Our top pick1,239 reviews
3 daysEdinburgh: 3-Day Isle of Skye, Highlands, and Loch Ness Tour
★ 4.8 · 1,239 reviews
- Three days, Overnight stays in Portree
- Glencoe valley on the route
- Bestseller
- Free cancellation
$304
Check availability→ Skye from the capital
Tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye
Six tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye are listed on this site, and each one takes two and a half to four days: there is no one-day option from the capital. They cost between $238 and $1,045 per person. Below: the route each one drives, where you sleep, what the price covers and which one we would book.
Quick answer
The short answer. Our top pick is the 3-day tour at $304: Glencoe on the way north, two nights in Portree, Eilean Donan and Pitlochry on the way back, and 1,239 reviews at 4.8. If you want the rooms in the price in writing, the 3-day tour with accommodation states it, at $598. If you can book two nights in Inverness yourself, the $238 tour carries 3,027 reviews at 4.8.
Tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye at a glance
- Tours from the capital
- Six2.5 to 4 days each
- Price range
- $238 to $1,045per person
- Our top pick
- $304, 3 daystwo nights in Portree
- One-day option
- None from Edinburghthe 12-hour trips leave from Inverness
- Glencoe on the route
- Four of the six
- Rooms included?
- Stated on one tournot included on one, not stated on two
- Jacobite steam train
- Two toursin the programme on one, optional on the other
- Lunch
- Not in any farelunch stops on the route
- Cancellation
- Free cancellationon all six; the deadline differs
One day or three?
Why every Edinburgh option takes at least two and a half days
Every listing from the capital is a multi-day tour. Here is what that means.
If you hoped to see the island and sleep in the city the same night, this page has to start with a no. None of the trips from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye on this site does it in one day. The shortest of the tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye here runs 2.5 days; the longest runs four, with three nights away.
The one-day trips leave from Inverness: 12 hours, Eilean Donan and Portree on each. Skye trips on this site start from $91 per person, and that price belongs to one of them. The one-day guide compares them.
From Edinburgh, think of each tour as a guided Edinburgh to Isle of Skye road trip, with the driving and the stops planned for you. Tiziana from Italy: «The tour is quite intensive, but the fast pace is necessary because there’s so much to see and do in just three days.»
Every tour, current fare
What each tour costs and what the price covers
All six tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye side by side, every price per person. One listing states the rooms are included, and one states they are not.
| Tour | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loch Ness and Skye, our top pick | $304 | per person | 3 days | Small group; two nights in Portree, rooms not stated; lunch stops at Fort William and Fort Augustus | Castle Terrace, 9:00 | 4.8 · 1,239 |
| Skye and the Highlands | $238 | per person | 3 days | 36-seat midi-coach. Two nights in Inverness not included: book them yourself | Burns Monument, Regent Road, 8:15 | 4.8 · 3,027 |
| Skye with accommodation | $598 | per person | 3 days | The only listing that states accommodation included: en-suite guesthouse and B&B rooms around Portree. Up to 16 | Not stated in the listing | 4.7 · 622 |
| Skye, Inverness and the Highlands | $529 | per person | 3 days | Room options with private bathroom; Loch Ness cruise with Urquhart Castle at extra cost, summer only | Varies with the option booked | 4.7 · 517 |
| Skye with the optional Jacobite train | $488 | per person | 2.5 days | Two nights on Skye, rooms not stated; train optional, April to October | A set queue point | 4.6 · 205 |
| Four days with the steam train | $1,045 | per person | 4 days | Room options; one night in Fort Augustus, two on Skye; one-way Jacobite steam train ride. Up to 16 | A desk on the Royal Mile | 4.8 · 176 |
Tour by tour
Six routes north, in the listings’ own words
How each listing describes its route, starting with our top pick of the tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye.
- Our top pick: three days via Glencoe, $304
Glasgow passengers join at 10:00. The listing describes the haunting and dramatic Glencoe valley, lunch in Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis and two nights in Portree. The last day brings Eilean Donan (interior closed in winter), Fort Augustus and Pitlochry.
- Glenfinnan and Culloden, rooms not included, $238
The Glenfinnan Viaduct, Glencoe and Loch Ness; on the last day, Culloden Battlefield and the Clava Cairns, 4,000-year-old Bronze Age standing stones. Back around 18:00.
- Accommodation included, Neist Point and the Quiraing, $598
Small locally owned guesthouses and B&Bs with en-suite rooms, typically a 20 to 30 minute walk from town, without lifts. On Skye: Kilt Rock, Neist Point, the Quiraing and Portree.
- Via Inverness, private bathrooms, $529
Double, twin, family or single rooms as options. Eilean Donan from the outside, the Cairngorm Mountains, Pitlochry, and Culloden as an optional tour.
- Two nights on Skye, Jacobite train optional, $488
The listing warns the train may change or be cancelled at short notice and does not say whether it costs extra. Eilean Donan, Fort Augustus, the Commando Memorial and Dunkeld. Back at 17:00.
- Four days with the steam train, $1,045
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Glen Coe, time inside Eilean Donan, then the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig (subject to availability) and a one-way Jacobite ride over the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
On the road
Glencoe, Glenfinnan and Portree, frame by frame
Three frames from places these tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye name on their routes.
A column at the head of the loch
A slim stone column on the shore, a small island of pines and a snow-topped mountain beyond.
Painted houses on the harbour
A stone harbour wall runs along still water to a row of painted houses.
Green ridges and a winding path
Steep green slopes fold into a pointed hill, with a narrow path along the ridge.
Where you sleep
Portree, Inverness or Fort Augustus: the nights, tour by tour
Who books the beds, and where they are.
The nights are where these tours differ most. Only one listing states outright that the rooms are in the price: the 3-day tour with accommodation, at $598. Diana M from the United States: «Highly recommended tour that included 2 nights in Portree at a wonderful B&B…»
One states the opposite: on the $238 tour you book two nights in Inverness yourself. Add that to the fare before you compare it.
Our top pick spends two nights in Portree and asks you to book a restaurant table for both evenings, but does not say whether the rooms are part of the $304. The Jacobite tour has the same gap. The tour via Inverness and the four-day trip sell rooms as options and ask solo travellers to pick a single room. On tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye, read the room line before you pay.
On the way north
Glencoe, Loch Ness and Eilean Donan: which tour stops where
There is no separate Edinburgh to Glencoe tour on this site: the glen comes as part of the drive north.
- Glencoe
On four of the six: our top pick, the $238 tour, the tour with accommodation and the four-day trip. If a Glencoe tour from Edinburgh brought you here, these give you the glen and the island in one booking.
- Loch Ness
All six name it. A cruise is optional on the $238 tour and the four-day trip; on the tour via Inverness, a cruise with Urquhart Castle costs extra, summer only.
- Eilean Donan Castle
Four of the six stop there. No listing says the castle ticket is in the price.
- The road home
Pitlochry on our top pick, the $238 tour, the tour via Inverness and the four-day trip; Dunkeld on the Jacobite tour; Blair Castle on the tour with accommodation.
The price
Reading the prices: what the gaps pay for
Six fares, and what moves them.
Tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye on this site cost between $238 and $1,045 per person, and the gaps follow the nights. The $238 tour has the lowest fare but leaves two nights in Inverness to you. Our top pick, at $304, adds Portree and the Glencoe road, though its listing is silent on the rooms. At $598, the tour with accommodation puts the rooms in writing. The four-day trip at $1,045 adds a third night and the steam train ride.
Who it suits
Which Edinburgh tour fits which traveller
Five honest matches between the tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye and the people who book them.
- You want one booking that covers the beds
The 3-day tour with accommodation, $598, with en-suite rooms.
- You want the lowest fare and plenty of reviews
The $238 tour: 3,027 reviews at 4.8, the highest count of the six. Budget for Inverness on top. Olivia from Australia: «This was such a great way to see the beauty of the Scottish Highlands as a solo traveller on a short itinerary!»
- You want Glencoe as well as Skye
Anyone weighing an Edinburgh Glencoe tour against the island can have both: our top pick goes through the glen.
- You want the steam train
The four-day trip has the ride in the programme; on the 2.5-day tour it is optional.
- You start in Glasgow
A Glasgow listing at $304 picks up at 10:00 opposite Buchanan Bus Station. The Glasgow guide compares the options from the west.
Before you book
Four things to check on the listing before you pay
A few minutes on the listing make tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye easier on the day.
- The meeting point
An Isle of Skye trip from Edinburgh starts at a set point: Castle Terrace at 9:00 for our top pick, Burns Monument at 8:15 for the $238 tour. No tour collects you from where you stay.
- Money for meals
No listing says lunch is part of the fare.
- Onward travel
The $238 tour returns around 18:00 and asks you to allow at least 2 hours before onward travel.
- The cancellation deadline
All six offer free cancellation, but the deadline differs. Check the date on the listing.
Our verdict
Our verdict on Edinburgh to Skye
Of the tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye, book our top pick for the classic three days. For $304 it gives you Glencoe, two nights in Portree, Eilean Donan and Pitlochry, and 1,239 reviewers rate it 4.8. Norah from the United Kingdom: «The route there via Glencoe was spectacular, with a well chosen stop so that it was not over too quickly as I have found before.»
If you want the beds settled in writing, take the 3-day tour with accommodation at $598.
Book direct
Book tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye
Our top pick, the lowest Edinburgh fare, the tour with accommodation and the four-day trip. All prices are per person.
Bestseller3,027 reviews
3 daysFrom Edinburgh: 3-Day Isle of Skye and The Highlands Tour
★ 4.8 · 3,027 reviews
- Three days, Glenfinnan Viaduct and Glencoe
- Accommodation not included
- Bestseller
- Free cancellation
$238
Check availability→ 
Bestseller622 reviews
3 daysFrom Edinburgh: Isle of Skye 3-Day Tour with Accommodation
★ 4.7 · 622 reviews
- Three days, En-suite guesthouse and B&B rooms
- Small group
- Bestseller
- Free cancellation
$598
Check availability→ 
Overnights in Fort Augustus, Skye4 days
4 daysFrom Edinburgh: Isle of Skye and Hogwarts Express 4-Day Trip
★ 4.8 · 176 reviews
- Four days, One-way Jacobite Steam Train ride
- Overnights in Fort Augustus, Skye
- Small group, up to 16
- Free cancellation
$1,045
Check availability→ Common questions
Tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye: questions, answered
Can you see the Isle of Skye in one day from Edinburgh?
Not with the tours on this site: every tour from the capital lasts two and a half to four days. The one-day trips leave from Inverness, last 12 hours and start from $91 per person.
Is accommodation included on a 3-day Skye tour?
On one of them, in writing: the 3-day tour with accommodation, at $598. The $238 tour does not include it. Our top pick and the Jacobite tour do not say, so check the listing before you pay.
Where do you stay on a 3-day Skye tour?
In Portree on our top pick and on the tour with accommodation; on Skye on the Jacobite tour; in Inverness, booked by you, on the $238 tour. The four-day trip spends one night in Fort Augustus and two on Skye.
Do I need my own room as a solo traveller?
On the tour via Inverness and the four-day trip, the listings ask solo travellers to choose the Single Room option. They do not state the extra cost.
Is the Jacobite steam train included?
On the four-day trip, yes: a one-way ride over the Glenfinnan Viaduct. On the 2.5-day tour it is optional, April to October, and may change at short notice; that listing does not say whether it costs extra.
How much luggage can I bring?
15 kg on the $238, Jacobite, Inverness and four-day tours; 20 kg on the tour with accommodation; one medium-sized suitcase on our top pick.
Go deeper
More on trips to the Isle of Skye
From Glasgow
From Glasgow
Two three-day tours from the west, compared.
GlencoeGlencoe
The glen on the way north, and the tours that stop there.
A weekendA weekend
Two or three days out, with the nights arranged for you.
By roadBy road
The road to Skye with a guide at the wheel: the route, the stops and the nights.
In one dayIn one day
What a twelve-hour day from Inverness covers on the island, and which day suits you.
