My friend and I are headed to Scotland in June. We are primarily staying in Edinburgh, but we hope to do a weekend trip to Inverness and at least a day trip to Isle of Skye.
We will be in Scotland for 7 days- I currently have a hotel for 3 nights in Edinburgh.
Would it be more beneficial/bang for your buck to do a weekend tour that leaves from Edinburgh, or to rent a car and hotel for the weekend on your own?
Age limit for what?
It would help to know how long you will be in Scotland, what your interests are and what is drawing you to Inverness and Skye.
Here is what Rabbie's offers from Edinburgh to the Highlands do you can compare the bang and the buck:
https://www.rabbies.com/en-us/tours/scotland/isle-of-skye
A day trip to Skye is just plain silly - unless you just like looking at scenery along the route (twice).
A day trip to Inverness might make sense if you fly. Otherwise, it's just more sightseeing out the window coming and going.
Something like one night in Inverness and two on Skye might make at least some sense. You could leave Edinburgh, visit Culloden, Clava Cairns, then stop in Inverness and get an early start to Skye the next day so you would get the afternoon and a full day on Skye before heading back.
As far as bang per buck, public transit is usually cheapest, with renting a car coming next, assuming you price shop. Public transit is really infrequent on Skye, so you need a car or a tour guide.
ArnoldClark has a soft limit of 25yrs old, if you're talking about car rentals. They also happen to be a forum favorite.
Why did you pick Inverness and Skye, and what are your interests? There are endless places to see in Scotland that are lots closer to Edinburgh.
A day trip to Skye from Edinburgh is impossible. It takes me close to 7 hours in the summer simply to drive from the north of Skye to Edinburgh airport. You will see nothing of Skye, and unless you are experienced in driving in the UK you are likely to have a miserable time on the roads, racing to get to Skye, missing out on the wonderful scenery of the Highlands in your rush to get to Skye and then back to Edinburgh. Far better given the time you have, to take a Rabbie's tour. Let someone else do the driving and take you in comfort through the Highlands to Skye.
If what you want is to see one of the islands and get the balance of a city (Edinburgh) but also experience something of the islands, then Mull might be a better bet for you. It's closer than Skye, but you'll want a least a couple of nights on Mull and for Skye you'd probably want 3 nights given the distance to get here.
