Summary: This post outlines the different options for how to get to Isle of Skye from Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Inverness. I include rental car information, busses, tours, and more! Use this to plan your next trip to the Scottish Highlands.
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Isle of Skye is a magical place and I believe it still holds some of its magic because it’s somewhat difficult to get to. There’s not a lot of infrastructure or public transportation in the Scottish Highlands, but I think that’s part of it’s charm. It’s still rugged and rural and you’ll rarely find it crowded.
However, if we want to visit, it’s not as easy as taking the train into any other European city. In fact, there aren’t any train stations on Isle of Skye, so we need to plan ahead a little bit! Keep reading to learn how to get to Isle of Skye from Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Inverness.
How Much Time to Spend on Isle of Skye
When we visited, we spent three days on Isle of Skye, but I immediately knew I could spend weeks here if I could. There is a lot to do and see, but there’s also a much slower pace of life out here. There are a number of cabins and cottages that I could see myself spending a week or more just reading, working, and enjoying the view from.
That said, I know we don’t all have endless amounts of PTO to work with, or a remote job that will allow us to stay as long as we want. I’d plan to spend at least one night, ideally two or three on Isle of Skye.
I would avoid trying to make Skye a day trip. It’s a far drive from both Edinburgh and Glasgow and if you plan to just stop by on your way to another area, you’ll miss so much of it that’s worth seeing.
When to Visit Isle of Skye
My favorite time to visit Scotland in general is the fall, so this would be my recommendation for Isle of Skye as well. We went in November and had some rainy days, but also some very temperate, sunny days. Autumn temperature here can change drastically, so pack for all seasons!
Visiting in winter will let you see Skye covered in snow!
Summer will give you the most ideal weather conditions as it doesn’t rain nearly as much, so you’ll almost be guaranteed at least a few nice days on your trip. However, beware of the Scottish Midge in the summer! Midges are tiny little insects that might be mistaken for mosquitoes, and they run rampant on Isle of Skye in the summer months. Read more about them here.
Personally, I’ll take a few rainy days to avoid these little biters and visit in the fall!
The Ideal Way to Visit Isle of Skye
In a perfect world, I’d suggest flying or taking the train into Edinburgh, renting a car, and driving to Isle of Skye. I prefer Edinburgh to Glasgow, so if you have to choose one city to fly into from the United States, I suggest Edinburgh.
I also recommend renting a car to drive to Isle of Skye instead of relying on public transportation or an organized tour. Public transportation isn’t nearly as built out in the Scottish Highlands as it is in the larger cities. I also love the freedom that comes from renting a car. You can decide to do whatever you want whenever you want to.
That said, if you don’t drive, or you’re uncomfortable driving on the left side of the road, there are other options when considering how to get to Isle of Skye.
How To Get To Isle of Skye from Edinburgh
When figuring out how to get to Isle of Skye from Edinburgh, we have three main options: renting a car in Edinburgh, taking a train to either Glasgow or Inverness, and then a bus to Portree, or taking an organized tour of Isle of Skye from Edinburgh.
Renting a Car in Edinburgh
You can rent a car from a number of places in Edinburgh. The easiest spot would be Edinburgh airport (EDI), but there are a few locations closer to the city if you’re planning to explore Edinburgh before heading to Isle of Skye.
We rented our car from Hertz and since we were picking up the car in a different city than where we planned to drop it off, the only option was to pick up and drop off at airports. Just something to keep in mind when searching!
Most of the car rental companies offer both manual and automatic options. Automatic cars are going to be more expensive than manual.
Lastly, make sure you check to see if there is a mileage limit before you book. Some of the car options had a limit of 300 miles driven, and some included unlimited mileage.
Popular options:
- Hertz Compact Car: $50-$65 per day
- Budget Compact Car: $50-60 per day
- Avis Compact Car: $50-$65 per day
Not sure where to start when it comes to searching for a rental car? Try this search tool to see all of your options!
Bus from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye
Unfortunately, there are no bus or train options from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye. You can take a train from Edinburgh to a few of the towns just before the bridge you cross to get onto Skye, but the train won’t take you past that point. You can find more information here if this option interests you.
If you need to take public transportation to Skye, you’re better off taking the train to Glasgow or Inverness and taking a bus from there.
Isle of Skye Tour from Edinburgh
If you don’t want to drive or deal with public transportation, there is one more option to consider for how to get to Isle of Skye from Edinburgh: an organized tour!
I book all of my travel tours through GetYourGuide and they have a ton of multi-day Isle of Skye tours that leave from Edinburgh. Although day trips to the Highlands are also available, I’d recommend a multi-day tour because driving to and from Isle of Skye takes at least four hours, so you’ll want at least one full day to explore.
Here are some of the tours I found:
How To Get To Isle of Skye from Glasgow
If you’re starting in Glasgow and are wondering how to get to Isle of Skye from here, you have three main options: renting a car in Glasgow, taking a bus from Glasgow to Portree, or opting for an Isle of Skye tour that leaves from Glasgow.
Renting a Car in Glasgow
Just like Edinburgh, the most common place to pick up and drop off a rental car in Glasgow is going to be the airport (GLA). These companies will also give the options of automatic or manual, as well as limited or unlimited mileage.
Popular options:
- Hertz Compact Car: $50-$65 per day
- Budget Compact Car: $50-55 per day
- Avis Compact Car: $45-$65 per day
Not sure where to start when it comes to searching for a rental car? Try this search tool to see all of your options!
Bus from Glasgow to Isle of Skye
There is a Citylink bus that will take you from Glasgow to Portree or Uig on Isle of Skye with a few stops in between. The bus route has different times for summer and winter months, so make sure you’re looking at the right schedule!
Citylink bus times and route information here.
Keep in mind that once you get to Portree, you’ll need a way to get around and see everything. Isle of Skye uses Stagecoach as their bus system. You can track where the busses are and when they’ll show up from their website or mobile app.
Isle of Skye Tour from Glasgow
The last option to consider for how to get to Isle of Skye from Glasgow is an organized tour through GetYourGuide (or other tour companies, but this one is my go-to). They have options for 3- or 5-day tours on Isle of Skye starting in Glasgow which means you don’t have to worry about driving or taking public transportation!
Here are some of the tours I found:
How To Get To Isle of Skye from Inverness
If you’re going to Isle of Skye from Inverness, again, you have three options! You can rent a car in Inverness, take a bus from Inverness to Portree, or sign up for a day trip to Isle of Skye.
Renting a Car in Inverness
If you’ve gotten this far in the article and are wondering how to get to Isle of Skye from Inverness, you won’t be surprised when I suggest renting a car. Starting from this smaller city, it’ll be easiest to rent the car from the airport (INV), although there do seem to be a few options within the city.
There are less options here than in the larger cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, but there are still plenty to choose from!
Popular options:
- Budget Compact Car: $50-55 per day
- Avis Compact Car: $40-$65 per day
Not sure where to start when it comes to searching for a rental car? Try this search tool to see all of your options!
Bus from Inverness to Isle of Skye
There is a bus that will take you directly from Inverness to Portree, the largest town on Isle of Skye. This is a Citylink bus and it looks like the journey takes just over 3 hours. You can then switch busses if you’d like to go further into Isle of Skye, up to Uig.
Find Citylink bus information from Inverness to Isle of Skye here.
Once you’re in Portree, you can also switch to using the Stagecoach bus system to get around Isle of Skye without needing a car.
Isle of Skye Tour from Inverness
Lastly, GetYourGuide also has Isle of Skye tours from Inverness. Since Inverness is located closer to Skye than Edinburgh and Glasgow, these are mostly day trips that last around 12 hours in total. Even though it will be a shorter trip, it’s still worth going to see the beauty of Isle of Skye if you don’t want to rent a car or deal with the bus.
Here are some of the tours I found:
Read more about Isle of Skye
I hope this post was helpful when it comes to planning how to get to Isle of Skye on your next Scottish adventure! It isn’t always easy to get to the most beautiful places, but I think that’s part of the reason why they remain so beautiful.
While you’re planning your trip, I have a few more posts I think will help:
