Isle of Skye in 4 days
- Irene
- Jun 8
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 31
Skye is an incredible place, with breathtaking landscapes, peculiar rock formations and fairy-tale waterfalls. Get ready to discover an unforgettable paradise for those who love nature.
Isle of Skye 4-Day Itinerary: Castles, Waterfalls & Stunning Views
Day 1: Arrival & Portree
Arrival at Inverness
Day 2: Eilean Donan Castle & Waterfalls
Chocolates of Glenshiel
Eilean Donan Castle
Fairy Pools
Kilt Rock
Lealt Falls
Bride’s Veil Falls
Day 3: Neist Point & Fairy Glen
Neist Point Lighthouse
Rha Waterfall
Fairy Glen
Day 4: Old Man of Storr & Urquhart Castle
Old Man of Storr
Urquhart Castle
How to get there: the easiest way to get there is by flying into Inverness airport and renting a car. From Inverness airport to Skye takes around 2 to 2.5 hours depending on which point of the island you are travelling to.
Best time to go: March, April and October. I would avoid the winter months because of the cold weather and the summer/spring months because of the midges. We went in March and it was perfect. It wasn’t not too cold and at the same time it was low season so many of the most popular spots almost empty!
General advice: be smart with your packing! First, you need hiking boots. Second, pack a lot of waterproof clothes (shoes, trousers and jackets) and third, to avoid being too cold or hot, wear a lot of layers instead of a big coat which can be uncomfortable when walking around. Also, as mentioned above I would highly recommend hiring a car.
Where to stay: We chose to stay in Portree, it’s a great location from which to travel around the island and there are few bars, restaurants and hotels. The town also has a cute looking sea front and port. We stayed at the “Bosville Hotel” and it was lovely. Very charming hotel, lovely décor and great location with a very nice bar and restaurant where we ended up having dinner both nights. Another couple of good options in Portree but slightly more expensive are “Marmalade Hotel” and “Cuillin Hills Hotel”.
Another option is to stay in a cabin the middle of nowhere which I think could be lovely! Completely surrounded by nature! There are loads of these cabins around the island, some of the ones that I have on my favourites list for next time are “Silverwood Waternish”, “Black Box Cabin” or “57 Nord” just before Skye.
Day 1: Arrival at Inverness
We arrived at Inverness very late on the first day so we just picked up the car and went to the airport hotel “Courtyard by Marriott Inverness Airport” as we wanted to start the next day by getting on the road early.
Day 2: Eilean Donan Castle and waterfalls
We started the day early leaving the airport hotel around 8 or 8.15 to make our way to Skye. On the way there you are going to pass by beautiful landscapes and there are numerous viewpoints where you can stop to explore and take some pictures. On this day we fitted in more stops and sightseeing spots than we had originally planned as it was such a beautiful day so we decided to try to do as much as possible.
The first proper stop of the day would be“Chocolates of Glenshiel” shop, 1.45 min drive from the hotel. This is a very cute chocolate shop that is also a café where you can have a coffee and snack and of course buy some chocolate.
From here the second stop will be “Eilean Donan Castle” which is just 10 min drive from the previous stop. They say that Eilean Donan Castle is the most photographed castle in Scotland and once you are there you will understand why! It also has a very interesting history spanning from a potential 6th-century monastic cell to a 13th-century fortification built to defend against Viking incursions, becoming a Mackenzie stronghold and later, a Jacobite site. Destroyed in 1719, it lay in ruins for nearly 200 years before being restored in the early 20th century. I absolutely loved it here and it’s actually bigger than it looks from the outside. It took us 1 hr to see it and the entrance ticket as of March 2025 was £12.
Once you finish at the castle you can head to the“Fairy pools” to do a walk, which is 1 hr drive away. It will take you around 1hr to 1.30 hr to complete the walk. It’s a one-way walk so you return on the same path and along the way you will be seeing some waterfalls and beautiful scenery. I did not find this walk very challenging and really enjoyed it. Just make sure you keep walking for a bit and don’t just stop at the first waterfall as there are many more to see but people seem to just stay at the first one.
From the Fairy Pools we drove for 1h to “Kilt Rock” and from this point we made our way down to Portree. Kilt Rock is super easy to visit as it is just a car park from which you can see a beautiful waterfall coming out of cliff.
After, we went to another waterfall which was 5 min drive from the previous point, “Lealt falls”.
For the last stop of the day we headed to “Bride’s veil falls”. For this one, unlike the previous two, I would recommend that you open the gate and walk to get closer to the actual waterfall as it is much nicer and impressive from up close. However, for some reason people seem just to stop in the car park take a picture and leave so we were basically here alone! It will not take you more than 15 min to visit.
We finished the day by heading to our hotel in Portree (just 19 min drive away) and going for dinner to “Dulse and Brose” restaurant which I highly recommend you book in advance as it can get super busy.
Day 3: Neist Point and Fairy Glen
As we knew that this was going to be our only rainy day during our trip, we decided to do less sightseeing and walks on this day. Originally in the plan we had the last 3 waterfalls mentioned on the day before as part of this day’s itinerary but we adapted the plan along the way to try to make the best of the weather.
First, we started the day by driving to “Neist Point”which is 1hr away from Portree. Neist Point is one of the most famous lighthouses in Scotland. The walk is one-way and the walk down is an easy one but not as easy to come back as it’s uphill. However, in general I would say that is an easy walk with stunning views of the high cliffs and the lighthouse. It takes around 45 minutes to complete the walk.
After, we drove to “Rha waterfall” which is 1.15hr away. Just make sure you put in Google maps Rha waterfall parking so it takes you to the right place to start the 10 min walk. Otherwise it will take you to the top of the waterfall which cannot be accessed. This was a super easy walk that takes around 10 min each way and we managed to be here alone as well. It is a cute short walk through a forest that I would recommend doing.
From there, just 10 min by car we went to “Fairy Glen” which is quite impressive. Fairy Glen was formed over 100,000 years ago by post-Glacier landslides, while years of erosion and the elements sculpted the Torridonian sandstone into unusual patterns of cone-shaped craggy hillocks, random boulders, tranquil lochans and even a basalt castle. It is a lovely area full of pretty little paths that you can follow to walkaround. The views are impressive and for some reason when we visited it felt like a not a very popular place as we were practically alone.
After this we headed back to the hotel in Portree which took us a 25 min drive. We ended up having dinner again at the “Dulse and Brose” as it was quite difficult to find a table anywhere else and given that we were staying at the hotel, they were really accommodating.
Day 4: Old Man of Storr and Urquhart Castle
On our last day we had to wake up early as we wanted to achieve quite a lot before going to the airport which is 2.45h from Portree.
We arrived to the "Old Man of Storr" at 9am to do this walk (it is only 15 min drive from Portree) and it was definitely a good call. This is the only place during the whole trip that I can say there was people, especially when we were going down there were a lot of people coming up and the parking was practically full. It took us 1.30h to complete the walk and I have to say this is a challenging one but absolutely spectacular.
The Old Man is a 55-metre-high pinnacle of basalt rock which is all that remains of a 2,800-million-year-old volcanic plug. The Trotternish Ridge (highest summit being The Storr at 719m) was created around 60million years ago by a massive landslip. Hot volcanic lava flowed onto the weaker sedimentary Jurassic rock beneath it causing the latter to collapse and form the undulating cliff faces of the eastern coastline of Trotternish. The Storr trail uses the same path there and back, starting and returning at the same point (the car park).
Once we finished the walk, we drove towards Inverness airport but stopped on the way at“Urquhart Castle”. Urquhart Castle overlooks Loch Ness and has a lively history. It was one of the great castles taken by the English when Edward I invaded in 1296. The Lords of the Isles then seized the castle repeatedly in the later Middle Ages, in an effort to expand their territory into the north-east. In the 1500s, Clan Grant was given the castle and charged with its repair and with bringing it back into use. Urquhart Castle was garrisoned for the last time in 1689, following the exile of the Catholic King James VII, and his replacement by the Protestant monarchs William II and Mary II. In 1692, the towering gatehouse was deliberately blown up so that the castle could never again be a military stronghold. The visit of the castle takes around 45 mins and the cost as of March 2025 is £15. From here to the airport it’s a 45 min drive.
Old Man of Storr walk 
Old Man of Storr 
Old Man of Storr 
Old Man of Storr 
Old Man of Storr 
Urquhart Castle 
Urquhart Castle 
Urquhart Castle
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