Below we present our Isle of Skye Roadtrip Driving Guide to help you get the most out of your trip to Skye, which will include some important facts, practical tips, and safety advice. For more general tips on driving in the UK or on driving on the left side of the road, we encourage you to visit our Scotland Roadtrip Driving Tips and Guide, where we cover what one can expect when driving on the left for the first time and how to best navigate roundabouts, which are more abundant elsewhere in Scotland.
Disclosure: This page (Isle of Skye Roadtrip Driving Guide) may contain product affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. More details can be found on our disclosure and policies page.
You might also be interested in these pages:
Top Things to See and Do 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
Best Scenic Drives and Routes Through the Scottish Highlands
Best Things to See in the Scottish Highlands
Skye Roads
Although the roads of Skye are generally in good condition, potholes are a regular occurrence, especially come springtime after a harsh winter. This is especially true of single-track roads (more on these below), where maintenance occurs less regularly due to lower traffic demands. Because of this, and the potential of livestock on the road (more on this below), it’s generally good advice to drive more slowly than you normally would on similar roads. Also, because of the mountainous and coastal terrain, roads are often winding with blind turns.
Speed Limits
Note that speed limits are indicated in Miles Per Hour (mph):
- Restricted Road – 30mph (towns and villages)
- Single Track Road – 60mph (for cars)
- Single Carriageway – 60mph (for cars)
- Dual Carriageway and Motorway – 70mph (for cars)
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.
Understanding single-track roads
On Skye, you will likely come across many single-track roads, that is roads that are only wide enough for one vehicle. The exception: passing places. All single-track roads are designed with many many passing places, which are often between anywhere 100m and 500m apart, depending on the terrain and likelihood of traffic.
The good news, more often than not there is little traffic on these single-track roads.
The bad news is there is still enough traffic so that you need to be aware of your surroundings and where the nearest passing place is located.
More good news: the passing places are often clearly indicated with a sign visible several hundred meters ahead.
More bad news: that’s not always the case. Especially in more remote areas or when the road turns behind a mountainside.
Why is this important?
-Because you should only use passing places on the left side of the road; those on the right are for use by oncoming traffic.
-If you see an oncoming vehicle while you are close to a left-sided passing place, pull over in that area and let the oncoming vehicle go by. Similarly, if a vehicle behind you clearly wants to pass, pull over to the left and let it go by.
-If you see an oncoming vehicle while you are near a right-sided passing place, stop in the middle of the road just before the passing place, wait till the oncoming vehicle pulls over into the passing place, and then continue forward.
-NEVER, EVER, PARK IN A PASSING PLACE, even if only for a few minutes. This could have serious consequences for other drivers.
-If you come head-to-head with another vehicle, don’t panic. Try to remember if you just passed a passing place or not. If you are lucky, the other vehicle will have started backing up, if you are not, you might have to back up to the nearest parking place. The rule of the road states that the vehicle closest to the nearest passing place has to back up. The UK Highway code also specifies that you should give way to vehicles coming uphill where possible. So if you are driving down a hill, you are expected to pull into the first passing place you see or reverse if possible.
Beware of livestock and wildlife
This goes without saying, but livestock is abundant on Skye, with sheep and cattle almost around every corner, many of which are of the free-roaming type on unfenced pasture land. It is very common to meet sheep, and even the odd cow, on the road. So be careful and vigilant as these animals can be unpredictable. Deer can also be seen on the road, especially during the autumn rutting season and in the winter when the animals come down from the higher slopes in search of better grazing.
Cell reception in remote areas
Know that in some areas of Skye, cell reception is poor. It’s always best to have pre-downloaded your Google Maps onto your phone to avoid unwanted surprises.
Parking near popular attractions
During high season, some parking lots for major attractions (e.g. Old Man of Storr, The Quiraing) may fill up and other attractions might not even have a dedicated parking lot. When this happens, many people will start to park along the side of the road, and while it is likely fine for you to do the same if indicated as such, some extra precautions are in order when exiting the vehicle and heading back onto the road, especially if the road is of the single-track variety.
Other tips
Be sure to have proper insurance coverage. Even if you normally don’t purchase insurance when renting a car, it’s not a bad idea when you are driving in an unfamiliar manner – if only to give you extra peace of mind.
Minimize distractions: If you are nervous about driving in a new place, now is not the time to be playing with the radio or answering phone calls. Wait until you get your bearings and feel comfortable driving in an area before you start fidgeting with your accessories.
Put your passenger(s) to work: feel free to have passengers take on any tasks not directly related to operating the car, such as reading maps, changing radio stations, checking road signs and giving reminders when needed.
Preparing a trip to the Highlands?
You might be interested in these pages:
Top Things to See and Do 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
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
SafetyWing is a travel insurance company that offers comprehensive coverage for travellers. Includes Medical Insurance and Travel Insurance. Primarily geared towards long-term travellers, digital nomads, and expats.
e-Sim cards
Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide. With Airalo eSIMs, travellers can get connected the moment they land at their destination and avoid nasty data roaming charges
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 Isle of Skye Roadtrip Driving Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to Scotland’s beautiful Isle of Skye.
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