The Isle of Skye in Scotland has quickly become a must do and therefore quite a busy place to travel. It has a lot of instagram worthy places, from the fairy pools to the old man in the Skye, it’s a must see for sure.
However, because there’s so many people going there and so many things to see, it can be a bit overwhelming. How do you know what’s right for you? How do you know what to do first? That’s what I’ve got an answer for below.
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Top Travel Resources
After decades of traveling, there’s 3 companies I tend to use over and over and recommend to everyone:
How to Plan Your Isle of Skye Trip
After our visit to Isle of Skye for three days I came to a conclusion on how to do the area and here it is: you want to plan your day based on where you want to see the sunrise. Now, if you’re not someone who gets up for sunrise then you might want to start. Otherwise, this might not be for you and that’s okay.
However, regardless of whether you get up for sunrise, I’m sharing a 3 day itinerary below to help you get started on your Isle of Skye trip. You can use it starting later in the day, but I definitely recommend getting up and out. Not only to beat the crowds but from a photographers perspective.
So we’ve established I’m a fan of sunrises. And how you do Isle of Skye is very dependent on where you start your day. It takes longer to drive around in Scotland because of small roads and one-lane areas. You might also come across farmers and their sheep crossing the road, we certainly did. You will also most likely deal with rain off and on, and that can affect how long it takes to get places.
That’s why I created a guide that gives you specific itineraries based on where you start. In essence, you’ll choose a starting point in the guide and it will take you to the right itinerary for you. Sure you can use the general overview below, but the custom guide will help you make the perfect day based on what YOU want to do and where you want to start and that’s huge.
Download the Full Guide
Our Isle of Skye itinerary lets you pick how to spend each day based on where you start. It has 5 different ways to spend a full day in the area.
You’ll choose where you want to watch the sunrise (because this is a must!) and then the guide provides you with how to spend the rest of the day.
It also provides you with more details on each of the popular spots below and additional maps to help you plan.
Download the guide to your phone and keep it with you. That way, you won’t need the internet as it can be spotty.
An Overview of the Isle of Skye
Before we can get to the Isle of Skye itinerary, you’ll need an overview of the area and all it has to offer. That’s why I’m including a list of the top locations and a map to show you where each one is located.
- Fairy Pools
- Sligachan Old Bridge
- Black Cuillin Mountains
- Talisker Distillery
- Loch Fada
- Portree (main town where most people spend the night)
- Bride’s Veil Falls
- Old Man of Storr
- Lealt Falls
- Brother’s Point
- Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls
- Staffin
- Quiraing Hike
- Duntulm Castle
- Skye Museum of Island Life (great on a rainy day!)
- Rha Waterfall
- Fairy Glen
- Skyeskyns
- Coral Beach
- Dunvegan Castle & Gardens
- Neist Point Lighthouse
- Eilean Donna Castle (before arriving on the the island)
See what I mean about there being a lot to see? And driving takes extra time too. You’ll need to give yourself extra time to get from one place to the next. You’ll also have to brace yourself for Scotland weather which is unpredictable and a lot of times rainy.
A Sample Isle of Skye Itinerary
I’m not going to leave you hanging without any info on how to tackle. your Isle of Skye trip. There is a general way you can do the area and you’ll find my suggestions below. Allow yourself 2 full days in the area at least. Honestly, if I could have, I would have spent 5 nights there. We spent 3 and did a lot but we were constantly going. If you have the time, take it. It’s worth it.
Day One: Arrival
On your first day you’ll be driving to the area and getting to your accommodations. This means, I recommend doing stops that are along the drive.
- Before you get to the Isle of Skye stop at Eilean Donna Castle. You can visit the castle (book ahead of time!) or simply stop for photos of castle.
- Next continue driving up to Portree (the main town in the area) and stop at the Sligachan Old Bridge.
- Now it’s time to continue on to Portree. If you started early in the morning then it’s probably time for lunch and you’ll find restaurants in this area.
- If you’re not ready to head to Portree yet, then you can stop at the Fairy Pools and then head to Portree.
- After lunch, you can do some shopping or continue to tour around the area.
- If you have time, now head over to bride’s veil falls and view the Old Man of Storr. You don’t have to do the hike to see the formation. However, if the weather is nice, then up the hike at least a little ways.
That’s a lot on your first day and can be all done only if you start early and aren’t driving from a long ways away. Most people choose to stay in Portree, we chose to stay farther away and out basically in the middle of no where, but we loved it.
Day Two
For ease of creating an itinerary that fits for more people, I’m going to assume you spent the night in Portree. This is because it’s where most people choose to stay.
However, it’s also popular to camp around the area. It didn’t look fun for me as the weather changes too quickly and camping in rain just doesn’t appeal to me.
So, if you’re looking for the main place to stay, it’s Portree. From here on out, I’ll share the next two days based on that overnight location.
Here’s how to tackle day two…
- Start your day early with a sunrise at Kilt Rock. When we did this, we had it all to ourselves. It was lovely and you can watch the sunrise over the ocean.
- Next, keep heading north and stop at Staffin, Duntulm Castle
- After this, if it’s raining, you could head into the Skye Museum of Island Life, but if it’s nice out, keep driving around and head over to Fairy Glen.
- Stop at the Rha Waterfall before Fairy Glen or after. Spend plenty of time at Fairy Glen hiking around
- Now, depending on what time it is, you can head over to Neist Point Lighthouse or back to Portree and save it for the next day.
- If you’re planning to do all this, I recommend bringing lunch with you. Then have dinner in Portree.
Day Three
On your final day, you’ll head to a new part of the Isle of Skye that you haven’t driven to yet if you’ve been following this guide.
- Start your day with a sunrise in Portree then head over to Neist Point Lighthouse. Spend a while walking to this lighthouse and stop at the little shop nearby as well. You’ll see it.
- Next, you can head to Dunvegan Castle for a photo or to actually go inside (if it’s open, as I’m writing this it is temporarily closed).
- After this, you’ll be hungry and thirsty. Drive over to the Talisker Distillery for drinks and nibbles. You can also find a restaurant in Talisker and head down to the beach.
- Finally, drive back down to the Fairy Pools to spend more time. Bring bug spray, the midges are no joke!
If you do all of these things, you’ll have seen a lot of Isle of Skye. For us, the weather was difficult and we had to re-arrange based on when it was raining and when it wasn’t, but this is a good starting point.
How to Travel to Isle of Skye
Of course, if you’re trying to get to the Isle of Skye you have the basic ways of getting there: by car, public transport, or tour. We opted for the car because that’s our favorite way to see it all, but I’ve included details on public transport and tours as well.
By Car
We spent a couple of weeks in Scotland and drove all over. We started our car rental in St. Andrews and it worked well. Renting a car is pricey but it’s worth it and driving isn’t too bad. Yes, the roads are small, but honestly they are set up well for tourists with plenty of places to pull over.
Get practical information on driving in Scotland on Visit Scotland’s website.
By Public Transport
You can get to Isle of Skye by public transport. It will have to be trains, long distance buses, and stage coaches.
Find out more about this on the Scottish Tours website.
By Tour
If you can’t drive yourself, I do think that a tour is the next best thing. Going by public transport would be my last choice as it’s cumbersome and getting around the area will be difficult.
Bring the Isle of Skye Home
Can’t make it to the Isle of Skye but love the look? Bring home a calendar or prints of our trip.
Adorn your home in rainbows, fairy lands and epic sunrises from Scotland.
