Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Skye is the largest island of the Inner Hebrides and one of the most dramatic landscapes in Scotland. Jagged mountains, sea cliffs, waterfalls and strange rock formations crowd onto an island you can drive across in an afternoon, and the light changes so fast that the same view can look different every hour.
Portree
The Quiraing
Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls
The Fairy Glen and Uig
+5 more places
That accessibility comes with crowds in summer, and roads, car parks and accommodation are stretched. With some planning, early starts and a willingness to explore quieter corners, you can still find the peace that makes Skye special.
Skye packs an extraordinary range of scenery into a small space. The Black Cuillin is the most challenging mountain range in Britain, a ridge of bare gabbro that draws climbers from around the world.
The island also has a living Gaelic culture. Road signs give Gaelic names first, the Gaelic college Sabhal Mor Ostaig is in Sleat, and Skye's history runs from Iron Age brochs to clan castles and the flight of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who escaped here with Flora MacDonald's help in 1746.
The northern peninsula of Trotternish holds the island's most famous rock formations, all along a single loop road from Portree via Staffin and Uig.
Portree is the island's main town and the obvious base, with the most accommodation, restaurants, shops and the tourist information centre.
Tip: many boat trips for wildlife watching, including sea eagles and seals, leave from Portree harbour in season; book ahead in summer.
Portree's painted harbourfront houses face a sheltered bay on the east coast of Skye. Photo: Peter Randall-Cook , Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Old Man of Storr is a huge rock pinnacle standing beneath the cliffs of the Storr, about twenty minutes' drive north of Portree.
Allow around two hours for the return walk, more if you continue to higher viewpoints.
The Quiraing is a spectacular landslip at the northern end of the Trotternish ridge, full of towers, hidden hollows and a flat grassy plateau called the Table.
The Quiraing is a landslip on the Trotternish escarpment known for its pinnacles and the flat-topped Table. Photo: Stefan Krause, Germany, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
South of Staffin, a viewing platform overlooks Kilt Rock, a sea cliff of columnar basalt said to resemble the pleats of a kilt, and Mealt Falls, which drops straight off the cliff edge into the sea.
Tip: dinosaur footprints have been found on the shore near Staffin; at low tide, An Corran beach is a well-known place to look for them.
Mealt Falls plunges off the cliffs beside Kilt Rock near Staffin. Photo: Colin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Just inland from the ferry port of Uig, the Fairy Glen is a small, odd landscape of grassy cone-shaped knolls, ponds and a rocky outcrop known as Castle Ewen.
Tip: please do not move stones to build spirals or cairns, as local people have asked visitors to leave the glen as they found it.
The Fairy Glen near Uig is a landscape of grassy knolls and small lochans formed by landslips. Photo: PaulT (Gunther Tschuch), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod for around eight hundred years, though much of what you see today dates from later rebuilding.
Allow two to three hours. Check the official website for current opening dates and fees, as the castle closes in winter.
Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod for centuries. Photo: Klaus with K, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Neist Point is the most westerly point of Skye, a narrow headland of sheer cliffs ending in a lighthouse.
Allow one and a half to two hours. Tip: sunset here is famous, but the cliffs are unfenced, so stay well back from the edge, especially in wind.
Neist Point Lighthouse stands at the most westerly point of Skye. Photo: Lionel Ulmer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
In Glen Brittle, at the foot of the Black Cuillin, a mountain stream tumbles through a chain of clear, blue-green pools and small waterfalls known as the Fairy Pools.
Allow one and a half to two hours.
The Fairy Pools lie on a mountain burn in Glen Brittle at the foot of the Cuillin. Photo: Wojtek Szkutnik, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Sligachan is a crossroads at the head of a sea loch, with an old stone bridge set against the peaks of the Cuillin.
Tip: the Cuillin ridge involves scrambling and rock climbing; unless you are an experienced mountaineer, stick to valley walks or hire a qualified mountain guide.
The old bridge at Sligachan sits at a crossroads beneath the Cuillin mountains. Photo: Klaus with K, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
On the shore of Loch Harport in Carbost, Talisker Distillery produces a famously peaty, maritime single malt. Tours and tastings explain the process; allow an hour and book ahead in summer.
At the end of a long, winding single-track road on the Strathaird peninsula, the village of Elgol looks across Loch Scavaig to one of the finest views of the Cuillin.
Allow half a day including the boat trip and the drive. Tip: book boat trips in advance and dress warmly; it can be cold on the water even in summer.
The shore at Elgol looks across Loch Scavaig to the Black Cuillin. Photo: Graeme Yuill , Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
In the gentler south of the island, Armadale is where the ferry from Mallaig arrives.
Seafood is the star on Skye. Look for langoustines, scallops, mussels, crab and lobster landed locally, plus oysters farmed in the sea lochs and smoked salmon.
For drinks, Talisker is the island's best-known whisky, and newer distilleries have opened in recent years. The Isle of Skye Brewing Company in Uig makes local ales.
Popular dishes to try in Isle of Skye
Portree is the best choice for first-time visitors and those without a car, with restaurants, shops and bus connections, and it sits centrally for Trotternish and Dunvegan.
Dunvegan and Waternish appeal to those seeking quieter villages, sunsets and easy access to Neist Point.
Sleat is the gentle, green south, ideal for slower stays.
Where to stay in Isle of Skye
May and June often bring the driest weather and very long daylight, with early summer flowers and nesting seabirds.
Winter is quiet and atmospheric, with snow on the Cuillin, but many cafes, attractions and boat trips close, daylight is short and storms can disrupt ferries.
Skye has no airport; the nearest are Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh. By car, the A87 from Invergarry passes Eilean Donan Castle and crosses the toll-free Skye Bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh.
Once on Skye, a car is by far the easiest way to get around, though buses link Portree with Uig, the Trotternish loop and Dunvegan on limited timetables.
Cross the Skye Bridge, stopping at Eilean Donan on the way.
Start at sunrise at the Old Man of Storr, then continue around Trotternish to Kilt Rock, the Quiraing loop and the Fairy Glen, returning to Portree.
Head west to Dunvegan Castle and the Coral Beaches, then on to Neist Point for sunset.
Walk to the Fairy Pools early, visit Talisker Distillery in Carbost, and finish with a boat trip from Elgol to Loch Coruisk before leaving via Broadford or the Armadale ferry.
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