Highlands & Skye Question

You may struggle to find accommodation in Skye at this stage.

Mull would be a good alternative.

August is the height of the tourism season on Skye. It's school holidays in the UK, although Scottish schools return mid August. The roads will be busy, but not impossible as long as you pick your spots and don't try to hit what I call the 'honey pot' locations. For example this summer the road to the Fairy Pools became impassable on may days due to impatient drivers not paying attention to the rules around driving on single track roads. People were trying to force their way through, rather than being patient and using the passing places correctly. Coupled with poorly maintained roads with lots of potholes it was the perfect storm, with lots of problems. However, with some pre planning and willingness to explore the less busy spots it is perfectly possible to have a wonderful time and not experience any of the craziness. Using a website like Walk Highlands to find walks other than Neist Point, Fairy Pools, Fairy Glen, Old Man of Storr and Quiraing will reward you with breathtaking views, peace and tranquility.

Self catering is a very good idea but you are likely to need to book for 7 nights in high season - usually Saturday to Saturday. Reputable agencies to look at include Wilderness Cottages, Unique Cottages and Sykes. You might also look at Visit Scotland. AirBnB might offer options for less than 7 nights.

Book as soon as you can, as many use the Christmas break to plan their summer holidays.

Skye is no busier than the Glencoe area. The A82 through Glencoe would be something I personally would want to try to avoid in August.

I'd say if Skye is what you want to see and visit, and can get a decent deal on accomodation when you want to go, go o Skye.

It has gotten busier over the recent years, it can be seen as overtourised, but if it is still somewhere you want to see it is somewhere you want to see. I'd take Skyegirl's counsel on this as a resident with the feelers on the island to be able to give answers.

This is really helpful about Skye - thank you so much.

We are up on Skye most months visiting family and have never experienced long queues on roads as such.The traffic tends to whizz along quite the thing though as Skyegirl says, the Fairy Pools route has deteriorated quite a bit recently potholes and at peak times, it can be busy stop starting along the single track road.But we’ve only experienced perhaps an extra 5- 10 mins delay, hardly a major issue.

Skye is absolutely spectacular and as said there are so many places to get off the beaten track and enjoy soul stirring scenery.
The last few years has see much bigger (and now paid ) parking at the honey pot sites such the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing (as well as the Fairy Pools) which has made a big difference overall.

You’ll be in amongst far more traffic on the mainland south than you will on Skye.

As someone mentioned, it is a busy time of year for Scotland. Anytime it is a school holiday is potentially a bad time to find accommodation in the UK. I have no first hand knowledge of Skye specifically, but I can confidently say that a lot of road condition in the west of Scotland is "not very good" and there is a LOT of traffic, on very very narrow roads, in some areas, and the going can be slow. I like the train. They go all over the place quite often. It is an actual method of getting around, not just for tourists.

I like the train. They go all over the place quite often.

Unfortunately not on Skye though - or for many other areas in Scotland....

But you can get as far as the Skye Bridge by train- to Kyle of Lochalsh. There is a morning service which is a direct connection at Inverness with the Caledonian Sleeper from London (and an afternoon one which has a mid morning connection from Edinburgh and Glasgow). A journey which many see as an equal to the much better known West Highland Line to Fort William and Mallaig.
Once I was even lucky enough to be on a land cruise charter train from London which took the sleeper cars down to Kyle where we slept overnight. There are few better stations to wake up at.
The over tourism and the poor roads on Skye are two sides of the same issue. But then everyone is going to the same few places on Skye.
Maybe look at staying at somewhere like Plockton (from which you can easily reach Skye) or the much less visited Wester Ross- Shieldaig, Gairloch, Poolewe- that kind of area. I'm not sure how to define authentic or even responsible. But in terms of bringing tourist $ to the less visited parts of the Highlands then Wester Ross may well meet the definition of being more responsible, as this is largely beyond the core part of the NC500 driving route.

For Skye another possible place to stay away from the crowds would be the Isle of Raasay, and commute over on the short wee ferry to Sconser, on Skye.

Just like visiting the Central Lake District in England any tourist is contributing to residents problems and in places overwhelm us (and our deteriorating roads as well), but there is the same inevitability to it. But likewise in the Lake District there are responsible, authentic ways to visit which mitigate many of those problems.