Oban to Lochalsh or Portree?

I would recommend checking to see what is the availablity in terms of accomodations - that's what made the decision for us :)

From Oban, take the A85 to North Connel. Head north on the A828 to Ballachulish, then north on the A82 to Fort William. Head west on the A830 to Mallaig. Take the CalMac ferry to Skye. (Be sure to make a reservation.) Head for Broadford, then Portree. There are lots of sights to discover on Skye.

If you're not staying overnight on Skye, then come back through Broadford to Kyleakin, and take the Skye Bridge to Eilean Donan. You'll be on the A87, which will take you to the A82 at Invergarry. Go through Fort William, and stay on the A82 to Glencoe.

The easiest way to get back to Pitlochry from Glencoe is to take the A82 to Crainlarich, then the A85 to Killin. Then take the A827 along the north shore of Loch Tay. It will take you to the A9, about 5 miles south of Pitlochry.

If you want to visit Glencoe initially after leaving Oban, stay on the A85 at North Connel, and follow it until you meet the A82 at Tyndrum. Then head north on the A82 to Glencoe, and then on to Fort William.

Happy traveling!

Thanks auchterless for the detailed road directions.I hadn't really considered the ferry option to Skye before. Sounds like an interesting route. I'll check into it!

If you don't yet have lodging booked, I can recommend the Dornie Hotel, which is on the mainland within walking distance of Eilean Donan Castle. It's nothing fancy, but affordable, clean, with helpful staff and a good restaurant/pub that's popular with locals.

If you take the CalMac ferry from Mallaig to Armadale, then take the Skye Bridge coming back, you avoid backtracking. Also, there is some gorgeous scenery along the A830, especially from Arisaig westward. You could also reverse your journey, and take the Skye Bridge heading west, and the ferry going east. But if you go that way, be sure to make a reservation for the ferry. They put a smaller ferry on that route (I don't know if that's still the case), and it doesn't hold as many cars. There are nine sailings daily, so you should be okay.

One day on Skye starting the day in Oban and ending it at Eilean Donan Castle (or vice versa) seems like there will be no time to get out of the car while you're at Skye. We've not been to Scotland before so we're not by any means experts, moreover we won't have a car. That said, we've planned on two full days on Skye (we're lodging at Portree) plus the afternoon before the two days and another morning after the two days. Pardon us for a "glass half empty" mind-set, but we thought there might be a possibility of overcast and wet weather if we were at Skye for only one day. "Frazzled" would be compounded if, by chance, the weather doesn't cooperate on your day at Skye.

PS. If you're visiting Oban and Eilean Donan Castle (in that order), we "second" the idea of the ferry from Malaig to Armadale and taking the bridge from Skye to Eilean Donan.

Hi, Joan,

If you're staying in the Portree area, it's only about an hour's drive back to the Skye Bridge, or to Armadale, road conditions and traffic permitting. If you're there on a weekend, add 15 minutes. You do need at least a full day on Skye to really enjoy it. The best thing you can do, as you'll have a car, is to pick out one or two things that you really want to see, i.e.: Fairy Pools, Quirang, Old Man of Storr, the Cuillins from Elgol, etc. Then make a list of the things that you wanted to see, but didn't have time to, and save them for the next time you're over.

A lot of the roads in North Skye (Waternish and Trotternish Peninsulas) are single track with passing places, so give yourself enough time if you're going that way.

As they used to say in the old ESSO commercials (I'm showing my age!), Happy Motoring!