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Edinburgh to Skye and back - a change of plans

Posted by on

We are planning to change our plans to fit the following itinerary:

Car rental at EDI on a Tuesday morning
Drive to Isle of Skye (or very near and stay along the way)
Wed & Thursday nights at Skye as well. (This is already booked)
Checkout Friday morning and wind our way back to return rental late afternoon at EDI.

The change is this: We are previously taking the LNER to Inverness Tuesday afternoon which has us leaving at 16:33 arriving at 20:07. We would then pick up a rental at Inverness the next morning and drive to Skye, returning the car to EDI on Friday as above.

After some discussion, the late train departure / arrive, late hotel check-in and early rental logistics seems to make this Tuesday / Wednesday a bit stressful. Our thoughts now are that leaving our flat Tuesday morning, taking the tram to EDI and getting the car their and heading toward Skye just makes more sense and seems more relaxing.

I believe I can change my LNER ticket (advance anytime) and the only real question not settled is where to stay on the way up or perhaps in Skye for that Tuesday night. Routes there and back are in play as well.

Posted by
1440 posts

Hi, MikeyDo,

You can make Skye in six or seven hours from EDI, so if Skye is your goal, go for it. However, if you want to avoid a long drive on the Tuesday, you could break your journey in somewhere like Fort William, which would put you within a short drive of either the ferry or the bridge on Wednesday. Mallaig would be a good choice for an overnight, so that you can catch the first ferry on Wednesday.

Unless you want to take the A9 all the way to Inverness, and backtrack from there, almost all roads to Skye go through Fort William. You'll need to decide which route will be either the fastest or will provide you with more of what you want to see along the way.

Good luck!

Mike (Auchterless)

Posted by
7458 posts

The ferry is on a special single vessel timetable in early October when you are travelling, using the MV Coruisk, so vehicle space is likely to be a premium. Thus if taking that route you need to book your passage sooner rather than later
https://www.calmac.co.uk/article/10182/Mallaig-Armadale-22-September---13-October

Apply for a refund on your train ticket through your LNER account. I believe you will have to pay an admin fee of £10 per ticket, as it is a voluntary cancellation.

Posted by
1440 posts

Hi again, MikeyDo,

Just having a think about this - there are so many routes to Skye from EDI, that you should definitely think about taking different routes going and returning, so that you can maximize what you see along the way. Obviously you'll be in more of a hurry on Friday. as you need to be back at EDI by late afternoon, so the shortest route would be your best choice then.

Best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

Posted by
21 posts

Thanks all! Changes made, only a 5 pound admin fee on the LNER train cancellation. Saved on the rental as well, even with the longer duration due to the fact that we are now returning the car to its original pick up location, as well as having a coupon code!

I appreciate your input. Working on routes now, and definitely paying attention to the advice about keeping the short trip route for the return. FWIW, the rental website did not show the later dropoff that is usually available at EDI.

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