Help with one-week Scotland Itinerary

Do you know that you both sleep well on transatlantic flights? You have a lot planned for arrival day, and it looks as if you plan to pre-book (and I assume pre-pay) for a walking tour. I don't function well enough on arrival day to make plans other than "walk around outdoors and try to stay awake"; perhaps you are different.

Monday also looks like a lot, especially since you may still be jetlagged. Rosslyn Chapel is about a 45-minute bus ride from Edinburgh, I don't think the buses run super-often, there's a short walk to the chapel, and you'll likely encounter a bit of a ticket line once there. The Chapel is highly decorated, so it's not the sort of place you absorb in 15 to 30 minutes. There's a good audio guide.

The National Museum of Scotland is a very good museum and not small.

Edinburgh is hilly, so you may occasionally find a short walk turning into a bigger deal than expected and slowing you down.

Agree with acraven, you have some very busy days planned during time in Edinburgh. The Museum Of Scotland is very big and quite amazing. Look for Dolly the cloned sheep.
Do you know about the Rick Steves audio app you can download on your smartphone? We like his city walks as you can go at your own pace. He has one for Edinburgh which would preclude you from having to book a tour. I try not to schedule too many things that require us to show up at a certain time as it makes trip more stressful.

Hi Mary
I'm going to concentrate on the Skye portion of your plans as that is where I live and can be of most use (I hope).

Are you picking up your rental car at Edinburgh airport or in the city? My strong advice would be to collect it at the airport. Driving around and out of Edinburgh is a real pain. You can get the tram or bus to the airport very easily and it is much less hassle.

I drove from Edinburgh to my home in the north west of Skye last weekend. It took me 6 hours with no stops and I know the roads and probably drive a bit faster than most people using rental cars. If you want to do a distillery tour and explore Pitlochry than you can bank on more like a 10 hour day by the time you get to Skye. If you are planning on cutting across from the A9 at Dalwhinnie to Spean Bridge, then to get to Fort William from there is a 20 to 30 minute drive, so a bit of a detour.

Are you planning to get to Skye via the ferry from Armadale, in which case Fort William and Neptune's Staircase would be on the way, or are you planning to head north from Spean Bridge and get to Skye across the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh in which case Fort William is off your route.

If you are planning on the ferry then you need to book in advance. calmac.co.uk is the website.

Your Trotternish loop day looks fine, but I would say there is absolutely no advance in good clockwise. The route is busy in both directions. The only advantage in clockwise is that you would not be driving up the big hill to the Quiraing from the Staffin side and would be approaching from the Uig side which I would agree is easier.

Your Thursday looks doable. You would need to book the Talisker tour well in advance. Sunset at Neist Point will be very, very busy if it is nice day. If it's not a nice day then don't bother with it. You will be miserable!

Friday. Yes easy to get to Inverness in a day. If you are therefore leaving via the bridge it might be nice to arrive by the ferry and see some different scenery and the drive out to Mallaig from Fort William is lovely.

You don't say when you are coming, but I assume you know that accommodation gets booked up well in advance. You will also want to think about dinner reservations at least a couple of weeks out.

Best wishes
Jacqui (Skyegirl)