9-day itinerary help

Glencoe to Portree on Skye is estimated at 3 hours by ViaMIchelin.com. Time could vary since the trip would be ferry-dependent. I don't know how often that ferry runs or how long in advance you have to line up. The trip would take about 3-1/2 hours via the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh.

I'd split the leftover time between Skye and your departure city. There's a great deal to see on Skye, and it's slow driving. I don't think anyone would ever recommend a one-night stop there.

I don't know what sort of weather you'll run into in March. Western Scotland, including Skye and Glasgow, is a very wet area. Wikipedia tells me Portree averages 21.1 rainy days in the month of March. It's very helpful to have enough time at each stop that you may be able to wait out the rain.

I hope the kids are good travellers along slow winding roads. Don’t underestimate distances in Scotland . They may not look far on a map but will take a lot longer to cover than you might expect. Although on a map, Pitlochry is ’central’ for St. Andrews, Stonehaven, Glencoe, the Macallan Estate etc, you will be spending a long time in the car each day. If using google maps it is recommended to add 25% to their driving times and then add on time for stops. Some days you are talking about 4-5 + hours just getting to and from places.

If husband has to go to St Andrews, why not base yourself there for three days. St Andrews is great for kids with its ruined castle, cathedral and sandy beach. There are the Fife fishing villages to explore as well as places like Falkland (used for Inverness in Outlander). You could visit Stonehaven from St Andrews (more convenient than from Pitlochry...) .

Then head to Skye. Depending on the route this is going to be a full days drive. You may want to break journey on the way - possibly Fort William/Glencoe. - which ticks the Glencoe box.

Spend three days on Skye. It really does deserve more than 2 nights to do it justice.

Plan on an overnight stop (possibly around Oban) on the way back to Glasgow or Edinburgh and have the final day(s) there.

You should take one of those extra nights and add it to Skye. Driving all the way to Skye for 2 nights is not worth it; and there is so much to see on Skye that you really need a minimum of 3 nights. Because the drive from Skye to Glasgow or Edinburgh is very long, I suggest breaking up your drive back to Edinburgh or Glasgow by staying overnight in Glen Coe, which has stunningly beautiful scenery. For us, Skye and Glen Coe had the most gorgeous scenery of all the places we visited in Scotland, and we loved every place we saw.

While on Skye, you can tour the Talisker Distillery.

A possible itinerary would be:
Pitlochry - 3 nights
Skye - 3 nights
Glen Coe - 1 night
Edinburgh OR Glasglow - 1 night

Keep in mind the weather in March. Be prepared for rain and cool temps.

Welcome to the RS Forum kessubs. You’ve received some excellent advice in the previous posts about having at least 3 nights on Skye. Especially with the family dynamics you have on this trip, I would first find out what accommodations are available on Skye as soon as possible. Also, the size of the vehicle you will need for 4 adults and 3 young children with luggage might be difficult to find. I’ve no experience with car rentals in Scotland but it may be an issue.

The rest of your plans sound wonderful.
Scotch whisky (not whiskey) 🥃

Yes! My mistake! Scotch whisky! My husband corrected me when I told him about this post. Haha

Turns out we have 3 nights after Skye, that’s with adding 1 night there. With 1 in Oban we still have 2 nights as our flight leaves at 8:40PM from Glasgow. Should we attempt an island?

Updated itinerary
At Andrews the day we land ending the night at an Airbnb in pitlochry and staying there for 2 nights. Then up to Skye for 3 nights… 3 night left to figure out.

If you are in Oban, you could easily add in Mull with a trip to Iona and Ulva...