Where to Stay on Skye
Where to stay on Skye, from B&Bs to lodges.
Words by Hidden Scotland
Portree for the harbour and the restaurants, Sligachan for the Cuillin, Sleat for gardens and quiet: which part of Skye to stay in, and the hotels, cottages, hostels and campsites we like in each.
The first thing to know about Skye is that it’s big. It’s the second largest island in Scotland, and its roads wind round sea lochs and out along peninsulas, so nothing is as close as it looks on the map. Portree to the Skye Bridge is about fifty minutes. The bridge to Dunvegan is more than an hour.
So choose your base with care, or better still, choose two: a few nights in the north and a few in the south will save you hours in the car. Skye is very busy from Easter to October, and the good places fill months ahead, so book as early as you can. This is how the island divides up, and where we would stay in each part.
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01 · The island’s main town
Portree
Portree is the main town on Skye, with a harbour of painted houses, the island’s banks and supermarkets, a swimming pool and most of its restaurants. It’s the easiest base if this is your first visit or you don’t want to drive after dinner. The Old Man of Storr and the rest of Trotternish are just to the north, and Sligachan is fifteen minutes south.
The Cuillin Hills Hotel is an old shooting lodge of 1865 in fifteen acres on the edge of town, looking across the bay to the mountains, and its bar keeps more than 130 whiskies. The Bosville is a small, friendly hotel made from three cottages above the harbour, so ask for a room at the front. Marmalade, up the hill, has saunas among the trees. For a place of your own, The Crofter’s House is five miles away at Camustianavaig. Portree also has a youth hostel that is open all year.
Stay near Portree
Our places to stay, nearest first
02 · The north: Staffin, Uig and the Quiraing
Trotternish
Trotternish is the long northern peninsula, and it holds the landscapes most people come to Skye to see: the Old Man of Storr, the Quiraing and the Fairy Glen. Staying up here lets you reach them early in the morning or in the evening, when the car parks have emptied. Uig is about 25 minutes from Portree and is the port for the ferries to Harris and North Uist.
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Monkstadt 1745, at Linicro, is the old house of the Clan Donald chief, below which Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in 1746 dressed as Flora MacDonald’s maid. The MacQueen family brought it back from ruin. Skeabost House, a white Victorian mansion on Loch Snizort, is on the way north from Portree. For a cottage, Half of One stands alone on the cliffs near Brothers Point. And The Cowshed, above Uig Bay, is a stylish bunkhouse with a wood-burner in the lounge.
03 · The north-west
Dunvegan, Waternish and Glendale
The north-west is quieter, wilder and a longer drive, about half an hour from Portree to Dunvegan and more to the far end of Glendale. Dunvegan Castle is here, open from April to mid-October, and so are the Coral Beaches, MacLeod’s Tables and the lighthouse at Neist Point. This is also where Skye eats best.
The Three Chimneys at Colbost has been a destination restaurant since 1985, and its six rooms next door, the House Over-By, come with binoculars at breakfast for watching the seals. In Dunvegan village, The Dunvegan is a restaurant with rooms that cooks over fire. This corner has more good self-catering than anywhere on the island: Lochview, Tigh an Tobair, Milovaig House, the two Harlosh houses, Black Box Cabin in Glendale and The Black Shed at Skinidin.
04 · Minginish: Sligachan, Carbost and Glenbrittle
Sligachan and the Cuillin
If you’ve come to walk or climb, stay under the Cuillin. Sligachan is the crossroads of the island, fifteen minutes from Portree and thirty-five from the bridge, with the mountains rising straight behind the old stone bridge. West of it are Carbost, the home of Talisker Distillery, the Fairy Pools, and the long glen down to the beach at Glenbrittle.
The two Sligachan Blackhouses are dark timber cabins with glass gable ends that frame the Cuillin, a short stroll from the bar at the Sligachan Hotel. Sligachan Campsite, by the river, is open from April to the end of September. Glenbrittle Campsite sits right behind the beach under the main ridge, and it has welcomed campers since 1961. At Portnalong, Skyewalker Hostel is a friendly hostel for adults in the old wooden schoolhouse, with a glass dome in the garden for watching the stars.
05 · The south: Broadford, Elgol and Kyleakin
Broadford and Elgol
Broadford is the first village of any size after the bridge, about a quarter of an hour on, with a supermarket, fuel and a hospital. It’s a practical base, good for a short trip or a late arrival. From here the single-track road runs out to Elgol, where the boats leave for Loch Coruisk, in the middle of the Cuillin.
At the end of that road, Coruisk House is a small restaurant with rooms in a whitewashed croft house, with a four-course dinner of island produce each night. On Broadford Bay, Ptarmigan Cottage is a hideaway for two with a sauna by the shore. Lusa Bothy, five minutes from the bridge, is a stone bothy in a bay of its own. At Heast, Janet Ward’s two shepherd huts stand beside her donkeys’ paddock, and dogs are very welcome.
06 · The south: Armadale and Isleornsay
Sleat
Sleat is the green southern peninsula, sometimes called the garden of Skye. It’s softer country than the north, with woods, sheltered bays and long views across the Sound of Sleat to the mainland. The ferry from Mallaig comes in at Armadale, where the castle gardens are open until the end of October. If you want Skye without the crowds, this is where to come.
Kinloch Lodge is a white house on Loch na Dal that began as a hunting lodge of the Macdonalds in 1676, with open fires, deep red sitting rooms and a dining room that welcomes people who aren’t staying. Stonechat Bothy, at Drumfearn, is a hideaway for two on a wildlife croft. And at Isleornsay you can take a short boat ride to Eilean Sionnach Lighthouse Cottage, the keeper’s house on its own small island.
07 · A 25-minute ferry from Sconser
Raasay
Raasay is the long island you can see from Portree, and it makes a lovely day or night away from Skye. The ferry from Sconser takes about 25 minutes and runs all year. Fewer than 200 people live here, and there’s a distillery, quiet roads and wonderful views back to the Cuillin.
Raasay House is the grand old house of the island, a five-minute walk from the ferry and now owned by the community. It’s a relaxed hotel that welcomes dogs, with a library, a café and a bar, and its outdoor centre will take you kayaking or sailing. The café and restaurant close on some days outside high summer, so check before you go.
Getting to Skye. Most people drive over the Skye Bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh, which has been free to cross since 2004. Allow about four and a half hours to the bridge from Edinburgh and a little over four from Glasgow, without stops. You can also take the train to Kyle of Lochalsh, or to Mallaig for the ferry.
The CalMac ferry from Mallaig to Armadale takes 45 minutes and sails all year, with fewer sailings in winter. Book your car on in advance. From April to mid-October there is a third way: the little turntable ferry from Glenelg to Kylerhea, run by the community, which carries a handful of cars across the narrows. You don’t need to book it.
Campervans and tents. Scotland’s access rights cover camping with a tent, not sleeping in a vehicle, so if you’re in a campervan, book a campsite. The sites at Sligachan and Glenbrittle are two of the best placed on the island.
If it’s a house you’re after, see The Best Cottages on Skye.
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