iKnow Scotland
- Aviemore
- Fort William
- Glen Coe
- Grantown-on-Spey
- Inverness
- Around Inverness
- Loch Ness
- North East Highlands
- North West Highlands
Inverness Accommodation
Boat Trips River Ness Inverness Highlands Scotland
Inverness is the hub for a wide range of boat trips, coach excursions and walking tours. Boat trips take you down to Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal taking in the sights along the way, or out to the Moray Firth, many of which are themed for different interests such as wildlife, castles or just to bring you closer to Nessie!
Walking tours around Inverness will help you find the less easily found historic interest of the city as well as some of the more spooky facts that lay hidden.
Boat Trips Inverness
With the River Ness flowing through the city and the proximity of the Moray Firth several companies run cruises from Inverness down the Great Glen on the River and Loch Ness or out from the harbour to the Moray Firth.
Jacobite Cruises offer a range of cruises all year round from Inverness to Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal taking in Urquhart Castle as well as coach tours to Culloden Battlefield near Inverness. Check their website, link right, for full details of their range of cruises and charters. Telephone: 01463 233999. Email: info@jacobite.co.uk.
Loch Ness Express run a daily scheduled service down the entire length of Loch Ness departing from Inverness. They offer a hop-on, hop-off facility where you can stop off at Foyers, Inverfarigaig and Urquhart Castle. Departures: May, June, September and October 10.15am plus in July and August 9.45am and 3.45pm. Check their website for more information. Tel: 0800 328 6426. Email: info@lochnessexpress.com.
Highland Voyages offer a range of themed cruises from day trips to week long cruises throughout the Great Glen and the Moray Firth. The boat, Eala Bhan, is a forty year old traditional wooden herring drifter that used to be used as a fishing boat around the Outer Hebrides. Check their website for up-to-date itineraries. Tel/Fax: 01667 40 44 41. Mobile: 07702 167859. Email: highland.voyages@virgin.net.
Inverness Boat Trips
Inverness Dolphin Cruises run from Inverness Harbour out to the Moray Firth to look for the resident population of bottlenose dolphins as well as common seals, grey seals and porpoises. You can also take in a spot of birdwatching along the way. A courtesy bus runs from the Tourist Board Office in the city centre to the harbour. Booking Hotline: 01463 717900
Check our Moray Coast pages for more Moray Firth and dolphin watching cruises.
Walking Tours Inverness
A range of walking tours around Inverness are offered and are advertised at the Tourist Information Office. Greg Dawson Allen offers storywalk guided tours and can be contacted on Tel: 01463 233729. Mobile: 07840 692766.
A nightly ghost tour also leaves from the Tourist Office at 7pm and finishes with a pint in a haunted pub taking in other spooky haunts on the way. Davey the Ghost is your man on 07730 831069.
To escape the city and get out into the countryside Loch Ness Walks offer guided walks for full and half days from the city centre and out walk out into the countryside of Strathdores and ending up at Dores Beach.
The council's Highland Ranger Service also organise a programme of events and guided walks throughout the Highlands including the Inverness area suitable for all. Check the website for the up-to-date programme of events.
Coach Trips from Inverness
There are open-top buses available for touring the city if you don't fancy it on foot. CitySightseeing buses leave the bus station and bridge street hourly from 10am-4pm between 26 May and 30 September. They also offer excursions out to Culloden Battlefield, Cawdor Castle and Fort George. Tickets are valid for 24 hours. General Tour Enquiries: info@city-sightseeing.com. Online Booking Enquiries: design@city-sightseeing.com
There are a plethora of companies offering day trips on coaches and minibuses from Inverness to Loch Ness, Skye, Isle of Lewis, John O'Groats, Orkney or out into the western or eastern Highlands themselves. The excursions to the further reaches of the Scottish Highlands and Islands usually leave early in the morning and return at around 11pm at night. They're a bit of a rush if you're attempting the islands and will often include a ferry ticket across, but you're unlikely to see much in the few hours you have there. However, for getting out of the city and exploring more the Highlands around Inverness it can be useful if you're not in your own car and you get to see some of the gorgeous Scottish scenery along the way. Check the links right for companies offering a range of excursions.
Megabus is a double decker providing budget prices for travel between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness - a cheap option for sorting out your own travel itinerary. Scottish Citylink's website is a useful tool for planning and booking tickets online for bus services across Scotland. Check the weblinks right.
Click Search
