Isle of Skye

From the ferry

These stops are best visited after leaving the ferry at Armadale on Skye.

• Café 1925: a lovely local café that is dog-friendly and serves delicious small plates and light bites alongside fantastic coffee.

• Torabhaig Distillery: One of Skye’s newest distilleries, small but worth popping into the shop for a look around.

• Bar Am Praban: You’ll find this local pub at Isleornsay, a coastal community clustered around a beautiful bay. There are beaches and coastal walks, and the views are quite stunning. The bar itself is dog-friendly and serves huge bowls of locally caught langoustines. Highly recommend stopping here for lunch or an early dinner. 

Trotternish Peninsula (North)

A must-visit peninsula around a spectacular coastal route. Use this list to build an itinerary and allow a full day (with an early start) to see everything and avoid the crowds. You’ll need a full day to see everything here.

• Bride's Veil Falls: A small waterfall by the side of the road. Be warned, there’s no path, and it’s muddy & slippery.

• Old Man of Storr: The Old Man is probably the most visited of the “Big 6” attractions on Skye. I recommend arriving early to avoid the crowds and secure a parking space. The walk is around 4km and 350m of ascent, depending on how far you walk up the path. If you don’t want to walk up to the Old Man but would like a nice view/photo. I recommend parking up at one of these points: one, two, three.

• The Hungry Gull: excellent café on the loop with delicious eats, and it is dog-friendly. Check opening times and days in advance.

• The Quiraing: The Quiraing (pronounced kuh-rang) is a popular “Big 6” attraction, so it gets very busy at the main car park from 10am. The road up is single-track, narrow and twisty. You can park up and walk 100m to the viewpoint, or walk around 4km out and back to The Quiraing and The Needle. The weather may dictate what you do!

• Rha Waterfalls: A stunning waterfall at the end of a short, picturesque forest walk. Park up and walk back along the road you just drove down. Look for the gap in the wall and the sign for “Uig Wood”.

• Fairy Glen: Fairy Glen is the name for Balnaknock (Bail nan noc - village in the hills). It’s a 100,000-year-old geological formation sculpted by post-Glacier landslides and subsequent erosion to create unusual cone-shaped craggy hillocks, random boulders, lochans and a basalt castle.

• It’s up a tight, single-track road, plus it’s a very busy attraction. If you’re on the fence about visiting, I recommend using the time to see other things.

• Skye Museum of Island Life: A collection of traditional, thatched black houses, each with a different historical theme: island life, WW2, old shop, etc. If you’re interested in the history of Skye, it’s worth the £7.50 to get into the village. Otherwise, you can park up and have a look at the houses. There are toilets and a café which sells locally made hot pies, hot drinks, ice cream and cakes.

• Flodigarry Hotel Bar: Excellent place for a late lunch, and the bar area (open till 3pm) is dog-friendly.

• An Corran Beach: An Corran (the crescent) beach has excellent views out to Staffin Island, plus dinosaur footprints. If the history of dinosaurs is of interest, stop off at the Staffin Dinosaur Museum (£5 each). It’s a stunning traditional building with lots of dinosaur footprints, fossils & artefacts.

• Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls: Kilt Rock got its name because the 90m basalt columns resemble the pleats of a Scottish kilt. Mealt falls is a huge waterfall that drops into the Minch (Atlantic).

• Lealt Falls: A cantilever viewing platform with views to Lealt Falls. You can also walk down a steep path to the bay with remnants of the old salmon smokehouses and diatomite factory. Constables Coffee Truck is up at the main car park and does great coffee.

• Portree: Portree is the capital of Skye, with the main attraction being the harbour. If you’d like to stretch your legs, head up to The Lump for a great view over the bay. Or head around to this viewpoint on the Scorrybreac Trail for a fantastic view over Portree Harbour.

Portree food options:

• The Isles Inn - a traditional pub with an open fire, good food, and a lively vibe. Dog friendly.

• Dulce & Brose - high-quality food, a relaxed but good bistro.

• Gasta Port Righ – excellent pizzas in a relaxed setting, a few miles from town.

• Scorrybreac – mainly seafood, foraged, and excellent. It is fine dining (though relaxed) and on the expensive side, but a real experience. Ask for a table upstairs overlooking the harbour if eating here!

• Birch – top-notch coffee, excellent pastries, and sweet treats.

• Summer Café – excellent coffee and sandwiches, and perfect for takeaway.

   

Optional Experience: Portree Boat Trip

An option for your time on the island is to explore Skye’s stunning coastline and marine wildlife from the sea. Stardust Boat Trips are great fun, dog-friendly, and leave from Portree Harbour. Stardust specialises in wildlife cruises ranging from two-hour sea eagle and wildlife tours to longer whale trail adventures. Tickets start at £30 for their Original Sea Eagle & Wildlife. Book online.

Dunvegan & Nearby

• Coral Beach: Coral Beach is a beautiful, secluded white sandy beach with coral pieces and shells. It’s a 3.8 km (2.4-mile) out-and-back, flat coastal walk. The car park gets busy, so it's best to visit early. The road from Dunvegan is single track.

• Dunvegan Castle & Gardens: Dunvegan Castle is home to Clan MacLeod. You can visit the gardens for £15 per adult. They offer fantastic seal boat tours, which last 30-40 minutes and cost £13.50 per adult. The first trip of the day is usually a little longer and interesting as the driver looks for seals. If you want to take the boat trip (which I highly recommend), proceed directly through the gardens to the pier (where you’ll find the ticket office) and opt for the first trip of the day to avoid the crowds. Visit the castle and gardens afterwards. The castle gardens are dog-friendly (though not inside the castle).

  The castle opens at 10:00 a.m., and it’s best to arrive as soon as it opens. Skip the on-site café and head to The Dunvegan Deli afterwards (located inside the Dunvegan Hotel, and is dog-friendly).

• Dun Beag Broch: A Broch is an Iron Age round stone tower only found in Scotland. Dun Beag Broch sits up high on a rocky knoll and was built around 2,000 years ago. Even though it’s a ruin, you can still see its double-wall construction and defensive architecture.

• Bog Myrtle Café: A lovely café near the broch specialising in brunch, lunch, and sweet treats. It is dog-friendly.

• Stein Waternish: You’ll find the whitewashed village of Stein on Waternish. There’s a lovely inn for food (Stein Inn), and if you’re looking for authentic island souvenirs or gifts, then head to Skio Pottery (lovely pottery store), and Skyeskyns (traditional sheepskin tannery with dog-friendly yurt café).

Carbost & Nearby

For such a small village, Carbost has lots to offer. The Fairy Pools are very busy, so I recommend taking your time in Carbost, visiting a few attractions, and then heading out to the Fairy Pools closer to 4 pm.

• Talisker Distillery - you can visit the bar & shop without booking (they are dog friendly). Tasting experiences and tours are also available (but dogs are not allowed).

• Caora Dhubh - a great coffee shop/roastery with homemade cakes.

• The Oyster Shed - a rustic seafood shack with fresh, locally caught seafood.

• The Old Inn - a Skye institution! A traditional inn with great food and drink.

• Café Cuil – I highly recommend this cafe, one of the best on Sye, and it's dog-friendly. 

• Fairy Pools: This is an exceptionally popular attraction, so the car park gets very busy, particularly in peak season. The single-track road is one of the worst on Skye for being gridlocked. I recommend arriving early (around 8am) or later (from 4pm) to avoid the crowds (or towards sunset for beautiful light and fewer other people). The walk takes around an hour, depending on how far you walk out. It’s on a good gravel path all the way.  

• Glenbrittle Beach: a gorgeous white sandy beach at the end of the Fairy Pools road; accessible via the campsite, it’s a lovely place to walk by the sea. 

• Sligachan Old Bridge: This is one of the most photographed Skye landscapes: the old packhorse bridge with the Cuillin mountains in the background. 

• Sligachan Waterfalls: These less-visited waterfalls are set against the impressive Black Cuillins in the background. Follow signs for Alt Dearg Cottage, then branch off for the waterfalls. 

Strathaird Peninsula

These stops are a good option for your final day before you leave the island, as you’ll pass the junction for Elgol on your way to the Skye Road Bridge.

This quiet peninsula accessible from Broadford is worth setting aside a day to explore, and you’ll find one of the best boat trips in Scotland from the village of Elgol (literally at the end of the road). Highly recommend.

• Torrin Pools & Waterfalls: For some of the best views on Skye, I recommend driving out to Loch Slapin, a secluded bay with phenomenal scenery. Torrin Pools & Waterfalls is only a few minutes’ walk from the car park and is dog-friendly.

• Loch Coruisk boat trip via Elgol: You have the option here for one of Skye’s best boat trips. The Misty Isle is a small boat that runs regularly from Elgol (a tiny village at the very end of the road, Torrin road) to hidden Loch Coruisk. Once at the loch, there’s a waterside trail (can be muddy) and spectacular views. You can find timetables and sailings here. Boat trips are dog-friendly. There’s a seafood shack just outside the ticket office selling excellent seafood rolls and salads.