🚢 Invergordon Cruise Port Tour Guide for +10 years

Thinking of taking an ‘Inverness on Your Own’ shore excursion when you visit Invergordon Cruise Port?

Here is all the practical information you need to decide if it’s the perfect excursion for you.

Inverness On Your Own Shore Excursion

Table of Contents

This excursion operates as a half-day tour from Invergordon.
When larger ships are in port there is often 1 bus doing multiple trips. Sometimes these are buses that take the children to school first so that means the first departure of this tour is often not until around 9.30-10 am.
If you plan to book this tour because you want to be in Inverness for a specific time then it might be wise to check the timings first.
Double-decker buses are often used on this tour as it is very popular with guests.
The double-decker buses seat 90 guests each.
The journey into and back from Inverness is the same route and it takes around 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on traffic.
The drop-off point in Inverness is at the parking bays by Inverness Cathedral. This can be busy so the drop-off point might be further along the street depending on how many buses there are in Inverness from the cruise ship.

Here is the location of the drop-off point;

Inverness On Your Own Shore Excursion

The route into Inverness is via the A9. The bus will follow the Cromarty Firth shore initially and then cross over the Cromarty Causeway.
It will then travel over the Black Isle, along the dual carriageway, and over the Kessock Bridge.
Once it reaches Inverness it will travel into the city centre to the drop-off point.

Inverness On Your Own Shore Excursion

There are no toilets on the double-decker buses and often none on the buses used for this tour.
There are no toilets at the drop-off point/pick-up point in Inverness. The nearest is at the Palace Hotel Inverness (it is just round the corner from the bus bays and they are happy for cruise ship guests to visit them).
The bus that takes you into Inverness might not be the same bus that brings you back. Be prepared to take all your belongings with you when you leave the bus in Inverness.
There is no tour guide on this shore excursion. It is purely a transfer.
Sometimes there is a tour escort but they are there just to escort you in and back out again. They are not guides and get paid less than tour guides. They are not expected to give you a commentary and if they do it’s at their own discretion.
The tour often runs just with a driver and no tour escort.
You may get maps of Inverness when you board the bus in Invergordon. If not you can get them at the drop-off point in Inverness.
Departures for this tour generally depart mid-morning and return early afternoon so that the buses can do school runs before and after operating this tour.
You will have around 2.5 – 3 hours of free time in Inverness.
The buses used for this transfer generally don’t have air conditioning, and the double deckers do not have air conditioning.

Inverness On Your Own Shore Excursion

The drop-off point/pick up point is in the centre of Inverness beside Inverness Cathedral.
The cathedral is open to visitors.
There is a small cafe behind the cathedral.
There are also food trucks that operate along the riverside, and the cathedral has placed several tables in the grounds around the cathedral making it a pleasant spot to get something to eat.
There is a nice circular walk that is 1.5 miles long and takes around 30 minutes. It crosses over the River Ness using two metal pedestrian footbridges.

Inverness High Street is 5 minutes away from Inverness Cathedral. Here you can find plenty of shops, including gift shops.

The Whisky Shop has whisky from all over Scotland and they are whisky experts so that’s always somewhere I recommend.

My favourite places in Inverness are all on Church Street, which 2nd street on the left when you cross into the High Street from Ness Bridge.

Leakeys – a huge and lovely secondhand bookshop, housed in an old church

Miele’s Gelateria – lovely gelato from this local business

The Victorian Market – now with a great food court inside

You might like my article about Things to Do in Inverness

Inverness on Your Own Shore Excursion – Conclusion

This is an easy way to get into and back from Inverness direct from the pier
You will have around 2.5 hours free time in Inverness on this tour
The coaches on this tour are generally not air conditioned so be prepared if the weather looks like it will be warmer