Inverness As Base!

I spend a lot of time in Scotland and will return. I've been to Inverness twice. The first time to see it, the second time for tours of the Highlands. I stayed at the Premier Inn Centre River Ness both times. Very convenient to everything.

I only use public transportation and tours (Rabbies). But I wouldn't limit myself to just two bases. Scotland is bigger than you think and you will waste a lot of time getting to places you want to visit.

If you don't want to stay in smaller towns and villages such as Skye or Mull, I would suggest three bases for choices of public transportation and tours...Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Trains will only get you to a few of the big sites. But there is an extensive bus system. Otherwise, you will need some type of private transport to others.....either tours or hired car.

Before you buy a railpass, plan your itinerary and then price out individual tickets. You may save money.

A lot of people diss Inverness as a base, which does seem very unfair. For what you want it makes a good base. You have the railway line to Kyle of Lochalsh as well as the line north to Thurso or Wick. Both are very scenic and well worth spending a day doing the round trip.

There's lots you can do from Inverness as well as what you've listed - Nairn is a delightful sea side town and worth adding to the list. Fort George overlooking the Moray Firth is possibly the best military fortification in Britain. You may also be luck and see bottle nose dolphins from the ramparts. You could get the train to Elgin for the ruined Cathedral. Dunvegan castle and gardens are amazing. It is possible to do these by train BUT it is a halt, so you need to let the guard know you want to get off there. On the return, you need to give the train driver a clear signal to stop so you can get on.

As well as Rabies, there are other companies offering day tours from Inverness and they get you to some of the most scenic parts of Scotland. Depending on how long you plan to spend in Inverness, you might want to consider a three day Rabbies tour to Orkney or the Outer Hebrides.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-inverness

Timberbush is another well regarded operator.

https://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/our-tours/from-inverness

Also check out:

https://www.highlandexplorertours.com/tours-from-inverness

https://www.scottishtours.co.uk/scotlandtours?departfrom=inverness

Go for it!!

I enjoyed Inverness because it has all the benefits of nearby adventures (many of which you have already identified) but the town itself is, in my opinion, much more enjoyable than some suggest. The River Ness is beautiful and there are lovely walking paths right along the river that are worth checking out. The downtown is lively for a town that size and enjoys good restaurants and pubs. We had a hotel outside of downtown but still walking distance (Kingsmill Hotel) and enjoyed some parks and other lovely areas that are not tourist focused. In short, it's probably not a destination all on its own, but when you couple the more-charming-than-advertised town in with the access to all sorts of sights nearby it makes Inverness well worth some time to explore in between trips out into the Highlands.

Happy travels!

If you want to depend on trains and day tours in the Highlands Inverness is a great location. I think it gets dissed as many people think that Scotland is the west coast and the islands. I love the west coast and have visited and hiked in many west coast locations. But I think Inverness is a good base. It does offer a variety of restaurants and music. But you can also reach a lot of Scotland in day trips from there. You can get down to the Cairngorms, you can do a fantastic rail trip to Kyle of Lochalsh. You can even do day trips to the Orkneys!

So I find that VisitScotland is really helpful, but what's even more helpful in these instances is to get the city tourist office page. Here's a link to the Inverness page. You will find contact information so you can get answers. I would ask them about day tours from Inverness. I also look for the separate site for the city or town. Here's the one for Inverness.

Pam

A lot of people dis Inverness as only a transport base, but being a transport base is one of the reasons it is a good base. Size wise the Highland Council area is roughly the size of Belgium with Inverness fairly centrally placed though to the right. To get anywhere by public transport you will be passing through Inverness anyway. The other benefit is as the capital of the Highlands, not just Highland Council but adding bits of Moray, Na Eileann nan Siar, and Orkney, it has more of the facilities a tourist will need because it is often serving the locals as well.

Inverness it is then!

THANK YOU! for all the wonderful helpful responses and resources to look thru!

I will enjoy looking at each one, because research is half the fun!

Suggest you consult www.seat61.com for information on rail travel in UK including how to book tickets from abroad