Is Inverness Worth Visiting? It’s a Great Base

I’ve lived near Inverness for 20 years now

If you are wondering whether Inverness is worth visiting then the answer is yes. Inverness is a great base from which you can easily explore lots of the surrounding areas.

Read on for what you need to know about visiting Inverness.

Is Inverness Worth Visiting?

Inverness is the capital of the Highlands of Scotland. It is where a good deal of the people are and it’s where quite a lot of things like shops, cinemas, car hire and the airport is.

Inverness, while being a city, only has a population of around 75,000 people so it’s pretty small as cities go (and that figure includes the suburbs too).

One of the reasons that Inverness makes a great base for exploring the Northern part of Scotland is that there is something to see in every direction. You can also explore easily in every direction by train or bus.

Head North and you can go right up to John O’Groats. Head East and you can visit Nairn with it’s amazing beach or Elgin, or go right across to Aberdeen.

Head West and you can go out to the Isle of Skye and head South you are in the Cairngorm National Park.

There is so much within easy reach and that includes Loch Ness of course which is 6 miles from Inverness centre.

Inverness itself has a nice river area with some pretty walks – Ness Islands being a favourite. There is a small museum in the centre, shops, cafes and sightseeing bus.

In 2026 there should be a new castle visitor experience and a new brewery visitor centre opening too.

Is Inverness Worth Visiting?

Getting to Inverness

Flying to Inverness

Inverness is easy to get to and there are plenty of options available. If you choose to fly there are direct flights from:

• London Heathrow
• London Gatwick
• London Luton
• Bristol
• Manchester
• Belfast
• Stornoway
• Kirkwall

Train to Inverness

There are great train services to Inverness. One of my favourites is the Highland Chieftain that goes from London to Inverness. It is operated by LNER.

The Highland Chieftain train leaves London Kings Cross around midday and reaches Inverness a little after 8pm.

There are also Scotrail services that connect from Edinburgh to Inverness. Scotrail no longer has peak fares which means ticket prices should be a bit more reasonable.

Bus To Inverness

There are several bus services to Inverness. Megabus, Flixbus and the new electric Ember bus all run services to Inverness, most of them from Edinburgh.

Driving to Inverness

You can also drive to Inverness too. There is a nice circular route using the A82 on the West Coast for one journey and the A9 on the East side for the other journey.

Be aware that both these roads are very busy and also very slow going. There isn’t any dual carriageway on the A82 for example, but there are plenty of timber trucks which can be a bit nerve wracking.

On the A9 there is dual carriageway but not many roadside services so plan your journey in advance.

Check out flights to Inverness on Kayak or check out my travel tools for trains

Is Inverness Worth Visiting?

When to Visit Inverness

Inverness has a shortage of hotel beds during the peaks of the holiday season. This applies not just to Inverness but to the Highlands in general.

As such I would avoid travelling during school holiday periods, and during very busy months like July and August. You will just pay extremely high prices.

April can be a good value month to visit and generally with nice weather too.

September and October are also good choices with less people.

Bear in mind that towards the end of October some places start closing for winter or reducing the operating hours.

Is Inverness Worth Visiting?

Getting Around Inverness

Inverness is easy to explore on foot. You can easily explore the city centre and river area on foot.

As mentioned previously Scotrail operate a good train service going in all directions. Stagecoach operate the bus service.

There is a hop on hop off bus that connects down to Loch Ness where you can join a boat trip too. This doesn’t operate all year round though.

Is Inverness Worth Visiting?

Is Inverness Safe?

Inverness is fairly safe to explore. There have been an increase in issues relating to drugs such as anti-social behaviour and some increases in violence. However, these are generally not in the areas that visitors are likely to be in, they are generally in some of the housing estates around Inverness.

I have walked around Inverness at all times of the day and night and felt quite safe. That said I don’t frequent Inverness on Friday and Saturday nights when the streets can have quite a lot of drunk and noisy people in them.

Is Inverness Worth Visiting?

Is Inverness Expensive?

Inverness isn’t necessarily a cheap place to visit. It’s not bargain bucket Blackpool type prices. As I mentioned earlier hotels can become very expensive when demand is highest.

Activities are generally reasonably priced. There are dining options to suit all budgets in Inverness too. (The image above shows the Victorian Market which has a small but nice food hall in it with plenty of different options to choose from.)

Generally Inverness isn’t cheap but it does provide good value for money in terms of quality.

Is Inverness Worth Visiting?

Staying in Inverness

There are lots of options for accommodation in and around Inverness.

I like staying near the river because it is generally a little quieter than hotels in the city centre with nice walks near the river too.

There are lots of options to choose from – everything from a Premier Inn to a 5 Star Hotel all along the riverside.

The city centre has a variety of hotels from chain hotels to bed and breakfasts and plenty of self catering accommodation too.

Check out hotels on Booking.com, holiday rentals on Vrbo

Is Inverness Worth Visiting?

Things to Do in Inverness

Generally people head to Loch Ness and who can blame them. However, there is much more to Inverness and the Highlands than Loch Ness.

If you are going to Loch Ness why not take a journey down the Eastern side of the Loch which is much prettier and much quieter than the busy Western side with the A82 road. You can easily drive round the whole of Loch Ness in half a day.

There are lots of tour options from Inverness if you want to go on an organised tour. There is everything from trips to Skye, to distillery trips and much more. It’s a great way to explore and learn a little as you go.

If you want something to do that is cosy even on the dampest and coldest day then visit the Inverness Botanical Gardens. They are small but always nice and warm inside and there is a cafe there too.

I like travelling by train and enjoying the changing scenery as I travel. A favourite journey is to head out to Mallaig from Inverness. The train times mean you have time for lunch in Mallaig before returning.

There are also plenty of castles and other attractions to visit. Cawdor Castle and Culloden Battlefield are just outside Inverness and make a great combination if you love history.

There really is a lot to see whichever direction you go in.

Check out tours and activities in Inverness on Get Your Guide

Is Inverness Worth a Visit?

Inverness Surprises

I am always surprised by how small Inverness actually is, given the population it serves. The city centre is really only a couple of streets. A day is more than enough to explore Inverness city centre itself. If you aren’t into shopping or walking by the river then half a day is plenty. Hopefully with the opening of the castle there will be a bit more visitors.

Is Inverness Worth Visiting? – Conclusion

• Inverness itself is pretty small so in a day you can pretty much all you need to in the city centre and by the river.
• Inverness is a great base to explore the rest of the Highlands. Trains and buses run in each direction giving you an easy way to explore if you don’t drive or you just fancy a day off from driving.
• If you are going to Loch Ness why not do the full circuit? There are some lovely stops along the way and the Eastern side is so much nicer than the busy Western side of the loch.

More Resources

If you found this article about ‘Is Inverness Worth Visiting?’ useful you might also like;

• Loch Ness Boat Trips Reviewed for You
• Hotels in Inverness – find your perfect stay today

Visit my Inverness Travel Inspiration page

Further Information