4 weeks in the the UK next May

Did you look into flying from Inverness to Kerry instead of Dublin? Kerry is a lot closer to Dingle, plus you mentioned you’d be seeing Dublin on the way back.

Thank you Brook, I don't think we can change the reservations, we made them on ESky. Maybe we should have waited!

If you plan on eating in restaurants while on Skye you will definitely want to make dinner reservations. I live near Dunvegan and would recommend the following all of which would need reservations.

1. Lochbay (Michelin star, seafood menu, unpretentious and excellent)
2. Edinbane Lodge (should have a michelin star, as good as Lochbay but also includes meat and game on the menu)
3. The Dunvegan - probably walkable from your cottage depending which one you have booked. Local place that specialises in 'fire' cooking (i.e. cooked over fire). Local meat and fish. Nice owners
4. Edinbane Inn - pub across from the Edinbane Lodge
5. Three Chimneys - decent food but expensive and over hyped in my opinion.

Skyegirl definitely knows Skye so follow her advice. I agree that you do need reservations for most restaurants on Skye.

The only place I ate at that she mentions is the Edinbane Inn (very good, especially if you want meat instead of fish). One thing about the Edinbane Inn is that they only open for reservations 2 weeks ahead of the date if you are a non-local. So make a note in your calendar so that you can make your reservation at the time, if you are interested. You could also visit Edinbane Pottery, which is nearby and has some very nice pieces.

The only other reservation I can think of that you will need in advance is the ferry heading from Mallaig to Armadale on Skye, unless you plan to drive via Kyle of Lochalsh. I love riding on ferries, so I would choose the ferry every time. It's a shorter drive, although the ferry adds about an hour more of time. But if you do choose the ferry, make the reservation at least one month ahead of time at Calmac. https://calmac.co.uk/summer-timetables/mallaig-armadale This is their timetable for this year. They will announce next year sometime in late winter.

Also, tell your husband it's not that bad (the driving). 😊 I rented a car for 16 days in May of this year and did not have any real problems getting the hang of maneuvering the one track roads. It becomes second nature after a day or so. There is a certain etiquette to it that is easy to pick up. He might want to review a few YouTube videos (just do a search for Scotland driving). This article also has good tips for driving the single track roads: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/singletrack/index.html and you can also find more info in this thread from a few years ago (especially the post from Mike (auchterless). https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/roads

There are no flights from Inverness to Kerry, so flying to Dublin is probably the best option.

But is there any reason for 3 nights in Inverness? It is not the most interesting city in Scotland in my opinion.

Badger, my husband has read the novels and watched Outlander. I've read that none of it was even filmed in Inverness. He wanted to stay even longer! Thank you Skyegirl for all the recommendations. We will be in the Laundry Cottage. And Thank you Mardee for the encouragement with driving and the links. I remember reading your trip report. So much to think about.

You're welcome, Laura! By the way, I forgot that you will need a booking for Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle, although you don't need to make them until you are much closer to your departure date.

And I'm glad you are using Celtic Legend/Arnold Clark. I had such a great experience with them. Your trip sounds wonderful! By the way, there are many possible day trips from Inverness (although you probably know this). But just in case, obviously Culloden (I"m assuming since your husband is an Outlander fan that he is aware of this, lol!) and Clava Cairns are worth seeing. I would also recommend a visit to Nairn, which has a lovely beach, Cawdor Castle (castle was nice but grounds/gardens were beautiful) and Elgin Cathedral, which I absolutely loved!

What you could do is to fly Loganair from Inverness to Dublin, then Ryanair Dublin to Kerry later that day, then wending your way back to Dublin afterwards

Hi Laura,
I'd like to make a suggestion. Instead of staying in Inverness, would you consider Nairn, a lovely seaside village about 20 minutes from Inverness? When I was planning my trip, I was told that Inverness is a busy commercial center and not very attractive. We loved our stay in Nairn! Our lodgings there, the Sunny Brae B&B, is wonderful! Great location across the street from a pretty park, beach and the water. Delicious breakfasts, wonderful hosts, a beautiful room, and a sunny glassed in porch where we had drinks before going out to dinner.
https://sunnybraenairn.co.uk/
This was our favorite lodging of our trip, and we liked every place we stayed.
From Nairn, we visited Elgin Cathedral, Glen Moray Distillery, Cawdor Castle, and Culloden Battlefield. We visited Urquhart Castle on our way from Nairn to Portree.

We enjoyed Dunvegan Castle and the gardens. Some people think the castle is not that interesting but I disagree. We found it to be very interesting and the gardens are very pretty.

We made restaurant reservations for almost every night in Scotland. In Edinburgh, some favorites are: Dishoom, Cafe Royal, Mussel's Inn Restaurant, Makar's Mash Bar, and Kao Pao Restaurant.

On Skye, some favorites are: Edinbane Inn in Edinbane, A Taste of India in Portree, The Old Inn on Loch Harport, and Fraser at Bracken Hide in Portree. The Rosedale down by the Portree harbor is worth trying. There were 4 of us, and we all loved our appetizers; however, some of us were disappointed in our mains. But still worth trying, I think. Very friendly bartender!

Nairn is lovely. A much better alternative for lodgings than Inverness. I'm so glad when I see our friends from the US [edit: and Canada of course} recommend it on here.

Thank you everyone! So much wonderful advice. I'll try to talk my husband into Nairn, I'm sure his cousin will agree. He did want to spend 4 nights in Inverness! I talked him into 3 and 4 night on Skye. One of our favorite towns in Germany. Saarburg, was not in Ricks book, nor is Nairn. I love finding our about other possibilities in this forum.

In mid-September 2023, we had a very good dinner at the Old School Restaurant, which is very near where you will be staying on the Isle of Skye. You will definitely need reservations. https://www.oldschoolrestaurant.co.uk

Oh yes the Old School in Dunvegan is also very good! Should have been on my list too.

Laura, when I was planning our trip to Scotland, I didn't use Rick's book at all. I used Lonely Planet and Michelin Green Guide, and both of those books include Nairn. Whenever I use Rick's books, I always use other guidebooks, especially the two I just mentioned. I also like Rough Guides. The reason I don't rely solely on Rick's books is because I have noticed that he does omit lovely and worthwhile places in his guidebooks.

Good advice kmkwoo about not relying on just one guide book. I also like DK Eyewitness Scotland too., It has lots of pictures and covers many places ignored in the other guides. The maps are reasonable for planning too.

The other source of information I use regularly is the Undiscovered Scotland Website. In fact once I've decided on an area, I use this in preference to the guide books. (I google to check on opening times etc.) It has so many undiscovered gems in it. Use the links from the map pages to text pages with lots of pictures and information.

The reason I don't rely solely on Rick's books is because I have noticed that he does omit lovely and worthwhile places in his guidebooks.

I agree. I was in Scotland for 3 weeks, and his book did not include any info about the Isle of Arran or Harris and Lewis, where I spent over a week. His books are good, don't get me wrong, but they are very curated and not nearly as comprehensive as Lonely Planet or my favorite Rough Guides.

I will also second wasleys' recommendation for Undiscovered Scotland, which is an amazing website with so much information. I included a link in my post upthread that gives tips on driving the single track roads, but there is so much more there.

We also have a Lonely Planet Scotland book. There are many more towns covered. Though the towns that the Rick Steves guides cover are covered better, with more detail than any other guide I've looked at. I haven't convinced my husband to change our reservations from Inverness to Nairn yet.

Inverness is fine.

It's a busy town with a small city centre mall, and it's where a lot of locals in the surrounding towns will go to work and do business. If you've got a car Nairn's a no brainer really (in my humble opinion!). It's just a short drive up the road to Inverness, including larger supermarkets and retail parks on its outskirts. Inverness has nice walks by the side of the River Ness, but for me, Nairn's walks by the River Nairn are better :) I believe Inverness is trying to develop the city centre. The most prominent landmark is Inverness Castle, which appears to be closed right now for extensive refurbishment to make it more of destination.

Other posters above will tell you more about Nairn, but there's two nice sandy beaches, a "links" park, a pretty little harbour, primarily serving small yachts, and a decent high street, though it has suffered somewhat from changes in shopping culture, as many high streets have, and isn't what it used to be. In summer there's boat excursions dolphin spotting in the Moray Firth, though I've seen them from the beach.

My mother and sister were there this year and rented an apartment from the ubiquitous website. They had a birthday dinner for mum at a restaurant I can find out the name of.

I love Findhorn as an excursion from Nairn. It's a beautiful bay and the sands go for miles at low tide. You can understand why The Findhorn Foundation chose that place.