Hi,
first of all ..thanks for running such an awesome forum and helping all the travellers from all walk of lives.
We are planing to travel Inverness from Edinburgh using A82 via ft william...wanted to know all the places which can be covered between inverness and isle of skye in 2 days.
First of all the trip is easily done in a day. :) There at least a couple of routes. For either one of them, it's easy to stop and see Eilean Donan Castle if you are interested in it. It's the one that is beautifully situated on the Loch and is often on calendars. :) One route takes you north. If you really wanted to take two days to do this, then at Achnasheen you could head west and explore Torridon. You could go as far west as Gairloch. Alternatively, you could go west to Applecross a little earlier. The scenery is quite spectacular. Or, you could just drive right on to Inverness and enjoy the scenery. Stop near Garve for the waterfalls and rapids. It's a beautiful drive.
Or you could take the southern route which takes you past Loch Ness. Just before you get to Drumnadrochit and all the Nessie Tat you'll see Urquhart Castle. This is a great stop. The visitor center is wonderful and it's fun to clamber around in the castle ruins a bit. Great views of the Loch!
If you are looking for alternative places to stay than Inverness, my suggestions include Strathpeffer, Fortrose, Beauly, and maybe Nairn on the other side. But Inverness is a great place to spend a night or two. There are good restaurants, good music and it's easy to make day trips from there.
Pam
I'm a bit confused by the OP because it says "Inverness from Edinburgh" but then asks about places "between Inverness and the Isle of Skye." From Edinburgh, you would go in two different directions to get to Inverness (basically due north) and the Isle of Skye (west northwest).
Could the OP clarify whether the plan is to go from Edinburgh to Inverness and then to Skye, or from Edinburgh to Skye and then to Inverness, or ... ?
I had the same confusion, but decided to ignore the heading and go straight for the question....
sorry for confusing you guys. I have found some places from this forum only between Edinburgh and Inverness ( i.e. sterling, doune, Crianlarich, glencoe, ft William,ft Augustus )
Now once we reach to Inverness, we will be leaving for isle of skye from there next day.
so wanted to know all the place which can be covered on the way to isle of skye.
I have not been there, but guidebooks seem to consider Fort William a worthwhile destination. Another forum recommended the "Secret Scotland" website so you might look there.
Another thing: do you prefer access to Skye via the bridge or via ferry at Mallaig? Or perhaps take one route to get there and the other when you leave? A recent description of Mallaig in a NY Times travel article called it an "unlovely" fishing port with no overnight accommodations, but that could have been an exaggeration to make a good story.
I've only gone to Skye from the mainland via Kyle of Lochalsh, which is now the Bridge, but I know that the drive from Mallaig to Fort William is gorgeous, and the drive from Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness is equally gorgeous whether you take the northern or the southern route. You don't need to spend the night in Mallaig. Simply, drive from Fort William to Mallaig and catch the ferry.
Undiscovered Scotland is another great site for exploring towns and villages as well other aspects of visiting Scotland. Here is the Feature Page for Mallaig.
Fort William is a great location for climbing Ben Nevis and exploring that immediate area. It is very touristy.
Pam
Mallaig has its charms, but as Pam says it is not far from Ft William. Excluding Mallaig would possibly mean excluding the road and places such as Glenfinnan.
My recommendation is if taking the ferry one way and the bridge the other is to take the ferry from Mallaig. You get more of the sense of adventure going, but Eileann Donan is more imposing coming from the bridge than heading to it.
