Mode of travel, Inverness to Isle of Skye and back?

The Highland Rail Rover pass might be of interest.

Our drive from Inverness to Skye 3 years ago in August was in an absolute downpour, in heavy traffic (lots of semi tractor-trailers hauling freight), including Dutch and Belgian motorhomes with other tourists besides ourselves, all not necessarily used to driving on the left side of the road. It took much longer than 3 hours of steady driving due to several factors. One unfortunate guy had driven off the road into a puddle, but destroyed his tire on the rough pavement that was hidden by the puddle. So letting someone else do the driving might be worthwhile.

Skye was a delight, however, and well worth the 3 days we had there. We could have used more time. With our own car, we stayed in the western part, at the Roskhill House B&B in Roskhill. There were a lot of walking opportunities in the middle of Skye, but have rain gear handy!

You can't really do justice to Skye as a day trip. Three days is the minimum that I would suggest, but there is lots of other stunning countryside and coastline to see in Scotland too.

A car is ideal for exploring Scotland, as there are many places where you may wish to stop and take photos or take short walks.

The Borders region is one of the most interesting from a history viewpoint, although the scenery isn't as remote as the Highlands.

An option that I enjoyed was to head north from Inverness and stay in Dunnet Bay, which is easy to get to John o'Groats for a day trip to Orkney. Don't attempt this as a day trip from Inverness, as it's too far to be enjoyable.

When we were there we had a rental car and spent the night before our visit in Portree. That made the commute to drive the Isle very short. We didn't do any hiking and really just drove around the Isle. There were too many other places on our to see list to spend more than a day there.

OK I'll be a bit of a contrarian and say Skye may be overrated. There are lots of awesome places to visit around the highlands that don't draw as many tourists and could be just as enjoyable. That said, Dunvegan Castle is unique with its connections to the famous Flora MacDonald and the MacLeod clan's "fairy flag." Eilean Donan Castle is also pretty cool, though it is 20th century rebuild from a ruin.

If you do go to Skye, I'd say you need to stay over at least one night so as to have more than 24 hours on the ground. Trying to do it as a day trip from Inverness doesn't make sense, IMO, but if you Google "tours Inverness to Skye" you'll find some companies that run day tours.

Thank you for these informative replies. Where else might you recommend we venture to beyond Inverness to experience the beauty of the Nothern Scottish rugged coastline?
We enjoy evenings in the towns we visit rather than day trips from a "home base" when distance is such that there's a decision to be made.

After Skye, we headed to the city of Fort William, taking an inland route, but the town's itself is just off the sea. It's also adjacent to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in all of Britain. There's a neat pedestrian area in the center of town for strolling or picking a place for dinner - an excellent Indian restaurant, plus lots of other options. A great place, even if you're just there for the night.

As we read suggestions we dove into websites that lead us to consider traveling from Stirling by rental car through Loch Loman National Park. We may stay there a night before continuing through the park to the Oban ferry crossing where we would land on The Isle of Mull. Interesting wildlife project going on there.

Let me ask for a bit of clarification. Your original question was limited to Inverness & Skye, but your most recent post seems to expand the topic to an entire itinerary. Are you definitely starting from Inverness? If not, then where is your starting point? And where do you need to end up? Also, how many days do you have?

Working from your Stirling - Loch Lomond - Oban - Isle of Mull route and assuming you'll have a car, I can suggest that you take a short boat cruise on Loch Lomond ( see https://www.cruiselochlomond.co.uk/ and https://www.visitscotland.com/info/tours/sweeneys-cruise-co-loch-lomond-p265761 ) and that you stop for a night in Inveraray. The Brambles B&B in Inveraray is excellent; also the George Hotel is a great place to eat dinner. Inveraray Castle is beautiful inside, and it has gardens as well as walking trails up the mountain.

Driving from Inverary to Oban you can go past the scenic ruin of Kilchurn Castle and the fascinating Ben Cruachan "hollow mountain" hydropower station visitor centre, which has a nice cafe and lochside picnic tables (see https://www.visitcruachan.co.uk/ ).

Special thank you especially to the response asking for clarification. What a wealth of intriguing recommendations. Looking forward to exploring these suggested options. While this will be our first trip to Scotland, it's our fourth European adventure. We prefer to design our own itinerary, and honestly, we fumble around, mixing wonderful discoveries with some silly choices that waste precious time and money. I suppose it's human to begin in the familiar, popular places. Travel experience, Rick Steves' guidebooks and films and a masters course in communication and leadership we took set in a rather remote Italian village, Cagli, opened us to the magic of taking the road less traveled and communicating directly with our hosts, forming a trust, inviting personal connections, building mutual understanding across cultures. Travel as a political act, thank you Rick.
With all that said, we have time to explore, a reasonable but not unlimited budget, and we will be 67 at the time of this trip which will take us from Italy, to Scotland, to Ireland, to the South of England, to Normandy, to Bavaria where our daughter and her husband teach internationally, to Provence, and ultimately to Spain. We are somewhat mindful of Schengen travel restrictions. We land in Edinburgh 8/13 (4 nights), Highland games in Stirling by trail, perhaps theater in Pitlochry, then rent a car to head west. At this point we are replacing a visit to Inverness with a road trip to the Isle of Mull. Eventually we will fly to Dublin, traveling by train to Galway and Limerick, a sister city to our hometown.

We have come to realize we will experience Scotland more intimately by renting a car. An internet search opened our eyes to a manor house, a family run guesthouse on the aisle of Mull. Just getting there will be an adventure. Once there, we will be about walking, breathing, seeing and talking with some fellow human beings. I am confident, we will all be a bit more understanding and even more caring of one another and our shared planet as a result.
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Based on shared insights we studied the map, considering time for driving to places for walking, boat excursion, castle visits, good meals and comfy lodging, how does this sound:
Day 1 drive from Stirling to a midway point in Loch Lomon Nation Park for 1 nights lodging,
Day 2 drive to Inveraray for a relaxing boat cruise (thinking the Rob Roy would be a beautiful hoot) followed by dinner at George Hotel and lodging at Brambles,
Day 3 drive to Oban fo catch ferry to Isle of Mull for 2 nights rest and exploration at Glengorm Guesthouse and nature project.
Day 5 we would make our way to Glasgow to return the rental car and fly to Dublin. This will probably be a 5 hour trip back to the city for the flight.
Not high on staying in Glasgow. Other ideas welcome.

This itinerary skips our original plan to visit Inverness. A mistake? Or a fine Scottish journey?

I prefer your revised plan to the Inverness option.

If the trip is for this August, not 2018, then ensure there is accommodation availability in Edinburgh (Festival time) and on Mull and for the ferry before you commit. Check the car hire company, as some won't permit you to take their vehicle on a ferry.

If you have time in Oban, visit the chocolate shop for coffee (and awesome chocolates).

Getting set for 2018. We have come to a similar conclusion. Renting a car in Stirling, being certain they will allow for ferry travel (thank you for this crucial tip). Planning a stay in Inverarary on our way to the Isle of Mull (Brambles have been gracious and welcoming). Mull will be our Scottish Isles experience.

Traveling through Loch Lomond National Park on our way to Mull and on our way back heading to Glasgow. Wondering if there is a comfy lodging in the Park.
Chocolates, for certain, in Oban. Thank you to all for your travel wisdom!