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Driving Dumbarton to Portree

We will spend the night in Dumbarton and then drive to Portree where we will stay 3 days in early June. (We go further north after Skye) From my research it appears that we have 3 options to access Skye via auto: the ferry at Mallaig, the ferry at Glenelg or the bridge. I would appreciate opinions on the route you would advise. We're not in a great hurry, but there's so much to see and we want to be smart about it.
Thank you in advance for your time.

Posted by
1634 posts

It depends on your return journey but I would suggest out via the Mallaig ferry, this takes you via Glenfinnan with the Jacobite memorial and the viaduct, and back via the bridge. Eilean Donan castle is best seen coming in from the bridge, from the seaward side, as that was the 'impressive' side to scare off raiding parties.

Posted by
5678 posts

I agree with MC. When you leave Skye heading north you can use the Skye bridge.

Have you played around with Viamichelin or other routing sites? Viamichelin says that the trip will take you a little over 5 hours. They may not consider the ferry properly. It's a beautiful drive so it will take you longer than you think, because you'll keep stopping. I would recommend setting some intermediate goals such as lunch in Fort William. This route takes you through Glencoe and over a bit of Rannoch Moor so you'll feel the urge for photography. There is visitor centre for Glencoe. It toward the western end of the Glen.

Pam

Posted by
1634 posts

As Pam says, you will be probably be going over Rannoch Moor and down through Glencoe. This is one of my favourite drives in the UK. Be prepared for the photostops and the weather makes the place. In what you may consider less than ideal weather, Rannoch Moor can be one of the most magical places in these islands.

The other thing is that according to your schedule you are going to Portree from the south. It makes sense in the romance of the journey to take the ferry 'over the sea to Skye', even if the bonny boat in question is the CalMac roll on roll off ferry. CalMac coffee is a small price to pay for the romance of the story.

Posted by
459 posts

this may or may not apply for you, and it may be a worry that is not significant, but as I killed time reading my rental car agreement (rented car from auto europe at Edinburgh and it ended up coming from National car rental) and the rental agreement said we could not use a ferry with the rental car. I was considering taking the ferry out to Skye just for a change of pace but this caused me to rethink the ferry. Probably not an issue but you might research it a bit if you are like and me and get compulsive about coverage! oh yeah and I totally agree with previous posts concerning driving through Glencoe, it was awesome, it has it's whiteknuckle moments but it is beyond description.

Posted by
1634 posts

It is worth checking, but IIRC that restriction is taking vehicles out with Great Britain. Also your car should be insured by the ferry company as part of the crossing fare.