Isle of Skye, Glasgow, and Edinburgh itinerary

Spring will have sprung it's a great time to visit.
On average about a dry a month as you get in Skye.

You might want to have a look at Walk Highlands website to get some ideas for some good walks. The places you have mentioned on Skye are what I call the 'honey pot' sites that everyone who comes to Skye visits, mainly because of Instagram and lazy journalism that concentrates on the few well known spots at the expense of other equally beautiful places on the island. You will find hundreds of walks described on the Walk Highlands site that will hopefully help you to find your own special places on Skye.

If you are set on going to Neist Point for example, be aware that the car park will be very busy in the couple of hours before sunset.

The Fairy Glen is always busy, there is now pay and display parking and you must not park in the passing places on the single track road leading to the glen. Likewise parking at the Quiraing also now requires payment. A much less busy walk but with equally fantastic views in the same area can be done by parking for the Quiraing but heading up the hill on the other side of the road.

As you are staying in Portree, this fantastic hill walk is a short drive from Portree. Ben Tianavaig Walk.

One thing that you definitely won't want on Skye is an umbrella. Nobody here uses them as it is invariably too windy. We all just wear waterproof jackets and hats. If hiking you will want to carry gloves and waterproof over-trousers in your backpack.

For driving, bear in mind that there are lots of 'single track roads with passing places' on Skye. You need to know how to drive those roads. Basically there is only enough road for one line of traffic. If you meet a vehicle coming the other way either you or they have to give way, using the passing places to get past each other. If the passing place is on your left you drive into it to allow the other vehicle to pass. If the passing place is on your right you stop opposite the passing place, the vehicle coming the other way pulls into the passing place and you then proceed. This might help. Video of how to drive single track roads.

Hope that helps! Feel free to fire any more Skye related questions my way.

Jacqui (Skyegirl)

Thanks so much, I did not know about that walking website. This is great!

Have you also found the Undiscovered Scotland website? This has loads of ideas of things to do and see. Start with the map page covering Skye and follow the links to the text pages with information and lots of photos. The Skye Museum of Island Life is well woirth visiting . Also do the short drive to Kilmuir Graveyard, where Flora MacDonald (of Bonnie Prince Charlie fame) is buried. The views across to the outer Hebrides are superb.

For a very different experience, take the short ferry crossing to Raasay. Check out Undiscovered Scotland for ideas and also Walk Highland for walks on Raasay.

@wasleys Thank you, I will take a look.

@SkyeGirl & anyone else who has done the road trip:

I am thinking of 2 routes from Fort William to Portree:

1. Along the A87 (2 hours, 26 min)
2. Along the A830 to Mallaig, ferry to Armadale, then proceed along A87

Which route is more scenic or interesting? Pros/Cons of each? I would like to do one going and one coming back, but if there are benefits to either way, I'd love to hear about them.

I am fine with paying for the ferry. Wondering if Mallaig is worth checking out for an hour or 2, or if it'll be rammed on a Friday afternoon.

Do you suggest we find lunch in Fort William before we set out on the road trip or drive an hour to Mallaig to eat something there? Food options between Fort William vs Mallaig?

Thanks so much again! Thoroughly appreciate the things I cannot find or have missed from searching online.

Hi Rubychai

A great idea to arrive by ferry and leave by the bridge (or the other way around). Both routes are very scenic. I live beyond Portree and allow a minimum of 3 hours to get to Fort William via the bridge and the A87. But I drive at the upper end of the speed limit where possible and safe to do so, overtake when it's safe and don't stop to look at the scenery! I think you would want to allow around 4 hours if planning to stop to take photos and maybe some short walks.

The Mallaig to Armadale ferry must be booked in advance if travelling with a car. The 'road to the isles' from Fort William to Mallaig is highly scenic, but Mallaig itself is a working fishing port and not at all pretty. You need to check in for the ferry 45 minutes before it departs.

A good lunch stop is the Highland Soap Company cafe - just north of Fort William.

There is a 3rd way to get to Skye and that is via the historic turntable ferry between Glenelg and Kylerhea. No booking required and an incredibly scenic if slightly daunting drive (because of the very hilly single track roads on both sides of the crossing). Glenelg Ferry If choosing this route there is a decent pub at Glenelg as well as some ancient Brochs

Jacqui (Skyegirl)

Both routes are scenic and it makes sense to do a circular covering both. The Glen Elg ferry is great fun and a very different experience. If time allows, then try and do that one way. Glen Elg Brochs are a short drive from the ferry and are aslo worth seeing.

Don't underestimate driving times in Scotland. Distances may not look far on a map but will take a lot longer to cover than you might expect. If using google maps for driving times, it is recommended to add 25% to their times AND THEN add on time for stops etc.

Skye girl on it.
Go Glenfinnan ,return via Kyle.
Magic white sand beaches near Arisaig
Maybe see if you can spot Nessies far more scenically situated sister in Loch Morrar. Morag by name.
The pub at Dornie ,the Clachan is excellent for food .

Thank you all for the responses! This is great information, especially about giving yourself more time than Google Maps says. I usually give myself an additional 30 min buffer time if I have to catch a ferry or connection, but it sounds like perhaps an hour extra would help me relax.