While we were in Scotland, we spent two full days on the Isle of Skye. The Isle of Skye is an amazing place with so much to see! The weather was quite unpredictable for us (my guess is that’s pretty common!), which made it hard to plan out our days. I would definitely recommend spending at least two full days on the Isle of Skye, or even a third day if you want to give yourself more time in case of bad weather. Here’s how we spent two days on the Isle of Skye!
Day 1
Trotternish Loop
On our first day on the Isle of Skye, we planned to have an early start and spend most of the day driving the Trotternish Loop. However, things didn’t go as planned and we ended up getting a really late start to the day. Instead, we only had enough time to drive part of the Trotternish Loop. The views along the whole drive are so beautiful and there are countless opportunities to pull over and check out the viewpoints.
For our first stop on the Trotternish Loop, we originally planned to hike the Old Man of Storr. However, when we arrived, the parking lot was absolutely packed with cars and there were crowds of people hiking up! We decided to pass on the hike and found a beautiful viewpoint across the street that we walked out to instead.
From here, we drove to Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls. The views of the cliffs here are really beautiful and it’s a quick stop – I would recommend taking the time to visit! While we were there, there was a busker playing the bagpipes, which only added to the experience!
After our visit, we were already cutting it close on time for our next activity, so we decided to save the rest of the Trotternish Loop for the next day.
Talisker Distillery
After our very short drive on the Trotternish Loop, we headed over to Talisker Distillery, where we had reservations for the 3pm tour. The tour lasted about an hour and was very informative and ended with a small tasting. They also offer tastings in the bar area, which we enjoyed after the tour.
Note: this would be a great rainy day activity as it’s indoors. Unfortunately, it’s hard to predict what the weather will be like, and as the tours do sell out, it’s best to book in advance. As luck would have it, this day ended up being the nice weather day for us – it got quite sunny and warm in the afternoon! We were a little disappointed that it worked out this way, but in Scotland, you just have to go with the flow in terms of the weather!
Driving back to Portree from Talisker Distillery, we came across our second highland cow spotting of the trip, which I was thrilled by! I know it’s just a cow, but they’re so cute! Make sure to keep an eye out for them as you drive around Scotland!
Portree
When we arrived back in Portree, we decided to take an afternoon walk around the town to take in the sunshine. We walked down the main street, admiring the views of the harbor and passing by beautiful flowers and gardens, until we reached the local cemetery. It was nice to stretch our legs and take in the warm weather!
Our stomachs starting to growl, we walked back into town and went to The Isles Inn for a few pints and some dinner. The food was great and they have plenty of vegetarian options – a plus for me! We tried several different dishes, including the the vegetarian haggis neeps and tatties, which even my meat loving family liked! The pub gets really crowded, so come early and put your name down on the list. We had a pint and watched some cricket on the tv as we waited.
Day 2
The next day, we woke up to very gloomy weather. It was a bit disheartening since we ended up having such nice weather the day before! However, we decided to make the most of it and continue our drive of the Trotternish Loop.
Lealt Gorge
We drove first to the Old Man of Storr, planning to do the hike on this day. However, as it was so misty out, you couldn’t even see the rock formation! We decided it wasn’t worth it, and continued driving to the next destination: Lealt Gorge. It started to drizzle when we arrived, so we wrapped up in layers, pulled on our raincoats, and walked over to view the waterfalls. The waterfalls are pretty and worth a quick walk to see!
The Quiraing
Our next destination was the Quiraing. To get to the Quiraing, you have to drive up a very narrow, one-lane road up the mountain. To be honest, it was a pretty challenging drive! In fact, we were very grateful that our car had a backup camera as there were several times that we had to reverse in order to allow opposing cars to pass! Unfortunately, the difficult drive up wasn’t really worth it due to the weather. It started to pour, so we walked around for just a few minutes before deciding to leave. If you have nice weather, I would definitely recommend coming here as the terrain is very interesting! It looks like it would be a fun place for a hike.
Fairy Glen
We wanted to visit Duntulum Castle next, but as we couldn’t find parking, we continued on our way to the Fairy Glen. There was no available parking in the main area of the Fairy Glen either, so we had to park in a different section. Because of this, we ended up visiting a different part of the Fairy Glen than we had expected. It wasn’t quite the experience I thought it would be, but we still enjoyed walking around the area! It’s certainly a very green and magical place! The cute flock of sheep only added to the experience.
Neist Point Lighthouse
Our last stop of the Trotternish Loop was the Neist Point Lighthouse. We originally planned to walk the 2 miles out to the actual lighthouse, but it was extremely cold and windy on this afternoon. Even walking the short distance from the parking lot to the start of the trail, my teeth were chattering and my ears stinging from the cold wind. We quickly decided it wouldn’t be a very pleasant walk to the lighthouse in those conditions. Instead, we walked out on the hill by the parking lot until we had a nice view of the lighthouse down below. It was cool to see, even if just from above!
One other place we had hoped to visit on the Trotternish Loop is the coral beach near Dunvegan. It sounded like a cool spot for a walk! However, to get to the beach, you have to drive down a very narrow one-land road that leads to a tiny parking lot. When we arrived, parking was completely full and as it’s so tiny, it was impossible to turn around. Instead, we had to reverse out of the entire lot! Very stressful at the time, but something to laugh about now! Again, thank god for our car’s backup camera! Since it seems to be a very popular spot, I would recommend coming early.
That’s a wrap on everything we got up to on our two days on the Isle of Skye! It wasn’t perfect, but we made the most of it and really enjoyed our time here. As with all of Scotland, the weather can be very unpredictable. It’s best to be flexible with your plans!
For more from Scotland, check out these posts from Edinburgh and Loch Ness/Urquhart Castle!
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