Scotland Itinerary

If this is for August this year then you may already have left it too late to secure accommodation in Edinburgh and Skye.

Assuming you are planning on renting car I'd suggest doing that when you leave Edinburgh and collecting the car from the airport as driving in the city is horrible.

I'd then suggest heading north to St Andrews, then Inverness and then Skye. Or alternatively heading direct to Skye, then Inverness, then St Andrews. You'd probably only need one night in each of St Andrews and Inverness, leaving 2 or 3 nights for Skye depending on whether 10 days means 10 nights or 9 and whether 3 full days in Edinburgh means 3 nights or 4.

Much will depend on securing accommodation......

Accommodations in Edinburgh for 4 nights which can be changed to 3 nights. Total of 9 full days in Scotland.

What areas would you stop to visit on way from Edinburg to Isle of Skye?

In August you are colliding with not one , but three major events that will overlap from 4 - 28 August - The Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and The Edinburgh Military Tattoo , Hotels will be tight , if even available , and top dollar .

I would definitely pare Edinburgh down to 3 nights at the beginning - and you will need one of your nights there or very close before your onward flight. Get Tattoo tickets for one evening. Skyegirl has given you an order and suggestions and I would follow her advice. If you are going all the way to Skye, stay several nights to make sure you get the most from your time. Weather is always potential consideration.

I don't think you've got time to stop and see much on the way to Skye from Edinburgh. It will take you all day to do the drive. I live near Dunvegan and allow 6 hours to get to Edinburgh. Bear in mind that I know the roads, drive to the speed limit, overtake slower vehicles whenever safe to do so, and don't stop for lunch/sightseeing - just a quick comfort break to use the restroom and grab a cup of tea.

You have a choice of two routes, basically heading west towards Crianlarich, and then north on the A82 and A87, or heading straight north on the M90 and A9 before turning west at Dalwhinnie to pick up the A87.

If you include St Andrews and Inverness on your way to Skye you will then head south down the side of Loch Ness to Invermoriston before heading west towards Skye.

Unless you have a compelling reason to visit either St Andrews or Inverness I would ditch them and allocate the extra time to Skye, but then I've no interest in golf (St Andrews) or Culloden battlefield/Clava Cairns (Inverness) and prefer the great outdoors and hiking - of which there's plenty on Skye. I do think you might struggle with accommodation on Skye in August, but you could try Kyle of Lochalsh too, which is just on the mainland next to the Skye Bridge.

Best wishes
Jacqui (Skyegirl)

I was in Edinburgh this weekend and it was super crowded and hotels expensive. I can’t imagine high season!

I wouldn't drive all the way up to Skye and not allow enough time to fully enjoy the destination, so I agree that there doesn't seem to be time in your schedule for stopping along the way. You can just barely cover the places you plan to go. Actually, with this little time, I wouldn't try for both western and eastern Scotland. It takes longer to get around Scotland than many other countries because of the terrain.

The first thing I'd do is investigate lodging on Skye (or in Kyle), because if you can't find anything, you'll need to adjust your itinerary. I'd start with booking.com. If no luck there, I know Skyegirl in the past has recommended a Facebook group for people either with rooms available or needing rooms on Skye. I think it may be called "SkyeRooms", but I'm not sure.

Yes Skye Rooms is the facebook group for those seeking late availability accommodation. Not sure if this link will work....