A Scottish Highlands roadtrip had been on our bucket list since we moved to Europe back in early 2022. We dreamed of jaw-dropping coastal cliffs and rolling green hills filled with sheep as far as the eye could see, long nights in traditional Scottish pubs enjoying a few pints or a dram of whisky while listening to live folk music, and the beautifully mystical Harry Potter-esque vibes of Edinburgh. When we finally experienced it in real life, it lived up to every expectation we had. While driving on the "wrong side" of the road might seem intimidating, it's totally worth it to experience the remote and rugged beauty of the Highlands!
Top 4 Must-Do’s for a Scottish Highlands Roadtrip Itinerary
See the view from the cliffs at Neist Point in Skye
Hike up Old Man of Storr in Skye
Watch sunset at McCaig's Tower overlooking Oban harbor
Tour the Scotch Whisky Tasting Experience in Edinburgh
Duration: 7 nights
Typical Daily Cost for two people: $453 (excludes any required airfare to/from Scotland)
Best Time to Go: May through early October
We visited Scotland in late April/early May and totally lucked out with the weather. It was a mix of sun with only a few rainy days. Be sure to pack warm clothes, especially for Skye as is can get very cold at night.
Table of Contents
Scottish Highlands Roadtrip: Itinerary at a Glance
Day | Activities | Night |
Day 1 | Arrive at Edinburgh Airport in the morning. Explore Old Town and the Royal Mile, followed by a scotch tasting and dinner at a traditional Scottish restaurant. | Edinburgh |
Day 2 | Pick up rental car in the morning and drive to Isle of Skye (5 hour drive). Stop for lunch in Pitlochry. Quick stop in the afternoon at Eilean Donan Castle, then cross over the bridge to Isle of Skye. Spend the night in Portree. | Portree |
Day 3 | Spend the day exploring the north section of Skye, referred to as the Trotternish Loop. Highlights include Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock Waterfall, The Quiraing, Duntulm Castle, and The Fairy Glen. | Portree |
Day 4 | Spend the day exploring central Skye. Highlights include Sligachan Old Bridge, the Fairy Pools, lunch at the Oyster Shed, whisky tasting at Talisker Distillery, and sunset at Neist Point. | Portree |
Day 5 | Drive 3.5 hours to Oban, stopping in Fort William for lunch at The Geographer. Once in Oban, wander around the harbor, have dinner at Coast, and then climb up to McCaig's Tower for sunset. | Oban |
Day 6 | Take a boat tour around Oban harbor in the morning, go to the Seafood Shack for lunch, and then walk to Dunollie Castle in the afternoon. | Oban |
Day 7 | Drive 3 hours back to Edinburgh, stopping at Inveraray Castle, and having lunch in Glasgow along the way. Walk around Edinburgh in the afternoon, checking out anything you missed the first day, then explore Stockbridge in the evening. | Edinburgh |
Day 8 | Off to your next adventure! |
Just the Facts
Stay
We did our Scottish Highlands roadtrip with some of our family so we looked for 4-person accommodations, opting for Airbnbs when we could since it gave us more space. We totally lucked out with the Airbnbs we chose in Edinburgh and Portree - they were both incredible!
Edinburgh: We stayed in this adorable Airbnb. It was well located on a quiet street, walking distance to everything, and the home itself was in perfect condition.
Portree: This was the best Airbnb we have ever stayed at, in any country! The home itself was beautiful and the scenery was stunning. If you have the opportunity, stay here!
Oban: We stayed at The Scot which was fine, but really nothing special. The location was good, free parking onsite, and a nice common area next to reception, but the rooms were super basic (very small, no mini fridge, poor lighting).
Eat
We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and flavors of food in Scotland. There is a strong focus on fresh seafood which we absolutely loved! Even the heavier traditional Scottish dishes were full of flavor and variety. A few must try dishes on your trip are haggis, neeps & tatties, cullen skink soup, tattie scones, grilled scallops & langoustines, and sticky toffee pudding.
Edinburgh:
Mother India's Cafe: Amazing Indian food. Order the chaat, garlic cheese naan, and a few of their spicy curries.
Makers Mash Bar: Traditional Scottish restaurant, very popular so make a reservation a few weeks ahead.
Educated Flea: Elevated Scottish food with a farm to table concept.
Forage & Chatter: Similar to Educated Flea with elevated Scottish food with a farm to table concept.
The Palmerston: Bistro style restaurant, similar in style to the Educated Flea. Great pastries in the morning, but also very nice menu for both lunch or dinner. Seasonal dishes, lots of vegetarian options, good for sharing a few plates.
Portree:
Sea Breezes: Great seafood spot right on the pier. Order the seafood platter. Make a reservation a few weeks ahead.
Pizzaway: Casual takeaway pizza spot with high quality ingredients and picnic tables in the back.
Oban:
Coast: Amazing restaurant with seafood and meat dishes. Order the cullen skink soup, grilled langoustines, and sticky toffee pudding.
Seafood Hut: Outdoor lunch spot on the pier with very well priced fresh seafood.
The Oban Fish & Chip Shop: Our pick for the best fish & chip shop in Oban.
Other:
Chaakoo Bombay Cafe: Glasgow. The best Indian food we had in Scotland. Great lunch menu and very cool vibes inside.
The Geographer: Fort Williams. Nice place to stop for lunch with super flavorful dishes. Mix of Scottish food and international foods.
Drink
Edinburgh:
The Bailie Bar: Very laid back Scottish pub in Stockbridge with mainly locals. Stop by around 5pm for a pint & some pub food, chat with the bar staff, and watch a game of pool on one of the several TVs.
St.Vincent Bar: Lively Scottish pub in Stockbridge with incredible craft cocktails! Seriously, some of the best cocktails we've had in any country.
Kay's Bar: Cute neighborhood pub on a quiet street in Stockbridge
Bennetts Bar: Old school Scottish pub with large whisky selection and live music in the back bar.
Sandy Bell's: Lively pub with live folk music.
McGonagalls Gin & Whisky Emporium: Pub with good bar food, nice cocktails, and live music Thursday through Saturday nights starting around 9pm.
Jolly Judge: Cool hidden pub just off the Royal Mile with cozy vibes inside and outdoor seating.
Portree:
The Isles Inn: Typical Scottish pub with the best live music we heard the entire trip! There's a chalkboard in the back right corner with the live music schedule.
Oban:
The Oban Inn: Absolutely adorable Scottish pub with live music upstairs most nights.
Map
Driving in Scotland
We were very apprehensive about driving in Scotland since it was our first time driving on the left side of the road. It was definitely a bit scary the first few minutes, but honestly, it wasn't as bad as we expected! Scotland has done a great job of clearly marking where you should be on the road with arrows everywhere and in general, we never had any issues with traffic. The route we've outlined in this itinerary avoids all city driving and congestion.
The easiest driving was on Skye, specifically the single lane roads. Yes, that's right, the roads made for just 1 car were our favorite. This is because there are passing zones every few hundred meters so anytime there is an approaching car, one of you will be completely stopped for the other to pass.
We absolutely recommend getting the full insurance through the rental company with roadside assistance - we didn't end up needing it, but it made us feel much better knowing we were covered (especially since we were driving in some very remote areas).
Detailed Scottish Highlands Roadtrip Itinerary
Day 1 - Edinburgh
While not technically in the Highlands, Edinburgh is a great starting point for your adventure. Arrive at the Edinburgh Airport in the morning or early afternoon, and head into the city center using the tram - it's about a 30 minute ride to the city center. The tram is conveniently located just outside the main airport terminal, runs every few minutes, and you can buy tickets when you arrive (or you can purchase online here).
Once you settle into your Airbnb or hotel, head over to Mother India for some incredible Indian food. Scotland has some of the best Indian food we've ever tasted (and we've tried a lot of Indian food!).
After lunch, spend the afternoon exploring the main areas of Edinburgh following this route. (this may seem like a lot but it is totally doable to complete this entire route in one afternoon):
Start at Grassmarket Square and then walk up Victoria Street. This is one of the most picturesque streets in the whole city and filled with colorful buildings and cute pubs and cafes.
Take the tunnel at the top of Victoria Street up to the Royal Mile - you'll come out just in front of the Tolbooth Kirk Church.
Follow the Royal Mile left up to Edinburgh Castle. You can buy tickets to go inside the castle, your just snap a few photos from the outside (we opted for the latter).
Walk back down the Royal Mile and stop at The Scotch Whisky Experience for a tour and tasting. Even if you don't love whisky, we highly recommend you do this tour! It was so professionally done, very educational, and gives a great overview of many of the areas you'll be visiting throughout the trip. The tours run several times a day and you can either pre-book online here or just show up (if you're not visiting in high-season). Note: This will take you about 1.5 hours.
Continue down the Royal Mile to Cockburn Street, another very photogenic street filled with pubs and cafes.
Once you've reached the bottom of the hill, walk over to Princes Street Gardens to enjoy the flowers and green space.
For dinner tonight, we recommend you head over to Makers Mash Bar for some very traditional Scottish food. Be sure to make a reservation a few weeks ahead as this place is super popular.
Note: Dinner in Scotland is very early by European standards (between 5pm - 8pm) and many restaurants will completely close the kitchen by 8:30pm.
Day 2 - Drive to Skye: Pitlochry, Eilean Donan Castle, and Portree
Head back to the Edinburgh Airport in the morning to pick up your rental car. In total, the trip to Skye is 5 hours of driving, but we've added in several stops to breakup the day. We recommend starting the drive at 10:30am to get to your first stop, Pitlochry, right around lunchtime (it's about a 1.5 hour drive from Edinburgh). Pitlochry has several restaurants to choose from - we recommend Victoria's, Fern Cottage, or The Bridge Restaurant.
Continue your journey in the afternoon with a 2.5 hour drive to your next stop, Eilean Donan Castle. No need to pay for a ticket to go inside, you can get some great photos of the castle from the parking lot, or you can also drive a few minutes up the hill to a lookout point.
From Eilean Donan, it's just over an hour drive to reach Portree. You'll pass over the bridge into Skye and then continue on to Portree, arriving around 5pm. Portree is a small town, but it's actually the most populated town in the Isle of Skye - we are absolutely confident there are far more sheep on Skye than people!
Before dinner, walk by the Colour House Viewpoint, and then head to Dulse and Brose for dinner.
Day 3 - Trotternish Loop (Northern Skye)
Get ready to see some stunning scenery today as you make your way around the northern portion of Skye, referred to as the Trotternish Loop. Be sure to pack a picnic lunch for the day as there are tons of picnic locations with beautiful views and not many restaurants along the way (you can grab sandwiches in the morning at the Co-op right in town in Portree).
Your first stop today will be a hike up to Old Man of Storr. If you've read any of our itineraries before, you'll know we're not big hikers and will only hike if the payoff is incredibly worthwhile - this is one that is worth the effort! You'll have 2 options for hiking trails - the low route and the high route.
The low route is an easy hike that will give you good views of the surrounding area, but won't give you the epic Old Man of Storr view.
We opted for the high route - it was moderate in difficulty, with quite a steep ascent via stairs at the top to reach the viewpoint, but totally worth it! We recommend allotting 2 to 2.5 hours to complete this hike roundtrip.
Your next stop will be just up the road to Kilt Rock Waterfall. This is a quick stop and there's no walking required for this one as the falls are visible from just off the parking lot.
From there, drive up to the Quiraing to get some stunning views of the area. The road up to the Quiraing is a bit scary with some switchbacks, but just take it slow and use the passing areas for oncoming cars. This is technically supposed to be a hike, but you can see some beautiful views from just off the parking lot (no hike required!), so we recommend finding a spot and enjoying your picnic lunch here.
After lunch, continue on to the northern most point of the drive, Duntulm Castle. This is a ruin, it's free to enter, and there's parking just here on the side of the road. The entrance is a bit hidden - you'll pass through some gates and continue on along the fence until you reach the ruins.
The final stop of the day is The Fairy Glen. This was a very cool spot that was created by a landslide, and looks like you're in a mystical fairytale. It's an easy walk from the parking lot, and you'll likely spend about 45 minutes here.
After a long day of exploring, it's back to Portree for the night. We recommend making a reservation at Sea Breezes and ordering their seafood platter - this was our favorite meal in Portree! If you still have a bit on energy, head over to the local pub, The Isles Inn, for live music.
Day 4 - Central Skye
Continuing on your tour of the Isle of Skye, today you'll be exploring central Skye. Start the day off with a quick stop at the Sligachan Old Bridge. This bridge doesn't look like much from the parking lot, but it does make for some really beautiful photos. You'll only need about 5-10 minutes for this stop.
Next up, drive over to the Fairy Pools. This drive here was one of our favorites - the scenery is beautiful! Overall, the Fairy Pools were nice, but we preferred Fairy Glen to the Fairy Pools. It's still worth a stop to enjoy the surrounding mountains, but keep your expectations low for the pools themselves. You'll likely spend 1 to 1.5 hours here.
For lunch, drive over to the small town of Carbost and go to The Oyster Shed. This place is SO GOOD! We got tons of fresh seafood (oysters, lobster, scallops, and salmon) at a super reasonable price. We also loved the casual vibes with the long shared picnic tables and food truck.
After lunch, drive just down the road to Talisker Distillery - you can either book ahead for a full tasting and tour, or just show up and enjoy a whisky flight at their bar (we opted for the latter).
The final stop for the day, and our personal favorite stop of the entire trip, is the cliffs at Neist Point. This is an amazing sunset spot, but even late afternoon has great light hitting the cliffs for some stunning photos. We opted to walk down the cliffs to the lighthouse, but you'll get just as good of a view from the parking lot.
For our final night in Portree, we opted to keep it super casual and grab some takeaway pizza from Pizzaway and sit by the harbor. You can also stop by The Chippy for some fish & chips.
Day 5 - Drive to Oban
It's time to say goodbye to the beautiful Isle of Skye and hello to the adorable harbor town of Oban (don't worry though, there's still plenty of opportunities to find sheep close to Oban). Leave Portree around 10am and drive 2.5 hours to Fort William for lunch. Park your car in the West End Lot and head over to The Geographer - we loved the food and hospitality here!
Note: If you're absolutely dying to tell all your friends you saw Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, on your trip to Scotland, then today's your chance! Instead of going to Fort William for lunch, head over to Fort Augustus, just on the shores of Loch Ness. We personally didn't think this was anything special, but it is cool to say you've been to Loch Ness.
Continue with a 1-hour drive to Oban and spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around this adorable seaside town. If you're into whisky, you can stop by the Oban Distillery for a tour & tasting. Pro tip: if you show up later in the day and ask nicely, the staff in the gift shop will let you try a few whiskeys for free!
For dinner tonight, make a reservation at Coast - this may have been our favorite meal of the whole trip! We absolutely loved the grilled langoustines, cullen skink soup, and sticky toffee pudding.
After dinner (and if the weather is nice), walk up to McCaig's Tower for a beautiful view overlooking the harbor at sunset.
Day 6 - Oban Harbor
Today is much more of a relaxed day, and no car required! Start the day off at 11am with a nice little boat tour around the harbor. We booked a 1-hour trip with Allan's Boat Trips and it was perfect (and only £15!). You'll go around Kerrera Island and if you're lucky, you'll get to see some sunbathing seals.
After the boat trip, walk just down the pier to The Seafood Hut (the green shack) for some incredibly good fresh seafood - we ordered oysters, scallops, and mussels and loved them all.
In the afternoon, walk along the water to the other side of Oban and visit the Dunollie Castle (it's about a 30 minute walk). Spend an hour or two there and then head back into town.
For dinner tonight, we recommend keeping it casual and doing a fish & chip crawl. There are 3 fish & chip spots in Oban - try a few, try them all, totally up to you! We did the hard working of trying them all and our personal ranking from best to worst is:
After dinner, head over to The Oban Inn for some live music (you can also have dinner here if you don't want to do a fish & chip crawl).
Day 7 - Inveraray Castle, Glasgow, and Edinburgh
You're heading back to Edinburgh today, with plenty of stops along the way. In total, the driving time is just over 3 hours.
Leave Oban no later than 9am and drive 1-hour to Inveraray Castle. This was the most impressive and beautifully maintained castle we saw in all of Scotland. Unfortunately it was closed on the day we visited, but we were still to walk around the outside and see most of the gardens.
Continue your trip with a 1 hour 45 minute drive to Glasgow and head to Chaakoo Bombay Cafe for lunch - the Indian food here is amazing, the vibes are super cool, and the lunch menu is a great price! This is the only city driving you will be doing for the entire trip, and thankfully Glasgow is not a very congested city so we found the driving here quite easy.
The final leg of your driving is just under 1 hour back to the Edinburgh Airport. You should arrive late afternoon and then you can take the tram back into the city center.
For your final afternoon and evening, we recommend going over to Stockbridge. This is a very cool neighborhood with tons of local pubs, some cute streets, and just overall nice vibes.
Start at Kay's Bar for a pint before dinner
Head to Bailie Bar for some classic pub food for dinner
Finish off at St. Vincent Bar with amazing craft cocktails (walk through Circus Lane to get here from Bailie Bar)
Day 8 - Edinburgh Airport
That's it for your Scottish Highlands roadtrip! Take the tram from Edinburgh center to the airport, and head off on your next adventure!
If you happen to have some extra time on your final morning before your flight, here are a few options of things to do in Edinburgh:
Dean Village and the Water of Leith Walkway: Dean Vilage is a cute little area along a stream that's nice for photos. The Water of Leith Walkway runs alongside Dean Village and is a nice walking path that runs along the stream - it's 12km long, but you can just do a small portion of it.
Royal Botanic Garden: Large garden that's nice to spend a hour or two wandering around, entrance is free.
Calton Hill: Nice viewpoint that looks over all of Edinburgh Old Town and the Castle.
Changes from our Original Trip
The original roadtrip we took was 11 nights, starting in Glasgow and ending in Edinburgh. We felt we had a bit too much time in some places, so we shortened the new itinerary. Here are the changes we made:
Remove Glasgow: Glasgow is a great foodie city, but there's not much to see and do beyond that. It did have some of the best food of the trip though, so in the new itinerary, we recommend you just stop in Glasgow for lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, Chaakoo.
Fly in and out of Edinburgh: Since we removed Glasgow from the trip, we also simplified the itinerary to fly in and out of Edinburgh. This means you'll have 2 opportunities to explore this city - in the beginning and end of your trip.
Shorten Edinburgh by 1 day: We spent nearly 3 full days in Edinburgh on our original trip - this was way too long! Edinburgh is a small city and you can pretty much see it all in 1 day, so for the new itinerary, we gave a partial day at the beginning and a partial day at the end. If you prefer a slower pace, you can add an extra day in Edinburgh, but we don't recommend spending more than 2 full days there.
Shorten Oban by 1 day: We were visiting some friends in Oban so spent 3 nights in our original trip, but Oban is a small town, so 2 nights is plenty.
Cost Breakdown (2 people for 7 Nights)
A few notes on cost:
Flights to/from Scotland are not included in this cost breakdown.
Scotland is by no means a budget destination. This road trip was our most expensive to date in Europe.
We travelled in the shoulder season (late April/early May), so hotels were quite reasonably priced (for Scotland standards).
Rental Car (includes full insurance, gas, parking) | $700 |
Hotel - Edinburgh (2 nights) | $450 |
Hotel - Portree (3 nights) | $700 |
Hotel - Oban (2 nights) | $350 |
Lunch - $45 | $315 |
Dinner (2 entrees, 1 app, bottle of wine) - $90 | $630 |
Tram Tickets to Edinburgh Airport | $25 |
Scotch Tasting Experience Edinburgh | $94 |
Talisker Whisky Flight | $45 |
Oban Boat Trip | $40 |
Dunollie Castle | $25 |
Inveraray Castle | $40 |
Extra Drinks | $210 |
Total | $3,624 |
Per Person Per Day | $453 |
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