Itinerary for Late December Highlands Trip

Posted by sean on 03/16/25 01:08 AM

Hey,

I would love some help planning a late December Highlands trip. We've already toured the west highlands - Oban, etc. a couple of years ago.

This time we're thinking Isle of Skye + ?

It's that question mark I would love to fill in - assuming we're starting at Inverness and we want to get back to Edinburgh - on the afternoon of New Year's Eve.

We wake up in Inverness on the morning of December 27th, so we have all day on the 27th, the 28th, the 29th, the 30th, and then on the 31st we obviously need to be close enough to Edinburgh to get into town before it's too late in the day.

Sean

Posted by sean OP

03/16/25 03:43 PM

3 posts

Fair enough. That said, we took our last trip in the Winter as well. Exact same timeframe. We had a great time touring the Western Highlands.

Totally get being careful with the driving, etc. I’m not entirely unfamiliar with snow, bad weather, one lane roads, driving on the left, etc.

Also, I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for over 30 years, so being out in the rain isn’t a big deal. And we’re going more for the outdoors aspect than anything else.

Plus, we’ve already secured hotels (cancellable still of course), etc. So we’re not just assuming something will be open.

So if we did want to go to the Isle of Skye - starting from Inverness, what makes the most sense as an Itinerary? Happy to be steered around the spots that might be more problematic that time of year, but we’re also looking to see what makes the most sense to see with that in mind.

Posted by scotlandmac

Glasgow

03/16/25 04:02 PM

45 posts

We are on holiday in the Highlands and Islands all year round - this year Mull mid December and Assynt over New Year.
You should have no problems at all unless you are very unlucky with heavy snow on the A82 but this is a major trunk route with considerable traffic using it all year round and if there is snow, it is normally cleared quickly.In many, many decades of whirling up and down that road and the A9, we have not been halted in our plans because of weather.
If any road is most likely to get snow it is around Drumochter on the A9 but again, it is most likely that this will be cleared.Half a day might be your maximum delay unless you were terribly unlucky in which case a day might be lost.
If bad weather is forecast in terms of heavy snow, I would keep an eye on the weather forecast re your journey south from Skye to Edinburgh as you have various options for which route you might take.
Some of the restaurants on Skye will be closed (Seabreezes always closes) but there will be more than enough (including cafes)open to enjoy yourselves.It is a popular time on the island with people coming to visit family or to simply enjoy a Xmas/New Year break on the island.Accommodation prices can be ‘sky high’ so to speak so you might want to book sooner rather than later.

Posted by sean OP

03/16/25 04:07 PM

3 posts

Hey, thanks for the advice. Would you suggest we spend more of our time on Skye, or leave time for seeing a few things on the way out there (from Inverness) and back (to Edinburgh).

That’s one of the bigger questions we have right now.

And if it makes sense to take some of the alternate routes between Inverness and Skye - A835 to A890 for one example.

And what the best route for scenery, etc. might be - going from Skye to Edinburgh.