If you’re planning a trip to Scotland, then you can’t miss the Scottish Highlands. Check out these travel tips from my itinerary of 3 days in the Scottish Highlands.
This region is famous for its landscapes, lakes and impressive mountains. Also, the area has a very rich history and culture, with old castles, charming towns and many legends and myths.
If you ever watched the tv show Outlander then you definitely fell in love with the enchanting landscape of the Scottish Highlands. When I visited the region I felt sometimes like I was in the show, I even met a Jamie Fraser (it was the name of our taxi driver hahah)
Where I stayed in the Highlands
I decided to stay in the city of Inverness since it’s the biggest city in the Highlands region. Just 250 km distance from Edinburgh in Scotland. Inverness can be considered the “capital of the Highlands” for being the biggest town, with the most number of accommodations, travel agencies and restaurantes. Therefore, I recommend to stay in Inverness, even more with you’re traveling the region without a car.
I stayed at the River Ness Hotel and loved it. It was a great hotel, very comfortable room e great localization. It’s very close to the train station, the downtown area of Inverness and the river. Click here and check out the hotel on Booking.
What I did in 3 days in the Scottish Highlands
Inverness
When I arrived in Inverness I took the day to enjoy the city, walking through the city center, close to the train station and the river. I checked out a few souvenir stores, you’ll find a lot of them downtown. Also, there’s two beautiful churches to see, Inverness Cathedral and The Junction Church Inverness.
On my last day in Inverness I visited the largest secondhand bookstore in Scotland, the Leakey’s Bookshop. You’ll find every kind of book, from every genre, many different versions of classics, and books dated from over 100 years ago. I was amazed to search every corner of that store, so many different books, and seeing books that old it’s incredible. If you’re a book lover, just like me, you MUST visit the store.
Loch Ness
Loch Ness is one of the most famous attractions and destinations in Scotland. The lake is surrounded by astonishing scenery, with mountains, trees and medieval castles. But what really makes Loch Ness famous it’s the myth about the Loch Ness monster, which brings hundreds of visitors every year.
I visited the region with the company Rabbies, I booked the tour on Get Your Guide. I loved it, since it was a small van with a guide that taught us about the history of the region, the battles that happened there, about the myth of the Loch ness monster and much more. The ticket for the boat tour is not included and you’ll pay it later on the tour.
Our first stop was right at the Loch Ness, we touched the water and got to take great pictures. The stop is at the house/work place of the oldest loch ness monster hunter. He has been looking out trying to see the monster and has appeared in many documentaries and news interviews. But unfortunately he wasn’t there when I was visiting.
We had a stop for lunch in a small village near Loch Ness. I was really surprised about how you can easily find vegan options anywhere in the United Kingdom. Almost every restaurant there had a vegan option.
CLICK HERE and book the Loch NessTour
Isle of Skye
Located on the west coast of Scotland, the Isle of Skye is famous for its mountains, dramatic cliffs and crystal clear lakes. There are a few small towns to visit in the region.
I booked the Isle of Skye tour on Get Your Guide. The bus left Inverness and had a few stops. The tour guide told us a lot about the local history, the clans and the battles. Therefore it was amazing to learn more about the region.
Our first stop was a quick view of Loch Ness before heading to the Eilean Donan Castle. An incredible medieval castle and very well preserved. But you can make a visit inside the castle, a great way to see how they used to live.
But the ticket for the castle is not included on the bus tour, you have to buy the ticket on site. It was £11 to visit the castle area and the inside, there’s a different price to just walk around the castle. I think it’s nicer to visit inside as well, to see how the inside of a castle with all the furniture looks like.
Next we went to Portree, the capital and largest town on the Isle of Skye. You can have a great view from Portree Harbour, with all the cute houses, but it was raining when I went. Also, I was really happy that I found vegan options easily in the area.
Since it was raining that day, the tour guides had to make a few plan changes. We saw just a bit of the Lealt Falls and walked down the coast, which had an incredible cliff and view. I did feel like I was on the set of Outlander.
CLICK HERE and book the Isle of Skye Tour
Other places to visit in the Scottish Highlands
Since I only stayed in the highlands for just 3 days I didn’t get to visit a lot. If you manage to have more days traveling the region, then check out this list of other attractions worth visiting:
- Urquhart Castle
- Glenfinnan Viaduct
- The Fairy Pools
- Dunvegan Castle
- Loch Lomond
- Cairngorms National Park
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