2 days in the Isle of Skye

Oct 25

Oct 25 2 days in the Isle of Skye

The absolute highlight of our Scottish roundtrip and one of not-so-many places we’ve visited where we honestly regretted not having planned more time to visit. You all know by now how much I love the Scandinavian landscape and the Isle of Skye was just it, much to our surprise. It is remote, calm and beautiful - everything we love and look for when we travel.

There are A LOT of very beautiful accommodation possibilities in the Isle of Skye, mainly on Airbnb, but they are quite pricey so take this into consideration while planning your trip. This being said, I can’t recommend our little pod more - the location, the views and the coziness of it - everything was just perfect.

Even after only 2,5 days there, I can already tell the best way to discover the island is by car - your own or rented, but with all the interesting places being so secluded and public transport so limited, I can imagine the options are quite limited. I wouldn’t say a 4x4 is needed (even though we did travel with one) but we were quite lucky with the weather conditions and visited in early autumn so this might change depending on the season.

Below, I’ve listed a few practical tips for travelling the Isle of Skye and a list of the best places to see. You can also check our full Scottish Highlands itinerary here for more details.

Mallaig - Armadale ferry

There are several ways to get to the Isle of Skye from mainland Scotland and taking a ferry from Mallaig to Armadale is one of them. I’ve planned our itinerary so that we could spend the night before by the Camusdarach beach only 15 minutes away so that we can take the early morning ferry and spend the day discovering the island.

The ferry takes only 30 minutes and is very affordable (you can book your tickets online in advance here) and they don’t require extra fee for travelling with dogs.

There’s a viewing deck which I believe is open for passengers - unfortunately, we weren’t able to leave the car due to the covid restrictions.

Fairy Pools

A very nice and very easy walk to view the magical streams and the pools they’re creating. It’s a popular destination and was quite busy when we visited but I imagine there are a lot of less-attended trails around yo discover the area.

Neist Point Lighthouse

Might be the most Scandi view of them all. It’s quite remote but well worth it, even if it’s pouring rain (like it did in our case). We went for a short walk along the cliffs and would recommend it to anyone - maybe even walking to the lighthouse itself if the weather allows. It’s a perfect spot for a picnic with a view too if it’s something you can plan in advance.

Quiraing

In the northern part of the island you will find the Quairing - a very Lord Of The Rings - type landscape (honestly, where are the elves?!) with a number of beautiful walks. The day we planned to hiked there we were surprised by heavy wind and rain (yes, it poured rain horizontally) so unfortunately, it was yet another place we saw only from the car. Well worth it anyway!

Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls

A beautiful pit stop while you drive around the island with a view of the waterfall falling directly into the sea and the cliffs on both sides. We were very lucky with the weather (just see for yourself) and even spotted a seal swimming around!

Old Man of Storr

One of the most iconic sights of the Isle, yet one we decided to skip. We were on our way to the Eastern shore of Scotland that day and a longer hike wasn’t possible within our schedule. As we drove by, the monumental rocks did look very impressive and they’re definitely on top of our list should we ever come back.

Portree

The biggest town and the capital of the Isle of Skye, Portee is a charming place to have a stroll in the morning. Due to the pandemic we were quite limited in terms of activities or even sitting down for a nice breakfast, but it looked like there were a lot of activities to engage in more “open” circumstances! For example, we noticed a lot of whale-watching cruises being organised, something we’d consider doing if it was possible.