10 Days in May

That only gives one full day on Skye which isn';t very long. I would be inclined to combine Days 5 and 6 and allocater another day to Skye.

Day 8 - think carefully about your pint at a pub if you afre driving afterwards. There are very strict drink driving laws in Scotland and this is not advisable...

If planning for this year, get accommodation on Skye booked asap. It books up v ery quickly and popular plavces may already be fully bookied.

Hi, Resourceful,

I'd be a bit concerned about day nine. If you're going to make the Knoydart ferry out of Mallaig, in order to have any appreciable time in Inverie, you'd need to take the 10:15 departure from Mallaig. In order to get to Mallaig in time, you'd have to take the earliest ferry out of Armadale. The summer schedules aren't up yet, but assuming an 8:45 departure time, you'd need to be in line by 8:15. That doesn't give a whole lot of time for a morning hike, as it's a long drive (well over an hour from Portree, half an hour from Broadford) to Armadale.

The ferry back from Knoydart won't get you back to Mallaig until 5:00, and you still have a good hour's drive to Fort William, so it would be best to have that pint at the Old Forge in Inverie. You could have that short hike in Knoydart.

The best place to park your car in Mallaig is around East Bay. West Bay car park is closer, but there is a parking charge, and it's usually full, so you end up at East Bay anyway.

Best wishes and safe travels.

Mike (Auchterless)

p.s.: You do have the option of taking the 2:15 ferry to Knoydart, then waiting for the boat to return from Tarbet. That would give you a little over an hour on the ground in Inverie.

I don't think you'll need to stop at Loch Ness. Otherwise your plan looks great. You effectively have two days in Skye, which to me seems ideal. Others obviously will disagree.

You don’t need a car in the cities so if you prefer it as transport from the airport make sure you have arranged affordable parking as it’s not cheap in either city, particularly Edinburgh.

If scenery and hiking are a priority then I’d spend more time in the west rather than around Inverness or Perth.Perth itself as a city, to me, is not worth prioritising as a base.

There are wonderful hikes in the Cairngorm area from Aviemore so that would make a much better place to be than further south.Or Braemar or Ballater if you drive up through Glenshee to either of those villages.A walk along gorgeous Glen Quoich at Allanaquoich, a 15 min drive or so from Braemar, would get my vote.Morrone or even the little loop above Braemar is just lovely.From Ballater, I’d be looking at a walk by Loch Muick.

There are superb trails from the ski centre above Aviemore, great paths…if you are up for a tougher hike, some take you onto the Cairngorm plateau or Cairngorm summit itself.

Walkhighlands is excellent for info.

Skye…again you are shortchanging it hugely, as already said.Walks/hikes there are absolutely world class.Also just driving around Skye can be a jaw drop given the scenery, if you don’t feel like a walk or weather isn’t cooperating.

I’d spend more time on Skye than making the boat trip to Inverie.We spent a day there a few years back and I really wasn’t impressed with the scenery or walks, compared to what you have on the rest of the easily accessed mainland or Skye.Big disappointment.Nice boat journey.There were quite a few other folks who were hanging around the jetty hoping to get on an earlier boat back than the one they’d booked.
On a sunny day, a walk along the glorious Camusdarach beaches south of Morar would get my vote.
Glencoe itself and perhaps a short drive down Glen Etive opens up more grand scenery with some very easy but spectacular walks too…or simply just enjoy the amazing road trips as you make your way west and back down south over Rannoch Moor and beyond.

For a superb boat trip, if that appeals, you can’t beat the journey into Skye’s Loch Scavaig for the short flat walk to Loch Coruisk. Outstanding in every way.