Inverness-Short Sunday Visit

We are scheduled for a port stop in Invergordon/Inverness on Sunday, July 2. The hours are 13:00-20:00. We are content to simply "wander" the towns (if there are things to see), stop for a pleasant lunch, etc. OR, take a short tour. My main concern is the port time and it being a Sunday. Would appreciate suggestions from anyone having experience in this region.

We are scheduled for a port stop in Invergordon/Inverness on Sunday, July 2. The hours are 13:00-20:00. We are content to simply "wander" the towns (if there are things to see), stop for a pleasant lunch, etc. OR, take a short tour. My main concern is the port time and it being a Sunday. Would appreciate suggestions from anyone having experience in this region.

Take a tour to Loch Ness. It is amazing.

Not really that much to see in Inverness itself other than shops. It's more a base for the area with its lovely scenery.

I'm pretty sure we had more than 7 hours there, so perhaps this doesn't help much. However, if you're willing to rent a car, you can do so right there at the port. I forget the agent's name, but if that's something you're interested in, I can dig it out for you. We drove to Loch Ness area and Urquharart (spelling?) castle, to a place called Fort Augustus where there were locks that small boats went through, and back. We probably did that in about 4 to 5 hours with lunch near the locks, but I forget. On the way, we drove through Inverness (less than an hour from Invergordon), which is pretty in itself. When back, my husband went back to the ship and I walked a short way to explore the main street in Invergordon. No, there isn't a whole lot there, but I enjoyed looking at the houses, large murals painted on the sides of buildings, and things like that. I stopped into a place where there were crafts being sold by town craftspeople.

If I remember correctly, the tourist information folks in Invergordon were great. You could probably google them, ask for names of some tour guides for 4 or 5 hours, and arrange a nice day there.

I'm not sure if your being there on a Sunday would adversely affect you or not - but probably a little!

We had approximately the same time in this port last year in August. We took a tour with Nigel to Dunrobin castle - beautiful place and later drove with him around to see local lochs and fleets, visited a small town Dornoch and had a nice day all together. He also offered to visit a whiskey distillery but we didn't go there as we have visited another distillery the day before. This tour was perfect for our time in the port. Go on the tour to see Highlands. The shops in UK often are closed on Sundays so there wouldn't be much fun to spend a day in Invergordon.

the shops in the UK are mostly closed on a sunday, while maybe true of England and wales is not true in Scotland,where legislation re sunday opening is the responsibility of the Scottish government,who allow sunday trading, the vast majority of shops are open,though they may open an hour or so later than weekdays

Inverness citizens offer wonderful FREE tours. We have done 2 different ones and both were delightful. They do this because they got tired of cruise passengers getting off in their town and departing for Edinborough or Glasgow. I would say to anyone...take the free tour. You will not regret the choice.

Doug

While I haven't visited Inverness via cruise ship, I do love the city. From Inverness, it is a short distance to Loch Ness (about 20 minutes) & Culloden Battlefield (final battle of the Jacobite revolution - about an hour from the city). Boat tours are available on Loch Ness - you can also visit the ruins of Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness and/or visit the Loch Ness center/exhibition. About 30 minutes away is Brodie Castle (http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/Brodie-Castle/) which is very interesting.

In the heart of the city, overlooking the Ness river is Inverness Castle (now the court house & not open to the public but offers great photo opportunities), one can enjoy an excellent meal (Kitchen Brasserie overlooking the Ness river or Castle Tavern with its great craft brews), enjoy some shopping or a stroll along the banks of the river.

We will be visiting Inverness in August and have booked a canoeing trip with http://www.gowildhighlands.co.uk/invergordon-shore-excursions.html . Ian is a retired park ranger who just started this tour business in 2016. Having not yet taken the tour, I can't give a review, but can say that I have been very pleased with the prompt communication I have had so far. His tours are very small, 2-6 people. We were looking for a tour that would keep us out of a tour bus, and give us a chance to experience the highlands. This seems to fit the bill.

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