Loch Lomand Cruise and village

Hi, peppersdad1947,

If you have access to a car, then the village of Luss would be your best bet. There are regular cruises of Loch Lomond departing from Luss pier. Luss is a charming village, although it has become rather "touristy" over the past couple of decades.

If you don't have access to a car, you can catch a train to Balloch from Queen Street Station, and catch one of Sweeney's Boat Tours from there.

Happy sailing!

Mike (Auchterless)

You can also get to Luss from Glasgow on a long distance bus headed for Oban, Fort William, Skye or Campbeltown.
A pretty regular service. They set you down on the main road and it is a very short walk in.
Otherwise get off any of those buses at Tarbet, and cruises to the North end of the Loch including to Inversnaid leave from there. From the pier in the park opposite the bus stop.
Balloch is less suitable for you as it is something of a walk (10 to 15 minutes) from Balloch Railway Station to Loch Lomond Shores where the boats leave from, although there is a connecting bus every hour- #207.
You can also get a bus to Luss Village (not the main road stop) from Alexandria Railway Station- # 305, or from Helensburgh Central or Upper Railway Stations- #302.
You can also get bus #309 from Alexandria Railway Station to Balmaha.
That is quite a nice little village, much less over run than Luss if still busy. At least few tour buses get to Balmaha. They are the big issue at Luss. One hour cruises leave from Balmaha Pontoon- admittedly a gentle 10 minute walk from the Village centre.
So lots of options.

It is also little known that you can also take a short landing trip to Inchcailloch Island every 30 minutes from Balmaha- it is something a bit special although from memory I'm not sure how suitable the walk round the island would be suitable for you.- https://www.balmahaboatyard.co.uk/ferrytoinchcailleoch.htm
This is the last remnant of the mail boat service which used to visit every inhabited island (or Inch) in the Loch- a full day trip.

For something a bit special, if you have a car, you can dine at the restaurant on Inchmurrin [Island]- they have their own private ferry from Arden- https://www.inchmurrin-lochlomond.com/restaurant/ (Buses 302 and 305 do also serve their private pier). The mail boat from Balmaha used to take their lunch stop there.

I have seen that the walk from Balloch train to Sweeny 's cruise is no more than 5 minutes,and even if it was 10,as long as we move at our own pace,it's doable.
To be honest,I wonder how smart it is,at this late stage in life to drive on the other side of the road.

If you prefer not to drive, Rabbie’s has a day tour from Glasgow that includes the Loch Ness.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-glasgow/day-tours/loch-ness-glencoe-the-highlands-day-tour

I took their Loch Ness tour from Edinburgh in 2023. It’s a good way to see some of the scenery without having to drive. At the stops, you can do as much or little walking as you like,

The last time I was at Balloch all the boats were leaving from Loch Lomond Shores (close to where the old Maid of the Loch is berthed), not the village centre (close to the station)- for whatever reason. Hence the walk.

So people were able to buy tickets at the village centre but then had to walk through the Country Park to the Shores to board.

For my taste Balloch is not a very attractive village- you either have the shopping centre at the Shores or the tourist strip at the village centre.

It feels more like a suburb than a Scottish village.

Balmaha and Luss are much more attractive villages.

Since the Maid of the Loch was taken out of service no cruise has covered the whole Loch. You either choose the islands in the southern half or the more fjord like northern part.

Taking the local buses (or the long distance ones) to the other villages is really very easy. There is no need at all to drive up to the Loch.

We did the train from Glasgow to Balloch and did Sweeney boat tour, had lunch at a restaurant in one of the hotels. It was a nice day outings for us. Walk from train station was fine. We also walked around the park . There is a castle they were refurbishing in the hill.

Kim

Carrie
Because of our slow walking,we don't like to hold up a group,so we go on our own

Which town has the fjord like cruises?

@Kim
Thank you

Which town has the fjord like cruises?

Tarbet

The fjord like cruises…the north end of Loch Lomond is more fjord like in quality, it’s the most scenic end of the loch IMO and you will see it if you take one of the short trips from Tarbet over to Inversnaid.The latter is a very pretty spot on the loch, relatively quiet with lovely waterfalls right at the hotel(adjacent to the jetty almost.) Lovely half day out.