From Inverness to Loch Ness , Cawdor Castle , Culloden and more

Recommended by 100% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Inverness, Scotland

8 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Enjoy a more tailored and intimate way of exploring the Highlands with this private tour that’s perfect for travelers seeking flexibility and comfort. You can avoid crowded bus tours and enjoy an expertly planned itinerary that includes iconic stops such as Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Beauly Priory, Culloden Battlefield, and Inverness Cathedral.

Save time and check off Loch Ness, Cawdor Castle, and Culloden in a day
Hassle-free pickup and drop-off are included
Avoid the crowds with a private tour just for your personal group
Enjoy onboard perks: Snacks and bottled water are provided

What's Included

Bottled water
Snacks
Private transportation
Free pick-up & drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

We pick up from anywhere in Inverness and return you to your accommodation on completion of the tour.

Itinerary

Loch Ness

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Urquhart Castle

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Beauly Priory

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Cawdor Castle

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Clava Cairns

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Culloden Battlefield

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Inverness Castle Experience (Pass By)

Inverness Cathedral

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Alcohol is not served to underaged
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

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

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

5.0

based on 24 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

My Scottish Heritage Found

Bonnie_M, Aug 2025

Billy was so knowledgeable, entertaining and friendly! The tour was very interesting and fun. I learned a lot, had a relaxing day, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.

Response from Host, Aug 2025

Hi Bonnie It was a great pleasure to take you and your fun loving group around for the day and I'm glad you all enjoyed yourselves Kind regards Billy

A must Do - and Ask for Billy!!

Emily_T, Mar 2024

We booked the “From Inverness to Loch Ness, Cawdor Castle, Culloden, and more through Viator, and they used the local company Highlander Private Tours. Our guide was Billy – and he was absolutely amazing! It was just the four of us (my sister, husband, and niece, whom we were visiting on her break from university in St. Andrews). From his pick up at our hotel to our drop off – Billy was so much fun! He listened to our interests and completely catered our tour to ensure we saw everything and a ton of extras! He personally walked with us through Culloden and gave us stories and the history – while 2 of us were Outlander fans and 2 not so much – it didn’t even matter! The Outlander fans were so thrilled with how Billy wove that into our tour, and the 2 who weren’t, were absolutely spellbound by the history. There were some places that weren’t open (Cawdor Castle), and on our journey, we discovered the Beauly Priory was closed due to renovations, but Billy ensured we were not disappointed by taking us to other fascinating sights, including old cemeteries and mausoleums (because I love them and the history he told of the occupants) to visit James Mackenzie Fraser – the gorgeous Highland Cow. Billy went above and beyond for us; once he heard we were driving to the Isle of Skye the next day (without a plan – we were just going to put the Fairy Pools in the GPS and go), while we were getting a wee dram at a distillery, Billy spent his downtime creating a stop-by-stop itinerary for us for the next two days, handwritten on two sides of a large notebook paper. We are so appreciative; without it, we would have missed so much! He even recommended the ferry to us (that we didn’t even know about), and it cut off a good chunk of our driving time and allowed us to check off everything on our “must-see” list! We plan on going back in 2026 for my niece's graduation and will be making it a large family trip – and Billy will be the one I reach out to for all touring for my family. There is no one else I would trust my family to – and I know he will make that trip as memorable as he did this tour for us. Well done, sir – and THANK you so much!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Hi Emily Thank you for this kind review and it was a pleasure to take you on tour and hopefully when you come back we can meet up again Best regards Billy

Best Inverness and Highlander Trip Ever

Henry_S, Aug 2023

Lawrence, from Highlander Private Tours, is one of if not the best guides we have ever had. For Inverness tours and to learn about the Highlanders way of life he can tell you firsthand because he has lived his entire life in this area. You will learn more about the history of this section of Scotland than you could ever imagine. Among many other sites you will see the real Outlander stones and get a chance to touch them in person. Careful, not to have any gems in your pockets. He will take you to the site of the Battle of Culloden and explain the slaughter the jackovytes endured, and what happened afterwards to survivors. You will learn of the proud highlanders and the different clans thru out this part of Scotland If you book a tour with Highlander Private Tours, with either Lawrence or his brother Bill, guaranteed it will be a highlight of your trip!!

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hello Henry , Thank you so much for your kind review , I am so pleased you all had a lovely day and we look forward to seeing you all again in the near future. Best regards Lawrence

Busy day

Myrna_S, Aug 2023

Our tour guide was good but not great. We had trouble hearing him in the back of the bus. He knew a lot and was great about answering questions. He took us to so many stops more than I was expecting.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hello Myrna , Thank you for your review although it is a bit confusing , the guide was good but not great but then he was great and he took you to more places than you were expecting , the places he took you to are all listed on our Loch Ness Tour. Its unfortunate the people in the back did not hear what our guide was saying but our guide did tell me there was a lot of chatter on the bus between the 7 of you.

Don’t Hesitate! This tour was perfect!

Jenna_C, May 2023

This tour was one of the best parts of our trip to Scotland! The tour operator, Lawrence, was an absolute joy to work with. He reached out immediately via Viator, to find out if we needed any dietary restrictions or special equipment. I then asked him if I could amend certain parts of the tour because I had my young son traveling with us. He then informed me that we could customize to whatever we wanted! I let him know the major things that we wanted to see in Inverness, and he emailed me back the next day with a timed itinerary. I also decided that we would need lunch due to it being a full day tour. He was able to recommend a restaurant overlooking Loch Ness (that had a kids menu) and even made a reservation for us. We arranged for pickup from our hotel and were able to do a cruise on the Jacobite Freedom of Loch Ness. It has sonar (in case of any Nessie sightings), a snack and drink bar, an informative history of the Loch. We then toured Urquhart Castle, which was amazing! The views of the Loch were unbelievable from here. They also have a period trebuchet that you can check out! All parts of the castle have plaques which explain each part and it’s function, which is helpful. We then went for lunch at the “Clansmen Hotel” which was right next to where we got off the boat. The food was good and decently priced. Their scones were wonderful! After, we began our private tour of Inverness with our guide Ken. He was very knowledgeable and a great driver, as the roads were small, windy, and slick from rain. He was able to show us the Fraser family tomb, where most of the family is buried. We also visited Beauly Priory, which is gorgeous ruins of a church. We then got to stop at Robertson’s farm to see some adorable highland cows! After, we headed to Culloden. We made an unscheduled stop at Culloden House where Bonnie Prince Charlie was kept for two nights before the actual battle of Culloden. It was gorgeous and made a great photo op! The weather was rainy, so we did the Culloden museum exhibit first. It was done so well! The artifacts and stories behind them were amazing to see. They even had a “Battle Immersion Theater” where you step into the room and the screen is in a circle around you. They play movie footage of what the battle would have looked like if you were standing in middle of the battlefield. There are Redcoats and Jacobite’s swords clashing and cannons firing. It was an amazing thing to witness and is probably the best recreation of a battle that I’ve ever seen. My son, who is elementary school age, was mesmerized. It’s a gift to have him see, in person, the stuff he studies in school and have it be able to not just be a page in a book. It allowed him to see the stories of actual live people and how they’re way of life was basically taken from them. Very powerful and eye opening to say the least. We did a quick tour of the battlefield because it was pouring rain, but we were able to pay our respects to the people who lost their lives there and appreciate their cause. The gift shop was surprisingly filled with great things! I usually can’t stand gift shops, but here they had meaningful gifts. They had most tartan plaids, small batch craft scotch whiskey, clan pins, traditional hats, beautiful ornaments and toys, most of which seemed to be from small business around the area. I found quite a few nice gifts here. We then headed to the Clava Cairns or “Outlander” stones. It was an astonishing sight to see how these centuries old rocks and huge stones were methodically placed to create actual structures. They were used for burials and are still being excavated today. The Outlander Stone was fun to see and we have a great pic of everyone placing their hands to time travel! Our wonderful guide Ken was also a great photographer and immediately began taking pictures without us even having to ask. He was also full of fun information about the Jacobite rebellion, how the clan families still have roots in Inverness, which Outlander characters were real people in history, and how the show has helped Inverness soar in popularity. He even brought us to a local shop to pick our snacks and drinks for the tour, which was so thoughtful, because he knew we had some people with allergies in our party. Overall, this was one of the best ways to see all the sites Inverness has to offer! The fact that the itinerary can be customized to your specifications, offers hotel pick up and drop off, makes this tour worth every penny!

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you Jenna for this lovely review , I am delighted that the day went well and you had a great time. Ken is an excellent guide and very popular with the tourists.