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Loch Ness Boat Trips Reviewed – Find Your Favourite Easily

Looking for a boat trip on Loch Ness?

Here’s my guide to all the Loch Ness boat trip so you can find your favourite quickly and easily.

Short on time? Here’s my quick boat trip finder.

Boat TripBest ForMore Information
50 minute Loch Ness cruiseThose able to walk to pier & with own transportFind Out More
2 hour cruise from DochgarrochFree parking, flat level entry onto the boat. Seeing some of the canal tooFind Out More
Coach Trip Combination Tour from InvernessIf you don’t have own transport and want to visit Urquhart Castle Find Out More
Nessie Hunter CruiseSmaller boat (max 12) with more personalised experienceFind Out More
Cruise from Fort AugustusBoat trip from the Southern part of Loch NessFind Out More
RIB Boat Fast boat trip in central section of Loch NessFind Out More
Loch Ness Boat Trips – Quick Boat Trip Finder

Boat Tours Loch Ness

Loch Ness Boat Trips

Can You Take a Boat Ride on Loch Ness?

Yes – there is a great choice of boat rides available on Loch Ness. There are large boats with commentaries, smaller boats with guides, and rigid inflatable boats for a speed thrill.

Loch Ness Boat Trips

50 Minute Loch Ness Cruise

This is probably one of the most popular trips on Loch Ness for those a little shorter on time.

The boat leaves from and returns to the Clansman Hotel beside Loch Ness.

  • The Clansman has a cafe/restaurant upstairs, toilets, a large gift shop.
  • There is some parking available at the hotel but this is quite limited.
  • The boat trip leaves from the small pier located at the edge of Loch Ness.
  • To access the pier you need to walk down some steps, through a tunnel which goes under the road and down to the pier.
  • Once at the pier, there is flat access onto the boat and steep steps if you want to sit on the upper deck.
  • This cruise heads down to Urquhart Castle and the captain turns the boat in front of the castle so passengers on either side of the boat get a great view.
  • There is then a drop-off and pick-up at Urquhart Castle before the boat returns to the Clansman.
  • There is a commentary during the cruise and sonar screens on board the boats too.
  • There is also a bar serving hot and cold drinks and small snacks too.
  • There are toilets on board.
  • Dogs are allowed on the cruise. There is no charge but you do have to let Jacobite know as they limit the total number of dogs on the boat.
  • This is a great cruise if you want to just do the central main part of Loch Ness and get some good photos of the castle.

Check availability for your dates right now.

You can cancel for free up to 2 days in advance.

(If you want a different cancellation policy then check here)

Loch Ness Cruises

2.5 Hour Cruise from Dochgarroch, nr Inverness

This is a lovely cruise departing from An Talla which is a lovely visitor centre on the edge of the Caledonian Canal.

  • An Talla has a gift shop, takeaway with hot food and drinks, restaurant and nice toilets.
  • There is plenty of on site parking which is free.
  • The boat trip leaves from the Caledonian Canal which is beside the visitor centre.
  • There is flat and level access to the boat.
  • This cruise heads down to Urquhart Castle and the captain turns the boat in front of the castle so passengers on either side of the boat get a great view.
  • There is a commentary during the cruise and sonar screens on board the boats too.
  • There is also a bar serving hot and cold drinks and small snacks.
  • There are toilets on board.
  • Dogs are allowed on the cruise. There is no charge but you do have to let Jacobite know as they limit the total number of dogs on the boat.
  • This is a great cruise if you want free parking, level access to the boat and to see the Caledonian Canal and lovely Dochgarroch Loch as well.

Check availability for your dates right now.

You can cancel for free up to 2 days in advance.

(If you want a different cancellation policy then check here)

Loch Ness Boat Trips

Coach Tour from Inverness with Boat Trip and Castle Visit

If you want to enjoy a boat trip on Loch Ness and visit Urquhart Castle with transport from and to Inverness then great news – there is a tour that does just that!

Highlander Ways offers a 3-hour tour. This includes a coach from Inverness to Loch Ness. There is then a 30-minute cruise across Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle.

On arrival at the castle, you leave the cruise boat and have around 1 hour to explore the castle itself. You then meet the coach for the return trip back to Inverness.

The duration of the trip is around 3 hours with prices starting from £41.00 per adult, which includes admission to the castle and the boat trip.

The boat trip is on one of the Jacobite boats, so there is commentary during the cruise. There is a bar onboard selling snacks and drinks. There are also toilets as well as seating inside and outside.

When you arrive at Urquhart Castle you will be close to the castle remains which are at the lower part of the castle site. There are guides dotted around the castle building to help explain the history of the castle to you. There are some great photo opportunities from the castle tower as well.

To reach the coach you need to walk uphill and go through the visitor centre. The visitor centre has a cafe, toilets, a small shop and a great film show which plays a 10-minute film giving the history of the castle.

You then need to take 3 flights of stairs or a lift up to the car parking area, and then walk up the ramps to reach the coach park. It can take around 15 minutes to walk from the castle to the coach park.

This trip is a great option if you don’t have your own transport to get to Loch Ness and you want to include a castle visit too.

Click for more information and to check availability for your travel dates.

Loch Ness Tours Boat

Small Boat Trip from Drumnadrochit

If you want a smaller boat experience there is a great trip that leaves from Drumnadrochit.

To take the cruise you can book online and then collect your tickets at the Celtic Crafts gift shop just by the Nessieland visitor centre. You then wait at the top of the steps to Nessieland beside the fibreglass Nessie figures.

This 1-hour cruise is on a smaller boat. There is a maximum capacity of 12 passengers. The boat tour explores the deepest part of Loch Ness and Urquhart Bay. There are great views of the Urquhart castle from the water.

The boat is equipped with sonar like the larger vessels on Loch Ness. There is also an upper seating area as well as an inside cabin. Due to the smaller nature of the boat, it is not suitable for wheelchair users but those with walking issues might be able to manage. To check just telephone Nessie Hunter who will be happy to advise you.

Dogs are allowed on this boat, they limit it to 2 per trip. There is seating for 10 people inside the cabin. There is a large leather seat at the rear of the boat that can seat 5-6 people. There is also seating upstairs reached by a very steep ladder rack type of steps.

The commentary is provided by Mike, the Nessie Hunter, who is full of interesting stories and facts too.

This is a great boat trip if you are looking for a more personal boat trip experience. It’s also a great trip to combine with a visit to the Loch Ness visitor centre. There is a cafe, gift shops, and gelato bar at the visitor centre too making it a great spot to spend a couple of hours.

You can book this trip online up to 1 hour in advance. There are hourly sailings throughout the day.

The trip costs £17 per person.

If you want to ask lots of Nessie questions then this is probably the best of the Loch Ness boat trip options for you!

If you are interested in a Nessie Hunter cruise you can find out more and book online here.

loch ness boat trips post picture

Loch Ness Boat Tour

Cruise Loch Ness – Boat Trips from Fort Augustus

If you are travelling down to the Southern part of Loch Ness then there is a great boat trip running from Fort Augustus.

Cruise Loch Ness has a couple of large boats with a capacity of around 250 each. The boats are easily accessed by boat ramps. They have a large inside seating area with big panoramic windows. There is also upstairs seating outside.

There is a snack bar selling hot drinks and snacks on board. There are also toilets on board.

The cruise leaves from just near the swing bridge in Fort Augustus. There is parking 5 minutes away in the public car park at the top of the town.

Dogs are permitted on board but they are not allowed inside the main cabin – they can only be outside.

The main cruise is a 1 hour long trip from Fort Augustus and back. It explores the bottom end of Loch Ness and covers a couple of deeper parts.

This cruise has a live guide giving commentary and they also use audio-visual displays to show what fish live in the Loch and some historical pictures of Loch Ness. The guide also explains how the sonar system works so you can understand what you are looking at a bit more easily.

Boat tours can be booked online and you simply present a barcode on your phone to board the boat.

An adult ticket for the 50-minute cruise costs £18.00

During the main tourist season Cruise Loch Ness also offers an evening cruise on Loch Ness.

Find out more about Cruise Loch Ness boat trips here.

Read the reviews on Tripadvisor here.

Loch Ness Boat Trip

RIB Fast Boat Trips from Fort Augustus

If you are looking for something a little faster than the large tour boats Cruise Loch Ness also offers RIB high speed tours. These smaller boats are very fast. They have a capacity of around 10 people and all the gear you need to take these boat trips (waterproofs and life jackets) is provided by Cruise Loch Ness.

They offer a 1 hour trip that covers the lower and central part of Loch Ness. This costs £29 for an adult ticket.

They also offer a 90 minute trip that goes right up to Urquhart Castle. This costs £38 for an adult ticket.

The RIB boat trips run from April 1st until the end of October.

If you are looking for something a little more adventurous than the other Loch Ness boat trips then this might be the perfect trip for you!

Find out more about the speed cruises here.

Loch Ness Boat Trips Conclusion

  • If you are looking for a more personalised tour with fantastic views of Urquhart Castle from the water then the Nessie Hunter is a great trip.
  • Jacobite Cruises offers a wide range of Loch Ness boat trips including trips that include a visit to Urquhart Castle.
  • Loch Ness Cruises are a great option if you are visiting the Southern end of Loch Ness and if you want the thrill of a rigid inflatable boat trip.

Other Articles

If you have found this Loch Ness Boat Trips article useful you might also like;

Loch Ness Things to Do – this makes a great 1 day driving itinerary from Inverness!

Things to Do in Inverness

You can lots more articles on my Inverness page to help you plan your visit

Further Reading

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