Isle of Skye travel guide: our experience + tips for Isle of Skye in Scotland!

Since the rain keeps pouring, we decide on arrival at Isle of Skye that we might as well continue to the other side of the island, where Neist Point, the lighthouse, is located. We arrive at dusk, tonight we will be camping in the parking lot of Neist Point. After heating up a can of tomato soup, we crawl into bed.

Freedom camping on Isle of Skye

The next morning we wake up from a watery sun, the rain stopped! We immediately get out of bed to walk to the lighthouse. This is on a cliff that you reach after a long descent. Apart from some sheep, we are all alone and enjoy the sound of the seagulls and the rough sea that hits the cliffs dozens of meters below.

Tip 1: watch out and do not stand too close to the edge of the cliffs. Sometimes the wind is very strong, several people have already fallen off the cliffs.

Tip 2: you cannot see the lighthouse from the parking lot, it is best (and most beautiful) visible when you descended a bit.

After this highlight, we head south, where the small town of Elgol is located. Here a boat leaves for a rugged and remote area: Loch Coruisk. While sailing we gaze at the sea, dolphins, whales and seals seem to live here. Unfortunately, we only see seals. They are asleep in the sun on a small island in the bay where we dock.

Once ashore, we make a nice hike along Loch Coruisk in two hours. There is no path, we walk over rocks and sometimes we have to jump over puddles. Loch Coruisk lies at the foot of the whimsical Black Cuillin. Occasionally we look into the blue water, according to the stories, there lives a mysterious water horse here …

Tip: We booked this boat trip at Misty Isle Boat Trips and opted for the medium variant. The latter is recommended, with the short version you are only 30 minutes ashore. Price £25 per person.

We drive on and make a short stop at the famous Sligachan Old Bridge. When you look under the bridge you can see the peaks of the Black Cuillin where we just were.

Via the lovely village of Portree, known for its colourful houses, we drive to the campsite. After dinner, we get into the car again to visit the Fairy Glen. And there it happens … I am cursed by the fairies. The Fairy Glens are poisonous green hills with crazy shapes. You can easily climb one of the rocky hills from where you have a beautiful view. At the bottom of the hills are strange circles. According to the legends, these were created by the elves (hence the name).

Just before we leave, I happen to find (or I think to find) some change. “Ah that’s handy for the shower and the hairdryer (they work on small coins)” I think cheerfully before we drive away. Only later do I find out that the money was there as a sacrifice for the fairies and that they might not be very happy that I took it with me. And that shows later …

Tip: we stayed on the Torvaig Caravan & Camping Site, a nice campsite, £ 20 a night.

That same evening the bad luck starts. First, we discover nine ticks on Ries’s leg. After removing them with a slight panic (“Ohno, now you will Lyme disease?”), we try to go to sleep. No sleep for me as I spend the night grinding about the ticks.

The next morning we both wake up with a headache. It gets even worse when I accidentally let the car alarm go off, after which I hit my head and get into a fight with Ries. The perfect start of the day. However, the bad luck continues… We find out that we have a flat tire. After waiting a few hours for the Scottish roadside assistance officer (who can luckily fix the tire), we can finally leave at 12 o’clock. We planned to use our last morning on Skye to see the entire north of the island but now we won’t make that anymore.

Luckily we still have time to hike to one of Skye’s most iconic places: The Old Man of Storr. We walk, together with a lot of other tourists, upstairs, enjoying the sun and the beautiful view. Here we eat a sandwich and let the drone take off for some photos.

We made some plans this afternoon with Jur and Fenne, family members who happen to be in Scotland as well. Together we will take the ferry in the afternoon. However, when we leave to pick them up, we are stopped by people standing on the road. An accident appears to have happened (fortunately no injuries) and the road is closed. There is only one road that leads to the south … unless … yes… we have to drive all the way north of the island to get to the harbour. I feverishly try to call Fenne and Jur, explaining we will not make it on time for the ferry (for which the tickets have already been purchased). Unfortunately, we have no cellphone coverage, of course!

Now we have to drive the loop all the way around the north of Skye again, we also pass by Fairy Glen. I look at Ries… he sighs and then agrees with me, we have had a lot of bad luck in the last 24 hours. And so he turns towards the hill. I run out of the car and quickly return the money plus something extra. Phoef, relieved I get back in the car. Maybe it is all superstition, but after giving back the money, everything goes a lot better: I have cellphone coverage again and call Jur and Fenna, arrange for our ferry tickets to be converted to a later ferry.

Together with Jur and Fenna, we arrive at the harbour where we just have enough time to quickly make pasta for dinner and then we board the boat. Two days of Skye, too short but nevertheless a great adventure!

You can reach Isle of Skye via the Skye Bridge from the village of Kyle of Lochalsh (via the A87). Or with the ferry that goes from Mallaigh to the village of Armadale on Skye in 30 minutes.

The best itinerary for Isle of Skye

Our route was not very logical, but we tried to outrun the rain. I recommend that you first visit the east side of Skye, drive around the island, towards Neist Point and then continue south and leave the island from there. This way you will drive a logical loop and you won’t do drive extra double miles.

We travelled by campervan (read here more about camping in Scotland), a great means of transport on this island. Where the rest of Scotland can be easily reached by public transport, this is really different on Skye. Buses do not go often and have irregular schedules. Keep this in mind.

Don’t have a car but want to see a lot of the island in a short time? Then consider taking a full-day tour of Isle of Skye, taking in the best sights. Click here for more information on an Isle of Skye tour departing from Portree.

How many days do you need for Isle Skye?

We only had two days and two nights here. If you want to see the whole island or travel at a slower pace, I recommend Skye for at least four days. Below I also list a number of places that we did not visit and that you can visit if you have more time.

We visited the following sights and things to do on Isle of Skye:

↠ Neist Point Lighthouse: lighthouse and beautiful cliffs
↞ Dunvegan Castle: (not mentioned in the article): a castle with beautiful gardens and boarding point for another boat trip.
↠ Elgol: Boat trip to Loch Coruisk
↞ Sligachan Old Bridge: the old bridge with view on the Black Cuillin
↠ Portree: Coloured houses
↞ The Fairy Glen
↠ Old Man of Storr
↞ The Kilt Rock (not mentioned in the article): A large rock, under a beautiful waterfall flows.