This gorgeous Scottish isle should certainly be at the top of your bucket list! I visited the Isle of Skye in September and would go back in a heart beat. I did a lot of research beforehand to maximize my time while visiting and hope you can utilize these tips for your trip!
How to Get There
My friend and I visited the Isle of Skye as part of a larger eight day Scotland road trip. We began our journey in Edinburgh, and finished it in Glasgow. I’d recommend doing a similar route, and stopping in the Glencoe region and Glenfinnan on the way. Check out my blog post on Glenfinnan here.
Transportation
Although you can travel via bus and train to Isle of Skye, I’d highly, highly recommend renting a car. There are a lot of special places off the beaten path that would be unaccessible by public transportation. When renting a car, ensure you have an International Driving Permit, which acts as a translator for your home country licence. I picked mine up from BCAA, and it lasts for one year. We rented our car from Enterprise via Holiday Autos with no issues at pick-up nor drop-off.
Accommodation
There are so many gorgeous BnBs and Airbnbs across the island – it is difficult to go wrong. However, if you’re looking to maximize your time and proximity to the main points of interest, I’d suggest staying on the northeastern side, north of Portree. We stayed the most quaint and gorgeous Airbnb cottage, owned by Hugh. It was quiet, but not too far off the primary road. It is close to many hikes which makes it perfect for early mornings.
How to Plan
While developing our itinerary I tried to plan our days splitting up our activities on the South, North, East and West sides of the Isle. Based on the weather, we changed around what activities we did each day, but kept them still grouped together by location. Some days are incredibly packed, as we tried to maximize our time in each general area as well as if we had a good weather day.
Tips
- If you are driving from Glenfinnan wanting to take the ferry from Mallaig to Armadale, you must book the ferry ahead. We looked the day before and it was fully sold out.
- Weather changes SO QUICKLY. Wait out the rain – there may be a break in the clouds for 30 minutes
- Hike the popular trails early in the day or later in the afternoon/evening.
- Stay in an accommodation up north to make it a quick drive to early morning hikes.
- Pick up groceries from the Co-op in Broadford. This was the largest grocery store we found and supplied us for the trip.
- Check out Mealt Falls/Kilt Rock in the morning so the lighting hits the falls nicer. It is in the shade in the afternoon.
- There are sheep everywhere. Embrace it, drive slowly!
Day 1: Driving to the Isle
- Driving along the A87, stop for a coffee break at Lean to Coffee in Ashaig. The coffee and treats are delicious, and it is set in an old church ruin. So picturesque.
- Shortly after the coffee break, stop for shops and groceries in Broadford. There is a large Co-op grocery store here and every other store on the island is quite small (except for Co-op in Portree). The Skye Market Square has a few bits and bob style shops with some gorgeous little post cards and prints.
- Continuing the drive up north, you can stop in Portree for a quick lunch or keep driving towards your accommodation.
- Hike the Old Man of Storr in the late afternoon (or alternatively early morning on another day). There are still some people on the trails but much less busy than midday. It takes approximately an hour and half roundtrip with a quick break at the top. 4.7km roundtrip, 350m elevation gain
Day 2: Northern Road Trip
We packed a lot into this day because it was so sunny. If you have a day with minimal/no rain – I’d try and do this as well!
- Wake up early and hike the Quiraing. This phenomenal trail is also an active landslide and the views look straight out of Lord of the Rings. Begin the hike before 10am as it gets incredibly full. Be prepared for some wet and slippery conditions and wear appropriate hiking boots. The hike takes just over 2 hours, 7km roundtrip and 400m elevation gain.
- Alternatively, walk the Fairy Glen. It is just under 2km roundtrip and 50m elevation gain. There is quite limited parking so would recommend to walk in the morning.
- Following the hike, drive west across the peninsula road from the Quiraing towards Idrigil. Stop at the Gallery Cafe & Takeaway for a nice lunch
- After the hike, drive the northern peninsula clockwise on the A855. Don’t be afraid to pull off the road for some photo breaks! There are some nice basalt columns shortly before Duntulm.
- Stop at the Duntulm Castle ruins for some nice photos
- For a quick afternoon takeaway treat, head to Coffee & Cake
- Pull off onto Staffin Road to check out An Corran Beach and look for Dinosaur fossils and great views of the Quiraing.
- For a final afternoon activity, hike Brother’s Point. It’s takes approximately 45 minutes and is just under 3km roundtrip and 80m elevation gain.
Day 3: Central & Southwestern
This day trip is great for a rainier, cloudier day.
- Enjoy a bit of a lie-in after your long hiking day yesterday!
- Venture into Portree for lunch. I highly recommend Caberfeidh Bar and Restaurant for some delicious pizza and drinks. My favourite giftshop was ÒR. They have two locations in town – I’d recommend checking out both! Carmina Gadelica was also a small but mighty bookshop.
- Carry on south on the A87 to stop at the Old Sligachan Bridge for a dramatic viewpoint. There are a few trails here to walk along as well.
- Drive on the A863 towards Talisker.
- Stop at the Caora Dhubh Coffee Company for a coffee break. Alternatively, if you didn’t stop for lunch in Portree, Café Cùil was on my list as an excellent brunch or early dinner option.
- If you like scotch, check out the Talisker Distillery.
- Turn off the B809 towards Talisker Beach. Drive slow, look for cows!
- Park up on the road and walk down to Talisker Beach. The waterfall to the right of the beach, and the Talisker Bay Stack to the left of the beach are not to miss. We were here on an incredibly wet and windy day and the waterfall was even more dramatic.
- Stop by the Oyster Shed for some Fish n Chips, or drive back to your accommodation for a cozy meal at home.
Day 4: West
- Take the A850 westbound.
- Check out Island at the Edge for some gorgeous, authentic, handcrafted spun and dyed wool. The woman who owns the farm does it all herself. The wool and wool pieces available are expensive but of incredible quality.
- See the Dunvegan Castle from a viewpoint. If you’re interested in going into the castle and gardens, be prepared it costs about 16 pounds per person.
- If you have time, carry on past Dunvegan towards Coral Beach. It’s a 4.3 km roundtrip flat trail towards to the beach from the parking lot. It features a gorgeous collection of shells and white sand. I really regret not having time to go here!
- Drive back towards Dunvegan and head west. Stop in Glendale for lunch at Cafe Lephin. The soup and sandwiches are unreal, and make sure to pick up some baked goods for later.
- Enroute to Neist Point, stop along the road to check out Loch Mor, a lake overlooking the ocean.
- There isn’t much of a parking lot at Neist Point so you will have to park along the road. Enjoy the viewpoint, and then hike down towards the lighthouse and basalt pavement columns. The hike is about 4.5km roundtrip and 225m elevation gain. We spent about an hour and a half walking around and enjoying the endless amount of viewpoints.
Day 5: Heading Out
- Check out Mealt Falls / Kilt Rock when driving out. It’s a great, quick viewpoint and the sun is best in the morning (it is in the shade in the afternoon)
- Venture back to Lean to Coffee on the drive off of Isle of Skye for a final coffee / snack.
- Shortly after leaving Isle of Skye, stop by the Eilean Donan Lookout. If you are interested in visiting the castle, go for it. But if not, the viewpoint is quick and free!
Extra Ideas:
There are a few places we ran out of time for and didn’t quite make our list this trip. Next time I visit, I’d definitely check them out!
- Coral Beach: As mentioned in Day 4 in the itinerary, this is a great, coastal stop to make on the western side of the Isle. I wish we had enough time to walk in and enjoy it.
- Elgol: This gorgeous little village in the south west lays right by the beach.
- Fairy Pools: I know this is normally a hot spot to visit for most people, but there were other hikes/places we wanted to prioritize instead. I was also visiting the Faroe Island directly after this and was planning to see an ample amount of waterfalls and mountains.
