Highland Tour: Clava Cairns to Loch Ness

Embark on a half-day highland bucket list tour from Inverness and visit famous landmarks and distilleries. Discover the mysteries of Clava Cairns, experience the historic Culloden battlefield, capture a glimpse of Loch Ness, indulge in gin tasting at Great Glen Distillery, and explore the romantic ruins of Urquhart Castle.

Duration: 5 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Clava Cairns - Our journey begins at The Clava Cairns, also known as the Prehistoric Burial Cairns of Balnuaran of Clava. These are the remnants of a once expansive Bronze Age burial site. This evocative cemetery, dating back 4,000 years, still features original elements such as passage graves, standing stones, and ring cairns (stone circles).
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What's Included
  • Bottled Water
  • Air Conditioned Vehicle
  • Great Glen Distillery
  • Local Guide
  • Private Transportation
What's Not Included
  • Urquhart Castle
  • Admission fees
Additional Information

Experience the highlands with our half-day essential tour from Inverness.
We’ll begin our journey at Clava Cairns, home to the famous standing stones depicted in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Learn about the history and secrets of this 4000-year-old landmark with our experienced tour guide.
We then move to the site of the historic 1746 battle at…

Location
Royal Highland Hotel
Station Square
Richie your guide will be wearing Highland Bucket List Top *THIS TOUR DOES NOT PICKUP AT INVERGORDON CRUISE PORT
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
5.0
(92 Ratings)
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Robap3011vn
Jun 6, 2025
Nice job Chas! - Our kilted wonderful guide picked some excellent sites. Cawdor Gardens was THE highlight for me-so beautiful. A whole strip of blooming alliums. I was touched when he chased down some idjuts disrespecting the clava cairns and set them straight. Perfect out of the way spot to see the enormous Loch Ness-such a beautiful area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dominic_k
May 22, 2025
Highly recommend this... - Highly recommend this half day in the highlands, we had an incredible tour! Very informative and personal.
Review provided by Viator
652careyw
May 20, 2025
Great tour, lots of fun! - This is a great tour if you have several locations you want to see. Richie was very knowledgeable ands a lot of fun. We got great pics!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Catsbic
May 13, 2025
Checked off 5 items from my Bucket List - The Half-Day Bucket List Tour was worth every penny. After driving all day the day before it was so nice to let someone else take us to all the places we wanted to see. Our driver/ tour guide was absolutely the best, very informative and we parked close to the entrance at all the sights. We visited all the sites that were advertised and he also stopped so we could see some highland coos as well. It was a very relaxing day with great company, 3 others plus the 3 of us. Very comfortable van, Our driver offered to pick us up at our Air BnB, but we opted to meet in Inverness as we planned to do some sightseeing afterwards. He gave us directions to the car park near our meeting place. The tour seemed longer than 1/2 day and we had ample time at each stop. The Gin Distillery was much smaller than my brother expected and it was staffed by just one person with guests coming and going that made it difficult to hear what was being said about the different gins. So if you are expecting a large distillery you may be disappointed. My interests were Culloden, the standing stones, Loch Ness and the Urquhart Castle and they did not disappoint. The cost of the castle entrance was not covered by the tour, as explained in the tour description. Free water was offered during the trip. Great value!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elayne_k
May 9, 2025
Half day highland tour - Fabulous day with Richie. He is a most friendly and informative guide. Saw many amazing sites. I highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Viator
Vacation186660
May 8, 2025
Fun experiences of Inverness area - Excellent trip. Richie kept us moving so we didn’t have to deal with the crowds. Also very friendly and knowledgeable.would highly recommend him!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julie_s
Apr 30, 2025
We loved every minute of... - We loved every minute of this tour. It exceeded our expectations. All the history and stories were great. The guide went above and beyond, showing us hairy coos and the Hogwarts Express train tracks and finding the perfect spot for photos. We loved that he wore a kilt. The van was comfortable. We are in love with Inverness.
Review provided by Viator
Cynthia_p
Apr 30, 2025
Inverness bucket list tour - This was a wonderful tour! We saw so much in the 1/2 trip. Our guide was very informative and fun. There were only 4 of us on this tour. Loved seeing the Cairns and Loch Ness. My favorite part of the tour was seeing the Culloden Battlefield. So much was packed into the 1/2 day. Highly recommend this trip.
Review provided by Viator
Carrie
Apr 29, 2025
Best tour we've had! - Best tour I've ever been on. Richie was a great personality and a wealth of knowledge. So much fun. He made this tour great!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kathleen_g
Apr 26, 2025
See the highlands in style! - This tour is a great way to see key points of interest in the Highliands. If your are an Outlander fan (or even if you are not!) the stop at Clava Cairns is well worth it. You may be lucky enough to spot Nessie on your stop at Loch Ness before enjoying a boutique gin distillery and a stop at Culloden Battlefield. You end your tour at Urquat Castle. Richie was engaging and accommodating. He even gave my husband a lift to the local disc golf course.
Review provided by Viator
From $108
up to 8 guests
2 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).