Isle of Skye - help with itinerary

[texbecca]

We'll be in the Isle of Skye in May on the Rotterdam (Holland America.) We've signed up for one of the ship's excursions. It is a 4 mile hike around Portree Bay and then around Ben Chacraig and Torvaig.  I look forward to the exercise as well as the beautiful views. Our excursion is only 2.5 hours so we will have plenty of time to do something else. The pics I see of the Isle of Skye are amazing and I want to be sure to see the most beautiful sight. I tried unsuccessfully to find a half day tour on Viator or Tours by Locals. If I can find a tour guide or driver, what should be our priority? ( I think we will have about 4 hours for this extra tour.) Neist Point seems too far away but there seems to be some other spots not too far (Kilt Rock). Or, is there an amazing spot that taking an Uber to would be feasible? 

[CruisingSarah]

Hi, I spent a week on Skye in November. I’d say that you might want to see the Quiraing and/or The Old Man of Storr from Portree.  These are both spectacular rock formations with stunning views. You could hike at both if you have time and if not you can still get a good view from the road.
You could likely see both as they are both on the same side of the island, the Quiraing a bit further North. You would also pass and could stop off at the Kilt Rock and another viewpoint of the Lealt Falls too, all of the four are along the same road. 

Another option would be the Fairy Pools which would let you see the Cuillin Mountain Range up close. 
 

it would be hard to do both as they are in different directions but maybe possible with a good local driver. 
 

I think you can find local guides by googling, I saw quite a lot come up, or by looking on the tourist board info website. 
 

Otherwise there are small boat tours which go out from Portree, they will likely go up the coast and maybe see some of the sights from the sea but mostly they go looking for wildlife such as whales/dolphins, eagles, puffins, otters depending on the season and the area. 
 

Wishing you the best with your planning! 

[texbecca]

On 1/11/2024 at 3:18 PM, CruisingSarah said:

Hi, I spent a week on Skye in November. I’d say that you might want to see the Quiraing and/or The Old Man of Storr from Portree.  These are both spectacular rock formations with stunning views. You could hike at both if you have time and if not you can still get a good view from the road.
You could likely see both as they are both on the same side of the island, the Quiraing a bit further North. You would also pass and could stop off at the Kilt Rock and another viewpoint of the Lealt Falls too, all of the four are along the same road. 

Another option would be the Fairy Pools which would let you see the Cuillin Mountain Range up close. 
 

it would be hard to do both as they are in different directions but maybe possible with a good local driver. 
 

I think you can find local guides by googling, I saw quite a lot come up, or by looking on the tourist board info website. 
 

Otherwise there are small boat tours which go out from Portree, they will likely go up the coast and maybe see some of the sights from the sea but mostly they go looking for wildlife such as whales/dolphins, eagles, puffins, otters depending on the season and the area. 
 

Wishing you the best with your planning! 

Thank you so much for this great information. Although, I'm still struggling a bit with what to do.

 

In reading more about Quiraing and The Old Mann of Storr, I'm wondering if we should cancel our morning hike with the cruiseline and spend our hiking energy at either Quiraing or Storr. (If you had to chose to do the full hike at either which would you chose?)

I think with our time limitations combined with our ages, we will need to limit our hiking to only about 4 miles.

I wish I knew if the hike offered by Holland America (Portree Bay and then around Ben Chacraig and Torvaig) would offer the beauty we are looking for. I like the idea of having a guide with us. 

 

Decisions, decisions!

[Lizard13]

I will also be visiting Isle of Skye on Holland America in May. I have used Isleofskye.com for an I depth description of the trails including scenery. I used this to plan our walks if weather cooperates.

[texbecca]

1 hour ago, Lizard13 said:

I will also be visiting Isle of Skye on Holland America in May. I have used Isleofskye.com for an I depth description of the trails including scenery. I used this to plan our walks if weather cooperates.

Hi Lizard13,

 

Looking at the choices, it appears The Man of Storr and Quiraing would both be amazing. I'm thinking my husband and I might forgo our planned cruise excursion (hiking close to Portree) and go on our own to one of these. My understanding that either will take approximately 2 hours to complete. 

 

I'm curious how you are planning to get to your planned walks/hikes. Are you taking a bus or hiring a driver? In a perfect world, I would love to find a driver to take us to one of the long hikes and then afterward drive us by some of the other beautiful sights.

 

[CruisingSarah]

21 hours ago, texbecca said:

Thank you so much for this great information. Although, I'm still struggling a bit with what to do.

 

In reading more about Quiraing and The Old Mann of Storr, I'm wondering if we should cancel our morning hike with the cruiseline and spend our hiking energy at either Quiraing or Storr. (If you had to chose to do the full hike at either which would you chose?)

I think with our time limitations combined with our ages, we will need to limit our hiking to only about 4 miles.

I wish I knew if the hike offered by Holland America (Portree Bay and then around Ben Chacraig and Torvaig) would offer the beauty we are looking for. I like the idea of having a guide with us. 

 

Decisions, decisions!

I think it depends how comfortable you are being independent from the ship and their excursion. It looks as if the ship’s planned hike will walk you directly from the ship or maybe a very short drive. If you look on a map you will see that Ben Chacraig and Torvaig are hills just above the port.
 

You will certainly have beautiful views from there but the other two areas and in particular the Quiraing is just dramatic and spectacular and both there and the Old Man have wider reaching views and are surprisingly accessible even for those less experienced or fit for hiking. 
 

I guess it’s really just how you will get there, if you can find a guide to meet you off the ship, drive you to one or the other and allow ample time for the hike and the drive you by some of the other sights with the remains time. You will pass by the Old Man on the way to and from the Quiraing. 
 

Both walks are such that you don’t actually need a guide to walk with you necessarily as they are extremely obvious paths and you can walk as far as you like to see as much as you want and turn back when you are ready to or go all the way up into the rocks and in the case of the Quiraing there is a route through and then up over the hill behind them where you can then look down. This has one steep longer incline to get up above and then is steep down but makes a circular route rather than an out and back. 
 

I can show you map routes or my Strava routes for both walks and photos.  Both were under 4 miles.