Inverness vs. St. Andrews: Which one would you choose?

Inverness as a town is not very interesting, but from there you could easily visit the Culloden battlefield and Clava Cairns. St. Andrews is not very big, it is a pretty little town, but not a great deal to see, and could easily be done as a day trip from Edinburgh. Personally, I would spend some time in Glasgow, if you haven’t been before.

Since you are not into golf, skip St. Andrews. It's an interesting small town with some ruins, a university, and a fabled golf course. To some it has appeal, but not really our cup of tea. Inverness has a castle, but again it's not our cup of tea. If, however, you've an interest in history, then stay there and day trip to the Culloden battlefield and Clava Cairns.

I am strongly in favor of St. Andrews over Inverness (if those are your only two options).

I'm not a golfer either, but St. Andrews is a lovely town. The University campus, the ruins, the seashore, and the delightful streets with charming houses, all make it a delight.

Inverness does have some interesting surroundings (Culloden, Loch Ness), but the city itself is, in my opinion, completely skippable. Even the castle isn't really a castle, (it was a prison), and it's undergoing a major renovation -- more like a complete repurposing into a community center. I spent five weeks in Scotland this past spring, and Inverness was the only place I visited that I didn't like.

I didn't go to St. Andrews overnight (just a day trip from Dundee), but I think spending the night is an excellent idea. And it sounds like this option gives you an extra night in Edinburgh, which is totally worthwhile.

On the way back to Edinburgh from Skye, we explored the Loch Ness area. We walked around Inverness for a while, and liked the path along the river. No, I wouldn't say that Inverness itself made much of an impression. At Loch Ness, we did enjoy Urquhart Castle (there were not very many people there), and we went to the Loch Ness Discovery Center which is a museum focused on the monster mystery, and wasn't too cheesy--and had an interesting reveal at the end of what they think the "monster" is. But what I really remember from our time in that area was searching for a sweater store that was down a gravel road off the side of the lake. Bought a really nice one there that I still wear (I wouldn't be able to tell you now where that was!). I have not been to St Andrews, but from descriptions it seems as though it is a very beautiful area and has more going on there.

In some ways the question is why go on from Fort William to Skye, rather than maybe Mull or Iona.

You are not exploring the "rest of Scotland"- not remotely so.

From Skye to St Andrew's is going to be one very long travel day. Subjectively (and I haven't checked) it may be faster via Inverness than the obvious via Glasgow route.

There is an awful lot more to St Andrews and the area than golf, in fact I am not sure I would stay in St Andrews- but in one of the smaller coastal towns nearby. The area is worth your time, but is easily day trippable from Edinburgh, especially when the Levenmouth railway opens in the spring.

Inverness is certainly a very useful base for a larger area when using public transit. Not all of which attractions ever get mentioned on this forum, such as the Black Isle. And is obviously a far shorter journey from Skye (if you must go to Skye).

So I would plump for Inverness and Edinburgh- with St Andrews a day trip from EDI (thus 2 x 1/2 day transfers). There are actually two routes from INV- St Andrews- straight down the Highland Main Line or round the Moray and Aberdeenshire coasts to Dundee then St Andrews by bus. Not a lot of time difference between the two.

What has made you choose these two options compared with anywhere else? What sort of things are you wanting to do/see/achieve from a stay in either?

Inverness is a lot quicker and easier to reach from Skye - Train from Kyle of Lochalsh. This is a superb run and worth doing just for the ride.

It is going to take a full day to get from Skye to St Andrews and isn’t the easiest of journeys by public transport. If you did decide on St Andrews, it would probably be better to do this as a day trip from Edinburgh (train to Leuchars and then bus or taxi).

The countryside round both will be very different to WHW and Skye - its much flatter for a start. St Andrews is a much more attractive place than Inverness with the sea, ruined castle, cathedral and also the university.

I personally would chose St Andrews, but that doesn’t mean it is the right choice for you...

I'm wondering about having only 2 days on Skye. Is that 2 nights or 3 nights?

A couple of days on Skye will only scratch the surface. If what you want is spectacular scenery (mountains & coastal) then Skye will certainly fit the bill, but I think you will kick yourself if you only have 2 days here. From Fort William I would drive to Mallaig and come over the ferry, then I'd leave Skye by the historic Kylerhea to Glenelg ferry route. Getting to Skye from Fort William will take about 3 hours factoring in waiting for the ferry, so you've only got half a day left on the first day. If you are only staying 2 nights then you've really only got one full day to explore a large island.

Why not skip Inverness and St Andrews and have another couple of nights on the island. That would really enable you to explore the roads less travelled and the paths less hiked.

Have a look at Walk Highlands for ideas on hikes. My personal favourite is the walk from Glenbrittle to rubh' an dunain where the Vikings constructed a canal to link a small freshwater lochan to the sea. Incredible views of mountains, islands and the sea, plus historical remains and very few other people.

Best wishes
Jacqui

Here's another vote for adding several days to Skye. I was there for 4 nights and could easily have stayed longer. You will need to allow more time on Skye, anyway, as it sounds like you are using public transportation, rather than renting a car.

Also, as others have noted, Inverness does not have that many great attractions and although there are some lovely sights and towns nearby, such as Clava Cairns, Culloden, Nairn, etc., it's much more difficult using public transportation to get to those place.

With regards to St. Andrews, if you really want to see it, it's very doable as a day trip from Edinburgh.

If you want to take the boat to Skye, I'd recommend Mallaig out. It gives the round trip, Mallaig is not a bad place for a stop and the road from An Gearasdan/Ft William to Malaig has plenty of not to miss points such as Glenfinnan.

But the reason for the Glenelg crossing back or the bridge is you will approach Eileann Donan castle from the seaward side. It is more spectacular from the seaward side than the landward one.

Inverness v St Andrews it really determines what you want to see. Inverness is a good base though not Scotland's most impressive city. St Andrews has a lot of history built in. Both are good bases for their areas, the Highlands for Inverness, but St Andrews has Fife and Dundee in its back yard.

Thank you so much for the very helpful advice! We ended up adding time on our visit to the Isle of Skye, then heading straight to Edinburgh via train. We'll visit St. Andrews as a day trip out of Edinburgh. We will have to save Inverness for another visit. It was a big help to hear practical tips from everyone who responded to my post. Thanks, again!