Where to Stay on Skye: Portree, or Closer to What You Came For

Skye is bigger than it looks. It is about eighty kilometres from the bridge at Kyleakin to the northern tip, the roads are slow and often single track, and the three sights everyone comes for are at opposite ends of the island.

Some links below are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you. We do not rank hotels, and any prices on the map come live from the booking sites.

That makes where you sleep a practical question rather than an aesthetic one: whatever you choose, you will drive, and the choice decides how much. For the bases on the way, see where to stay in Inverness and where to stay in Edinburgh, and for the full route, our Scotland itinerary.

Where to stay on the Isle of Skye: the short answer

One answer with no caveats: Portree. It is roughly central, it has the only real concentration of restaurants and shops on the island, and both the northern and western sights are within an hour.

Portree

Skye’s main town, built around a small harbour with a row of painted houses along the quay. It has a few hundred residents, a supermarket, a petrol station and most of the island’s restaurants.

Staying here means you can eat without driving, which on Skye is a real consideration — outside the town, dinner may be twenty minutes away on a single-track road in the dark.

It is about forty minutes from the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing to the north, and an hour from the Fairy Pools to the south-west.

The trades are price and availability: Portree sells out first and costs most.

Staffin and the north-east

North of Portree, the road runs up the Trotternish peninsula past the Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock and the Quiraing, with Staffin as the only settlement of any size.

Staying up here puts you at the Quiraing for sunrise, which is the single best reason to stay on Skye rather than visit it. The light on the ridge in the early morning, before the car park fills, is what the photographs are of.

The cost is everything else: few places to eat, long drives for supplies, and accommodation that is scarce even by Skye standards.

Carbost, Sligachan and the west

Central and west Skye is where the Cuillin mountains are — the most serious hills in Britain — along with the Fairy Pools at Glen Brittle and the Talisker distillery at Carbost.

Sligachan, at the junction, is a crossroads with a hotel and a famous view of the ridge. Carbost is a village on Loch Harport.

Stay here if you are walking, or if the Fairy Pools and the Cuillin are your priority. It is further from the Trotternish sights and from Portree’s restaurants.

Broadford and Kyleakin

The south-east, beside the bridge from the mainland. Broadford is the island’s second town with a supermarket and fuel; Kyleakin sits at the bridge itself.

This is the practical end of Skye: closest to the mainland, easiest for a late arrival or an early departure, and generally cheaper than Portree.

The cost is distance. Broadford to the Quiraing is about an hour and a half each way, which on a two-night stay is most of a day spent driving.

The mainland fallback

Skye’s accommodation is limited and it sells out months ahead from June to September. If the island is full, two mainland options are close enough to work.

Kyle of Lochalsh sits at the mainland end of the bridge, about ten minutes from Skye and an hour and a quarter from Portree.

Plockton, fifteen minutes further, is a sheltered village of palm trees and painted houses on a sea loch, and it is prettier than anywhere on Skye’s east coast.

Both put you within reach of Eilean Donan Castle as well, which is on the road east.

What the accommodation is like

Skye has very few hotels and a great many bed and breakfasts, guesthouses and self-catering cottages, most of them small and family-run.

Three practical consequences. Breakfast is often included and is worth having before a day on the hills. Minimum stays of two or three nights are common in summer. And cancellation terms are tighter than in cities, because a single empty room matters more to a three-room guesthouse.

Wild camping is legal in Scotland under the right-to-roam provisions, with responsibilities attached, but Skye has had enough problems with roadside camping that designated sites are the better option.

How many nights

Two nights is the minimum that justifies the drive to get here, and it covers the Trotternish loop and one more thing.

Three nights is the right number: the Quiraing and the Storr on one day, the Fairy Pools and the Cuillin on another, and a third for Neist Point, Dunvegan or the Elgol boat trip.

A day trip from the mainland is possible and it means seeing one sight and a lot of road.

Practical notes

Fuel is expensive and stations are few. Fill up in Broadford or Portree.

Mobile signal is patchy. Download maps before you arrive.

Car parks at the main sights now charge and fill early, particularly at the Quiraing, the Storr and the Fairy Pools. Early morning solves both problems.

Midges are at their worst on still, damp evenings from June to August. Repellent is not optional in those months.

What there is to do on Skye

The island’s sights split into three clusters, and knowing which is where explains the accommodation advice.

North-east, on the Trotternish peninsula: the Old Man of Storr, a rock pinnacle above a loch with a steep forty-minute climb; Kilt Rock and its waterfall; and the Quiraing, a landslip of pinnacles and hidden plateaus with a path along the ridge.

West and central: the Fairy Pools at Glen Brittle, a chain of clear pools under the Cuillin; the Cuillin ridge itself, which is serious mountaineering rather than walking; and the Talisker distillery at Carbost.

North-west and south: Neist Point lighthouse on the western tip, Dunvegan Castle, and boat trips from Elgol into Loch Coruisk under the Cuillin.

Getting to Skye

Three ways on, and they are not equivalent.

The bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh is free, open all year and the way most people arrive.

The Mallaig to Armadale ferry crosses to the southern tip and is the better arrival if you are coming up the west coast, with a sailing time of about half an hour.

The Glenelg turntable ferry, a small seasonal crossing to Kylerhea, is a curiosity worth taking if you are not in a hurry.

From Inverness the drive is about two and a half hours; from Fort William about three; from Edinburgh around six.

Skye in the off season

From October to April the island empties, the light is low and often spectacular, and the car parks that are full in July are empty.

What closes is a good share of the restaurants and some accommodation, the boat trips stop, and the daylight shrinks to about seven hours in midwinter. The roads can be genuinely difficult in wind and ice.

If you come out of season, confirm directly that your accommodation is open and that somewhere nearby is serving food, because a village with two options can have none in February.

How the island’s roads work

Much of Skye is single track with passing places, including the Quiraing road and the approach to Glen Brittle.

The convention: pull into a passing place on your left to let oncoming traffic through, or stop opposite one on your right. Let faster vehicles overtake — locals are working, not sightseeing. Passing places are not viewpoints or car parks.

Allow about half the speed you would expect on a two-lane road, and considerably more time than the distance suggests.

Booking Skye, practically

Skye is the single hardest place in this part of Scotland to book, and the reasons are structural rather than seasonal.

The island has very few rooms for the number of people who want them, almost all of them in small properties, and the season is short. In practice that means availability from June to September disappears in the spring, minimum stays of two or three nights are normal, and prices are high for what you get.

Three ways to work around it: book the island first and build the rest of the trip around those dates; shift to May or late September; or accept the mainland at Kyle of Lochalsh or Plockton and drive in each day.

Skye with children, and without a car

With children, Portree is the practical base: somewhere to eat, a harbour to look at, and short drives rather than long ones. The Fairy Pools and the lower Storr path both work for older children; the Quiraing ridge does not.

Without a car, Skye is difficult. Buses run between Portree, Broadford and the bridge, and there are some local services up the Trotternish peninsula, but they are infrequent and they do not reach Glen Brittle.

If you are not driving, the realistic options are a guided day or two-day tour from Inverness or Fort William, or basing in Portree and taking a local tour from there.

Check Skye availability →

The short version

Portree for a first visit, Staffin for the Quiraing at sunrise, Carbost for the Cuillin and the Fairy Pools, Broadford or the mainland if you book late. Two nights minimum, three to do it properly, and book months ahead for the summer. Fill up in Broadford or Portree, download maps before you arrive, and carry midge repellent from June to August.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best place to stay on Skye?

Portree for a first visit: roughly central, the only real choice of restaurants on the island, and within an hour of both the northern and western sights. Staffin for sunrise at the Quiraing, Carbost for the Cuillin and the Fairy Pools.

How many nights do you need on Skye?

Two at minimum, three to do it properly. The island is about eighty kilometres long on slow roads and the main sights are at opposite ends, so a day trip means seeing one of them.

Is Portree a good base for Skye?

Yes, and it is the default for good reason. It has the island's restaurants, a supermarket and fuel, and it is about forty minutes from the Old Man of Storr and an hour from the Fairy Pools.

Can you stay on the mainland and visit Skye?

Yes. Kyle of Lochalsh is ten minutes from the bridge and Plockton fifteen minutes further, and both are realistic when Skye itself is full. Expect an hour and a quarter from Kyle to Portree.

When should I book accommodation on Skye?

Months ahead for June to September. The island has very few rooms, minimum stays of two or three nights are common in summer, and cancellation terms are tighter than in cities.

Do I need a car on Skye?

Effectively yes. Public transport exists but is sparse, the sights are far apart on single-track roads, and tours from Portree are limited. If you would rather not drive, a guided day tour from Inverness or Fort William is the realistic alternative.