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Loch Ness & the Great Glen Way

The Scottish Highlands’ most famous glen & loch
The flexibility | Choose between rewarding hikes, easy strolls, or sightseeing.
The Great Glen Way | Walk sections of this classic long-distance trail.
Highlights & hidden gems | Combine Loch Ness’s iconic sights and lesser-known shores.
Hotel of character | In harmony with its surroundings and with an award-winning restaurant.
An immersive Highland experience | Options for loch cruises, castle visits, and seeking out Highland cattle.
What is included
  • 4 nights
  • 1 dinner
    4 breakfasts
  • route notes
  • GPS navigation
  • Loch Ness & the Great Glen Way
    The Scottish Highlands’ most famous glen & loch
  • Fort Augustus loch
  • Great Glen Way
  • Invermoriston Falls
  • Loch na Ba Ruaidhe
  • Loch Ness
  • Urquhart castle
  • View of Loch Ness
What is included
  • 4 nights
  • 1 dinner
    4 breakfasts
  • route notes
  • GPS navigation

Holiday information

A Loch Ness walking holiday

Be awed by two of Scotland’s most famous natural showpieces on this self-guided, single-centre walking holiday.

The Great Glen and Loch Ness are on a scale that is unusual in the UK – one that immediately impresses and humbles. Whether it’s lit up by sunshine, veiled by mist, or darkened by brooding clouds brought in on a wind that whips up waves on the water, the landscape is never anything but awe-inspiring.
Staying at a gourmet 4-star hotel in Fort Augustus, at the end of the loch furthest from Inverness, you are perfectly placed to explore not only the north shore, but also the quieter south shore, whose highlights include the dramatic Falls of Foyers.

You can take your pick from a range of walks – including sections of the iconic Great Glen Way long-distance trail – or spend your days enjoying cultural visits, loch cruises, and even a steam train ride across the 21-arched Glenfinnan Viaduct, a journey made famous by the Harry Potter films. Whatever you decide, you’ll be able to gaze upon Loch Ness from a variety of viewpoints. While you probably won’t see any mysterious monsters rising from the dark, peat-laden waters, you will at least be able to understand for yourself why the legend endures to this day, and might glimpse otters, red deer, ospreys, or red squirrels.


Walking & more

The key to Inntravel holidays is flexibility. You can start on the day of your choice, and are free to add extra nights.

There’s no fixed itinerary, so take your pick of our suggested walking routes as the mood takes you.
  • The average maximum daytime temperatures and monthly rainfall relate to the nearest weather station and are intended as a guide only.

    You should always be prepared for wet weather, whichever month you are travelling.
    Average temperatures and rainfall
      Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    °C 5 6 7 10 13 16 18 17 15 11 8 6
    mm 120 86 82 73 73 77 86 98 74 114 110 100
  • Walking around Loch Ness
    Our walking routes on the north shore take advantage of the local bus network (pay locally). We also suggest a number of sightseeing options, some of which are accessible by bus, others only if you have your car with you.
    Wade bridge
    Urquhart Castle
  • Choice of routes: 6.5km (4 miles) to 12.5km (8 miles)

    Fort Augustus
    You have two options of walks from the door of your hotel:


    Option A: Culachy Falls: 12.5km (7.7 miles), 4hrs 30mins; ascent/descent 230m
    Beginning from the door of your hotel, this circular route leads you up through woodland to the waterfall at Culachy – with sightings of roe and red deer not uncommon along the way. Also called the ‘Lady Falls’ for the cloak-like shape their cascading waters make, Culachy Falls are something of a local secret, hidden in a deep cleft in the gorge of the Connachie Burn. Your return route descends one of General Wade’s military roads to an ancient graveyard, with the final stretch tracing the Caledonian Canal back into Fort Augustus.

    Option B: Allt na Criche: 7.3km/4.6miles; 2hrs 45mins; total ascent/descent 260m
    Walking from the door, you follow the Great Glen Way out of the village and then along the hillside, on a wide forestry track that provides spectacular views overlooking Loch Ness and back to the stone towers of Fort Augustus Abbey. The forest comprises mixed birch and pine woodland, the perfect habitat for wildlife including red squirrel and pine marten – with luck! On reaching a small carpark, you head further up into the woodland on a delightful path passing a series of small waterfalls before heading back to Fort Augustus by the outward route. This half-day walk could easily be combined with a boat trip or other sightseeing option.

    Fort Augustus to Invermoriston: 12.5km (8 miles), 4hrs; ascent 370m/descent 345m
    Follow the Great Glen Way from Fort Augustus along Loch Ness’s north shore, passing beneath towering Douglas firs and enjoying some superb vistas over both loch and glen. Your target is the pretty village of Invermoriston, from where you catch a bus back to Fort Augustus.

    Invergarry to Fort Augustus:13km (8.5miles), 4hrs 30mins; ascent 130m/ descent 190m
    A walk of two halves in every sense. After a short bus ride, you follow the Great Glen Way long-distance footpath up through the forest and then north above Loch Oich on an undulating track, before descending to the old suspension bridge at Aberchalder. Here, you follow the left-hand towpath of the Caledonian Canal, part of which occupies a narrow sliver of land between the Canal and the River Oich, all the way back to Fort Augustus.

    Castle Urquhart, Divach Falls & Drumnadrochit: 10km (6.2miles), 3hrs 50mins; ascent 295m/descent 315m
    After taking the bus north, you begin by exploring one of the most iconic sites on Loch Ness, the romantic ruins of Castle Urquhart. From here, you follow the road into Drumnadrochit and then veer off into the low hills to visit the Divach Falls heading back into the town via an outstanding viewpoint at Craig Monie, the site of an ancient, vitrified fort. Back in Drumnadrochit, there has several tourist attractions to visit before catching the bus back to your hotel.

    Culachy Falls: 12.5km
    Allt na Criche: 7.3km
    Fort Augustus to Invermoriston: 12.5km
    Lock gates on the Caledonian Canal
    Invergarry to Fort Augustus: 13km
    The historic Bridge of Oich
    Castle Urquhart, Divach Falls & Drumnadrochit: 10km 
    Castle Urquhart
  • Explore the Highlands
    From delving deeper into the legend of the Loch Ness Monster at Drumnadrochit’s Loch Ness Centre to embarking on a loch cruise or Highland Cow Tour, there are a number of ways you can immerse yourself in the history and culture of the Highlands. A visit to the romantic ruins of Urquhart Castle is a must, and we also recommend making your way to Fort William to sample whisky in the shadow of Ben Nevis. A number of scenic train rides also depart from the station here, giving you the chance to observe some of the UK’s most spectacular scenery from the comfort of a railway carriage.

    Please note all bus travel and excursions should be paid for (and, if necessary, pre-booked) locally.
    The Jacobite train

Accommodation

You stay at a tranquil hotel in harmony with its surroundings.
The Lovat
Prices & travel options
All prices are in £ sterling (GBP). If you'd like to see what they equate to in your currency, use the converter. For general information on pricing, see the 'your holiday price explained' page.
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  • 4 nights: 01 April 2026 - 31 October 2026

    Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price *
    1 - 30 Apr 2026 From £730
    1 May - 30 Sep 2026 From £870
    1 - 27 Oct 2026 From £710

    * Final price is subject to change due to the customisable nature of our holidays and is dependent on accommodation availability for the dates selected. We will contact you to confirm the final price. Single supplements are applicable on many of our holidays. Please contact us for full details.

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FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • Yes, prior to going on holiday you will be able to download GPX tracks so that you can follow your route on your smartphone or dedicated GPS device if you wish. It’s entirely up to you whether or not you use them – our detailed, step-by-step route notes remain the principal means of guiding you from A to B – but we provide them as a secondary means of navigation for additional reassurance when walking.
  • Yes, absolutely. Over the years, we have arranged a great many holidays in the UK for customers living in the USA, Canada, Australia and beyond.

    If you've never travelled with us before, it's worth reading the web pages which explain how we can cater for customers who live outside the UK. The main thing to bear in mind is that our tour operator's licence doesn't allow us to book flights that originate outside the UK, and nor are we able to book rail travel in the UK, so we can't make travel arrangements for you, other than pre-arranging taxis between the local railway station and the accommodation – see the ‘prices & travel’ section for the options available.

    For practical information about travelling to the UK, see the 'what do I need to know about travelling to England, Scotland and Wales?' question.
  • Since our holidays are self-guided, we recommend calling us for a chat about your plans before making a booking, especially if it’s the first time you’ve booked with us.
    The price panel shows the supplement for a single room and also the single traveller charge (this covers (luggage) transfers and other costs which are usually shared between two people).
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.

    More information about the booking process >
    Information about accommodation, general practicalities and more >
    Booking conditions >
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can incur a five or six-figure bill.

    Many insurers offer travel insurance (you can find details on our insurance page of a policy that you may like to consider if you are a UK resident), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies – including falling ill with Covid-19 while on holiday – and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.

    When you purchase a policy, be sure to check that it covers the activities you'll be doing on holiday and that it is adequate for your own individual needs.
  • We are happy to take bookings for families of teenagers if they walk regularly, love the outdoors and are comfortable with the distances and ascent/descent involved, but please note that the bedrooms at most of the accommodation we use will normally only sleep a maximum of 3 people, and sometimes only 2.

    At the request of some of the accommodation providers on this holiday, we are unable to accept bookings for children aged under 16.
  • Unfortunately not. The Inntravel team includes many dog owners, but the extra considerations – such as whether taxi firms accept dogs for transfers to the start of walks, whether routes cross private land on which dogs are not allowed, and proximity to a vet’s – would add another layer of complexity to what are already quite complex holidays.
  • As a minimum, you will need a passport to enter the UK; requirements vary according to your nationality. It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. You’ll need to check requirements on the website of your own country’s government or that of the British government. Our essential travel information page provides links to websites where you can find out about the applicable requirements, along with general official travel advice.
     
    English is the most widely spoken of several official languages; in Wales, for example, Welsh has equal status. The currency is the British pound (Scotland issues its own bank notes, but Bank of England notes can be used in Scotland and vice versa). The UK follows Greenwich Mean Time during autumn and winter, but switches to British Summer Time (GMT + 1) from late March until late October.
Loch Ness & the Great Glen Way
4 nights
Loch Ness & the Great Glen Way
4 nights
Single-centre walking, no car
Grade: Easy-to-moderate
Last fetch time is : 4/4/2026 11:51:35 PM

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