Things to Do in Inverness
Most people arrive in Inverness to leave it again at eight the next morning. The city gets whatever hours the tours are not using: an afternoon on arrival, an evening after a twelve-hour day, and whatever a rained-off plan hands back. Here is what fits into each of those, and what to do with a day the weather has taken. Some of the Inverness castle tours also spend time in the city itself.
The Inverness Castle Experience
The red sandstone castle above the river reopened as a visitor attraction and is the one ticketed thing in the middle of the city. Entry is timed, with experiences running every ten minutes, and it is open daily except Christmas Day. An adult pays £20 booked online against £22 on the day, an over-65 £18 and £20, and a child aged 5 to 15 £14 and £16. Family tickets run from £24. One day tour includes two hours here, though not the admission.
The Victorian Market
An iron-and-glass arcade running between Academy Street, Union Street and Queensgate, full of small shops and, at its eastern end, a food hall. It sits two minutes from three of the tour departure kerbs. It is indoors and it is free, which makes it the default answer to a wet hour before a coach.
The Ness Islands
A chain of wooded islands in the River Ness, joined to both banks by Victorian footbridges and to each other by paths. It is a flat twenty-minute walk from the castle and it costs nothing. If you have an hour of daylight left at the end of a long day, spend it here.
Along the river and the canal
The Ness runs from the loch through the middle of town to the firth, and you can walk almost all of it. Upstream takes you past the islands towards Dochgarroch, where the Caledonian Canal begins; downstream reaches the firth. One half-day tour stops at Dochgarroch for forty-five minutes on its way to the loch.
What fits in the time you have
| You have | What fits | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| One hour | The Victorian Market, or the river as far as the first footbridge | Nothing |
| Two hours | The Ness Islands there and back, at a walking pace | Nothing |
| Half a day | The Inverness Castle Experience on a timed slot, the market, then the islands | From £20 an adult, booked online |
| A whole day | Take a Highland route instead — the city does not need one | From $72 a head |
Half a day before a tour
Say you land at lunchtime with a 7:45 start the next morning. Take the castle experience on a timed slot, booked online because it is cheaper, then the Victorian Market and a walk out to the Ness Islands. That is a comfortable afternoon, and it leaves you near every departure kerb.
An evening after a twelve-hour day
Almost nothing, honestly, and that is the right expectation to have. A Skye or Glenfinnan day puts you back around eight; the river walk is still light through the summer months, and that is about the size of it. Plan the city for the day you are not touring.
When the weather closes in
Low cloud ruins a Skye day and barely touches a Loch Ness one. Your first move is to swap the route rather than cancel it, and every tour here refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead. If you are staying put, the market and the castle experience are both indoors, and the Culloden visitor centre is six miles out and mostly under a roof.
Give the long days to the Highlands
The city fills an afternoon; the glens fill a day. Compare the routes by how many hours they actually want from you.
See also eating around a tour day, what each month does to a visit, and every route on Inverness Scotland Tours.