Invergordon in brief
Invergordon is the port. Inverness, Loch Ness and Culloden are the reasons people book the cruise — and all three are a drive from town.
The Port of Cromarty Firth has handled cruise ships since 1978, when the MV Kungsholm called, and it’s still an industrial harbor first — the cruise calls fit around the rest of its work.
Ships tie up alongside here.
The port’s own 2026 timetable codes most calls to one berth, marked “SB”, and puts small ships like Windstar’s Star Pride on a second pier. A third-party guide names Admiralty Pier and Saltburn Pier, and says anchoring can come into play when several ships are in at once.
Don’t expect a big terminal: that guide describes a gate, a small tourist information kiosk and a souvenir shop — enough for a map and a question, not a morning of browsing.
It’s a busy port for its size.
The port counted 96 ships and about 184,000 passengers in 2025, and around 30 percent of those passengers were American. Nearly 98,000 passengers in all went out on a ship-organised tour.
For 2026 it announced 95 calls, from AIDAmar on April 6 to a final call on October 14 — slightly fewer than the 98 on its December 2025 list.
Which tour earns the fare, and which you can do by train, is the job of our Invergordon shore excursion guide. Read it before you book a coach seat.
On foot from the ship
Most 2026 calls on the port’s timetable use the berth coded “SB”, and ship coaches line up on the pier itself.
A third-party guide puts the tourist kiosk and a souvenir shop inside the port area. Independent tour drivers wait outside the gate.
The town center is a short walk. The port hands out a printed visitor map as you come off the ship.
Invergordon station is close enough to walk — the catch is the timetable, not the distance.
Painted walls around town, the parish church and a small museum. That third-party guide budgets 45 to 90 minutes for the lot.
The port’s office sits on Shore Road, by the harbor. At least one private tour operator uses it as a meeting point.
What's nearby, broadly
In town, it’s the murals, the waterfront and the firth itself. The port says about 195 bottlenose dolphins live in these waters, one of only two resident populations in the UK, along with about 300 harbor seals.
Everything else is a ride — Inverness is about 40 minutes by taxi, per a third-party guide, and Loch Ness about an hour and a half from the pier. Culloden is about 5 miles east of Inverness, by the National Trust for Scotland’s count.
North, Dunrobin Castle is about 45 minutes each way by car, with Dornoch and Glenmorangie up the same coast — the quieter direction, not the famous one.
Commonly reached from
Invergordon sits on the north shore of the Cromarty Firth, about 25 miles north of Inverness. It’s a British Isles and Northern Europe call, often on the same sailing as Kirkwall in Orkney or Edinburgh. The port’s 2026 timetable lists Norwegian, AIDA, Princess, Holland America, Cunard, MSC, Silversea, Seabourn, Windstar, Ponant, Hapag-Lloyd and TUI among its callers. See how the region fits on our Northern Europe cruises hub, or open Invergordon on the Seabound Cruise Atlas.
Planning your Invergordon day
The tours, the prices and the train-or-coach decision live in the excursion guide. This page sticks to the pier, the town and the paperwork.
If you’re weighing a third-party booker against the ship, our comparison of Shore Excursions Group and Viator explains which suits which kind of port day.
Best Invergordon shore excursions
Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, Culloden, Dunrobin and a do-it-yourself Inverness. Which ones earn the coach seat, and which ones don’t.
See the full excursion guide →Practical notes
Paperwork first: US visitors usually need a UK ETA.
GOV.UK says visitors from the USA usually need an Electronic Travel Authorisation rather than a visa. It costs £20 through the UK ETA app or online, and each traveler needs one — children and babies included.
A decision usually comes within a day but can take up to three working days, and you need the confirmation before you travel — a last-minute application is a gamble.
GOV.UK’s list of exemptions doesn’t mention cruise passengers at all, and it doesn’t say how a port day is treated. Ask your line what it checks at boarding, apply before you sail, and use gov.uk — GOV.UK warns other sites may charge more.
Pounds sterling, and cards are widely taken.
A third-party guide says you’ll need little cash — still, keep a few coins for a bus ticket in case a machine or driver won’t take a card.
Trains are few. Plan around that.
ScotRail lists up to four trains a day between Invergordon and Inverness, averaging about 1 hour 13 minutes, with returns from £19.10 — so pick your train back before you leave the ship.
Buses and taxis fill the gap.
A third-party guide mentions the 25X bus from the High Street, about an hour to Inverness, and Stagecoach cruise-day services with tickets sold outside the terminal. Taxis wait outside the port; no fare is published, so agree one before you get in.
Pack for wet weather.
The 2026 season ran from April 6 to October 14, so calls fall in spring and autumn as well as summer — bring a waterproof layer whatever the forecast says.
Safety advisory.
The US Embassy in London shows the United Kingdom at Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution,” due to terrorism, as of October 28, 2026. Recheck travel.state.gov before you sail.
Sources: Port of Cromarty Firth’s cruise page and 2026 timetable, and its news releases of December 18, 2025 and March 19, 2026; GOV.UK’s ETA overview, application and exemption pages and the Home Office’s April 2026 ETA factsheet; ScotRail’s Inverness–Invergordon train times; the National Trust for Scotland on Culloden; Adventour Begins’ Invergordon cruise port guide (updated May 2026) for the pier layout, walking times, buses, taxis, money and the mural trail — all consulted October 28, 2026. The advisory level is from the US Embassy in the UK (uk.usembassy.gov). No official taxi fare is published.
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Invergordon FAQ
Can I walk from the cruise ship into Invergordon?
Yes. The town center is about 5 to 10 minutes on foot from the pier, per a third-party guide, and the port hands out a printed visitor map as you leave the ship.
Where do cruise ships dock in Invergordon?
Alongside at the Port of Cromarty Firth. The port’s 2026 timetable puts most calls on the berth it codes “SB”, with small ships on a second pier.
Does Invergordon tender?
Not normally — ships tie up alongside, though a third-party guide says anchoring may be used when several ships are in on the same day.
How far is Inverness from Invergordon?
About 25 miles (40 km) — a third-party guide puts it at about 40 minutes by taxi, while ScotRail averages about 1 hour 13 minutes by train.
Can I take the train from Invergordon to Inverness?
Yes, but there aren’t many: ScotRail lists up to four a day, with returns from £19.10, and the station is about a 10 to 12 minute walk from the pier.
How far is Loch Ness from the cruise port?
About an hour and a half from the pier, per a third-party guide. That’s each way, so a loch day uses most of a typical call.
Do US citizens need an ETA for an Invergordon port day?
GOV.UK says visitors from the USA usually need one, at £20 each. Its exemption list doesn’t mention cruise passengers, so the safe move is to get it before you sail.
Can you see dolphins from Invergordon?
Possibly, since the port says about 195 bottlenose dolphins live in the Cromarty Firth — resident animals, not a guarantee on your day.
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