Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

This privacy policy notice is for this website; www.macbackpackers.com served by MacBackpackers Limited, 15 Johnston Terrace, EH1 2PW, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and governs the privacy of those who use it. The purpose of this policy is to explain to you how we control, process, handle and protect your personal information while browsing or using this website, including your rights under current laws and regulations. If you do not agree to the following policy you may wish to cease viewing / using this website.

Policy key definitions:

"I", "our", "us", or "we" refer to the business, MacBackpackers Limited.
"You", or "the user" refers to the person/people using this website.
GDPR means General Data Protection Act.
PECR means Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulation.
ICO means Information Commissioner's Office.
Cookies mean a packet of data sent by an internet server to a browser and returned by the browser each time it subsequently accesses the same server; used to identify the user or track their access to the server.

Processing of your personal data

Under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) we control and/or process any personal information about you electronically using the following lawful bases.

We are registered with the ICO under the Data Protection Register, our registration number is A8354915.

  • Consent
    Consent is used in lawful basis to keep you updated with special offers, promotions, marketing and newsletters. If you give your consent to use your data for these purposes, the data needed is added to our customer database. You can find more information about how your data is processed from 'Email marketing messages and subscriptions'. We will continue to process your information on this basis until you withdraw consent or it is determined your consent no longer exists. We do not share your information with third parties and withdrawing consent can be done either directly with our EMS or by contacting us.
  • Contract
    In order to get you on tour to explore Bonnie Scotland and to make sure that all your travel arrangements run smoothly, we need to use the personal information, which you provide to us, such as, name, contact details, any special requirements, etc. Your information is processed in our booking system. We share your personal information with third parties and they include; accommodation used on tours and other suppliers directly related to the tour. However, we never give your data to any party not involved in supplying or arranging your tour. We shall continue to process your information until the contract between us ends or is terminated under any contract terms.
  • Legal obligation
    We need to process the personal data to comply with a common law or statutory obligation. If necessary, your information might be shared to comply with these obligations. However, we do not share your data to any third parties not directly related to legal obligation.
  • Legitimate interests
    We have a legitimate business interest to use the personal information we collect from you to offer an effective service and carry out our business. We will not share your data with any third parties and always make sure that it has a minimal privacy impact.

If, as determined by us, the lawful basis upon which we process your personal information changes, we will notify you about the change and any new lawful basis to be used if required. We shall stop processing your personal information if the lawful basis used is no longer relevant.

Your individual rights

Under the GDPR your rights are as follows. You can read more about your rights in details here;

  • The right to be informed
  • The right of access
  • The right to rectification
  • The right to erasure
  • The right to restrict processing
  • The right to data portability
  • The right to object
  • The right not to be subject to automated decision-making including profiling

You also have the right to complain to the ICO if you feel there is a problem with the way we are handling your data.

We handle subject access requests in accordance with the GDPR.

Internet cookies

We use cookies on this website to provide you with a better user experience. We do this by placing a small text file on your device/computer hard drive to track how you use the website, to record or log whether you have seen particular messages that we display, to keep you logged into the website where applicable, to display relevant adverts or content, referred you to a third party website.

Some cookies are required to enjoy and use the full functionality of this website.

We use a cookie control system which allows you to accept the use of cookies and control which cookies are saved to your device/computer. Some cookies will be saved for specific time periods, where others may last indefinitely. Your web browser should provide you with the controls to manage and delete cookies from your device, please see your web browser options.

The site uses the following cookies:

google.com: 1P_JAR, APISID, CONSENT, HSID, NID, OGP, OGPC, S, SAPISID, SID, SIDCC

macbackpackers.com: PHPSESSID, _ok, _okac, _okbk, _okck, _okdetect, _okla, _oklv, cpsession, hblid, olfsk, timezone, wcsid

nrpc.olark.com: X-Mapping-fjhppofk

tourradar.com: _ga

www.tourradar.com: ci_session, geoip, tr_cookies

pbs.twimg.com: gsScrollPos

cdn.syndication.twimg.com: lang

twitter.com: _ga, _twittersess, auth_token, csrf_same_site_set, dnt, eu_cn, guest_id, kdt, mobile_metrics_token, personalization_id, remember_checked_on, syndication_guest_id, tfw_exp, twid

syndication.twitter.com: lang


Data security and protection

We ensure the security of any personal information we hold by using secure data storage technologies and precise procedures in how we store, access and manage that information. Our methods meet the GDPR compliance requirement.

Transparent Privacy Explanations

We have provided some further explanations about user privacy and the way we use this website to help promote a transparent and honest user privacy methodology.

Sponsored links, affiliate tracking & commissions

Our website may contain adverts, sponsored and affiliate links on some pages. These are typically served by our advertising partners or are self-served through our own means. We only use trusted advertising partners who each have high standards of user privacy and security. However, we do not control the actual adverts seen/displayed by our advertising partners. Our ad partners may collect data and use cookies for ad personalisation and measurement. Where ad preferences are requested as 'non-personalised' cookies may still be used for frequency capping, aggregated ad reporting and to combat fraud and abuse.

Clickable sponsored or affiliate links may be displayed as a website URL like this; www.scotlandstophostels.com or as a titled text link like this: Scotland's Top Hostels.

Clicking on any adverts, sponsored or affiliate links may track your actions by using a cookie saved to your device. Your actions are usually recorded as a referral from our website by this cookie.

If you have any concerns about this we suggest you do not click on any adverts, sponsored or affiliate links found throughout the website.

Email marketing messages & subscription

Under the GDPR we use the consent lawful basis for anyone subscribing to our newsletter or marketing mailing list. We only collect certain data about you, as detailed in the "Processing of your personal data" above. Any email marketing messages we send are done so through an EMS, email marketing service provider. An EMS is a third party service provider of software/applications that allows marketers to send out email marketing campaigns to a list of users.

Email marketing messages that we send may contain tracking beacons / tracked clickable links or similar server technologies in order to track subscriber activity within email marketing messages. Where used, such marketing messages may record a range of data such as; times, dates, I.P addresses, opens, clicks, forwards, geographic and demographic data. Such data, within its limitations, will show the activity each subscriber made for that email campaign.

Any email marketing messages we send are in accordance with the GDPR and the PECR. We provide you with an easy method to withdraw your consent (unsubscribe) or manage your preferences / the information we hold about you at any time. See any marketing messages for instructions on how to unsubscribe or manage your preferences, you can also unsubscribe from all MailChimp lists, by following this link, otherwise, contact the EMS provider.

Our EMS provider is; MailChimp. We hold the following information about you within our EMS system;

  • Email address
  • I.P address
  • Subscription time and date
  • Name, country, etc. if applicable

 

If you have any further questions about how we handle your data, you can contact us:

  • By phone: +44 (0)131 558 9900
  • By email: info@macbackpackers.com
  • By post: Privacy Manager, 105 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SG, United Kingdom

Featured Reviews

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Mirelle said...

What an amazing 5 days! This doesn't even feel like a "tour" in the traditional sense, but more like a bunch of awesome people road tripping around the picturesque Scottish Highlands. Our guide Richard was so knowledgeable…
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  • Image for Days are getting shorter and darker, so we decided to put some colours on the buses. Matches great with autumn foliage.
  • Image for Even in the busy summer months we manage to find stunning places off the beaten track.
  • Image for Sometimes it's hard to believe how big Scotland is. Even after all these years, we discover new stunning places to show you. Adventures like these set us apart from anyone else!
  • Image for Happy #coosday!
  • Image for Happy September, everyone! According to our Facebook poll, it seems that most of you prefer Scotland in autumn rather than spring. It's still all warm and green, but we're not far away from those magnificent autumn colours.
  • Image for The summer hols might be almost over, but going back to uni has never been this good! Because this year, we've got some exciting news for all the students! For the first time ever, we're introducing brand new student prices. Students get £10 discount on t
  • Image for Who's ready for an adventure?
  • Image for A couple of weeks ago @girlaboutglobe jumped on our 5 Day Skye and Highland Fling. If you are thinking about travelling solo check out her Insta & blog for great tips.☝️
  • Image for Ever seen Rob Roy, Monarch of the Glen or Outlaw King? Then you probably recognise these celebrity hairy coos.
  • Image for Happy Summer Bank Holiday!☀️ Hope you all had a fantastic long weekend. Today is also the last day of @edfringe. This can only mean one thing; the universities will start again in a couple of weeks. Follow us for amazing student deals!
  • Image for It doesn't get more Scottish than this!
  • Image for Enjoy the long weekend!
  • Image for Did you know that the famous Glenfinnan viaduct opened more than 100 years ago in 1901?
  • Image for Happy #Coosday! 
Once again thanks for the amazing pic @kaihyde
  • Image for Happy World Photo Day!
  • Image for We love to see your fantastic photos. Thanks so much for this beauty, @at.pennington!
  • Image for Scottish gins are more popular than ever, and it was close, but according to our latest @Facebook poll, Scotland's world-famous whisky is still your favourite!
  • Image for Last week @girlabouttheglobe joined us on our 5 Day Skye & Highland Fling. If you're planning to go to travel solo but not quite sure yet where to begin, give her a follow and check out her brilliant blog.
  • Image for We only have five 7 Day Best of the West tours left this year. Join us to explore the breathtaking west coast of Scotland, including the magical Outer Hebrides.
  • Image for We love seeing your fabulous photos from our tours!
  • Image for Happy #Coosday!
  • Image for Win a FREE TOUR!
Fancy a wee tour around the breathtaking Scottish Highlands and Islands, creating a banging video for your favourite tour company? If you said aye, you’re in the right place. We’re looking for smashing video creators to be our next brand
  • Image for Here's an epic sunset on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland last summer. Lewis and Harris are stunning.
  • Image for If you've been on tour with @markmacb, you've probably posed with this flag!
  • Image for Wow, our latest poll on Facebook! 90% prefers beautiful nature over famous places. Fair enough, though, we have fantastic scenery here.
  • Image for Even the traffic jams are better in Scotland.
  • Image for Happy Summer bank holiday!
  • Image for Nothing quite compares to these views. If you want a break from Edinburgh this August, join us to discover the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
  • Image for Fringe started today! Who's coming to Edinburgh this month?
  • Image for If you still want to see the puffins before they migrate away in the mid-August, head to the coast now!
  • Image for This coo definitely how to enjoy the great weather and chill!
  • Image for Couldn't be a better day to explore the beautiful Gairloch.☀️
  • Image for If you've been in Skye during the summer month, you know how busy it can get. But not every tour company has guides like Neil, who take you to the roads less travelled. Legend!
  • Image for Here's this weeks throwback to one of our 7 Day Best of the West last year. The sea stacks on the west coast of Isle of Lewis are just amazing.
  • Image for Did you see us on tv last Sunday? If not, you can watch 'How Scotland Works' from BBC iPlayer!
  • Image for Happy #Coosday!
  • Image for We all love a good story!
  • Image for If you love a good sunset, Kyleakin is a perfect place to stay at. All our tours spend at least one night in this idyllic small village at the Isle of Skye.
  • Image for Happy World Emoji Day!
  • Image for Happy Tuesday or should we say #Coosday!
  • Image for So we all know Stonehenge, it’s pretty old, aye? But did you know that The Calanais Standing Stones predate England’s famous Stonehenge monument? This extraordinary cross-shaped setting of stones erected 5,000 years ago and was an essential place for a ri
  • Image for If you ever think that it rains too much in Scotland, don't forget that we wouldn't have this kind of beautiful scenery without so much rain.
  • Image for New Year's Eve might feel like ages away, and well actually it is. We'll still need to wait 172 days. But our Hogmanay Hootenanny is selling fast. So be quick and secure your place before it's full!
  • Image for This Monday we asked on Facebook which type of Scottish coastline do you prefer, rugged cliffs or sandy beaches? 78,5% of you prefer the rugged cliffs, so here's a throwback to one fantastic piece of the Scottish coast.
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  • Image for Will pose for carrots.
  • Image for The beautiful beaches of Gairloch.
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  • Image for Congrats to all the graduates!
  • Image for We quite literally head off the beaten track straight into the wilderness on our tours... and make new friends on the way!
  • Image for Really hard to beat a sunny day in Scotland checking out the beautiful Eilean Donan Castle. Have you visited it yet? If not you can see Scotland's most Instagrammed Castle on our 3 Day Isle of Skye @macbackpackers tour this summer! Leaving every Monday an
  • Image for The coos couldn't wish for better views!
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  • Image for Since it's National Sunglasses Day, here's a throwback to a sunny day at the beautiful Outer Hebrides.
  • Image for Coo cooling down a wee bit.☀️
  • Image for Hey EU, we love you!❤️
  • Image for Recognise this castle from somewhere? If you think that it's Winterfell, your friends say it's Castle Leoch and your dad says it's the castle from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you're all right.
  • Image for Happy first day of summer!☀️
  • Image for Ever wanted to see this famous view?
  • Image for Have you #GotTheBottle to prevent plastic pollution?
Did you know that every minute, one million plastic bottles are bought around the world, and that figure is expected to go up 20% by 2021? Alone in the UK, over 7 billion plastic water bottles are used
  • Image for You know it's #coosday when your Insta feed is full of adorable hairy coos.
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  • Image for Happy National Beer Day!
  • Image for Gearrannan Blackhouse Village is a very unique hostel in Scotland. The coastal crofting village is situated in a secluded bay within the district of Carloway, on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. We stay in this fantastic accommod
  • Image for There's no better time to look old photos and wonder what the actual heck is going on here than a throwback Thursday.
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  • Image for Edinburgh getting ready for the Quidditch World Cup again.
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Thanks for the lovely pic @louise283_
  • Image for Last chance to save 33% on all our standard tours! 
Check out @TourRadar's World Touring Day Sale now.
  • Image for Our favourite day of the week is here! A Throwback Thursday. What is your favourite memory from our tour?
  • Image for Today is World Otter Day.
The International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) was inspired by observing otters in their natural habitat.

Because the otter lives, feeds and plays on land and in the water and is at the peak of the food chain it is an ambassador s
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