There are several beautiful and scenic routes you can take between Skye and Edinburgh (or Glasgow). Even though you would ideally break up the drive with an overnight stay somewhere in between, you still can make the entire trip in one day. If you plan to make the journey within a single day and are not in a rush, we recommend making a few stops to break up the drive into smaller portions but also to allow you to experience some of the beautiful sights and attractions along the way. Below we present our Guide on the Best Stops and Attractions Between Skye and Edinburgh (or Glasgow) to help you pick the best route when travelling between Skye and the Scottish Lowlands.
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You might also be interested in these pages:
Scotland Driving Guide and Tips
7 of the Best Castles to Visit in Scotland
Best Things to See in the Scottish Highlands
10-Day Scotland Roadtrip Itinerary (Edinburgh and Highlands)
Best Scenic Drives and Routes Through the Scottish Highlands
Orientation – Where is the Isle of Skye
Skye was one of our favourite places to visit in Scotland, an isle filled with dramatic and otherworldly landscapes where sheep outnumber humans, and where you’ll find stunning castles, fantastic hiking opportunities, a delightful whisky distillery, and jaw-dropping coastlines.
Skye is the second-largest island in Scotland after Lewis and Harris and is the largest of the Inner Hebrides. Despite its size, it has a modest population of just over 10,000 people, most of whom live in Portree (Skye’s largest town and main tourist hub). Reaching Portree, which is located in central Skye, will take at best roughly 5 hours of driving if you take the most direct route, regardless if you depart from Edinburgh or Glasgow. If you take one of the alternative scenic routes we describe below, you’re looking at about a 5h30 drive.
Why should you look for stops and attractions on the way to Skye? The main reason is that driving for 5 hours straight can be taxing and tiring, so having an excuse to stop and walk around, even if just for a few minutes, can be very welcome and rewarding. The second is that if you haven’t planned to spend much time in the highlands or the lowlands outside of Edingburgh/Glasglow, this will allow you to see some of the highlights these regions have to offer that you would otherwise have missed.
You might also be interested in these pages for more information on Skye:
4-Day Roadtrip Isle of Skye Itinerary
Isle of Skye Travel Guide: Things to Know Before You Go
Where to Stay on the Isle of Skye
Skye’s Best Hiking and Walking Trails
Skye Road Trip Driving Tips
How to Reach Skye
Being an Isle, there aren’t a million different ways to get onto Skye. Although there are many different routes you can take to get close, there are only two main access points to get on the Isle: The Skye Bridge that connects eastern Skye with the Scottish mainland, and the Maillag-Armadale ferry that connects southern Skye with the mainland (there is actually a third option, the Glenelg – Kylerhea Ferry, but it’s an ever longer/slower route to Skye, and in our opinion there is no clear advantage to taking this route relative to the other two options).
Generally, the quickest route is via the Skye Bridge, which takes on average of 20 minutes less compared to the ferry, regardless if you depart from Edinburgh or Glasgow. And that is only if you timed your itinerary perfectly to align with the Maillag-Armadale ferry departure, which runs about once per hour. Otherwise, you can assume that the route via the ferry will take even longer than the alternative via the Skye Bridge.
For advice and tips on how to drive in Scotland, check out our Scotland Roadtrip Driving Guide.
If you haven’t booked your rental vehicle yet, we highly recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rates on your rental in Scotland.
Below we will focus on routes that use the Skye Bridge given that they are generally quicker. In our opinion, there are two main reasons why you could want to use the Maillag-Armadale ferry instead: 1) For a change of scenery between the outgoing and return leg of the trip, and/or 2) to directly pass by Glenfinnan to view the steam train pass over the viaduct (aka the Harry Potter train). Easily one of the most beautiful railway bridges in the world, let alone the UK, the Glenfinnan Viaduct has skyrocketed to the top of many travel bucket lists since appearing in the Harry Potter films.
Edinburgh – Skye Routes and Itineraries
The below routes use Portree, Skye’s largest town and where most people base themselves while in Skye, as the endpoint of the drive to Skye. Note that you will actually enter the Isle of Skye about 45 minutes earlier after crossing the Skye bridge.
The direct Edinburgh – Skye Route (5h)
In our opinion, the most direct route to Skye is also the least interesting of the available options. Don’t get us wrong, the scenery along this route is quite beautiful, especially as you hug the western edge of Cairngorms National Park. But it’s not quite as stunning, and fewer places are worthy of a stop along the road, compared to alternative routes presented below. Pitlochry is a lovely town worth exploring, and Blair Castle is one of Scotland’s most beautiful, but beyond these we don’t there’s much else to drag you away from the long drive to Skye, at least for the first two-thirds of the drive. The final third of the drive is the same for all routes presented here.
Stops and Attractions Common to All Routes Using the Skye Bridge
Glen Shiel
Glen Shiel is a beautiful and dramatic valley in the Northwest Highlands. It’s one of the most beautiful sections of the drive to Skye and one of the shortest (it’s only 9km long, between Loch Cluanie and Loch Duich), making it all the more special. If you would like to stop to walk around and take some pictures, we recommend doing so at this small car park. It’s a few hundred feet from the Eas-Nan-Arm stone bridge (pictured below) and a scenic river.
Eilean Donan Castle
From the Glen Shiel car park, you are only about 15 minutes from one of Scotland’s most photogenic Castles, Eilean Donan. Sitting beautifully at the intersection of three lochs, this castle was originally built to protect the region against Viking invasions several centuries ago. However, the version you see today was reconstructed as a family home in the early 20th century.
For more information on visiting this beautiful castle, you can check out our Eilean Castle Visiting Guide. From the castle, you are only about 10 minutes from the Skye Bridge and finally reaching Skye.
The direct route with a detour via Loch Ness (5h30)
Although you could deviate from the direct route by just taking a slight 20-minute detour up past Fort Augustus, there are very few viewpoints along this portion of Loch Ness (most of the viewpoints are along the northern half of the Loch). So if you are keen on seeing Loch Ness, for just an extra 10 minutes (30-minute detour in total), you can drive along the entire western shore of Loch Ness from Inverness where you will cross several roadside car parks to enjoy the scenic views of the Loch.
Loch Ness is a very thin loch, roughly running from just south of Inverness to Fort Augustus. Most of the car parks with viewpoints of Loch are on the northwestern shore.
Once you pass Drumnadrochit and Urquhart Castle, the views of the Loch become few and far between until you reach Fort Augustus.
Roughly around the halfway mark of this route, before reaching Loch Ness, there is a great little café we can recommend. It’s just off the main road (A9) yet still seems tucked away in nature. There are also public washrooms, a small gift shop, and plenty of picnic tables outside, providing a great setting for a welcome stop on the road to Skye.
The Route via Falkirk, Sterling, & Glen Coe (5h30)
In our opinion, this route is the one that provides you with the most options in terms of attractions and worthy pit stops that are close to the main road during your drive from Edinburgh to Skye. Some are great if you just want a quick pit stop to stretch your legs while you enjoy the scenery, and others where you stick around for a while, such as visiting a castle or taking a short stroll along a beautiful trail.
And if that wasn’t enough, this in our opinion is also the most scenic route to take, even if you don’t make any stops.
The first four proposed stops are all located within a 40-minute section of the drive, all within the first 90 minutes from Edinburgh. The Kelpies, Doune Castle and the Highland Cows can be visited somewhat quickly depending on your interests, but Stirling Castle definitely requires more time.
The Kelpies
The first stop we recommend is to see The Kelpies in Falkirk. Unveiled in 2014, standing just under 100 feet tall and located within a community park known as The Helix, these giant horse sculptures quickly became a symbol of the town and the surrounding region. These beautiful sculptures are based on mythical water horse creatures known in Scotland as Kelpies and also pay homage to the Clydesdale workhorses that in the past would pull barges along the canal. Though many just make a quick stop at the Kelpies, there’s much to do here to keep you longer, including guided tours of the Kelpie interiors and beautiful walking trails along the canals.
The Kelpies are just a 45-minute drive from Edinburgh. For more information on visiting this attraction, check out our Kelpies Visiting Guide.
Sterling Castle
Located in the nearby town of Stirling, this castle was honestly our favorite Castle to visit in Scotland. The large and imposing Stirling Castle is one of the most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. Mary Queen of Scots spent most of her life here, the castle changed hands between the British and the Scots many times, and William Wallace (the main character of Braveheart) played a key role in one of Scotland’s victories in reclaiming the castle. The guided tour of the castle was also one of the more interesting ones we experienced.
For more information on visiting this castle, check out our Stirling Castle Visiting Guide.
Doune Castle
A short drive from Sterling lies an imposing 14th-century courtyard castle in Doune, with a striking 100-foot high gatehouse and one of the best-preserved great halls in Scotland. You are very likely to have seen Doune Castle in film or on TV, as it has been heavily featured in Month Python, was used as the Winterfell castle in the Game of Thrones pilot episode and has served as Castle Leoch in Outlander.
Highland Cows at Callander
A great spot to observe and take pictures of the famous Highland Cows (or the Hairy Coos as they are often referred to) is at the Trossachs Woollen Mill, just a 15-minute drive past Doune Castle. This lovely gift shop is also home to three lovely hairy coos that you can visit and even feed if you would like! There’s also a small café on site.
The pictures shown above were taken from a farm along the side of the road, not far north from where the Trossachs Woollen Mill is located. However, since it wasn’t signposted or advertised, we haven’t been able to find the exact location on Google Maps unfortunately. But you must just come across them as we did by continuing onward towards Glen Coe.
Glen Coe
If you want to see some of the most beautiful landscapes that the Scottish Highlands have to offer, then Glen Coe is the place to go. The mountain scenery is simply beautiful and the area as a whole is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts with the plethora of fantastic hiking and walking trails. But even if you are not an avid hiker, or don’t have the time to undertake a hike, the drive through Glen Coe is simply stunning with several great viewpoints. We highlight several of these viewpoints in our Road Trip Itinerary Connecting Glen Coe to Oban.
For more information on visiting Glen Coe, check out our Guide on the Top Things to See and Do in Glen Coe.
Glasgow – Skye Routes and Itineraries
Most of what we covered applies to those wanting to depart from Glasgow as well, with a few variations. The main difference is that the route through Glen Coe is the most direct route between Glasgow and Skye (5h), compared to the eastern route that edges along Cairngorms National Park (5h10). Being able to combine a drive through Glen Coe with the shortest route is a win-win option in our opinion.
Another difference with routes departing from Edinburgh is that here the eastern route is the one that passes through Sterling. The eastern route doesn’t pass by Falkirk or Doune, however, but either could easily be added as they wouldn’t involve a significant detour.
How to Chose the Right Route
Well, the right route really comes down to your personal preferences and interests, but also on how much time you have to complete the drive and what the rest of your Scotland Itinerary looks like.
- For instance, The Kelpies, Sterling Castle and Doune Castle can all easily be visited as a day trip from Edinburgh. If that’s possible for you, then focusing on a route to Skye that includes them as stops and potential attractions might not be necessary.
- If our favourite route that passes through Sterling and Glen Coe appeals to you as well, you might want to consider it for both the outbound and return trip from Skye, but visiting different attractions during each leg.
- Deciding on what attractions to visit and stops to make could be based on the weather. If you have good weather during the outbound leg of the trip to Skye, you can focus on those that require time outside or landscape photography (e.g. Glen Coe, Glen Shiel). Focusing on interior activities such as visiting castles could make more sense if the weather isn’t great.
- Because we knew we would be spending some time in Glen Coe after having visited Skye, we opted to drive through Glen Coe only once, during the return leg, and to drive the direct route with the Loch Ness detour for the outbound leg of the trip. This allowed us to see different scenery during each leg while making sure we got to see all the attractions we wanted to.
Preparing a trip to Scotland?
You might be interested in these Scotland pages:
10-Day Scotland Roadtrip Itinerary (Edinburgh and Highlands)
Scotland Driving Guide and Tips
7 of the Best Castles to Visit in Scotland
Best Things to See in the Scottish Highlands
Best Hikes to do in the Scottish Highlands
We also highly recommend these guidebooks:
Rick Steves Scotland
Lonely Planet Scotland’s Highlands
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
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e-Sim cards
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eSIMS are a sustainable alternative to single-use SIM cards – they are 100% digital, require less energy to produce and be re-used rather than disposed of.
Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Best Stops and Attractions Between Skye and Edinburgh (or Glasgow) Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to the beautiful Scottish Highlands.
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