Confession? I didn’t know much of anything about the Hebrides before this trip, and if Catriona hadn’t basically planned the whole thing herself I probably never would have visited some of these islands. I mean, Tiree isn’t exactly brimming with tourists (or locals for that matter).
But the Isle of Skye? Oh, Skye I had heard of.
While Catriona was hard at work booking guest houses and planning transportation, my travel planning for this Hebrides island hopping trip basically consisted of scrolling through Scotland hashtags on Instagram. And basically every photo I paused to drool over was from Skye. Luckily for me when I double checked with Catriona it turned out that yes, Skye is part of the Hebrides and we were totally heading there!
We got a very short ferry from Mallaig to Skye, where we met up with one of Catriona’s longtime friends Kirsten, who lives on the neighboring isle of Lewis. And then we immediately drove off of Skye.
Uh, what? I was none too pleased about visiting the famous Isle of Skye for all of about 20 minutes, but my anger vanished as soon as we pulled up to Eilean Donan Castle (and when Kirsten assured me that this was just a short detour, phew).
Eilean Donan Castle must be one of Scotland’s most photographed castles ever, and seeing it in real life gave me some real life goosebumps.
Like, I feel like my photos of Eilean Donan Castled don’t even quite look real?
After a casual picnic by the side of the castle where we were all “yeah, we’re eating next to a castle, no big deal,” we made the short 15 minute car journey back towards Skye, stopping just before we got there for, of course, another photo op! Normally a bridge from an island to the mainland might in a (silly) way dampen the island’s magic, but the Skye Bridge is cool enough to keep that Skye magic alive just fine, don’t you think?
And then, as promised, we returned to Skye. And promptly got lost. Mostly because I was in charge of the map. And this is the random place we pulled over to figure out where we were. This is so typical Skype – stunning around every bend.
I was all for indulging in picnic #2 by this bridge, but we had more important places to go – to the Fairy Pools!
Um, was there ever a more enchanting name for a place? Not to judge a place by its name, or book by its cover, or whatever the saying is, but anything involving fairies and swimming is going to pique my interest. And I wasn’t the only one. Kirsten had always dreamt of swimming on the fairy pools and was horrified that Catriona and I hadn’t brought our swimsuits with us to Scotland.
We were less horrified, as while the crystal clear, turquoise water looked like something straight out of the tropics, it was actually really, really, really cold. Like, really.
The Fairy Pools are at foot of the Black Cuillins near the village of Carbost on the west of Skye (follow the sign for Glenbrittle) and involve about a 1 – 2 kilometer walk from the roadside. They’re quite popular though, so we had to walk up past the first bunch of pools to get past the crowds. But the farther we walked the fewer people we saw – and the more dramatic the backdrop became! I know the Fairy Pools are all about the beautiful water, but I was equally amazed by the mountains rising behind them.
The verdict? All the fuss over the Isle of Skye is about how absurdly beautiful this island is. And yes, I’d say it totally deserves all that Instagram hype.
What do you think?
The ferry from Mallaig to Armadale cost about £5 and took 30 minutes (book ahead with CalMac Ferries if you’re taking a car).
We stayed at Skyewalker Hostel, which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend – it’s perfectly fine, but you can probably do better on Skye – but it was a five minute walk from Munros Bar (Taigh Ailean Hotel) in Portnalong, which is the loveliest little pub that serves amazing burgers and seafood, which I’d definitely recommend!
After dinner we went to The Old Inn in Carbost which had live music and felt oh so Scottish.
What to pack for island hopping through Scotland
Scottish weather is unpredictable! I packed a lot of cold weather clothing for this trip, because Scotland, but then it ended up being sunny and incredibly hot for most of the trip. So you’ll want to bring a good variety of clothing, so that you’re prepared for whatever Scottish weather might throw at you.
Probably most important, though, is rain gear – you don’t want the weather to stop you from exploring the islands. I swear by these rain pants. Here are a few of my other top packing essentials for island hopping in Scotland:
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Ola says
I never heard of Isle of Skye before, it looks so magical!
Silvia says
It really is!
carrie says
castles, waterfalls, and stone bridges, seriously they are all my weakness! truly stunning!
Silvia says
Right? Skye totally has it all.
Jordan says
I would love to know more about Skywalker Hostel! I’m booked to stay there next Saturday and have heard great things about it…why didn’t you like it?!
Silvia says
Oh there’s nothing wrong with the hostel at all. I’m just reeeally into hostels and have stayed at some truly amazing ones and after reading the positive reviews and seeing how many awards it had won I guess I was just expecting more. It felt a little cold to me and their rule that no one is allowed in the hostel between 11:00 to 15:00 seemed like it could be a huge hassle, but the staff are incredibly nice and it’s clean and everything so those are really such small complaints. Mostly I was just comparing it to other hostels I loved more, but really it’s totally fine and you might love it!
Kaelene Spence says
We loved the Isle of Skye it is so gorgeous!
Dominique says
On a sunny or cloudy day, Isle of Skye is beautiful. Unfortunately, when I visited I only saw rain and fog! I’d have to visit again to actually see something of the landscape 🙂
Cate says
I never knew there was so much to find in Scotland! I’ll have to make a trip there soon!
Emily says
Your photos do look unreal! Amazing beauty!
Tanja (the Red phone box travels) says
beautiful place. I’ve been to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland:) next time I’d like to do Skye:)
Amanda | Lesson Plans & Layovers says
The Isle of Skye most certainly deserves all the hype! My boyfriend and I travelled there last August and even though it was a cloudy, rainy day, just a beautiful place to see and take in 🙂
Jennifer @ This Off Script Life says
So gorgeous! My husband wants to go whisky tasting on the Isle of Skye. I don’t really care for the drink myself, but I’m excited because this means I can be his designated driver and check out all of the amazing scenery. Hope to get there one day soon. — Jennifer
Silvia says
Yesss the scenery is even better than the whisky (real whisky drinkers might disagree, haha)
Amanda says
Skye is one of my absolute favorite parts of Scotland! And you had such amazing weather! I’m jealous – I’ve never seen Eilean Donan under blue skies like that! I also haven’t been to the Fairy Pools yet, so clearly I have at least one more visit to Skye in my future!
Ashley @ Married Wanderlust Love says
I was initially thinking this was not going to be a post claiming it was beautiful. I’m so glad it was not. lol. I recognized the castle almost immediately, and not because I have seen it before in pictures, but because I used to obsessively watch “Made of Honor” with Patrick Dempsey and that is where one portion the movie takes places. It’s unfortunate that the water was too cold that you did not get the opportunity to swim. Maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t pack your swimsuit after all!
Silvia says
Ahhh I’ve so seen that movie! And did not realize that was the same castle – now I definitely need to re watch it!
Ashley says
You really lucked out with the weather! The Isle of Skye is so, so beautiful, even though I experienced torrential rain and hurricane-force winds when I visited! I’d love to make a second trip to see more of the island! (And maybe some sunshine as well 😉 )
Silvia says
Oh no! You’ll definitely have to go back. I want to go back too!
Miriam says
I am totes following your footsteps, Silvia 😀 Going on a Scottish Highland road trip in August. Let me know if your travel plans lead you through Denmark this summer. Would be great to meet up 🙂
Silvia says
Aaaah you’re going to have such an amazing time! And for realz, we definitely need to figure out a meet up. And I haven’t given up on the idea of trying to make a collaboration trip happen, since I think our blogs are the perfect amount of similar + different. Just need to get organized!
Miriam says
I’m a totally up for that still. Plus, I’m thinking about going to the World Travel Marked event in London in early November. Are you going?
Silvia says
I still need to ask for time off, but I think I am going to go! I’ve never been before, eee. Let me know if you do decide to go!
Miriam says
I’ve never been either – in fact I’ve never gone to any of the travel blogging events 😉 But I’ve heard that it’s one of the best places to network and that it’s better than TBEX! I’ll let you know if I go.
Silvia says
Haha I’ve never been to any of the events either! But London is so easy to get to, I figure maybe this time I should? Come and we can be newbies together!
Melissa says
Wow, although I’ve heard of the Isle of Skye, I’ve never really looked into it or checked out what it has to offer – it looks absolutely idyllic! Definitely added to our travel bucket list – and it’s not too far from us really, living in Southampton!
Xx
Silvia says
It’s basically in your neighborhood! Ha but really, it’s so magical, you should definitely go!