Invergordon Shore Excursions: Loch Ness, Culloden, Cawdor & More

From $596.43 per group Lowest Price Guarantee

Select Date and Travelers

You can select up to 8 travelers in total.

Traveler (0-120) Minimum: 1, Maximum: 8

Book online or call: +1 437 970 2890

Free Cancellation For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

1 to 3 Passengers

2 Adults x $596.07

$1,192.14

Approx Total

$1,192.14

option 2
Pickup included

4 to 8 Passengers

2 Adults x $784.30

$1,568.60

Approx Total

$1,568.60

option 1
Pickup included

1 to 3 Passengers

2 Adults x $596.43

$1,192.86

Approx Total

$1,192.86

option 2
Pickup included

4 to 8 Passengers

2 Adults x $784.78

$1,569.56

Approx Total

$1,569.56

option 1
Pickup included

Inclusions / Exclusions

Mobile ticket
Offered in: English
Comfortable Vehicle
Private tour
Air-conditioned Vehicle
Bottled Water and snacks for the Journey
Local Guide

Meals
Urquhart Castle/ £13-£14.50 (Admission fee)
Cawdor Castle and Grounds / £12.50-£13.50 ( Admission fee)
Culloden Battlefield / £11-£14 ( Admission fee)

Overview

This is an unforgettable day tour from Invergordon to Loch Ness, taking in some of the most scenic, historic and culturally significant sights available anywhere in Scotland. Our local guide will meet you as you disembark from your cruise ship at the port of Invergordon and take you on your own Highland adventure. Your tour will start at Beauly Priory, before moving onto the famous Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. We will then travel along the Loch side towards Inverness where we will see St. Andrew’s Cathedral, before moving onto the sacred site of Clava Cairns, home of the famous Outlander series . We then travel a short distance to Culloden Battlefield and our final stop will be Cawdor Castle and Gardens , before returning to Invergordon.

Itinerary

Beauly Priory

Firstly, we proceed along the shore of the Cromarty Firth and make our way to Beauly where we visit Beauly Priory. Beauly Priory was built in the 13th century for an order of Valliscaulian Monks from Dijon in France. Most of the Priory was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in the 16th century and he removed a lot of the stone to build a citadel. In Inverness when the citadel was destroyed after Cromwell’s death the same stone was then used to build the Dunbar hospital in Inverness – you will see this building later in the day. The Priory was an ancient burial ground for the chiefs of clans Fraser and Mackenzie. Leaving Beauly behind us we make our way over Culnakirk Hill to Drumnadrochit.

30 minutes
Urquhart Castle

After passing through Drumnadrochit and at the top of the hill we stop at Urquhart Castle which sits on a promontory overlooking the loch. Urquhart Castle was once one of Scotland’s largest castles and has been fought over many times with control of the castle passing back and forth between the Scots and the English during the wars of independence. It is near here that St Columba is purported to have seen the loch ness monster in 580 AD, the monster came out of the water to attack one of his disciples and St Columba banished it back to the water. The castle gatehouse was deliberately destroyed in 1692 so it could never be used again as a military stronghold.

1 hour
Inverness

Continuing back to Inverness we stop at Inverness Cathedral, this is the most northerly Anglican cathedral in the UK and was completed in 1866. Driving through Inverness we pass the Old High Church where the Jacobite prisoners were held after Culloden before they were executed in the graveyard, you can still see musket ball marks on the church wall where the executions happened. Opposite the Old High Church you will see the Dunbar Hospital, built with stones from Cromwell’s citadel, the stones originally from Beauly Priory. Further along this street we pass Abertarff House, the oldest house in Inverness dating from 1593 and once the townhouse for the chiefs of Clan Fraser. Continuing through Inverness we pass Inverness Castle and you will see the statue of Flora Macdonald, famous for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to Skye after Culloden.

45 minutes
Clava Cairns

Heading out of Inverness we come to Clava Cairns, this ancient burial ground is more than 4000 years old. Diana Gabaldon is believed to have taken inspiration for her outlander series. The winter solstice was a very important time for these people and the cairns are aligned in a south westerly direction to face the midwinter sun.

20 minutes
Culloden Battlefield

Less than a mile from Clava Cairns we come to Culloden Battlefield where on the 16th April 1746 the last battle on British soil took place. The battle was fought between the Jacobites who wanted to restore the Stuarts to the throne and the Hanoverians who were the government. In less than one hour more than 1600 men were killed, 1500 of them Jacobites. The battle lasted just over one hour. The result of this battle was to change the way of life in the highlands forever.

1 hour
Cawdor Castle

After Culloden we head to Cawdor Castle. Cawdor Castle has been home to the Thanes of Cawdor for centuries and is one of the few castles in the Highlands to be left unscathed after the Jacobite uprisings, this is very surprising considering it lies between Auldearn and Culloden where two battles took place. The castle is still lived in today by the Dowager Countess of Cawdor.

1 hour 30 minutes

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Specialized infant seats are available
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Child seats available on request.
The travel time is included on the total tour duration.

Free Cancellation

February 06100% refund

February 07No refund

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Reviews

4.8

9 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

5 stars

7
4 stars

2
3 stars

0
2 stars

0
1 star

0

We perform checks on reviews

We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her We had a great experience touring New York City with Jonathan. He's a great tour guide and he made it very memorable and enjoyable. The tour was also super informative and I'm glad to have had a great tour guide during my visit in NYC. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a tour her

Compare Similar Experiences