: “The sleek lines of the Toro, along with the quality of its fit and finish and the fact that it’s based on a Mercedes-Benz chassis, all contribute to Haggis Adventures delivering a quality experience for travellers regardless of their budget.”

In 2006, VisitScotland named the company ‘Tourism Business of the Year’ and it was shortlisted for a Thistle Award for the high standard of its customer care. This followed success the previous year in gaining two Thistle Awards and a 5-Star Visitor Attraction rating from VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme.