Saving Money

Train tickets

See our page on Tickets Explained.

PlusBus

For a small additional charge when booking your train ticket, local bus travel can be added with Plusbus. As the tickets offer unlimited local bus travel they are often much cheaper than buying a ticket on the bus.

In the Highlands the locations where these can be added are Inverness, Fort William and Perth. Check the maps online carefully to see where the boundaries for bus travel are for the area and the participating operators.

We have had mixed experiences when trying to use PlusBus, as some drivers do not appear to be aware of the scheme. If you have problems and need to buy an additional bus ticket, we suggest keeping both tickets and contacting the company where you purchased PlusBus to ask for a refund of the additional bus ticket.

Citylink coach tickets

Most long distance services are operated by Citylink. You may be able to find tickets for the exact same service cheaper on the Megabus website. Try there first and if unavailable, then check Citylink website.

Stagecoach bus tickets

Most local buses in the Highlands are operated by Stagecoach. Options to save money include the Day Rider ticket which offers unlimited travel for 1 day, and the MegaRider which offers unlimited travel for 7 days or more.

For historic attractions in Scotland, some are run by Historic Environment Scotland, some are run by National Trust for Scotland, and some are privately or community run.

It is common for visitors to purchase a pass for either Historic Environment Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, English Heritage, or the National Trust in England and Wales, and then be disappointed that it does not allow access to certain properties which do not accept that particular scheme.

It's all pretty confusing so we will try to give some useful information below. It is best to check in advance which scheme(s), if any, the attraction you plan to visit is part of.

Historic Environment Scotland

If you are a member of their Partnership Organisations (English Heritage, CADW or Manx Heritage), you will get half price (first year of membership) or free entry (second year of membership and above).

If you are visiting for a short period, consider purchasing an Explorer Pass (no relation to the Stagecoach Explorer bus ticket!). The current offer is a 14 consecutive day pass. Typically you need to visit at least 3 sites to make the pass worth it, so do the maths on the sites you are planning to visit.

If you are a student it may be at least 2 sites to make it worth it (students are not entitled to the concession price on individual entry tickets but are entitled to the concession explorer pass).

Young Scot card holders get in for £1 anyway, so it would not be worthwhile buying an Explorer Pass.

If you living in Scotland or are visiting for a longer period, consider purchasing membership.

National Trust for Scotland

If you are a member of the National Trust in England and Wales or many other heritage organisations from around the world with whom the Trust has a reciprocal arrangement, you can get free entry.

If you are living in Scotland or are visiting for a longer period, consider purchasing membership. If you live in the USA you can join the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA.

Privately or community run

Some properties may choose to accept certain memberships, or offer their own membership schemes. These are the places where you may find acceptance of smaller organisations' schemes such Historic Houses, Royal Horticultural Society, or Museums Association e.g. Dunrobin Castle accepts Historic Houses and RHS. Check individual properties' websites for details.

Other ways to save money at visitor attractions

There are hundreds of discounts so if you do happen to see one that you really want to get, take a screenshot or printout and be prepared to wait while the member of staff checks it.

We are aware that very often attractions are not aware of discounts that they've signed up to! We know that in addition to large numbers of seasonal staff, some organisations are not very good at informing their own staff of offers.

Car-free discount: some attractions offer a discount for those arriving car free. It is always worth asking when you arrive. 

Pre-book online: some attractions have cheaper tickets online than walk up e.g. Historic Environment Scotland.

Grounds or garden only tickets: some attractions offer these which are cheaper than a ticket for the property and garden e.g. Blair Castle. If the weather's good you can still enjoy a nice day out and probably get nice views of the property from the outside. You can usually access any toilets, cafes and gift shops with a grounds only ticket.

Free access to the grounds: at some attractions you only pay for access to the visitor centre or property e.g. Culloden Battlefield

Free access to the visitor centre: at some attractions you only pay for access to the property e.g. Glenfinnan Monument

Free return entry within a year: a few privately or community run attractions offer this.

Doors Open Days: some attractions take part in this scheme where they offer free entry on a specific date, usually during specific weekends in September. Tickets may be limited and pre-booked only.

Young Scot National Entitlement Card: reduced entry at Historic Scotland, National Trust for Scotland and some other attractions e.g. Highland Wildlife Park.

Local residents: some attractions offer reduced or free entry for local residents e.g. Dunrobin Castle

Location: Staying slightly outside a popular area can make your money go further. Instead of Inverness you could stay in Beauly, Muir of Ord, Conon Bridge or Dingwall for travel on the Far North Line or the Kyle Line.

Instead of Glasgow you could stay in Dumbarton or Helensburgh for travel on the West Highland Line. Instead of Aviemore you could stay in Newtonmore or Kingussie for exploring the Cairngorms National Park.

Shoulder months: consider visiting in April, May, September or October when demand is less but most visitor attractions are open. However, even these months have got significantly busier in the last few years.

Stay on Sundays: Sunday nights are sometimes the cheapest night, so if are booking a short trip and have flexibility, consider including Sunday night. If you are staying in more than one location you could arrange your itinerary so that you are in the most expensive of your destinations on Sunday night.

Last minute deals (not recommended): usual advice for saving money on accommodation is to get a last minute deal. However, accommodation across the Highlands often gets booked up a long way in advance, especially in popular or small locations.

Therefore we don't recommend it unless you are not travelling far, can make last minute plans, and won't be too disappointed if there is nothing available.