Please sign in to post.

Isle of Skye

I previously posted a question about things to do on Skye without a car.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/skye-without-a-car

I thought I would follow up, since I just left Skye this morning after four nights staying in Portree.

I stayed at the Viewfield House (https://viewfieldhouse.com/). It was absolutely lovely. It's a 10-15 minute walk to the town centre, so not right in the midst of things. If you want to be in the heart of Portree, it wouldn't be a good option, but I definitely recommend it.
I made dinner reservations for each of the four nights I was there. It's a good thing. If you don't have reservations, you're doing takeout or buying groceries from the Coop.

The first day I took the 56 bus from Portree to Dunvegan Castle. Spent about 3 hours there and took the bus back. Easy as pie. I was the only passenger on the bus both ways. It drops you off right in the castle parking lot and picks you up in the same place. Easy to get the schedule online (https://www.stagecoachbus.com/routes/north-scotland/56/portree-square-glendale/xiao056.o). The castle was interesting and the gardens were very nice.

The second day I booked a tour with Seaflower (http://seaflowerskye.com/our-trips/). If you walk down the harbor in Portree you'll find a board that has their entire schedule for the week, and you can book on their website. I did their Rona with Seafood Lunch trip. The lunch was fabulous, and the Isle of Rona is beautiful. The hiking is not too difficult but has some steep hills, but there are options for easier walks too.

The third day I did the Skyebus Full Day Tour with Real Scottish Journeys (https://www.realscottishjourneys.com/tour_real_skye.html). This was one of the best tours of this type I've ever done. True, we didn't go to "off the beaten path" places, but the places we visited were all definitely worth seeing, and Bill's narration (he told stories, talked about the history and the geology and the plants and animals, and in between he played music from Skye musicians) was fascinating and fun.

I highly recommend everything I did on Skye (except one of the restaurants I went to). The three restaurants I do recommend are Antlers, Scorrybreac, and Chargrill (at Marmalade Hotel).

Now I'm in Inverness. I did a walking tour this afternoon that wasn't great. The guide was knowledgeable about history, but we didn't actually see much of anything interesting. Actually, I think that may be because there really isn't a lot to see in Inverness. But I read Rick's walking tour in his guidebook and realized that would have been much better, because he actually shares more details about what your seeing. I will try to find time to go back and do his tour, even though it overlaps with the one I did, just to pay attention to some of the things he points out.

Posted by
1418 posts

Lane, I enjoyed this report for your time on Skye. Scotland is so beautiful - I want to return.

Posted by
3561 posts

Lane, so glad everything worked out for you. It sounds awesome. We loved the Isle of Skye, our favorite part of Scotland.

Posted by
4810 posts

I am glad Skye worked for you without a car! And it’s not always easy to find local tours before you get somewhere, so your links should be really useful.

Posted by
7837 posts

I didn't know that you could do day landing cruises to Rona. That's very interesting. Also pleased to hear of a visitor using the local bus.
A great trip report.
Thank you.

Posted by
7980 posts

Lane, that’s a very nice trip report. Thank you! I might try the bus up to Dunvegan. Driving is stressful and I could do with less of it. 😊

Do you mind sharing which restaurant you did not recommend? I have reservations at several, including Antlers, but wondered which one you did not like. Or you could PM me if you prefer.

Posted by
1349 posts

Friendliest bus drivers in the UK on Skye.
I have seen Bill ,turn the engine off and carry a woman's shopping into the house.
Also Robert, the ever smiling dutch driver ,looks as happy as if has won the lottery .
Drivers will also pick you up even if not at dedicated stops if you are in a reasonable spot and just put your arm out to indicate you want them too.

Posted by
143 posts

Thank you for this marvelous trip report, Lane! I visited Skye on my own in 2018 and really enjoyed it. Now, thanks to you, I have some leads for activities for my next trip.

Richard, I totally agree with you about Skye having the friendliest bus drivers, and I would extend that observation to ferry personnel as well. For example, in Armadale the ferry office worker volunteered to store my backpack in the boot of his car so that I could walk around the harbor until my bus to Portree arrived (the luggage storage was not available for some reason).

Another day, when I alighted from my bus from Portree to catch the ferry to Raasay, I was disappointed to see that the ferry had already (just barely) left the dock (the next ferry departed an hour later). But then...the ferry came back to the dock to pick me up! I was absolutely dumbstruck. I live in NYC and cannot imagine the Staten Island Ferry returning to port to pick up a latecomer! When I finally made it on board, I was winded from running for the boat, plus the ferry conductor (is that the title for the person who collects fares?) was a very handsome young man with a charming Scots accent, plus I was still learning the various British coin denominations, so it took me a while to settle down and enjoy the ride. I am so fortunate that everything worked out, and I had a wonderful vacation.

Posted by
2774 posts

I love to read trip reports for trips without a car rental, since we are done renting cars. I just love Skye, and it’s good to know that you can have a great trip there without a car, in case we ever make it back. Thanks for sharing!