Location: Ballater
Top Things to do in Ballater
9 Things to do Good for Kids in Ballater That You Shouldn't Miss
1,446 (2001 census)
Restaurants in Ballater
1. Loch Muick
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 551 reviews
Reviewed By Midhill
Enjoyed the 10 mile walk on a lovely autumn day. The tree colours were beautiful and the Loch and surrounding area stunning. It’s a flat walk with a few rough paths to navigate , just the place to get away from it all.
2. Deeside Nature Activities
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 29 reviews
We offer half- and full-day wildlife-watching tours spotting the region’s charismatic birds, and animals. Luxury Land Rover excursions bordering Balmoral Estate looking for 3 species of Deer, Grouse, Dippers and hopefully a few birds of prey including Peregrine, Osprey and Golden Eagle whilst describing the conservation and land management issues related to typical highland estates.
3. Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 119 reviews
Reviewed By suewB7164YW
Lovely easy and mainly flat circular walk of about 5 miles around Loch KInord following the well signposted 'Duck' route. Nice clean toilets and a couple of picnic benches available at Visitor Centre where there is a car park which can get full on popular days. Walk starts just across the road from the visitor centre
4. Cambus O'May Forest
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 37 reviews
Reviewed By lucyhelliker - Moreton-in-Marsh, United Kingdom
I come every year and still discover new parts of the Cambus o’ May! Am NOT a Walker as such, just with the dog when at home and this place I find just right in terms of interest and ease. It’s also good in the wet because of the tree cover. Have discovered a lovely lake and bridge here too. It’s a fabulous place
5. Ballater VisitScotland iCentre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 47 reviews
Reviewed By lucyhelliker - Moreton-in-Marsh, United Kingdom
A really delightful establishment. Greeted at the door with quick chat about Covid rules then got into a city chat as the lady (a retired police inspector) was just so lovely! Very helpful lady inside helping me to choose a gentle walk (round the golf course, flat and fabulous along the Dee). Good gift shop with Gist jewellery which is fab. Sadly cafe closed since March. We were made so welcome.
6. Burn O'Vat
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 149 reviews
Reviewed By Deeaberdeen - Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Visited Burn O Vat yesterday and glad we did Good car parking, lots of spaces Follow the lower trail for about 5 minutes, over a small bridge and find yourself facing large rocks Climb through a tiny fap in the middle of the large rocks, climbing over stones to get through, and water You need non slip shoes A you find yourself in a beautiful place with a water fall Its stunning and peaceful You can climb up i believe but i didnt chance it we marveled at the beauty of it and how long its been there It was apparently created by the iceage Splitting the rocks in two We took a walk up the steps after coming back out the cave And you can find yourself looking down at the warerfall Its very high, a bit too high if you dont like heights We walked back towards the car park on the upper path And you find a viewing point for loch kennard Its beautiful
7. Craigendarroch
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 65 reviews
Reviewed By margaretclark268 - Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Staff were really friendly and helpful as we had booked for use of the pool, sauna steam room we all had a lovely time we had the pool to ourselves for at least an hour before other people came in after about 3 hours enjoying the facilities we had a meal there which was really good and even arranged a lovely vegan meal for myself. Would highly recommend this to everyone lovely place the grounds and lovely places to take walks
8. Balmoral Castle
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,468 reviews
Balmoral is the Scottish home of the British Royal Family in Scotland and in 2019 the grounds, gardens and exhibitions are open to the Public on a daily basis from 1st April until 31st July. Admission charges include parking, access to the formal and vegetable gardens, the exhibitions in the stable area and largest room in the Castle, the Ballroom. The Ballroom Exhibition is the only room in the Castle available for viewing. Please note that other rooms within the Castle are Her Majesty The Queen's private rooms and as such are not open to the public. An audio tour is included in the admission price and guides visitors around the formal and production gardens as well as a number of other exhibitions located within the stable block. This tour is available in English together with Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish translations.You can also enjoy the waymarked walks and visit our spacious self service cafe and gift shops, which sell a wide range of Balmoral souvenirs.
Reviewed By cazroper84 - Bromborough, United Kingdom
We visited Balmoral this week and we loved every minute of the experience! What an absolute privilege to be given access to part of the Queens’ PRIVATE residence and for only £15 per person. Our tour guides, Kathleen and Gavin were excellent. They were extremely knowledgable and their good humour kept things fun and light hearted, whilst very informative. The fact that we only saw one room in the castle didn’t matter as the information and stories provided in the stable house and grounds was plentiful. We arrived at 11am and didn’t leave until 3.30pm as we were allowed to walk around the grounds freely. We loved the history of the estate and the fact that we were able walk in the footsteps of The Queen and Queen Victoria before her was exhilarating! Lastly...we have to thank Gavin for advising us of the best spot to camp in our motorhome overnight! What a view to wake up to...overlooking the river Dee in the Cairngorms National Park! Brilliant!
9. Bike Station Ballater
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 19 reviews
Reviewed By 827robe
Had a great four days cycling in the Highlands with bikes from Dan’s shop. The bikes were excellent quality and we hired both gravel bikes and e mountain bikes too. Dan and his team were masters of customer service which very much enhanced our experience overall and I’d thoroughly recommend getting bikes from there.
