Shore Excursions from Invergordon

🚢 Invergordon Cruise Port Tour Guide for +10 years

Will you be arriving in Invergordon as a passenger on a cruise ship?
Do you want to know about shore excursions from Invegordon?
Here’s an overview of all the most popular shore excursions available in Invergordon with practical information to help you find the right trip for you.
Read on to find out all you need to know about Invergordon shore excursions.

Links You Might Find Helpful:
Private Tour Operator Shore Excursions from Inverness
Private Half-Day Car Tour to Loch Ness for Up to 3 People
More Private Tour Shore Excursion Options

Invergordon Shore Excursions

Table of Contents

Let’s start with a few bits of practical information you should know before you book any shore excursions in Invergordon.

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Invergordon Is Not Inverness

Invergordon is not the same place as Inverness. Yes, that may sound obvious but some cruise ship companies called it ‘Invergordon (Inverness)’ on their itineraries.
Inverness is 25 miles away from Invergordon.
Loch Ness is 35 miles away from Invergordon.
That means most shore excursions involve travelling, especially if you want to visit Inverness or Loch Ness.

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Roads In the Highlands Are Slower

Most of the roads in the Highlands are single lanes in each direction.
This means travelling times can be longer than you might expect.
You won’t be able to travel at 60mph for most of the time.
That means a journey into Inverness, whilst being 25 miles can take around 45 minutes.
A journey to Loch Ness from Invergordon is going to take around 1 hour.

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Public Transport is Often Very Busy

The Highlands are one of the least densely populated places in Western Europe.
That means there aren’t that many people. Fewer people means less public transport.
This can cause huge pressure on public transport when there is a ship in and many cruise passengers are trying to use it as well.
There have been many instances of people not being able to board buses, despite having a valid ticket.
Check out my tips if you are planning on taking a shore excursion when you visit Invergordon.

Shore Excursions Invergordon

Ship Organised Excursions

Each cruise ship company will have slightly different spins on their shore excursion programs, but in terms of itinerary and timings, they often are quite similar.

Here are the main ones that cruise ships offer;

Excursion	Half Day or Full Day
Inverness on Your Own	Half Day
Loch Ness Cruise	Half Day
Cawdor Castle & Culloden	Half Day
Scenic Scottish Drive	Half Day (sometimes 3.5 hours)
Dunrobin Castle	Half Day
Urquhart Castle	Half Day
Distillery Visit	Half Day
Rogie Falls Walk	Half Day
Culloden & Loch Ness	Full Day
Cawdor & Urquhart Castle	Full Day
Castle of Mey	Full Day

Shore Excursions offered by Cruise Lines at Invergordon Cruise Port

A half day excursion is 4.5 hours.
A full day excursion is around 9 hours.
The Castle of Mey tour is around 10 hours due to the distance covered.

Invergordon Scotland Shore Excursions and Tours

Ship Organised Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Here are some more details about the ship organised excursions.

Invergordon Tours

Inverness On Your Own

This is purely a transfer into Inverness and back again.
Sometimes there is a tour escort. They are not a tour guide and get paid less because they aren’t expected to give a commentary. Some tour escorts give a commentary but it’s entirely at their own discretion.
This tour also runs with no tour escort, just the driver, and then there is no commentary.
The transfer from Invergordon to Inverness takes around 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on traffic.
You will be dropped off in the centre of Inverness beside Inverness Cathedral.
This is within easy reach of the city centre.

Points to Note:

Double-decker buses are often used for this tour. They take 90 people. They do not have air conditioning.
The bus you travel into Inverness on may not be the bus you return on. This means you cannot leave anything on the bus when you get off in Inverness.
For a 4.5-hour tour, you will generally have 2.5-3 hours of free time in Inverness.
The bus travels and returns the same route to and from Inverness.

For a more detailed review of this tour including the route and drop-off points go to my Inverness On Your Own Shore Excursion Review

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Loch Ness Cruise

The cruise boat on Loch Ness is not just for cruise ship guests. It’s a large boat that runs on a schedule throughout the day.
That means cruise ship guests need to get to the pier ready for a scheduled departure time for the boat. The boat will not wait if guests are late.
The travel time to get to the boat is 1 hour 15 minutes or 1 hour 30 minutes depending on the route taken.
The boat trip itself is 50 minutes long.
Each guest needs to have a boarding token before getting on the boat. The tour guide has to collect these and give them to guests before you board.
There is generally no scheduled time for shopping on this tour.
Some cruise lines include a brief photo stop in Inverness but most do not.

Points to Note:

A delay to the start time of the excursion means that a photo stop is unlikely to happen (if it’s included in your program) – as otherwise, you may miss the boat trip.
There is a gift shop at the venue where the boat leaves from but generally the schedule doesn’t allow time for shopping.

For a more detailed review of this tour check out my Loch Ness Cruise Shore Excursion Review

If you are interested in private tour options this day tour includes a cruise, Urquhart Castle, Cawdor Castle and Culloden

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Cawdor Castle and Culloden

The travel time Invergordon to Cawdor Castle on a coach is around 1 hour.
The coach parks in the coach park and you need to walk to the castle entry gate and then into the castle itself.
To manage numbers the castle operates a timed booking system, so you may visit Culloden Battlefield first depending on the castle booking.
The castle is unsuitable for anyone with walking difficulties. There are spiral turret steps to go down during the visit.
You cannot take backpacks or large bags into the castle itself.
You will generally have around 1.5 hours at the castle.
There is an audioguide at the castle. If you listen to every single piece of information it takes 45 minutes.
There is a cafe, gift shop, lovely gardens, and a woodland walk at Cawdor.
There are toilets on the way into the castle and beside the castle cafe.
Your visit to Culloden Battlefield is a photo stop. There are generally around 15-20 minutes in the program for this.
You won’t have time to walk right out into the battlefield in that time. You have to walk from the coach park and around the visitor centre to see the battlefield.
Most of the return journey to Invergordon is the same as the outward journey.

For more details, you might be interested in my Cawdor Castle Shore Excursion Review

If you are interested in privately organised shore excursions you might be interested in this Cawdor option from Invergordon

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Scenic Scottish Drive

This tour operates sometimes just as a drive (often for SAGA) and also with a stop in Dornoch. Some cruise companies include a visit to the Falls of Shin and some don’t.

If your tour visits Dornoch you may visit this at the beginning or the end of the tour depending on the routing.

The scenic drive heads up to a viewpoint called Millionaires View for a photo stop.

If your trip includes the Falls of Shin you will drive up a single-track road to a parking area. You can then walk down a fairly steep path to reach the Falls of Shin where you may see salmon jumping the falls.

There are currently (Jan 2024) no facilities open at the Falls of Shin – no toilets, no visitor centre, etc.

If your tour includes a stop in Dornoch you will head there. Coaches park in a parking area just to the rear of the main street. You will have around 30 minutes to 1 hour in Dornoch depending on the timings.

Points to Note:

Sometimes due to the ship’s times being in port this tour arrives in Dornoch before anything is open. (Generally, if you visit Dornoch first)
There are no bathroom stops on this tour until you reach Dornoch. If your tour doesn’t include Dornoch there are no bathrooms.

You may find this privately run tour of interest, it visits Dornoch and Dunrobin

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Dunrobin Castle

Dunrobin Castle is 45 minutes – 1 hour away from Invergordon cruise port.
The Castle doesn’t open until 9.30 am or 10 am depending on the time of year. This can mean you may take a bit of a longer journey to reach the Castle depending on the excursion departure time.
The Castle is large and there are no lifts to reach any of the upper levels.
It’s a self-guided visit.
There is a cafe and shop at the castle.
There are beautiful gardens at Dunrobin. However, these are quite steep and there are several sets of steps to get down from the castle to the garden.
There is a falconry show at Dunrobin but generally, the tour timings mean you are arriving after it has started or leaving before the afternoon show has commenced. (This is because the coach usually does 2 half-day tours).
You will have around 2 – 2.5 hours at the castle.

If you are interested in a private tour operator option check out this Dunrobin and Dornoch combined tour

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle is 1 hr and 15 minutes from Invergordon.
This tour generally operates a circular route. On one part of the journey you will go through Inverness, on the other you will return through Beauly.
The castle operates a time slot system for coach bookings. This means that the route the coaches take depends on the castle booking. You won’t know if you are passing through Inverness first or last until you board the coach.
Some cruise companies include a brief photo stop in Inverness, but most don’t.
You will have around 1 to 1.5 hours at the castle. If there is a photo stop it will be more likely 1 hour.
The coach park is at the top of the hill beside Loch Ness. Urquhart Castle is at the bottom of the hill.
There is a lift to save walking down the stairs in the visitor centre.

For a more detailed guide to this tour check out my Urquhart Castle Shore Excursion Review

If you are interested in private tour options this day tour includes a cruise, Urquhart Castle, Cawdor Castle and Culloden

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Whisky Distillery Visit

The distillery you visit on this tour depends on the availability of tours. Most cruise ship tours go to Glenmorangie, some go to The Singleton at Muir of Ord.
Glenmorangie is 20 minutes from Invergordon. Muir of Ord is 30-45 minutes away depending on the route.
Glenmorangie can only take 12 people at a time on a tour. For a full coach of 45 people that means the group will have to split into 4 groups. There is a 10 – 15 minute wait between each tour.
The Singleton Distillery can take around 20-25 in a group.
Both tours involve visiting noisy and hot parts of the distillery buildings.
They also involve going up and down stairs and walking over open tread flooring.
Both distilleries have options for more accessible routes.
The Singleton Distillery has a lovely cafe and visitor centre.

Shore Excursions from Invergordon

Rogie Falls Walk

Most cruise ship companies do a combined Rogie Falls and Silverbridge walk.
It’s around 45 minutes from Invergordon to Rogie Falls. This is often the first walk as it is shorter.
Rogie Falls is a woodland walk that involves going up and down some hills to reach the falls. There is a bridge over the falls but the number of people allowed on the bridge is very limited. There is generally less than 45 minutes to do this walk.
Silverbridge is a much longer walk. This involves going up and down steps, up and down hills, and over rough tracks and tree roots.
There is generally a guide and an escort on this tour. The guide cannot guide while walking so instead generally makes a stop in the middle of the walk to give some explanation.
You will have around 1 to 1.5 hours to do this walk.
There is often a short stop at Strathpeffer on the return journey. This is often around 15 or 20 minutes depending on how long the walks take.
There are toilets at both of the walks.

Links You Might Find Helpful:
Private Tour Operator Shore Excursions from Inverness
Private Half-Day Car Tour to Loch Ness for Up to 3 People
More Private Tour Shore Excursion Options

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You can find lots more information on my Invergordon Cruise Port page