Britain's 14 most beautiful islands
Log in to get trip updates and message other travellers. Log in Join Recently viewed Bookings Inbox. Lowest prices for your stay. Guests 1 room , 2 adults , 0 children Guests 1 2. We search up to sites for the lowest prices. See all reviews. Cuillin Hills Hotel Portree. The Royal Hotel Portree. Redwood House Hotel Greshornish. View more hotels in Portree. Show reviews that mention. All reviews guest house isle of skye portree bay easy walking distance sun room magnificent view short walk town centre bed and breakfast porridge thoroughly enjoyed our stay excellent stay two night stay stayed nights breakfast was delicious rachel hosts.
Review tags are currently only available for English language reviews. Reviewed 22 October Beautiful Views. Travelled as a couple. Reviewed 12 September Beautiful view, early breakfast.
Reviewed 17 August Good, beautiful views on the bay, a bit overpriced. Ask for the double facing the front of the house, with view on the bay. Especially of the long-haired Scottish cows we finally found! We decided to see Eilean Donan castle on that day and we had to give that one a pass! You can also visit Talisker distillery and eat some tasty oysters nearby. Unfortunately both oysters and the distillery were closed on Sunday. Think about it planning your trip! While most of the terrains on Skye require skills and may be difficult for a family with little child, Quiraing is supposed to be moderately easy and it allows you to see some amazing rock formations.
The path is 7 km long and it takes you hours to walk it. I mark it for our next trip to Scotland! For Elgin, obviously the main attraction in town is the cathedral and the local museum is also worth visiting. You have a lot of options for things to do nearby. There are a number of castles Brodie, Cawdor, Duffie, etc.
What an informative and beautiful post!
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What do you think about the middle two weeks in October? Look forward to following you. Hi Nancy, So glad you found our article helpful! It really depends though as there are no guarantees any time of the year! October is a good month in terms of crowds although there will be families coming up for Autumn half term in the UK. Many seasonal businesses stay open at least part of October as well. Also bring warm clothes and rain gear to make the most of any sort of weather — Skye can still be beautiful in the rain!!
Hi David, Thanks for taking the time to comment, and glad you found our post helpful. Hope you get a chance to visit the Isle of Skye! Are the crowds really terrible where they might diminish the enjoyment of those places? Also, how bad are the midges that early — bad enough to need repellent? Thank you for an excellent, helpful post! Hi Amy, Glad you enjoyed our post on Skye and happy to hear about your trip to Skye. Although there will certainly be a good number of others visitors, early May is a good time to visit we often have good weather in May, fingers crossed and is not the busiest time of the year.
In terms of the midges, it really depends as each year is different. They come out some time in May so you may get there before the midges even come out or they may already be out by that point. I would recommend bringing a lot an insect repellent just in case and definitely if you plan to hike, camp, or walk around the lochs as there are also ticks. Come and see us in Elgol. Fantastic views over the Cuiliin on the Strathaird peninsula and you can leave the crowds behind!
Never been to Isle of Skye, nor to Scotland, yet I wish someday me and my girlfriend visit it…. Hi Codrut, I hope you get a chance to visit as well. We were in Romania about a year ago but only for a couple of days, and would love to return! These are great tips, Jessica. There is nothing more annoying than having to share scenic landscapes with a big crowd.
Unfortunately, if you go during the busy season, even the most remote parts of the world can be crowded. Hi Anda, Glad you enjoyed our post and yes, all popular places draw crowds for at least part of the year. So I think you go being prepared for that in your mind or you go off-season. Hope you get a chance to visit Scotland soon! So great to know that I should plan sufficient time.
I probably would have underestimated how long it took to get there as well. Works for me, as they flock to him and leave me alone: We just visited a tiny Manchego cheese museum in Toledo, Spain. So fun, and I learned a lot without having hardly anyone else there! Hi Seana, Yes, the midges in Scotland can be annoying, but if you keep moving and wear insect repellent most people are OK. Thanks a lot for this article! We family of four with two kids, aged 9 and 10 are going to spend 5 full days on Skye at the end of May.
And although all the must see things are on our list we hope we can cheat the crowds. We are based in a self-catering home near Portree Camastianavaig so we are very flexible. We gonna pack our walking boots and just head off… Apart from the usual location we want to explore the Braes and the area around Stein. Hi Nick, That sound like a nice family trip and 5 days gives you time to see a lot. It takes about 2 days to see the main highlights although you can go at a slower pace with the kids and having the luxury of 5 days.
For example, around Stein, you have Waternish Farm you can book farm walks, afternoon tea , there are some lovely 18th century buildings along the waterfront in Stein including the oldest inn on Skye , there are a few shops and galleries including Skyeskyns where you can learn about the process of making sheepskins, further north is Trumpnan which has the ruins of a historic church and also a nice long hiking path that is usually quiet. This area can be good to combine with Dunvegan which has the castle which can be busy but the garden is huge and worth taking time to explore on a nice day, and they also offer short seal boat tours and fishing trips which might appeal and an easy place to spend part of day.
If you like hills and mountains, you want to maybe plan to spend a day hiking around the Cuillin, although a popular hiking area, it is easy to get away from the crowds. Wishing you a wonderful trip to the Isle of Skye! I wanted to visit Skye last year but it was August and I thought better of it.
Hi Clazz, Yes, it is definitely a good idea to overnight in places that get a lot of day trippers, especially places near cruise ports e. I have only been to Skye once and that was years ago. Barely remember what we did but do remember that the scenery driving from Aberdeen was spectacular. When we lived there we loved hillwalking and munro bagging. Our life has been in London, Connecticut and now the very flat Denmark. Each Time we go home to the Northeast we love Scotland just a wee but more. Your post is my very first travel pin, just signed up for your newsletter and plan to use you as a resource if we manage to get as far as Skye have children in California, life gets a bit complicated.
Thank you for a brilliant and inspirational post. On a different note we hiked both in Yosemite and Norway last year, the instagram worthy Troll Tunga…. When I used to go hill walking years ago you never saw another soul! Hi Carolyn, Yes the scenery in most parts of the Highlands is really nice! Hope you get a chance to see more of Scotland on a future visit and so happy to hear that you are following along with our stories and articles!!
Wow, this is fantastic! I absolutely LOVE your photos, they are incredible, imagine seeing the landscape in real life!
The Beautiful Isle of Skye: Scotland in Miniature
Thanks for the tips! Hi Kat, Hope you get a chance to visit Skye and that your sister has a chance to return to Scotland to see more of the country! You definitely have bumped up a visit to the region on my list! I would prefer to go in the off season to not only miss the crowds but the mosquitoes! Recently being back in England, I was reminded of how lovely it was to talk to locals and ask for recommendations which always turn out to be the best!
Thanks for linking up with TheWeeklyPostcard! Hi Lolo, Thanks, glad you enjoyed our photos. Businesses are less busy, roads are less congested, and it is easier to chat with people who tend to linger indoors. The risk of course is that we often have rain, snow, and clouds in the winter and of course many of the seasonal businesses are closed including most of the museums and indoor attractions.
But winter is nice if you have time and patience and hopefully a bit of luck! So you just never know! When we get back next year Scotland is on our agenda to explore more and the Isle of Skye sounds great. Would love to stay for a few days and do some good hikes. Hi Nicola, I hope you are able to make it a bit further north on your next trip around the UK!
We are big fans of most areas of the UK, but there is definitely some really special landscapes and scenery in northern Scotland. We highly recommend spending a few days on Skye if you can to have more time to explore. We have spent a fair bit of time in the north but still have so much more to see and have only started exploring the islands! Being so very fortunate as to live full-time on Skye, I congratulate you on your excellent article. However, in your wee aside concerning the fact that it takes longer to drive anywhere on our single-track roads, I wish that you had mentioned that it is presently taking even longer!
This is due firstly to the appalling, pot-holed state of many of these roads….. And secondly to our perpetually-suicidally-minded sheep who will amble across the track with no warning, frequently in pursuit of their lambs which seem to be born with a similar death-wish! Therefore extra care is essential. And if I might just add that the car coming up behind a visitor ambling along at 20 miles an hour might just contain the local GP or Nurse or First Responder en route to an emergency, so it would be considerate of the visitors to pull out of the way and let the person behind go by!
Hi Andrea, First, thanks for taking the time to comment and we are always happy to hear from local people people who know a place so well. And thanks for sharing some driving tips for visitors to Skye. Yes, the driving times can definitely be unpredictable on Skye and throughout the Highlands due to so many factors congestions, accidents, poor state of roads, lambs, weather and it is always a great idea for visitors to leave plenty of time to get to where they need to go.
And slow drivers should definitely pull aside for much faster vehicles and especially emergency vehicles — thanks for sharing that tip! I think we are all guilty when traveling of sometimes not thinking too much about the people that live and work in a place that is a popular tourist area, especially an idyllic spot like Skye. I think visitors may sometimes forget while on vacation that 10, people live and work on the island, and that it can be frustrating to get behind someone stopping on the road to take photos or not using passing places correctly!
And yes, the sheep and lambs.
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We were driving around the Ayrshire area last week and enjoyed seeing all the new baby lambs, but they can definitely be a driving hazard and a good reason to drive slow throughout the rural areas of Scotland in the Spring! Strangely enough, as an accommodation provider Dunvegan Holiday Cottages , I find that although August is busy it is also usually the month that gets the most late bookings with other months on either side being booked up well in advance.
Hi Lorna, That is an interesting piece of information. We have heard from some accommodation providers that they are already fully booked for July and August, so I guess it really can vary!
Isle of Skye | Britain's 14 most beautiful islands - Travel
I am wondering if the greater number of last minute bookings might be because of the large number of people who are in Scotland for holiday in August with plans to attend the Edinburgh August festivals or something else, and then decide fairly last minute to make an unplanned journey over to Skye? The Isle of Skye looks sooo beautiful and rugged — just my type of place! Do you think it will still be frosty in early spring?
Hi Michelle, Yes, if you love scenery and rugged beauty, Skye should definitely be on your Scotland itinerary! Scotland, and especially the islands, is not necessarily the best place for warm weather lovers. Yes we can still have cold weather in early Spring as we just had snow earlier this week early April, which is a bit unusual and there is still snow on the mountains. But really cold weather would be really unusual beyond April.
July and August can be great in terms of weather but those are the months with the most visitors.
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So I think the late Spring, early summer, or early autumn would work well to visit the Isle of Skye based on weather and crowds. Great tips and your room next to Three Chimneys looks great, too. Hi Jill, Yes, the House Over-By is a fantastic place to stay with the restaurant next door all overnight guests are guaranteed a table at The Three Chimneys for dinner and the sea just across the road.
It only has 6 bedrooms suites so definitely a place to book in advance! Hope you make it to Skye on your next Scotland trip. Fantastic tips about Skye — we especially like thinking outside your phone. An increasingly rare and valuable skill! What a beautiful photo! As usual, great post! Although limited to places along a street that are mapped, it makes a nice addition to the other things like maps, guidebooks, and local advice.
Thanks for sharing that tip! Hi Bea, Hope you get a chance to visit Scotland and get to Skye some day. Thanks so much for sharing! Your photos are so beautiful. I would love to visit these islands, and I love that they have a distillery. Hi Alexandra, Yes, there are actually multiple distilleries on Skye.
Two are currently open for public tours and there is another one on the Isle of Raasay that also provides tours! Two are brand new and of course Talisker which has been around since ! Glad you found our post helpful! Yes, August is usually the busiest month of the year on Skye and the one with the most congestion and crowds. The Fairy Pools are beautiful but again are one of the most visited spots on Skye. A good way to avoid the crowds are to skip those sort of places and spend your time elsewhere.
Hiking and staying in an accommodation set away from a town center is also a good way to find some quiet and relaxation on the island. Oronsay which is an island on the West side that can be reached only at low tide and has fantastic panoramic views over to the Cuillin and across to South Uist. There are also alternative walks around Glenbrittle which is a bit further on from the Fairy pools and will be less crowded and just as beautiful with more parking and a coffee shop.
I just enjoyed the view! But I would love to go to Isle of Skye and visiting some of the lesser known spots. Hi Anisa, Yes, the end of summer August is a busy time, but as you said you can still enjoy the views even with the crowds. You just have to have the right mindset and be patient. Hopefully you get a chance to return to the Isle of Skye again to see more of the island beyond the highlights!
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To do this, we store the data as outlined in our privacy policy. Skip to content Skip to primary sidebar Search the site This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links it means we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Here are our 15 tips for avoiding crowds on the Isle of Skye, in no particular order: