Car Rental in Skye other than Morrison

Their insurance reply is surprising. So no clients from India, the USA, Canada, South Africa, etc. And allowing customers from the E.U. is funny, because of so many drivers with license plates from Belgium and Italy when we drove on Skye a few years ago. Those drivers had their own big camper vehicles, driving with the steering wheel on the “wrong” side, and trying to drive on the left side of the road. Almost every one was driving over the center lane! So just coming from an E.U. country doesn’t make a driver the safest driver. At least in India, you’re used to driving on the left!

If you and your Mom can change your train tickets, take the train to Kyle of Localsh. You can rent a car there, just across the water from Skye, and drive across the bridge onto Skye, then drive to Portree. It’s much shorter than from Inverness. An Internet search brings up at least two car hire companies in Kyle of Localsh: Skye Car Hire and Morar Motors.

It's probably to do with perceived risk - rightly or wrongly and the fact that they are a very small company. As are the two Kyle based companies. You might do better renting from Arnold Clark in Inverness, Edinburgh or Glasgow.

I agree with Skyegirl. Arnold Clark offers excellent service (I rented from them last year and am renting again this year) and they have an office in Inverness. It's not a bad drive from Inverness to Skye, as the roads are easier and not so hilly and narrow. So it would be a good way to get familiar with driving in Scotland before you reach Skye. Plus you will be driving through some gorgeous scenery along the way.

We rented from Arnold Clark in downtown Inverness, drove from there to Skye in a heavy rainstorm, and eventually turned the car in at the Edinburgh airport. If you don’t want to drive from Inverness, though, you’ll need a different plan.

If you rented in Kyle of Localsh, of course, you’ll need to change your train and bus bookings to and from Portree.

Thanks everyone. If not Portree, then renting a car from Kyle of Lochalsh will be more convenient for me. My train from Inverness is any way to Kyle of Lochalsh, I will only need to alter my bus booking which is from Portree to Inverness (or I could perhaps just board the same bus at Kyle instead of Portree??)

I have sent inquiry to the 3 other car rental companies I could find - Morar Motors, Sky Car Hire, and Kyle Taxi Company. I hope one of them shall be willing to rent to an Indian driving license holder - will update here once I hear back. Has anyone had any experience/ feedback with any of these car rental companies? Thanks.

I think one of the regular posters, TexasTravelmom, may have rented from a local car rental place in that area. I will check with her and see if she can help

You might also need an International Driving Permit. Bear in mind that all the companies local to Skye are tiny businesses whose main activity is actually motor mechanics - i.e. repairing cars. They rent on a very small scale, out of season to locals whose cars are being fixed. They have expanded to rent to tourists visiting, but have very few cars. Their main business is not rentals and they are very risk averse. No matter that you have booked train and bus tickets you might be best to cut your losses and rent in Inverness.

It looks like you have covered all your bases looking for car options. Morrison’s is who I used. I would say the short timing is a problem.

However I also wondered about your statement in another post that you have been driving “for a few months” in India. In renting cars in Great Britain, I have come across a few times the requirement for having been driving for a year. Since I have been driving for decades, I haven’t paid a lot of attention. And I don’t remember whether that was the case in Skye. But I do know it might be a concern.

You have clearly done a lot of research and planning and have gotten some far more knowledgeable suggestion than I can provide. I know there are a couple of people who have posted in the past about day trips around Skye, using a local company. But I failed to make any notes about that - sorry!

I initially thought that is just a cut down version of who can convert to a UK licence without taking the test if moving here, but that list includes Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Barbados, Canada (automatic only) and a few others. It does not include the US.

So it aint that. I suspect it comes down to money, that it is easier to get money back for the insurer from UK or EU licence holders or their insurance if necessary.

sandeepj1991, I think I posted this on one of your other threads, but just in case you cannot rent a car (or do not want to travel to Inverness to do so), you might want to review this post by Lane, who was in Scotland in May without a car, and managed to see many of the sights on Skye by doing some day tours. Here is the thread: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/skye-without-a-car

@skyegirl: Thanks for sharing the link. Though as per this, Indian Driving License holders shall need an International Driving permit only if the original Indian DL does not have the small electronic chip in the front. My Indian DL has the electronic chip in front so I am hoping I do not need an International Driving permit

@TexasTravelmom - thank you. Yes I am actively dring since few months as I bought a car only last year. Although I had a driving license since 3 years - I just wasn't driving actively as I didn't own a car earlier. Yes there are some day tour options, I would have to resort to that if cant' find a rental.

@MC-Glasgow - Yes, it seems like so.

@Mardee - thanks a lot for this link, this seems to have a lot of valuable information.

So I enquired with the car rental companies other than Morris:

• Sky Car Hire (same as Kyle Taxis) - Don't have availability on the dates I require
• Morar Motors - They have discontinue the car rental service due to high insurance cost
• DriveSkye - They have availability though their pick-up/drop is from Armdale. Also they mentioned I might need a Internation Driving Permit, though they'll perhaps confirm with their insurers if I can drive with Indian License

So basically DriveSkye is my last hope now (as I don't want to drive from Inverness to Skye). I hope to hear from them today, if they all car rental with Indian License I'll rent with them else will manage with Day tour companies and public transport.

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