The Ultimate Isle of Skye Day Tour from Inverness
Description
Immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and stories of this magical island with a local Highland company. This is the only scheduled tour which will take you to both the highlights of Northern Skye (including Kilt Rock, the Old Man of Storr and Portree) and the Fairy Pools, in one action-packed day from Inverness! You will also get to experience Eilean Donan Castle and Loch Ness along the way. Our highly experienced driver guides will keep you entertained on the scenic drive through the hills and glens of the Scottish Highlands. Join us, and tour Skye with the people who know it best on this wonderful day tour.
Tour Options
Itinerary
As we leave Inverness behind, the Highlands’ most famous waters appear: Loch Ness. We’ll hug the shoreline while your guide brings the legend to life—tales of sightings, science, and a sprinkle of mischief—eyes peeled for her!
Our first stop is at the iconic Eilean Donan Castle. This castle is instantly recognisable the world-over as it has featured in many films and innumerable Scottish souvenirs! We will stop at our favourite vantage point here to enable you to take some photos and admire the majestic beauty of this iconic sight in its wonderful coastal location. Please note that there will NOT be an opportunity to visit the castle.
Arrive in Portree and head to the harbour viewpoint—cue pastel-perfect houses and sweeping bay views. Dive into quirky local boutiques, cozy cafés, and harbourfront lanes; 45 minutes here flies by. Hungry? Grab a fresh-baked lunch or a tasty takeaway and refuel like a local. (If you have pre-booked lunch with us in the morning, we will collect it here and deliver it to you on the mini-coach, saving you precious sightseeing time).
Kilt Rock is an exposed sea cliff which resembles the traditional Highland kilt, and which never fails to impress our guests. It also boasts a waterfall which cascades 60ft (180m) into the Sound of Raasay below - a truly unique sight, and particularly so when the wind blows the waterfall back up the cliff!
As we head north, we’ll pause at a loch-side viewpoint for your first look at the Old Man of Storr — a striking 50-metre pinnacle rising from the dramatic Trotternish Ridge. You may recognise this iconic landscape from films including 47 Ronin, Macbeth, Snow White and the Huntsman, Prometheus and The BFG.
You’ll have time to wander up to this beautiful series of pools and waterfalls. The scenic path to the first pool is gently uphill and takes around 20 minutes (0.7 miles), with the most impressive waterfall just 5 minutes further on (0.9 miles in total). Most guests linger here, with the Cuillin Mountains as a stunning backdrop to the crystal clear water of the pools. Whatever the weather, there are photo opportunities at every turn! Please note: the out-and-back walk is around 1.5 miles and takes roughly 40 minutes, so a moderate level of fitness is required.
After savouring Skye’s showstoppers, we cross back over the bridge and turn east, threading through mountains and storybook glens. As the scenery swells around us, your guide brings to life the Highlands’ darker chapters—the bloody upheavals that emptied once-thriving communities and left these glens hauntingly quiet.
We end on a high—literally. Look down on Urquhart Castle, dramatically set on a peninsula reaching into Loch Ness— a fitting finale after a day of spectacular sights on Skye. Then it’s a quick drive back to Inverness, carrying the best souvenir of all—memories of an unforgettable day on Skye.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Walking (approximately 1.5 miles to and from the Fairy Pools) is involved, and some of this is on rough terrain
- Seats will be assigned - groups/couples will be seated together
- Unfortunately, due to the duration of the tour and time on the coach, this tour is not appropriate for children under the age of six
- We would recommend wearing/bringing warm clothes, hiking boots and waterproof jackets
Reviews(1,326)
Our guide Colin was such a great guy, lots of stories and laughs. Made the magical tour even more entertaining. Saw so much of The Isle of Skye as well as a wee bit of Loch Ness and Eilean Donan Castle too! It was all so breathtaking and would seriously recommend to anyone. An amazing day out!
This tour was AMAZING! Andrew was delightful. I didn’t have to worry about anything. He made the day so easy especially since it was so long! His stories were entertaining and just pulled you in and were perfectly timed. The Isle of Skye was feeling a little mysterious this day. She only shared glimpses of her beauty through the cold, rain, and clouds but even moody Isle of Skye is pretty spectacular. Bonus part of this tour was having the option to have a lunch prepared for you versus trying to find food in Portree was an option that I haven’t seen on any other tour offering. The food from the Isle of Skye Baking Co was beyond what I was expecting and highly recommend them as well. I would 100% book again with WOW
A great daytrip with an experienced sympathetic and humorlos guide ( Andrew) . He did all he could to give is an unforgettable day and told us great stories of scottish history and some anecdotes. Easy to understand also for foreigners. The places we visited were beautiful and the landscape was stunning. The drizzle in the end didn‘t matter. Thank you for this wonderful day! Learning that WOW is just a very small company it is extra special that the organisation is so well done and every tourist wanting to See Skye should book this extraordinary tour !
We had an amazing time with Andrew the highlight of our trip!! Everyone had a great time!! He was amazing in every way!! Just a 10 out 10!!
This was a great tour. The guide/driver had a lot of fun stories and did a great job. Take the tour!
Even if the excursion includes many hours on the bus to reach the island and then the various sites (but it is difficult to do otherwise in a single day), you see landscapes and places of breathtaking beauty; it is worth it! The 90-minute hike to the Fairy Pools was welcome after all those hours on the bus! Some stops could be a little longer (Kilt Rock) or closer to the site (Old Man of Storr, which you see from very far away on the side of the road even though there is a large parking lot right below!). The guide talked a lot toward the end of the trip; his commentary would have been more interesting if it had been more concise. It is quite expensive.
This tour was the highlight of my trip to Scotland. Isle of Skye is a stunningly beautiful place and, with our limited time in the area, the WOW tour allowed us to see the highlights of the island. Some were brief stops, like Kilt Rock and Eilean Donan, but we then we were treated with a 90-minute stop at the spectacular Fairy Pools. Our guide, Andrew, was professional in making sure we knew in advance what to expect, made adjustments to our stops as needed, shared his interest in movies that were filmed in the area, and, during the lengthier ride times, narrated a fascinating history of Scotland of the 1500s. (Andrew’s personal background was almost as interesting!) A shout out to Lisa of Isle of Skye Bakery who had our pre-ordered bagged lunches ready for us when we pulled into Portree. (WOW tours is the only one to have this very special arrangement and so worth it.) It is very important to read the details of this tour. The low-rated reviewers clearly did not! It is a 12-hour day in a bus with much of that time in travel mode with limited bathroom breaks. If you know what to expect, it’s a fabulous tour.
We had a great experience! There is so much to see and squeeze into 12 hrs. Andrew got us there quickly, efficiently and safely. The instructions were clear and narrations impressive. 5 stars!
Andrew was truly a professional the tour was extremely organized timely and informative. Although the roads are a challenge Andrew drove smoothly without a glitch. I happen to love European history and enjoyed the information especially in Andrew’s accent and he presented it so eloquently. When we return we will most definitely sign up for another WOW tour and fingers crossed we get Andrew again as our guide. Janet
Andrew was an amazing tour guide. His knowledge was wonderful. His personality was fun. You can tell he loves his job. Kudos Andrew!
