What to do in Inverness, Scotland?

Royal Caribbean just made a schedule change for our cruise later this month substituting Lerwick, Shetland Islands for Invergordon, Scotland. We have been to Invergorden where we did a private tour to Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Culloden Battlefield, and another historic site. This time, with such short notice, we are considering going to the town/city of Inverness by local bus or RCI's Inverness on Your Own excursion.

What is there to do in the town/city of Inverness? Any nice picturesque walks, such as along the water? I know we can't get in the Inverness Castle but is it a nice uphill walk to the top for lovely views? Is the Inverness museum and art gallery worth a visit? Is it a relatively easy walk to the Inverness Botanical Garden and is the garden worth visiting? When I say "easy walk," we walk 5-8 miles a day (sometimes more), so a few km to the botanical garden is fine for us if it is a picturesque walk and the garden is worth doing.

Inverness has a hop-on/hop-off bus with a 50-minute loop if you don't get off. Is the bus worth doing?

We are not into shopping, but a pub or restaurant for a light lunch and a beer or glass of wine would be nice too. Any good Indian restaurants in Inverness? Any cafe or restaurants that offer free wifi access?

Nothing much to see on the ho-ho bus. Half the trip is headed along the motorway to and from Dochgarroch lock. But it's a nice walking city, though fairly compact.

Thank you; I appreciate your information. I think we might be joining a private tour to Dunrobin Castle, the falcon show, Alnes, Dornoch and a panoramic view of Millionaire's View. I think no Inverness unless dh and I want to be dropped off there while others return to the ship.

Thank you; I appreciate your information. I think we might be joining a private tour to Dunrobin Castle, the falcon show, Alnes, Dornoch and a panoramic view of Millionaire's View. I think no Inverness unless dh and I want to be dropped off there while others return to the ship.

I agree with that. I hate to say it as a Scot, but I'm always surprised by the number of tourists who head to Inverness. Sorry to all you people who love there. However the scenery is lovely nearby and Dunrobin Castle is always a very popular and much enjoyed excursion, so it sounds like a good choice to me (although not sure what they'd visit Alness!!)

I would also love to know what day trips are feasible given the short amount of time we will have there.

OP, where did you book your private tour from??

P.S. OP were you ever notified about this change in ports? I wonder why this happened. I never got an email... I was so looking forward to going to Lerwick!

I would also love to know what day trips are feasible given the short amount of time we will have there.

 

OP, where did you book your private tour from??

 

P.S. OP were you ever notified about this change in ports? I wonder why this happened. I never got an email... I was so looking forward to going to Lerwick!

No, Royal Caribbean did not email or call us with the itinerary change! We found out about the change on our Cruise Critic roll-call thread. Will you be on the same Royal Caribbean August 22nd Transatlantic cruise? I did not see you on the roll-call thread. If so, join the roll-call discussion and you will see private tours with vacancies. I think our tour will be full (not advertised on roll call as we already have a group), but not sure yet because I am not the organizer. Here is the roll-call thread that contains valuable information: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2363647

Most of the tours either are going to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle or the "north" route to Dunrobin Castle and a photo stop at Millionaire's view with or without the distillery stop, Shin Falls/salmon run, or some towns in route.

When we were in Invergordon on a 2007 cruise, we went to Culloden Battlefield, Loch Ness with boat ride to Urquhart Castle and site there, a priory in ruin, and a pre-historic passage tomb/cairn. It made for a very full day. This time to go to Dunrobin Castle, we will be using a taxi service. Someone in our group is making the arrangements, so I don't know the company name or the exact itinerary yet except for the castle.

I agree with that. I hate to say it as a Scot, but I'm always surprised by the number of tourists who head to Inverness. Sorry to all you people who love there. However the scenery is lovely nearby and Dunrobin Castle is always a very popular and much enjoyed excursion, so it sounds like a good choice to me (although not sure what they'd visit Alness!!)

Thank you so much for your information. I looked at the suggested itinerary and it looks like we only drive through Alness in route to our other stops and that we will not be stopping there.

How is Dornoch? That is where we might have a brief scone stop. Someone in our group is arranging this tour, so I am not sure if we are going to Shin Falls/salmon run and/or for a brief Inverness Castle photo stop. It will be a "north" route tour and our main stop with be Dunrobin Castle and the falcon show and a photo stop at Millionaires' View. No distillery stop. A 5-hour tour total.

Do you know how long it takes to get from Invergordon to Dunrobin Castle? Our plan is to leave at 10am and I noticed that the falconry show is at 11:30am. I want to make sure if we have any stops before the castle that we still make it in time for the falconry show.

Back at Invergordon, do you recommend any restaurants for a late lunch? We like Indian food and see there is an Indian restaurant named Jaipur.

Thanks again for your information.

The AA route planner gives the distance Invergordon to Dunrobin Castle as 31,1miles journey time 42mins,though depending on traffic it could take longer

The AA route planner gives the distance Invergordon to Dunrobin Castle as 31,1miles journey time 42mins,though depending on traffic it could take longer

Thank you. I'll estimate 45 minutes to an hour to be on the safe side. We don't want to miss the falconry show.

No, Royal Caribbean did not email or call us with the itinerary change! We found out about the change on our Cruise Critic roll-call thread. Will you be on the same Royal Caribbean August 22nd Transatlantic cruise? I did not see you on the roll-call thread. If so, join the roll-call discussion and you will see private tours with vacancies. I think our tour will be full (not advertised on roll call as we already have a group), but not sure yet because I am not the organizer. Here is the roll-call thread that contains valuable information: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2363647

 

Most of the tours either are going to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle or the "north" route to Dunrobin Castle and a photo stop at Millionaire's view with or without the distillery stop, Shin Falls/salmon run, or some towns in route.

 

When we were in Invergordon on a 2007 cruise, we went to Culloden Battlefield, Loch Ness with boat ride to Urquhart Castle and site there, a priory in ruin, and a pre-historic passage tomb/cairn. It made for a very full day. This time to go to Dunrobin Castle, we will be using a taxi service. Someone in our group is making the arrangements, so I don't know the company name or the exact itinerary yet except for the castle.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your information. I looked at the suggested itinerary and it looks like we only drive through Alness in route to our other stops and that we will not be stopping there.

 

How is Dornoch? That is where we might have a brief scone stop. Someone in our group is arranging this tour, so I am not sure if we are going to Shin Falls/salmon run and/or for a brief Inverness Castle photo stop. It will be a "north" route tour and our main stop with be Dunrobin Castle and the falcon show and a photo stop at Millionaires' View. No distillery stop. A 5-hour tour total.

 

Do you know how long it takes to get from Invergordon to Dunrobin Castle? Our plan is to leave at 10am and I noticed that the falconry show is at 11:30am. I want to make sure if we have any stops before the castle that we still make it in time for the falconry show.

 

Back at Invergordon, do you recommend any restaurants for a late lunch? We like Indian food and see there is an Indian restaurant named Jaipur.

 

Thanks again for your information.

Dornoch is just a sleepy Scottish sea-side town so fine for a short stop. I don't like Indian food but never thought the restaurant looked very good and most recent reviews on TripAdvisor suggest that. The only one that seems to get consistently good reviews is the one at the Kincraig Castle Hotel. Sorry can't help other than that.

Dornoch is just a sleepy Scottish sea-side town so fine for a short stop. I don't like Indian food but never thought the restaurant looked very good and most recent reviews on TripAdvisor suggest that. The only one that seems to get consistently good reviews is the one at the Kincraig Castle Hotel. Sorry can't help other than that.

I saw that the Indian restaurant did not get very good reviews. We like Indian food but can do without mediocre Indian food. We will check out the Kincraig Castle Hotel. Thanks!

Just thought I'd post this link to my Invergordon colleagues' website:

http://www.visitinvergordon.com/index.html.

They have a little kiosk by the port gates at the end of the pier and would be able to help you with specific questions about best places to grab a bite to eat. I must just tell you about a shop in Invergordon that seems to sell everything. It is called Nickel and Dime. The last time I was going on Caribbean Princess from Invergordon down to Queensferry, to do my talk, I forgot my US adaptor and this shop was recommended to me. it is an absolute treasure trove.

Another thought for Invergordon is golf with the locals. If you want a nice inexpensive and pleasurable round of golf, I highly recommend the Invergordon Golf Club. Their website is invergordongolf.co.uk

We arrived on the Jade on July 27, 2017. Val picked us up and drove us to the course which was about 5 minutes from the cruise port. She had everything ready for us...ELECTRIC CART, golf clubs, water and candy bars! The course is a beautiful parkland course. Since we had it almost to ourselves we finished in less than 3 hours. We were treated to a dram of local whisky, a Scottish tradition, and then Val took us back to the cruise port. This allowed us plenty of time to explore Invergordon.

I had been to Inverness before and wasn't impressed...it had a tourist trap feel to it. We had a wonderful day in Invergordon!!!

We booked our tee time online. It was a cruise special....all of this for 50 pounds per person!

Granny Di, thanks! We are not into golf, but some of the readers may be and will appreciate your suggestions. Not into whisky either, but a good beer or glass of wine would be good. :D

Just thought I'd post this link to my Invergordon colleagues' website:

http://www.visitinvergordon.com/index.html.

 

They have a little kiosk by the port gates at the end of the pier and would be able to help you with specific questions about best places to grab a bite to eat. I must just tell you about a shop in Invergordon that seems to sell everything. It is called Nickel and Dime. The last time I was going on Caribbean Princess from Invergordon down to Queensferry, to do my talk, I forgot my US adaptor and this shop was recommended to me. it is an absolute treasure trove.

Thank you. Where is the Nickel and Dime in Invergordon? Easy to find? We should have time after our tour for the Nickel and Dime shop! Do they sell tea - or are we better of getting it in another place in Dornoch or Invergordon? I would imagine Nickel and Dime probably doesn't have the best tea. LOL. But it has to be better than what is on the Vision of the Seas! We will bring some bags from home and rely on Dornoch or Invergordon to get more tea for the rest of the b2b cruises.

How much time minimum do you suggest at Dunrobin Castle? We mainly want to see the falconry show and the gardens and the castle and museum only if time permits.

Thanks for your information. We will have a full day with tour followed by Invergordon shopping, wifi, and refreshment.

From the listing on the Business and Community section of Invergordon info it seems that Nickel and Dime is basically a Hardware store that's doesn't sell food,but there seems to be a Cooperative Food Store just next to it on High St

From the listing on the Business and Community section of Invergordon info it seems that Nickel and Dime is basically a Hardware store that's doesn't sell food,but there seems to be a Cooperative Food Store just next to it on High St

Thanks! Someone arranging our tour just emailed us about the Cooperative Food Store. It is on our to-do list too. We will go to both stores. We will need tea bags and bottled water to take back to the ship. Glad to hear they are next to each other on High Street! That will make our short time more productive.