Itinerary help- 10 days in June/hiking

Instead of staying in Inverness, which is a busy commercial center, I suggest staying in Nairn, a lovely seaside village about 20 minutes from Inverness. We stayed there last June at the Sunny Brae B&B and loved our stay there. From Nairn, we visited Elgin Cathedral, Glen Moray Distillery, Cawdor Castle and Gardens, and Culloden Battlefield. You can visit Urquhart Castle on your way from Skye to Inverness or Nairn. We did that in reverse; we left Nairn in the morning, visited Urquhart Castle, and then continued on to Portree on Skye. Also Urquhart is on Loch Ness, you will see Loch Ness from the castle. No need to make an extra stop anywhere else to see Loch Ness. So on June 13 you will have time to visit Culloden and other places that interest you. Cawdor Castle is close by so that would make sense.

Glencoe Village is a lovely place to stay in Glen Coe. It's about 30 minutes from Ben Nevis. So not sure if you want to be closer to Ben Nevis. We stayed at the Glencoe Inn.

I love the Isle of Skye but if you have not looked at the Cairngorm National Park Website here it is:

https://cairngorms.co.uk

If you like highland walking the Cairngorms are the place... LOTS and LOTS.

As you've got a car you could look at staying in Glencoe or Ballachulish in preference to Fort William.

Then rather than Inverness, after you've been to Culloden, drop a bit south (30 to 45 minutes) on the A9 to somewhere like Carrbridge, Boat of Garten, Nethy Bridge or Grantown on Spey. All nice places to stay the night, then you are better positioned for the morning.

From all of those you could also drop in to Boat of Garten to see the Ospreys nesting if you were interested.

Thank you, this is all very helpful. I was looking at the Glencoe Inn and the pictures are beautiful but reviews were discouraging. Did you enjoy your stay? I was also considering the Loch Levin Hotel but it had similarly mixed reviews.

I will look into Boat of Garten and the Cairngorms! Thank you!

Yes we enjoyed our stay at the glencoe inn. Excellent location. Our room was clean and looked like it was newly renovated. We travelled with friends who were happy with their room. Their restaurant, the Gathering, serves delicious food.

On day 9, be prepared with a back up plan for bad weather - heavy rain or poor visibility aren't ideal conditions for going up Ben Nevis...

Have you found the Walk Highlands web site?

Thank you! That is a good idea. I have, thank you! It looks like there are a lot of options in Glencoe but I hadn’t thought to choose a back-up hike. It is hard to choose! Do you have a suggestion for what would be appropriate/safe in rainy weather?

We stayed in Glencoe last April and it was fantastic. It's a small town but there are a few restaurants, a handful of hotels and B and Bs, and lots of walking and hikes nearby. The scenery is stunning. We drove through Fort William and were very happy with our choice. We went to the Clachaig Inn several times for dinner or drinks. It was great.

Depending on your travel style, we found the Heart of Glencoe Holidays to be absolutely fantastic. It's not fancy but had superb amenities and was within walking distance to everything.

If you are thinking of hiking the Cuillin ridge while in Skye, then I'd recommend doing so with a guide. Adrian who runs All Things Cuillin gets fantastic reviews and goes the extra mile to give his clients a safe and unique experience of the Cuillin, including the Inaccessible Pinnacle.