Isle of Skye by the bridge
Eilean Donan, the Fairy Pools below the Cuillin, Neist Point lighthouse, Portree and the Trotternish ridge.
- Distance
- 188 km (117 mi)
- Driving
- 2 h 35 min
- Suggested days
- 4
- Stops
- 9
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Updated
- June 30, 2026
At a glance: 4-day road trip of about 188 km (117 mi) with 9 stops, from Eilean Donan to Uig. About 2 h 35 min of driving in total.
Route description
Stop at Eilean Donan, the castle on its island at the meeting of three lochs, then cross the toll-free Skye Bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh. The A87 runs to Broadford, the island’s second village and a good place to stock up.
Beyond Sligachan, turn onto the single-track road to Glenbrittle for the Fairy Pools, a walk of about 40 minutes below the jagged Black Cuillin. Then head north-west to Dunvegan and on to Neist Point, where a steep path leads to a lighthouse on Skye’s westernmost cliffs.
Dunvegan Castle, seat of the MacLeod chiefs, has gardens and boat trips to a seal colony. Portree is the island’s main town, with a harbour of painted houses. North of it the A855 passes the Old Man of Storr, an hour’s climb from the roadside car park.
At Staffin, take the narrow road over the ridge past the Quiraing, a landscape of pinnacles and hidden meadows, and down to Uig, where ferries leave for the Outer Hebrides. Much of Skye is single-track: use passing places to let others overtake and never park in them. Car parks at the famous sights fill by mid-morning in summer.
Stop-by-stop itinerary
In driving order. Distances are estimates between consecutive stops.
- 1Start
Eilean Donan
HistoryDornie, United KingdomA restored castle on a tidal island where three sea lochs meet.
- 230 km
Broadford
United Kingdom - 327 km
Fairy Pools
NatureGlenbrittle, United KingdomA chain of clear blue pools and small falls below the Black Cuillin, about 40 minutes’ walk from the paid car park on the single-track Glenbrittle road.
- 446 km
Neist Point
ViewsGlendale, United KingdomSkye’s most westerly headland, with a lighthouse at the end of a steep concrete path. Come for sunset and look out for whales and dolphins.
- 515 km
Dunvegan Castle
HistoryDunvegan, United KingdomThe seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod for some 800 years, with gardens and boat trips to a seal colony in the loch.
- 630 km
Portree
United Kingdom - 713 km
Old Man of Storr
NaturePortree, United KingdomA rock pinnacle on the Isle of Skye, about 45 minutes uphill from the car park.
- 819 km
Quiraing
NatureStaffin, United KingdomA huge landslip of pinnacles and hidden plateaus on the Trotternish ridge. The single-track road from Staffin to Uig passes the car park at the top.
- 98 km
Uig
United Kingdom
