Best of the Scottish Highlands Tour from Inverness: Black Isle, Loch Ness and Scotch Whisky

Venture through Scotland’s Highlands on a full-day trip from Inverness with an expert guide. Traveling by luxury minivan, you’ll explore the area known as the Black Isle, home to incredibly barren yet beautiful scenery. Visit the sleepy fishing village of Cromarty, see bottlenose dolphins at Chanonry Point, and sample whisky at the Glen Ord Whisky Distillery in Beauly. Before returning to Inverness, you’ll walk along the banks of Loch Ness to seek out Nessie – a must-do activity in the Highlands!

Depart Inverness by minivan and travel with your guide to the heart of Scotland’s dramatic Highlands. Heading west, you’ll venture along a stunning stretch of the Highlands known as the Black Isle, an area of land that’s actually a peninsula and named for its association with the dark arts during medieval times. Hear tales like this and more from your friendly guide as you journey deep into the Black Isle’s beautifully barren countryside.

First stop of the day is in Cromarty, a picturesque village where time feels like it’s truly standing still. Enjoy a leisurely walking tour around its quaint streets, seeing cute fisherman’s cottages and houses with typical Scottish crow-stepped gables.

Continue traveling by minivan through the pretty villages of Rosemarkie and Fortrose, and then stop for a walk along a ridge known as Chanonry Point. Jutting out into the sea at Moray Firth, the ridge is widely acknowledged as the best place in Britain for see dolphins – home to a community of some 130 bottleneck dolphins.

After dolphin spotting to your heart’s content, your tour continues to the nearby town of Beauly for lunch (own expense) and a look around. The name of the town comes from the French beau lieu meaning ‘beautiful place,’ and you’ll find it to be just that while you explore its charming streets at leisure.

The town is home to the legendary Glen Ord Whisky Distillery, and you’ll visit this next with your guide. While touring the cellars and distillery itself, you’ll see the whisky workers creating their flagship product – a 12-year-old single malt whisky – and you’ll be given a wee dram to sample before leaving.

On the way back to Inverness, there’s one last – and very important – stop at the banks of Loch Ness to try and catch a sight of the fabled Loch Ness monster. As you stroll through the village of Drumnadrochit and around the gorgeous shores of this famous loch (lake) surrounded by flora and fauna, you’ll soon realize that there’s more to Loch Ness than just a monster!

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