Destinations Travel Advice

24 hours in Inverness

24 hours in Inverness City, River Ness
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24 hours in Inverness

Our top tips for how best to spend 24 hours in Inverness

Now that you’ve booked your mountain bike tour in Scotland with us you need to begin planning your travel to Inverness, and the start point of your Highland adventure. Our 24 hours in Inverness.

We always recommend that you arrive at least one day before your adventure begins to allow for any travel or luggage delays. It’s also good to acclimatise to local time and recover from your journey before you start turning the pedals.

To help you make the most of your extra time in the Highlands, we’ve pooled our collective local knowledge to create this handy city guide for how best to spend 24 hours in Inverness before you set off on your fantastic mountain bike tour in Scotland.

24 Hours in Inverness: Morning

To kick off your 24 hours in Inverness and get your blood flowing you should take a walk down to the River Ness and across the Ness Islands. If you’re feeling energetic you can continue all the way to the Botanic Gardens, which are worth a visit.

While down at the river it’s always worth checking in to Eden Court Theatre to see if there’s an evening show that you can catch.

Heading up into town, you must stop in at Velocity Café, a social enterprise and community cycling hub, for a very tasty homemade vegetarian lunch.

Afternoon

In the afternoon take a taxi or bus out to Loch Ness, to walk off your lunch strolling along the shore and do some ‘Nessie’ spotting, before making your way back to town.

For craft beer or whisky connoisseurs, you could head to Uile-bheist Distillery on the riverside, Inverness’ newest brewery and distillery, for a tour and tasting.

Evening

A quick stop back at your hotel and then it’s out on the town for food and some of the local nightlife that Scotland is famed for.

Start your evening at the Black Isle Bar for some locally produced organic ales (and fantastic pizza) and then move on to a night of revelry and traditional music across the road at Hootenanny’s.

5 Local Phrases

‘Aye’ (ai); Very simply, Scots for ‘yes’

‘Naw’ (naw); Scots for ‘no’

‘Wee’ (wi); ‘Small’, ‘little’

‘Ta’ (ta); Shortened form of thanks. ‘Cheers’ may also be used

‘Sláinte’ (slahn-che); Literally translates from gaelic as ‘health’. A common drinking toast

Accommodation Options

Here are a few of our favourite places to stay in the city;

Castle View Guest House

Glenmoriston Townhouse

Kingsmills Hotel

Inverness Transport Links

Inverness is a really small city and once you’re in the main hub of the Highland capital you’ll be able to negotiate most of the city on foot. If you’re travelling to Inverness by train, bus or plane, here’s how to get to the city centre:

Train/ bus – If you arrive to Inverness by train or bus then luckily you’ll already be in the city centre and our recommended hotels are only a short walk (or taxi ride to Kingsmills) away.

Air – Inverness airport is 8 miles from the city centre and is well served by bus links and taxi services. The shuttle bus operates every 30 minutes and is around £10. A taxi is likely to cost around £30. If you are travelling with your mountain bike, check out our handy guide on how to travel with your bike.

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