Where Inverness Tours Leave From

There is no bus station gate for Highland day tours and no single depot. There are nine separate departure points inside one small city, two of them on the same street, and one that is twenty-five miles away. Your confirmation names yours; this page tells you what it will look like when you get there. Every one of the day tours from Inverness starts at one of them.

Ardross Street, by the cathedral

The bus stop next to Inverness Cathedral, on Ardross Street, IV3 5NS, on the west bank of the river. Several tours load here and the instruction is the same on all of them: arrive fifteen minutes before departure. It is an ordinary roadside stop, not an office, so look for the minibus rather than a sign.

Railway Terrace

IV1 1NW, immediately behind the railway station. The coach days leave from here, all of them on full-size vehicles, and the listings tell you to look for the coach itself or for the operator’s sign on the lamp post. If you are driving in, the Rose Street multi-storey at 24 Rose Street IV1 1NQ is the car park the operators name.

Union Street, and why there are two of them

This is the one that catches people out. 15 Union Street, IV1 1JT, is across from the Victorian Market entrance, and several tours load there; look for a blue or yellow bus. 25 Union Street, IV1 1QA, is a different operator a few doors along, and its day asks you to arrive no later than 7:45am. They are on the same short street and they are not the same place.

Rose Street and the Starbucks car park

IV1 1NQ. The Go Highlands days collect from the car park by the front door of the café, which is an easier thing to find than a numbered stance and is beside the main multi-storey. It is the only tour vehicle that uses it, which makes it hard to get wrong.

Farraline Park, Stance 7

Inverness Bus Station, IV1 1NH. One tour goes from here — the short Loch Ness cruise and castle run — and it is a numbered stance inside a working bus station rather than a kerb, so allow a couple of minutes to find the number.

Ness Walk, and the door-to-door pick-ups

The two private days with a kilted guide leave from in front of the Columba Hotel at 7 Ness Walk, IV3 5NF, at 7:45am and 8am — or from your own accommodation if it is in Inverness or on the way out. The other private days collect from your hotel directly. If you are paying per group, this is part of what you are paying for.

Station Square

The Royal Highland Hotel, 18 Station Square, Academy Street, IV1 1LG, beside the railway station. One six-hour tour loads here, and its listing states plainly that it does not collect at the Invergordon cruise port.

Invergordon, twenty-five miles away

Cruise ships berth at Invergordon, Shore Road, IV18 0EX — roughly twenty-five miles and forty-five minutes from Inverness. A couple of tours meet passengers at the port gates directly, and a private day will collect there. If your ship is in and you have booked a city departure, you need to get yourself in and back, on a schedule the ship sets.

What to do if you cannot find your coach

Check the street number first — on Union Street that is usually the whole problem. Then look for the vehicle rather than for signage: most of these are kerbside stops with no fixed board. Your confirmation carries the operator’s own number, and the booking platform holds the reservation, so that is the line to call rather than us.

Every tour and its kerb