Inverness

Would you consider staying in Nairn instead of Inverness? Nairn is a lovely seaside town and is about 30 minutes from Inverness. We loved our stay at the Sunny Brae B&B. From Nairn, you can visit many places, such as Cawdor Castle, Culloden Battlefield, Elgin Cathedral, Glen Moray Distillery, Urquhart Castle, and more. There are quite a few wonderful restaurants to choose from.

we are certainly open to other places. Sunny Brae looked great but sold out for our dates. Any other recommendations welcome. We will have a car and hope to see Culloden Battlefield and other local sites. Is Inverness worth a drive into or not?

I had a few days in Nairn a couple of years ago. I stayed in a charming cottage in Fishertown, Nairn. It was booked through AirBnB by my mother and I can't find the exact property right now, but Google and you'll see the little cottages. There's some to rent on Booking.com and AirBnB.

Try this link on Booking.com to see similar cottages -

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/cosy-2-bedroom-cottage-in-nairn-pets-welcome-nairn.en-gb.html#map_opened-map_trigger_header

It wasn't my first visit to Nairn. I stayed there on family holidays going back to when I was a small child and have been quite a few times since. We stayed at what is now Lochloy Holiday Park back when I was wee.

https://www.parkdeanresorts.co.uk/location/scotland/nairn-lochloy/

It's definitely worth a visit to Inverness, even if it's only for a few hours. I'm not sure if I'd take the car. There's a good train and bus service between Nairn and Inverness. Driving is fine too, I'm not up on the parking situation and how restricted driving is in the city centre in Inverness these days though.

I am generally a bigger fan of Inverness as a town, rather than just a transport hub, than many it seems. I think it's worth at least a part of a day on its own and perhaps an evening if you have the time to hit up some pubs for live music (especially traditional). There's a lovely river walk in town, a particularly well known book store that's worth a visit (Leakey's Bookshop), and a number of good restaurants.

As for a place to stay with a car, we enjoyed the Kingsmills Hotel just outside the town center and on the way out of town toward the battlefield at Culloden, Clava Cairns, Cawdor Castle, etc. Plenty of parking and comfortable rooms - easy to get a taxi into downtown if you like or drive yourself to any of the nearby sights.

People eitherr seem to love or hate Inverness. I like it and it has a lot to enjoy in and around th town. The walk along the river to Ness Islands makes a lovely evening stroll in the summer. You can extend it by walking back along the canal.

There are details of a heritage walk around the town here or you can download an app here.

As mentioned by Steve, Leakey's Booshop in a converted chapel, is well worth a visit (even if you don't buy anything)

We stayed in Inverness for two nights at Eildon Guest House B&B. There was free parking on site and it was only a few blocks walk into town. Lots of restaurants close by and just a short drive to Culloden Battlefield and Clava Cairns. The hot breakfast was wonderful and the owner very friendly and helpful with recommendations for dinner. The tour we took at Culloden was well worth the cost. If you are taking the tour, get a reservation as it was pretty crowded when we went in May.

The Premier Inn on River Ness has a small parking lot in the back. It's fairly centrally located so you can walk to everything in town.

My preferred hotel in Inverness is the AC Marriott. Is on the riverside, a short walk to the town centre along the river. It has a fairly small car park but I’ve always managed to find a space. You have to pay for parking but it’s not excessive. Breakfast is excellent and rooms are very good and soundproofed well. Ask for a river view.

We like to eat at the Black Isle bar which has wonderful wood oven fired pizza.