From Edinburgh to Loch Ness

We just drove up as a day trip Drove up through Inverness - stopped at Urquhart Castle Ruins and Loch Ness of course - drove around the loch iirc and back. It was a nice day.

Is this an overnight trip, or a day trip you are thinking of?

If it's a day trip then prepare for several hours in a mini bus or coach. It's about 3.5 hours from Edinburgh to Inverness, so that's 3.5 hours on the way back too. So you're talking +/- 7 hours travelling to see an expanse of water which thanks to the "sightings" of Nessie has become something of a tourist trap. It's a pleasant enough area to look at, but there are prettier lochs in Scotland.

An organised overnight trip would give you more time in the area certainly. You might get to see Culloden and Urquhart Castle as well, but I don't know who you might be thinking of travelling with and what their itinerary is. Rabbies? Timberbush? Someone else?

Expect Fort Augustus and/or Inverness to be busy if your trip is well into the tourist season.

I've seen the Nessie Exhibition at Drumnadrochit and found it expensive for what it is. You can read all you need to know about Loch Ness and the legend of Nessie on the internet.

I've taken boat trips onto the loch from Inverness (Jacobite Tours) and Fort Augustus (Cruise Loch Ness) and preferred the latter. Mainly because you are on the water straight away whereas cruises from Inverness have to go along the river first.

I don't know if this has been of any help. If you can give me some information about what trips you are considering I might be able to assist a bit more.

I'll get straight to the point, too. I did this last July. Had a rented car, drove from Edinburgh to Inverness. It was a full day of driving, but easy enough and extremely scenic. Experienced just about every kind of weather at some point that day, warm sunshine, fog, hard driving rain, hail, snow, and everything in between. Beautiful countryside. Stopped at Urquhart Castle (mostly in ruins) and "Loch Ness" (it's just a pretty lake), spent the night in Inverness before flying off to the Outer Hebrides the next morning. It was a full day driving but I knew that going in, and it was lovely. I don't know of any reason anyone would need an "organized trip" or tour, but YMMV.

Alternate suggestion would be to take the train to Inverness and catch one of the many day tours to Loch Ness and the castle.

Pam

Hi Daniel. The drive from Edinburgh to Inverness was quite nice and doable in a day. We stopped in Pitlochry for a distillery tour on the way and still had enough time for the drive.

If you have the time, I would strongly recommend the drive from Inverness to Skye. It starts with a beautiful drive along almost the entire length of Loch Ness and transitions into the stereotypical highlands landscape. After leaving Loch Ness towards Skye, the drive is truly the most scenic and beautiful I have ever experienced. This drive took us almost twice as long as was mapped since we were pulling over to take in the views (and take photos) very regularly. There are several small areas to pull over and marvel at the views all along the trip.

If you don't have time to get over to Skye, the drive south of Inverness through Invergarry towards Glencoe is also stunningly beautiful. Either way, you will get to experience the highland views. Enjoy your trip!

I would like to take an opportunity to thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
At the end we went for Timberbush tour called "Loch Ness, Glencoe & The Highlands" and I am very pleased with that choice.