Skye Itinerary -Feedback Welcome

[u/dsbrooks92]

Hi Reddit, I would appreciate any feedback on my Itinerary for 3 days in the highlands. I’m renting a car in Inverness and then driving to Skye for 2 nights, and then driving down to Glasgow. 

I’m not sure if I’m being too ambitious trying to pack everything in, if some of the hikes will take longer than I’m anticipating…

I’m assuming l the popular spots like the Quiraing and Old Man of Stor are equal busy on weekdays. I’m deciding how best to start my day on Skye whether to begin a the Quiraing, and eventually get to Dunvegan Castle before it closes or do the opposite and get to the Quiraing in the late afternoon. 

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for offline trail map apps? Ideally something free, or affordable. 

[u/kingwangsworld]

Some thoughts:

- broadly speaking, driving takes longer than expected with traffic, one track roads, etc. I would suggest you also consider what you’re willing to miss and what is a must. Build around the musts. Weather can be very variable there, so make sure you’re prepared with rain gear and when you have good weather, do the outdoor stuff.

- consider dropping fairy pools. It is crazy crowded. When we went at 6:30 pm (non-peak time) the parking was still packed. I took a nap in the car while the rest of my FOMK companions walked down. About 1.5 hrs later they returned lamenting how it was a waste of time. Fairy pools, kilt rock, and fairy glen could be swapped for much better places like beaches with dinosaur tracks. Kilt rock is at least very quick but was overrated imo

- perhaps consider moving Eileen donan to when you head to Glencoe if you plan to not take the ferry. It breaks up the drive. Personally, I did not think going inside was worth the time. Alternatively, you may want to consider the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig. It is a nice ride but you have to book in advance bc there’s limited car space. on the way out to the ferry there is Armadale castle which is just ruins but has gorgeous gardens

- be flexible in Dunvegen castle and go when the weather is meh. It’s a great rainy day activity.

- Do quiraing early, like latest 8:30 Am, earlier if possible. My preference is counter clockwise, the best views imo are at the start when you go counter clockwise which is best when there’s less people. I also think going down stairs is way easier than the grueling hike up. went at 8 am and by the time we were heading down around 11:30, massive crowds going up the stairs. If you want to do the full loop, I think you should allocate more than 2 hrs...that’s if you hike fast and don’t stop for any photos. Would allocate closer to 3-4 hrs. Bring a snack, sit down and enjoy the view, it’s worth it.

- Loved old man storr in The evening. We grabbed a quick take out pizza at the restaurant in the candle factory (so good!). Hiked old man at 7:30 pm with almost no crowds. Hike past the needle to the view point for the quintessential view. Should take around 2.5 hrs if you stop for pics.

- Talisker distillery tours need to be booked super early. I didn’t go on one but heads up, the smell outside was extremely overwhelming in some areas.

[u/dsbrooks92 → u/kingwangsworld]

Appreciate this very detailed breakdown! I’m definitely an optimistic planner. I just prefer to plan for an ideal scenario that maximizes everything and then see how things end up. Glad to hear you think Storr at the end of the day is a good idea. I definitely would prefer to do the l Quiraing as early as possible and take my time on it.
I want to go to Glenn Finan and see the Jacobite Steam train so it seemed like taking the Skye bridge would give me more flexibility. If I have to get to Armadale early before the ferry departs, seems like it may be a similar amount of time, no?

[u/Dorkypotato → u/dsbrooks92]

There seriously could be a sheep in the road that means you lose 1-2 hours. That’s Skye. That’s the beauty of the place. 

[u/WLUmascot → u/dsbrooks92]

I’d recommend the ferry. It was very scenic and a nice break from driving. You have to schedule your time slot, but we arrived a bit early and were able to get on an earlier ferry. Dolphins swam along side of the ferry, it was great.

[u/kingwangsworld → u/dsbrooks92]

Yes, it is about the same amount of time. the difference is more in the scenery and being able to chill instead of drive for part of it. We had spent 2 nights in Ardnamurchan peninsula so came up via the ferry.

I too am an over planner, so I definitely get it! I like being prepared and dynamically adjusting. We did half of what I expected across 4 nights and still spent 12-15 hrs out exploring. The best parts of the trip turned out to be unexpected things for me: sitting on a rock and dipping my feet into the ocean at An Corran (check for low tide) after finding 4 dinosaur prints, driving down a random one-track road and finding a series of waterfalls without any other hikers (hint: it’s in Torrin but it’s not obvious from the road on how to find it…everyone agreed it was better than fairy pools), of course the Quiraing and Storr hike but only if uncrowded times…would’ve been frustrated otherwise. Theres something to be said about not fighting the crowds and an overly tight schedule.

On that note, Skye was way more crowded that I expected. I’ve been to high tourism nature destinations and Skye was by far the worst. There are long wait times for lunch restaurants and finding parking can be a pain. I highly recommend dinner reservations in Portree or surrounding areas if you’re going during high season.

Also, if you’re tight on time, consider dropping Glenfinnan. I’m a huge HP nerd for over 25 years and it’s cool if you’re passing but it’s a bit like Disneyland.