Feedback on Highlands Roadtrip?

If Skye is a priority, with your short stay, consider spending 3 nights on Skye. If this trip is for this summer, book your lodging ASAP. There is limited, affordable rooms on the island and they are booked far in advance.

There are 2 routes between Inverness to Skye. So head to Skye on one route and return to Inverness on the other.

There are 2 whisky distilleries on Skye.

Torabhaig Distillery

Talisker Distillery

and another reached by ferry on nearby Raasay Island
the Isle of Raasay Distillery.

Just outside Inverness you could visit Culloden and Clava Cairns.

There are a lot of beautiful places to visit in Scotland besides the Isle of Skye. But with only 5 or 6 nights your limited. What are your interests. Scottish history, castles, neolithic sights, ruins, Outlander, ...?

In such a short trip I would agree to focus on one area and 2 nights in Skye only gives you one full day, so I'd agree that 3 nights would be better.

Accommodation in Portree is likely to be expensive and probably already in short supply. You might consider the village of Dunvegan which puts you in easy drive of Talisker Distillery and where you'll find The Dunvegan a very good 'fire restaurant' with well priced bedrooms. They are simply, but stylishly furnished, and there are a couple of other restaurants in the village too. This also puts you near sites such as Dunvegan Castle, the Coral Beach, Neist Point and not too far from the Fairy Pools. The Trotternish peninsula is a 45 minute drive and Portree 30 minutes.

If you must be walking distance to a distillery then maybe one night in Raasay, an island just off Skye (20 minutes or so by ferry) where you could stay in the (spendy) rooms at the distillery or at the more reasonably priced Raasay House. But in any case most/all distilleries will give you a 'drivers dram' to take away if you can't partake while at the distillery.

I agree with everyone else that the extra night should be another Skye. The Trotternish Peninsula will take a full day if you plan to hike the Old Man and the Quiraing and stop at the usual viewpoints and maybe the Museum. We took two full days to see it all in depth. Then there's all the other parts of Skye, all worth a visit.

You could take the bridge one way, and do the Mallaig ferry the other. It adds 1-2 hours to the drive but you might see the train at Glenfinnan (if you plan it right) and will see more of Scotland. Since the ferry requires booking and introduces a timetable to the drive, it's probably better for the trip back to Inverness.

As far as I can tell (after four trips), all of Scotland is amazing, and doing something completely different would be a similar experience. You don't mention when you plan to travel, and Skye might be the most crowded place you could pick. For example, you could drive the northeast coast route from Inverness to Edinburgh or do the "formal" NE250 which would bring you back to Inverness. The NC500 is another option, but the traffic is tough in the summer and the locals dislike the campers that don't spend any money, leading to a little frostiness. Or you could take a flight from Inverness to Shetland or Orkney and spend the whole time on one or the other. So many places and so little time!

Your final decision may depend on finding accommodation on Skye...

In the time available, don't try and cram in too much. There are so many highlights to Scotland that where ever you decide on, you won't be disappointed. Regard this as a traster for a longer visit!

Thank you all so much!! I had no idea about the driver's dram, what a smart idea!! I definitely want to plan a trip where we can take our time and explore some local rural culture as much as we can, so this has been really helpful!