How to get to Inverness by air, rail and road
By Gordon Pearson on 27th November 2025
If you are wondering how to travel to Inverness by air, rail or road then this handy guide is for you! We hope that you have a great trip to Inverness!
If you are wondering how to travel to Inverness by air, rail or road then this handy guide is for you. We hope that you have a great trip to Inverness!
Inverness Airport is just 20 minutes drive from Inverness city centre, and has good links with a number of key destinations. There are regular flights from London to Inverness with easyJet (London Gatwick and Luton), and with BA (London Heathrow). You can fly into Inverness with KLM from the international hub of Amsterdam Schiphol, and Loganair also has regular flights from Belfast to Inverness.
Once you arrive in Inverness Airport there is an airport bus (Stagecoach 11) which runs from around 5am – 11pm, approximately every 30 minutes, and will take you into Inverness Bus Station. The price of a return ticket is from £9.90.
There are also trains running between Inverness Airport and Inverness (centre). There are approximately 17 direct trains per day, between 7.30am and midnight. Note that the train station is a 5 – 10 walk from the terminal building (whereas buses pick up right outside the terminal building) so you may wish to take this into consideration, particularly if you have a lot of luggage. The train price is £7.10 for an open return (i.e. you book your departure train, and leave the return leg open). To book both trips the price is approximately £12.20 return.
For more information on available routes please go to the HIAL website.
| Amsterdam |
| Belfast |
| Birmingham |
| Bristol |
| Kirkwall (Orkney) |
| London Heathrow |
| London Luton |
| London Gatwick |
| Manchester |
| Stornoway (Isle of Lewis) |
| Sumburgh (Shetland) |
Taking the train to Inverness is our favourite way of travelling to the Highlands (and it’s environmentally friendly too!). Inverness train station is located in the heart of Inverness city centre, making it an excellent base – have a look at trainline for details of tickets.
Edinburgh to Inverness by train – travelling from Edinburgh to Inverness takes around 3 1/2 hours and trains depart (from Edinburgh Waverley or Haymarket) approximately every 1 – 2 hours. The current price of a single ticket is £69 if booking at short notice. However, we’d recommend booking in advance as cheaper tickets can often be available, particularly if you are flexible with your timings. They are generally more expensive if you book last minute or on the train. This applies to most routes in Scotland, so it is definitely worth booking in advance!
Glasgow to Inverness by train – travelling from Glasgow to Inverness also takes around 3 1/2 hours and trains depart from Glasgow Queen St approximately every 1 – 2 hours. As stated above, if you book your ticket in advance you are much more likely to secure a good price. This route generally costs around £74 for a single ticket (but you can get return tickets for about this price too).
London to Inverness by train – The Caledonian Sleeper train from London to Inverness is a fantastic way to travel – you can go to sleep in England and wake up in the Highlands! The Caledonian Sleeper leaves London Euston at 2115 Monday to Friday, and 2100 on a Sunday (see timetable here). The train arrives in Inverness at 0845 the next morning (including Sunday departures). The Caledonian Sleeper does not operate on a Saturday evening. Please note that the arrival in Inverness is too late for you to go any on our tours on the same day, as they all depart before 0830.
In recent years there have been frequent train strikes. We’d recommend checking ahead regarding this, prior to booking your train travel.
This is often the most cost effective way of travelling to Inverness, but will generally take longer than by train or by plane, and the standard of the service can vary greatly.
Citylink is a well-established operator who offer intercity travel from as far away as London Victoria (14 hours – single tickets can be purchased for around £70). They have a regular service from Edinburgh (3 1/2 – 4 1/2 hours, £21 single and £42 for a return, so no discount for booking a return journey) and Glasgow (3 1/2 – 4 1/2 hours, £14-16 single). You can also book on the Megabus website – they were previously more of a budget operator but the routes are now shared between the two operators.
FlixBus started operating routes from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Inverness in 2024. There are currently around 17 services from Glasgow per day and 10 from Edinburgh, between 6am and 5pm, and single tickets start at around £14. You can also book tickets from cities in England, but you will need to change buses a few times. Another option when travelling from England is the National Express coach service.
Citylink and FlixBus both drop off and pick at Inverness Bus Station, which is located next to Inverness Train Station, in Inverness city centre.
As of November 2025, Ember operates all-electric coach services linking Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness. The Glasgow–Inverness route runs up to 12 return services per day, operating around the clock. Services between Edinburgh and Inverness run regularly throughout the day and into the evening, with some journeys making fewer stops. Single fares typically start from around £18–£19, and Ember picks up and drops off in Inverness on Union Street, which is also where our Skye tours start from.
Inverness can be reached from the South of Scotland/ Glasgow/ Edinburgh by the A9, from the West/Fort William on the A82 or from the East/Aberdeen on the A96.
Please be aware that all of these roads are busy in the summer, and can be very tricky to drive, particularly if you are unused to driving on the left-hand side. On the A9 particularly the driving can be difficult for tourists, as the road switches between single and dual-carriageway, with lots of unsafe junctions, which can be disorientating. If you do decide to drive, please leave plenty of time for your journey.
From there you can enjoy all the sights on offer in the wonderful Scottish Highlands. Don’t forget that WOW Scotland provides tours from Inverness to Skye!
