Edinburgh accommodations for family of six

When is your trip? If it is this summer, you should focus on all accommodations now; especially for Skye. From everything I have read here, Skye is probably sold out already for the summer so hopefully you already have something booked there.

Hi, JW65,

As Mardee pointed out, finding accommodation for six people is going to be difficult, especially in Edinburgh and Skye. However, the problem is not insurmountable. You may want to try calling directly to the tourist information (TI) offices in Edinburgh and Portree directly to explain your situation. I've found them very helpful in the past for recommendations.

In Edinburgh, you may want to try one of the chain hotels, like Ibis or Premier Inn. Or Travelodge, if all else fails. And if all else does fail, there are always youth hostels (a misnomer, as they aren't necessarily for young folks any more!). Edinburgh has a few independent hostels which are quite nice. Skye has many hostels, in Portree, Uig, Broadford, Kyleakin, Portnalong, Glenbrittle, and Sligachan. Several of them have private rooms.

If you book Premier Inns now, you'll get a much better rate than if you wait until later. There is one in Oban, and four in Inverness. However, if you have your hearts set on a B&B, the time to start looking is now! You could always book rooms at a Premier Inn on a free cancellation basis (which does cost a bit more). That way, you'll have something to fall back on if you can't find anything else.

Best wishes for your search!

Mike (Auchterless)

We loved our stay at the Kingsway Guest House
www.edinburgh-guesthouse.com in Edinburgh (in RS book). Perhaps send them an email to see how they can accommodate your group. The cook to order breakfast were awesome. We stayed four nights in December

Thank you everyone for your replies. I did book two nights at the Premier Inn City Center location as it seems very close to train station and good value.

I was thrilled last week to find a place in Broadford open up so I snatched it for three nights. Maybe not ideal for exploring Skye (more driving), but really wanted to spend time there. The Broadford Skye Lodges - I think maybe newer but reviews were good and again, I was so happy to find something!

Currently booked two nights at Barriemore in Oban although have debated staying in Mull and exploring Iona and Staffa from there. Thoughts? Seems it would be nice to have more time in Mull than Oban. I know I need to do more of my own research, but assume we can take our rental car on ferry to Mull if we decide to stay there for the two nights instead.

Booked one night at Glen Mhor in Invernesss. Still need to decided on where to stay our last two nights. Distillery tour in Sleyside has been considered - maybe stay in Ballater or Pitlochry. Maybe we need two nights in Inverness and just one night closer to Edinburgh.

Driving back to Edinburgh early morning on last day to take train to London for a couple of days there before flying home .

Broadford's a convenient place to stay if you want to take the Bella Jane boat trip from Elgol.

Hi, JW65,

You can definitely take your rental car on the ferry. This holds true for any ferry in Scotland, unless it's a passenger only ferry. There are not many population centres on Mull - the main accomodation centres are Tobermory and Fionnphort (for its proximity to Iona).

We have stayed at the Park Lodge Hotel in Tobermory, and the Caol-ithe guest house in Fionnphort. The Park Lodge is pretty good. It's up the hill from the harbour, so it's a steep climb coming back. Parking is tight. The Caol-ithe is a very comfortable guest house in a pretty setting five minutes from the Iona ferry. There are a couple of restaurants in the village - one pricey and one reasonable.

As far as Skye goes, Broadford is a good base for exploring the island. You are close to Elgol, for boat trips to Loch Coruisk. You are also close to the Raasay ferry. It's about a 45 minute drive to Portree, and with an early start, you could easily take in almost all of the sights you want to see on Skye. We have made Broadford our base on our last six visits to Skye, and have never encountered a problem with getting in all of our excursions. Broadford also has some good restaurants, including the Cafe Sia, and an excellent chippie. The chippie often runs out of fish early in the evening, so don't get there too late.

From Broadford, you can also easily visit places on the mainland like Kyle of Lochalsh and Plockton.

Continued best wishes for your travel plans!

Mike (Auchterless)

p.s.: For a true Skye experience, you could take the Bella Jane to Loch Coruisk, then hike up over Druim Hain and follow Glen Sligachan to the hotel. Have one member of your party drive back to the Sligachan Hotel to pick you up.

Thanks, Mike! You are a wealth of information! We are taking the afternoon Jacobite train the day we leave Oban so I think I may stick with staying in Oban to make for a shorter drive through Glencoe to Ft William. We will have 2 hour or so evening drive after the train to Broadford, so quite a bit of driving that day. Jacobite train was a must do for my daughter and the mornings were all booked.

Considering the three island tour from Oban to see Mull, Iona and Staffa in the time we have - really only one full day there. Hoping to see the puffins of course.

One more question Mike as I missed your PS about Belle Jane - We love to hike - where would be a good place to go research this hike? Assume one person would need to get transport back to pick up car from the hotel you mentioned. I'm sure it depends on the weather, but are these boats trips fairly calm? My husband has issues with seasickness. He did a long crossing from Belfast and was very sick, so tends to shy away from the sea!

Hi again, JW65,

The boat trip from Elgol to Loch Coruisk, if that's the one that you plan to take, is actually on a sea loch (Loch Scavaig), not out on the open sea. So it's normally a calm voyage. Having said that, we were in Elgol last July after a long hike, and we saw the Bella Jane coming in to Elgol in a squall. She was bouncing from side to side (port to starboard?), and the passengers looked very happy to reach the jetty.

If there has been heavy rain the day before your hike, you may wish to reconsider, as the hike involves a crossing of the River Scavaig on stepping stones. On a dry day, this is no problem, but if the river is in spate, then best not to attempt. The hike is about eight miles. It's well marked, especially after you reach the top of Druim Hain. Once you get down in to Glen Sligachan, it's fairly level. Believe it or not, the hike is not on the WalkHighlands website. It is on the AllTrails website, although the route provided includes a circuit of Loch Coruisk, which isn't necessary if you are heading on to the Sligachan Hotel.

You could still take the Bella Jane out to Loch Coruisk, and stay near the south end of the loch until the boat returns. It's about 90 minutes between landings. Loch Coruisk was a favourite travel location for the Victorians, as authors and painters had created what we would call today an urban legend about its inaccessibility and austere beauty. It's still impressive today, moreso if you hike a bit up the western side (very boggy) to see the top end. It's surrounded on both sides by the Cuillins, and is very atmospheric on an overcast day.

The Bella Jane does make other trips, under their AquaXplore branch, but most of them are in an RIB, which I'm sure that your husband would not enjoy! If you're interested in visiting some of the Small Isles, CalMac has ferries leaving Mallaig which allow you a few hours on either Eigg or Rum. The schedules are a bit convoluted, but once you figure them out, they make sense.

Best wishes once again!

Mike (Auchterless)

p.s.: There are some nice hikes on Raasay as well. Raasay is a lot less busy than its larger neighbour.