I'm planning on 3 nights in portree on the Isle of Skye in early May. I will have a car. I see lots of information on where to go in the Trotternish area and out to the Dunvegan Castle with lots of hikes and stops along the way. I will be going towards Glencoe and taking the ferry to Mallaig when I leave. What should I see and do along the way from Portree to Armadale? Thanks
Posted by
Duluth, MN🌲
11667 posts
Are you staying in Portree? There's really not a lot between Armadale and Portree; at least compared to the beautiful scenery you will see beyond that. There's Armadale Castle, of course. You could stop and explore that before you leave. I will admit that when I drove from Armadale to Portree, I just wanted to get to my bed and breakfast in Portree so that I could start exploring the rest of the island.
It's a nice road; two lanes rather than single track, but it can take a while to get to Portree, especially if you get behind one of the slow camper vans. I wouldn't take too much time stopping there unless you really just want to explore. In that case, then I would just look for interesting places as you're driving along
Posted by
OP
girdwood, ak
196 posts
Yes I am staying in Portree - sorry I should have said that!
Posted by
OP
girdwood, ak
196 posts
Yes I am staying in Portree - sorry I should have said that! OOps I did say that
Posted by
Delaware
1713 posts
Hi, Sue,
How much time do you have between the time you leave Portree and the time you arrive in Armadale for your ferry? What time does the ferry depart for Mallaig?
Mike (Auchterless)
Posted by
Lake District, England
11514 posts
Have you even had confirmation that your ferry is running, and your booking is safe?
That route is on a single vessel, small ship timetable until 13 May, so not all bookings can even be honoured.
At the moment CalMac are working through bookings in date order, starting with next week which is on it's 3rd amended timetable in a week. So May is way down the priority list.
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1623 posts
I would definitely heed isn31c's advice about the ferry situation. In fact in an abundance of caution, I would personally cancel the booking with calmac and make alternative plans now rather than have to make a change of plan later. Another wonderful route off the island is to take the Kylerhea to Glenelg ferry. It's a very short ferry crossing that you don't book in advance, but pay on board by card. The drive to the ferry is beautiful. While waiting the 15 minutes or so between crossings you might spot seals, otters and maybe even dolphins or whales. On the other side you could make a small detour to see the ancient brochs (stone towers) at Glenelg before continuing on the hill road back to the A87 from where you'd continue your journey south towards Glencoe. If I'm not in a hurry this is my preferred route off the island.
Posted by
Duluth, MN🌲
11667 posts
Sorry, Sue, I should have seen that, but that said, I would listen to both isn31c and Skyegirl. They know the ferry situation, and Skyegirl definitely knows the island.
Any advice they give you, think about using. The CalMac ferries are just a nightmare right now, and I tend to forget about that. You also might want to review this thread that Skyegirl posted today about traffic conditions and the tourist season: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/start-of-the-tourist-season-in-skye-and-already-traffic-chaos