Some visitors will arrive directly into Inverness, the Gateway to the Highlands. Others will first arrive into Edinburgh or Glasgow, and international visitors may arrive first into London, Newcastle or Hull.
Whether you're travelling by train, coach, plane, ferry or bicycle, this guide aims to help.
Where to travel to?
Perth is ideal for travel on the Highland Mainline.
Inverness is ideal for travel on the Highland Mainline and Strathspey Steam Railway, Far North Line and Kyle Line.
Edinburgh is suitable for onward travel on the Highland Mainline, Far North Line and Kyle Line.
Glasgow is ideal for travel on the West Highland Line and Jacobite Steam Train.
Fort William is ideal for travel on the West Highland Line and Jacobite Steam Train.
Check National Rail for further details.
From Scotland:
Trains run directly to Inverness from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen and local stations.
Trains run directly to Perth from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Trains run directly to Edinburgh from Glasgow, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and local stations.
Trains run directly to Glasgow from Edinburgh, Aberdeen and local stations.
From England:
Trains run directly to Edinburgh and Glasgow from many places in England.
LNER runs directly from London Kings Cross to Inverness calling at Peterborough, Newark Northgate, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed (London to Inverness direction only).
(Peterborough, Newark Northgate and Doncaster from 14 December 2025).
From Wales:
Trains run directly to Edinburgh from Cardiff.
Inverness train station was opened in 1855
Inverness train station has a waiting room, ticket office, shop and refreshments
See Caledonian Sleeper for further details.
London Euston to Inverness:
London Euston, Birmingham International (from 15 January 2026), Crewe, Preston to Falkirk Grahamston (Inverness – London Euston direction only), Stirling, Dunblane, Gleneagles, Perth, Dunkeld & Birnam, Pitlochry, Blair Atholl, Dalwhinnie, Newtonmore, Kingussie, Aviemore, Carrbridge (London Euston – Inverness direction only), Inverness
London Euston to Fort William:
London Euston, Birmingham International (from 15 January 2026), Crewe, Preston to Dalmuir, Dumbarton Central, Helensburgh Upper, Garelochhead, Arrochar & Tarbet, Ardlui, Crianlarich, Upper Tyndrum, Bridge of Orchy, Rannoch, Corrour, Tulloch, Roy Bridge, Spean Bridge, Fort William
Caledonian Sleeper Lounge in Inverness
If you travel in winter you may get a view like this
This cool photo was taken at 5am which must have been around Dunblane
From Scotland:
Citylink runs from Edinburgh to Inverness, stopping at the same locations as the Highland Main Line train except for Carrbridge. It also runs from Glasgow to Perth (some services then need to catch Park & Ride bus to city centre).
Citylink also runs from Glasgow to Fort William, from Edinburgh to Oban and Fort William, and between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Note: you may be able to find tickets for the exact same services cheaper on the Megabus website; try there first and if sold out, then check Citylink website.
FlixBus runs from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Perth (some services then need to catch Park & Ride bus to city centre), Pitlochry, Aviemore and Inverness.
Ember electric buses runs from Edinburgh to Fort William, from Glasgow to Perth (some services then need to catch Park & Ride bus to city centre), Pitlochry, Dalwhinnie, Aviemore and Inverness, from Glasgow to Fort William, from Aberdeen to Inverness, and from Inverness to Wick and Thurso.
From England:
National Express runs from major cities in England to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Megabus runs from major cities in England to Glasgow.
FlixBus runs from major cities in England to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth (some services then need to catch Park & Ride bus to city centre), Pitlochry, Aviemore and Inverness. Changes may be required.
From Wales:
National Express runs from locations in South Wales to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Change at London Victoria.
FlixBus runs from locations in South Wales to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth (some services then need to catch Park & Ride bus to city centre), Pitlochry, Aviemore and Inverness. Changes required.
From Europe:
FlixBus operate all over Europe. You can travel from many European cities to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth (some services then need to catch Park & Ride bus to city centre), Pitlochry, Aviemore and Inverness. Changes required.
Inverness Bus Station
Citylink Coach at Aviemore
From the British Isles:
Fly to Inverness Airport from Belfast City, Bristol, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton and Manchester.
Inverness Airport also links to the islands with flights to Benbecula, Kirkwall, Stornoway and Sumburgh.
From the airport you can take the train to Inverness city centre – Inverness Airport Station is 15-20 minutes' walk from the airport. Alternatively you can take a bus from the airport to Inverness - see Stagecoach service 11.
Fly to Edinburgh Airport from Belfast International, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Cork, Derry Londonderry, Dublin, Exeter, Guernsey, Ireland West Knock, Isle of Man, Jersey, London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, London Stansted, Shannon and Southampton.
Edinburgh Airport also links to the islands with flights to Kirkwall and Sumburgh.
From Edinburgh Airport you can take the tram or bus to Edinburgh city centre.
Fly to Glasgow Airport from Belfast City, Belfast International, Birmingham, Bristol, Cork, Derry Londonderry, Donegal, Dublin, Jersey, London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, London Stansted, Newquay and Southampton.
Glasgow Airport also links to the islands with flights to Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh and Tiree.
From Glasgow Airport you can take the Glasgow Airport Express Service 500 to the city centre.
Visitors from Aberdeen can fly to Wick Airport for travel on the Far North Line. There is no public transport between the airport and Wick town centre. You would need to walk (about 25 minutes) or take a pre-booked taxi – these are the operators recommended by Highlands and Islands Airports.
International Visitors:
Fly to Inverness Airport from Amsterdam or through London Gatwick, London Heathrow and London Luton.
From the airport you can take the train to Inverness city centre – Inverness Airport Station is 15-20 minutes' walk from the airport. Alternatively you can take a bus from the airport to Inverness - see Stagecoach service 11.
Fly to Edinburgh Airport from a large number of countries.
Edinburgh Airport also links to the islands with flights to Kirkwall and Sumburgh.
From Edinburgh Airport you can take the tram or bus to Edinburgh city centre.
Fly to Glasgow Airport from a large number of countries.
Glasgow Airport also links to the islands with flights to Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh and Tiree.
From Glasgow Airport you can take the Glasgow Airport Express Service 500 to the city centre.
Loganair, KLM and easyJet planes at Inverness Airport
Inverness Airport train station was opened in 2023
From Northern Ireland:
There is a ferry with Stena Line from Belfast to Cairnryan (Sail & Rail tickets are available), and with P&O Ferries from Larne to Cairnryan. Onward travel is available with a coach from the ferry to Ayr station, then train to Glasgow.
From Europe:
DFDS Seaways operate a daily service between Amsterdam and Newcastle (in Northern England). On arrival at Newcastle, transfer from the ferry terminal at North Shields to the central railway station in the clearly marked DFDS bus. Note that tickets must be bought in advance as they cannot be bought onboard the bus.
Trains run directly from Newcastle to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Inverness.
There is talk of a DFDS Ferry route from Dunkirk to Rosyth (Fife, Scotland) starting in 2026.
P&O Ferries operate between Rotterdam and Hull (in Northern England). On arrival at Hull, there is a choice of coach transfer to Hull city centre or to York.
From Hull there are no direct trains to Scotland – you would need to change at Doncaster, Leeds or York.
From Doncaster there are regular direct trains to Edinburgh and, from 14 December 2025, one direct train a day to Inverness in the afternoon.
From Leeds there are regular direct trains to Edinburgh.
From York there are regular direct trains to Edinburgh and one direct train a day to Inverness in the afternoon.
Scotland has approximately 1643 miles of National Cycle Network routes which link up with routes across the UK. The Cairngorms National Park has lots of cycle paths.
Find out more about Train Travel with Bicycles including train companies' cycle policies. On the West Highland Line some trains have special Highland Explorer carriages which have been especially designed to transport bicycles and other large sporting equipment.
Look out for these colourful National Cycle Network signposts
The Cairngorms National Park has good cycle paths
For some locations and attractions we have recommended travel by bus. Most local bus services in the Highlands are operated by Stagecoach. However, there are smaller operators too especially in more rural areas.
Traveline Scotland is the national public transport information service. However, we have found it to be missing services since its 2024 redevelopment. Traveline, which covers all of Britain, seems to find the services missing by Traveline Scotland, but be missing others!
As a result, we don't feel confident recommending either and have instead linked to the relevant service operators. Unfortunately this means that if a service changes operator, there may be a slight delay in us updating this information on the website but we felt it was preferable to using either of the Traveline websites.
Also be aware that bus stops in timetables are sometimes named after a feature that no longer exists e.g. a post office, a bank or a hotel which has since closed or changed its name. This can get confusing when looking for the stop. Locals can usually point you to where you need to be.
Page last updated 10 October 2025