You don't have to just stay in the city when you get here. Scotland is a beautiful country and it would be a shame not to see more of it. There are plenty of day trips from Inverness to take part in, depending on what your interests are.

Canny Tours run a daily service to Eilean Donan Castle via the less-travelled side of Loch Ness. This is a full-day tour, including Clava Cairns, Culloden field and Fort Augustus. www.cannytours.com

 Take a trip to the Culloden Battlefield and Clava Cairns - you can get on a bus at the Inverness bus station and head out for a couple hours either in the morning or afternoon. Jacobite runs these tours. Contact them at +44 [0]1463 233999 or http://www.jacobite.co.uk/

Or, hop on one of the Puffin Express buses to places like Loch Ness, the Isle of Lewis, Castle of Mey, Orkney or John o'Groats. They have half-day and full-day tours, depending on your needs. You can contact them at: From UK: 01463 717181; outside UK + 44 1463 717181, or by stopping by their website at http://www.puffinexpress.co.uk/

To figure out which tour company has the best deals and the right tours for what you want to see in Scotland, ask at your hotel or hostel. The staff can probably recommend various companies and give you an idea on what to do and see just outside of Inverness. You definitely can't miss a trip to Loch Ness, the famous lake where the infamous "Nessie" or the Loch Ness monster is rumored to inhabit. But besides that, there's plenty of beautiful countryside and interesting historic landmarks to take in, so do a little research beforehand.