Hello!
We are staying in Portree for 3 nights, giving us two full days to explore Skye. On the first day, I want to leave Portree and drive to explore the Old Man of Storr, Fairy Glen, the Quaraing, Dunvegan and ending at Point Neist/ coral beach. The second day we'll explore the Cuillin Hills, Elgol and anything else in that direction. Is that first day doable or is it too much? Any suggestions for revisions to my plan?
Thank you so much!
Erin
We had a day like you describe for day 1 without Dunvegan. We had to speed to make sunset at Neist Point, but we did have a bit longer-than-usual lunch due to some rain. If you want a proper hike on Storr and the Quiraing, I think your itinerary is still doable, but start early! Fairy Glen was more of a time suck than we thought--really great place to stroll around
In my opinion this is a lot to do in one day, but you can do it. Also, I don't know of any coral beach near Neist Point. The Coral Beach is north of Dunvegan. I plotted your route on Viamichelin and it comes out with 2.5 hours of travel. I always add 25% to their times and it doesn't include your side trip to the Faerie Glen so it's probably closer to 3.5 hours of travel. That's with no stops. i would plan 45 minutes to an hour for Dunvegan. And you need to factor in time to walk on the beach. Also, if you like jewelry you will be driving past Skye Silver on the way to Neist Point and it's probably worth a stop. You also go sailing past some standing stones on the west side of Trotternish and I think the cemetery at St. Columba's Isle is very evocative. It is very easy to find reason's to stop and take longer than you think. I am pretty sure that there is a Broch that you go past as well north of Portree toward Dunvegan. It's been a few years since I visited that part of Skye. So, you might want to think about options and really prioritize what is most important for you to see and to accomplish on the trip.
As you're finding, Skye is a big island. It can surprise you. It is 45 minutes from Kyle of Lochalsh to Portree.
Pam
Erin,
In October we did Storr, Quiraing, Faerie Glen, the Coral Beaches, Claigan near Dunvegan. For my mind I think adding Neist Pointe to that day is too much. It will leave you a long way from Portree after dark for a long drive back. I would say if you are are used to the roads on Skye or at least in the UK this might be okay, but as a US driver I would really struggle with that drive back after a long day of hiking. I think it depends on how long you plan to spend at each location, if you are not planning on taking any extended hikes, then you can do it, the Fairy Glen at Uig is the easiest and quite fun to browse. My choice would be to do Old Mann Storr, Quiraing, Fairy Glen at Uig and then return to Portree. That would allow for a few hours at each of the three beautiful sites and you could venture deep into Storr and Quiraing and still get to Uig. If you are at all scared of heights then your Quiraing hike might be short, only a couple of hours as the paths can be quite intimidating, not to mention the drive up. This is just me, but I would go counter clockwise up the pennesula and do Kilt Rock (easy view), Old Man Storr, Quiraing, and then cut across the pennensula to the Fairy Glenn at Uig, get dinner over near Uig and head back to Portree as the sun is setting. Please visit www.walkhighlands.co.uk and then find your way to the map for the Isle of Skye. There you will find numerous maps and info about hikes up there and you can use the section with maps/directions to find your way to parking for the spots. this site is awesome for hikers, and you can see what others experienced on the hikes. I would go back to this part of Skye in a heartbeat!!! I totally agree with Pam's suggestions to add at least 25% to all planned travel times on Skye, she knows her stuff!! dave
Sorry I had the site link incorret...the correct site is www.walkhighlands.co.uk
IMHO, I would skip Dunvegan Castle, which is actually more of a stately home full of ancestral portraits. and use the pounds you save for a nice lunch or something pretty from Skye Silver. Use the extra time to enjoy more of the Skye scenery. There are many other castles in the UK which are far more interesting than Dunvegan.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful responses. I really appreciate the advice and you've given me a lot to think about. Would it be a mistake to skip Point Neist all together?
Thanks again,
Erin
Point Neist can be very impressive. When I was there it was late afternoon and we could see across the Minch to the Outer Hebrides. There were rain showers coming in between the sun beams. It was all very evocative. But I will also say that I didn't see it until my second trip to Skye. We were more hung up on the Cuilins. :) We did go to Dunvegan and enjoyed the tour and the stories. I've seen bigger and better castles since, but there was a lot of history there.
Don't forget Skye Silver is on your way to Neist Point!
Pam
