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Durness
Things to do in Durness
Smoo Cave

Smoo Cave, Durness: Hours, Address, Smoo Cave Reviews: 4.5/5

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Smoo Cave

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Smoo Cave
4.5
1,198
#5 of 18 things to do in Durness
Caverns & Caves
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11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Tours & experiences
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What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience Smoo Cave and nearby attractions

The area
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
5 within 5 kms
Smoo Cave Hotel
512
0.2 km££ - £££ • Bar • British • Pub
The White Heather Cafe, Bed & Breakfast
34
0.4 km£ • Cafe • British
Sango Sands Oasis Restaurant and Bar
449
1.3 km££ - £££ • Bar • British • Pub
Meet And Eat
73
2.6 km££ - £££ • International • British • Scottish
Cocoa Mountain
1,126
2.6 km££ - £££ • Dessert • Cafe
See all
Attractions
15 within 10 kms
John Lennon Memorial Garden
94
0.5 kmGardens
Durness Beach
397
1.3 kmBeaches
Balnakeil Beach
296
3.1 kmBeaches
Rispond Beach
43
1 kmBeaches
Ben Stack
13
1 kmMountains
Ceannabeinne Township Trail
1
1.2 kmHistoric Sites
Balnakeil Bay
89
3.6 kmBodies of Water • Beaches
Durness Deep Time
22
2.6 kmNatural History Museums • Science Museums
Kyle Of Durness
2
1.7 kmBeaches
Balnakeil Church
2
1.7 kmChurches & Cathedrals
See all
Popular mentions
4.5
1,198 reviews
Excellent
630
Very good
427
Average
123
Poor
13
Terrible
5
Borjan B
Kilcock, Ireland4 contributions
Nice place to visit
Jun 2022 • Couples
Cave is very nice and staff is extra friendly and knowledgeable about cave, caving and everything else in the area. They also have decades long project of exploring and digging new passages, trying to get to supposed lower chamber but with no luck so far. Recommended stop at NC500.
Written 20 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Heidi H
Vienna, Austria64 contributions
Great - when it's open.
May 2022
My second visit here. I loved taking a boat around the underground lake the first time. This time, though, there were no boat rides. :( Still a nice cave, but only half as interesting without the boats. There was no indication in the parking lot either that the attraction was basically closed. Had to climb down all those stairs first to find out that nobody was there.
Written 10 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Gene R J
Silver Spring, MD8,099 contributions
Beautiful spot to hike but need to park.
May 2022
We stopped here on our drive from Thurso to Ullapool. Since nearly everyone driving the NC 500 (A 836) stops here, parking is the 1st difficulty. If you are fortunate, the big 15 car lot next to the free toilets is the closet, otherwise there is a pay lot 100 m in one direction and a turn out 100 m in the other.
The access to the cave is fully railed in both directions with the west side a bit steeper than the east. We wanted to see the sea cave (130' wide by 49' high) that is the largest in the UK but declined on the hard hat exploration of the ~272’ freshwater cave that followed. Trails extend to the sea that are less crowded.
Written 20 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Anne S
Leeds, UK384 contributions
Interesting if you're in the area
May 2022
There was no waterfall on the day we visited. We opted for the guided tour and they tried to make it as interesting as they could. The chaps running it are obviously passionate about the cave.
Written 12 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
rayrest
London, UK7,419 contributions
Spectacular water feature
May 2022 • Couples
On the NC500 route and smoo cave is well signed and easy to find. Small free car park. Toilets in car park area. Steep steps down to the bottom. Three is a spectacular waterfall inside the cave.
Written 7 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Alexandra D
12 contributions
Great little place hidden away!
Apr 2022
Worth a visit and would recommend the tour of actually going inside the cave on the boat if you are able. Really interesting and the guys were full of knowledge. Was a bit of fun and a refreshing break from driving around the north coast 500!
Written 2 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
David W
Benidorm, Spain9 contributions
A must do on the NC500
Apr 2022
Fantastic location even if you just walk down and back up, but do the cafe tour with Fraser in the dingy. My second time and a unique bargain at £10.
Written 30 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Claire B
Hamilton105 contributions
Adventurous short cave tour
Apr 2022 • Friends
Adventurous short cave tour. You need to be pretty mobile to do this. You need to be able to climb a short ladder into a small inflatable boat. You will also get out the boat and walk along wobbly planks further into the cave. We enjoyed this but it may not be for you. The tour guides were great and looked after you well and gave an interesting history of the cave. Only 25 mins but worth the £10 fee.
If you don't want to do the tour you can just walk into the first part of the cave, this is still a walk down a lot of steps. If you can't do steps then you can look down into the cave from the bridge on the over side of the road.
Written 29 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Kenny W
Yorkshire, UK8 contributions
Very interesting would stop again
Apr 2022 • Couples
Didn’t go into the proper cave section as we had the dogs but was nice to have a walk down too- have a look out to the sea and explore what part of the cave we could. This is a very interesting place to look at even if we couldn’t go all the way in but you could watch others inside and stand on a sort of viewing platform
Written 27 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Garry A
Halifax, UK123 contributions
It’s Ok
Apr 2022 • Couples
You’ll visit because it there but if you have any sort of disability forget it.
It’s really just a cold damp hole.
It does have history and the locals are proud of it. It just want our cup of tea
Written 23 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Smoo Cave
Smoo Cave is open:
  • Sun - Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Buy tickets in advance on Tripadvisor. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund.
We recommend booking Smoo Cave tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 3 Smoo Cave tours on Tripadvisor