Isle of Skye with Rabbie’s Tours
In November, I took a trip to Scotland. Yes, again.
This time was different, I had a friend join me for part of the trip! My friend Nicole had never been to Scotland before, and I was SO excited to share my love of the country with her, and show her the beauty that is Scotland.
To balance showing her the country with my desire to see more of it, we decided to book a multi-day tour with Rabbie’s, my favorite tour company in the UK. I’d taken about 4 or 5 day tours with them before and was so impressed that we booked a 3-day tour of the Isle of Skye and the Highlands, and didn’t look back.
Quick rundown of the details for you:
Tour Name: The Isle of Skye - 3 day tour
Dates: 11/14-16
Duration: 3 Days, 2 Nights
Pick-Up/Drop-Off: Rabbie’s Cafe, Edinburgh
Accommodation: 2 nights in a B&B, booked for us by Rabbie’s
Cost: £165 each (not including food, attraction admission, or accommodation)
Alright, that’s the details out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff!
Since we were the only two on the tour, there was a lot more flexibility on the route and stops we took. Once we got out of Edinburgh, we stopped at The Helix Park to see The Kelpies, two huge statues that stand 100 feet tall and weigh 300 tons each! Created by artist Andy Scott, the two kelpies - named Duke and Baron - look big in photos, but nothing can compare to how small you feel actually standing beneath them.
After a bit more time on the bus, we took a quick break at Loch Lubnaig, where the weather was starting to get all misty and mysterious… very Scottish! This was a quick stop, just a restroom and coffee break, but we were able to see a couple dogs, as well as some locals doing a bit of wild swimming. In November, I know. Brr.
Day 1:
We got to the Rabbie’s Cafe a bit early so we’d have time to eat breakfast/drink coffee and let them know we were there. Somehow, we got insanely lucky and nobody else booked our tour, so it was just the two of us! This could’ve been because of COVID, it being kind of the off-season, or even because we left on a Sunday. Whatever it was, it was a crazy realization that we’d essentially scored a 3 day private tour of the Isle of Skye!
We stopped at a few different spots in Glencoe, one of the most beautiful and striking places you might ever see. The valley is massive and best viewed from above - we took a small climb up some steps and a path to see this stunning view. Along the way, we pulled into the Kingshouse Hotel, a hotel not too far from the Glencoe Mountain Resort, to see some deer. Oh my god, were they stunning. (Note: Please don’t feed or get too close to the deer as they are wild animals) Once we got our fill of photos and whatnot, we moved on to see the famous little White House (featured at the end of this post) that sits at the base of a drool-worthy landscape.
Another long stretch of driving led us to an unbelievable viewpoint for Eilean Donan Castle, a beautiful historic castle that’s been in dozens of movies. A couple examples: The World is Not Enough (Brosnan Bond film from 1999), Loch Ness (1996), and Highlander (1986). It’s also one of the most recognized - and photographed - castles in Scotland, but it’s gorgeous, so you can see why that might be the case. We didn’t go in, since we had planned to do that on our way back to Edinburgh
By the time we got to Portree, where we’d be staying for the following two nights, we were exhausted. It was a long driving day, and both Nicole and myself were still adjusting to the time difference, so we were pretty loopy. We got dinner at the Bosville Hotel restaurant, called Dulse & Brose, which was fantastic! I had the steak and chicken pie (perfect hot and hearty meal), and a locally brewed beer, can’t recommend it enough!
And that’s the end of Day 1!
Day 2:
This was another busy one. Day two was an entire day on the Isle of Skye and we lucked out HARD with the weather, it was clear and sunny for most of the day, and man, it made all the sights just THAT much more beautiful.
We started with a drive by around the Old Man of Storr, a rocky hill that I’m sure you’ve seen in photographs or on Scotland postcards. Honestly, Skye is presently the most photogenic place I’ve ever been, so I’m sure you’ve seen many of these sights before. If not on a postcard, you’ve probably seen them in a film or on tv. The Old Man of Storr was a paid actor in both Prometheus (2012) and The Wickerman (1973).
We stopped at Kilt Rock as well, another pretty famous landmark. It’s named for the way the cliff face resembles the pleats of a kilt, can you see it? I admit, I was a little more preoccupied with the waterfall and amazing sea views we had here.
Our last stop before lunch was the Quiraing, which is a part of the Trotternish, and was formed by a series of landslides. To get to the top, we took a lot of very narrow switchback roads, which was a little stressful for me, as I’m not a huge fan of heights. The sunshine made this view all the more spectacular, although it was extremely cold and windy up there!
After lunch, we did some more driving around. We went to Uig and the Fairy Glen, and were treated to a lot of really interesting history and myths from Dominic, our driver. Then, one of my life goals happened…. guys, I met a highland cow IN REAL LIFE. Yeah, I’m being serious, I’m obsessed with highland cattle, or hairy coos, as they’re sometimes called. I love them, and we were able to find a safe place to pull over near a group of three! You can see two in this photo, but there’s actually a black one hiding just out of frame. They’re a little blurry because I forgot to change my camera settings before I handed it over, but I did get one with just them fully in focus. I’m still in awe.
After that, I was on cloud nine, but also exhausted from how excited I had been once I saw those coos. Our final stop of the day was at Neist Point, where we had the opportunity to take a walk down to the Neist Point Lighthouse. We ended up skipping this, since it was REALLY windy and the paths to the lighthouse were either extremely muddy or really steep steps, and I wasn’t sure my knee could handle that.
After another dinner in Portree, we had finished our second day of the tour
Day 3:
All too soon, it was our last day of the tour. After checking out of our bed and breakfast (highly recommend Askival in Portree if you have a choice!), we hit the road and drove back over the Skye Bridge.
The forecast for the day was rain rain rain, so it was lucky that our first stop was to take a peek inside the restored 13th-century Eilean Donan Castle. Photography and videography isn’t allowed inside, but who cares when the outside looks this good? There was so much history inside, it was well worth the £10 ticket price.
Today was another long driving day, even longer than day 1, since we were taking a different route. That route took us through Loch Ness, where we stopped for lunch, and our final stop in the Cairngorms National Park. To be honest, I can’t remember the name of this place, other than it started with an A. But I’m okay with not knowing, since I got to walk through the woods a little, look at a stream, and ponder some possibilities while looking at these magical wooden steps.
After some good old fashioned communing with nature, we headed back to Edinburgh, and the tour was over.
This was such an incredible experience, one I would love to do again. I’m so grateful I was able to share this with my friend, and that I was able to show her why I love Scotland as much as I do. If you’re thinking about taking a tour in the UK, Ireland, or Europe (they’ve recently expanded), I can’t recommend Rabbie’s enough, and I don’t say that lightly. I have admittedly pretty high standards, and have never been disappointed on one of their tours. I say that honestly. I don’t have an affiliate link or referral code, I just really like their tours, drivers, and the experience they give.
If you’re interested, check out rabbies.com.
Thank you for reading this massive post, I hope you enjoyed! I know it’s been about 6 months since I last posted, but I have a ton of trips and photos to share, so hopefully I’ll be able to work through the backlog soon :)
Stay safe, daydream of travel (I know I am), and wash your hands.
