NewInUK

I am just starting to plan a trip with my husband and his parents to Scotland in September. They will stay two weeks, we'll come back after one. They want to see Inverness as that is where my father-in-law's family is from. But after reading a few posts here it doesn't sound like an ideal base for us? Not overly pleasant with much to see? I could be wrong. We're interested in the heritage part of things for him, visiting castles, and a pretty slow paced trip considering their age. We'd like to be in a self catering accommodation and will rent a car. I'm having trouble getting started without knowing a good base for us - any suggestions (we don't need to see the bigger cities this time around) would be helpful.

bigtyke

we stayed a week in Callendar which was a good base. We did Inverness in a day trip from there.

Stayed in Leny Lodge self catering - very nice and reasonable

teacher33

I can't recommend a place to stay, but can rec the area. Spent five days in the area with two nephews and could have spent more.

Fort Augustus--Interesting Abbey and boat trips on Loch Ness.

Loch Ness center and Urquart Castle.

Kingussie--Highland Wildlife Park (Farm?) They are raising endangered animals and those who which have been killed out of the highlands. They are hoping to reintroduce them into the wild. We walked about on our own and then joined a group led by a ranger who was very informative and humorous. Good cafe and picnic area. (We had our own picnic but got drinks and ice cream in the cafe. Sandwiches and light meals served in cafe looked good.)

Cawdor Castle and Castle Stuart interesting. Great Gardens at Cawdor and cafe with sandwiches and sweets.

Culloden Battle field. Good introduction at visitor center and moving walk about on our own.

Eileen Donan Castle (seen in MANY photographs in books and on calendars). Interesting insides, 19th c. I especially enjoyed the kitchen area. This would be a long day, a stretch from Inverness.

I know there is much else to see and do but we only had the five days.

In the TI in Inverness we saw the possibility of a day trip to the Orkneys. It looked great but only had vacancies one of the days we were there and we had really wanted to see the Highland games in Fort Augustus on that day, so we did not do the long bus trip to the ferry.

So keep investigating and enjoy your trip!

Viajero2

I visited Scotland and some of my best memories are our days in Inverness!!! Great home base...yes, there are lovelier towns in the area, but do not discard Inverness at all. We visted so many great places from Inverness, like the Urquardt Castle, Loch Ness, Castle Stuart has a wonderful tour (including the hunted tower room!), Cawdor Castle with lovely gardens, the Site of the Battle of Culloden (very interesting!), Isle of Skye day trip. I have no idea who/where you got the idea Inverness area is not a good home base. I thought it was perfect.

JJBhoy

I agree with the others. Inverness in itself isn't particularly noteworthy (although I do think the riverside walk is pleasant) but it is a good place to base yourself if you want to explore the wider area.

Jim

GSteed

Don't worry about safety and such in Scotland. Thousands of Central Europeans have moved there in recent months...and they are all getting along very well.

kaneda

When I was last in Scotland I travelled around and stayed at all different places. If you have a base, then you are continually going back and forth and may not visit places which are furthest from it.

twk

Inverness itself is not really a tourist attraction. However, it is not necessarily a bad place to base yourself for touring that part of the Highlands.

You will get a lot of suggestions to stay outside of Inverness, in a small town. We stayed in a couple of small towns (Inveraray and Plockton) on our recent tour of the Highlands. Both were picturesque locations, and we particularly enjoyed Inveraray, but a couple of days in each was probably enough as you start running out of dining options and attractions to see. That's going to be true in any small town.

So, if you are picking one base for a multi-day tour of the Highlands, you have something of a dilemman: pick a small, picturesque town which will require you to go elsewhere in order to find a variety of eating options and tourist attractions, or stay in Inverness, which won't provide much in the way of tourist attractions, but will serve all your other needs.

Frankly, I liked mixing it up, but if you're going the self-catering route, that's not very practical. I guess I would lean to the more picturesque if I only had to choose one, but you'd have to understand that will mean a lot of driving, or a lot of the same things over and over.

janisj

I think you have mis-interpreted some of the comments about Inverness. There is an absolute <b>TON</b> of things to see near or w/i a reasonable day's Inverness. It is just w/i the city itself there isn't much to write home about - except for a nice river running through it.

And w/ the F-i-L's family connections, the Inverness area would seem the ideal place for a week's base. Just not in I'ness itself. Rent a cottage w/i about 10-15 miles in almost any direction and you will be conveniently located for day trips all over the area.

Is the family from Inverness itself - or a nearby village? Might make a difference where you decide to stay. What is your budget for a self-catering cottage for the week?

janisj

oops - that should read &gt;&gt;There is an absolute <b>TON</b> of things to see near or w/i a reasonable day's drive of Inverness.&lt;&lt;

NewInUK

The budget is not really a concern where my in-laws are considered. His family is from Inverness - and I've done a few searches of self catering in and around the area that do look quite nice. I'm so relieved to hear the above opinions about Inverness, thank you!

sheila

Inverness itself, is not one of the world's great places to saty, but there's lots of nice stuff round about it. For the avoidance of doubt, Callendar is NOT round about

I'm looking at your post and &quot;Nairn&quot; is springing to mind. It's a lovely wee town, with nice beaches and hotels and gold courses and things, and is close to Cawdor and Brodie Castles, Culloden and Ardersier (Fort George). It would be a good day trip to Speside for the whisky stuff and another to the Cairngorms for spectatular scenery and wildlife. You could easily do Skye in a day from there.

Seeing the mention of Fort Augustus reminds me that friends of mine have just bought an apartment there for holiday lets. If you have any interest leet me know and I'll find the link.

kaneda

Plenty of accommodation in Scotland in September. Book it as you go. If you have a base, then you continually have to go back there instead of going onwards and to more distant places.