Isle of Skye 3-day tours give you two nights away and a full day of touring on the island, from Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness. Where you sleep, and whether the room is in the fare, is what sets them apart.
Two nights in a Portree guesthouse with breakfast, from the Royal Mile at 7:45am. Day two tours the Storr, Kilt Rock, Lealt Falls and Sligachan. Rooms are doubles or twins, booked for two or more, and you can cancel up to 24 hours ahead.
From $510 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The lowest 3-day fare, and here is why: you book the rooms, and both nights are in Inverness, so Skye is the middle day, driven there and back. Up to 37 on the coach, and three days' notice to cancel.
From $245 per person
Full refund only if you cancel at least 3 days before the start.
Two nights in Portree, in the tour's B&B or a room of your own within 2 km of the centre. Day two covers Kilt Rock, the Quiraing, Lealt Falls and Dunvegan, whose ticket is extra. Six days' notice to cancel.
From $282 per person
Full refund only if you cancel at least 6 days before the start.
Collecting in Glasgow on Killermont Street in the middle of the morning. Two nights in Portree, the room sold as an option, Dunvegan and the Quiraing on day two, and a train from Edinburgh back to Glasgow at the end. Nineteen at most.
From $282 per person
Full refund only if you cancel at least 6 days before the start.
You book your own rooms in Kyleakin, Breakish or Broadford, which keeps the fare low. Sixteen people at most, two hours on the Fairy Pools path on day two, and an hour at Eilean Donan on the way home.
From $312 per person
Full refund only if you cancel at least 6 days before the start.
Both nights are in Inverness, with the rooms and breakfast in the fare, so Skye is a day out from there on day two: Kilt Rock, the Storr, Portree and Sligachan. Single rooms are sold. Six days' notice to cancel.
From $545 per person
Full refund only if you cancel at least 6 days before the start.
Sixteen people at most, from the Edinburgh bus station at 8:30am. Two nights of B&B in Portree and a flexible full day on the island. A single room is sold, and a refund needs 21 days' notice.
From $713 per person
Full refund only if you cancel at least 21 days before the start.
Two nights in Portree with the Jacobite steam train from Fort William to Mallaig in the fare on day one. Day two adds Dunvegan Castle, entry extra. Eilean Donan is a photo stop on the way home, and rooms are doubles or twins.
From $735 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A guided walk to the Glenfinnan Viaduct on day one, then an island day through Dunvegan, the Storr, Kilt Rock, Lealt Falls and Duntulm Castle. Rooms are a fare option, breakfast is daily, and sixteen is the limit.
From $749 per person
Full refund only if you cancel at least 6 days before the start.
The 3-day from Inverness: Urquhart Castle and the steam train to Mallaig on day one, then a full island day with the Fairy Pools, Dunvegan and the Quiraing. An hour and a half at Eilean Donan on the way back.
From $761 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A private minivan that collects your party in Edinburgh or Glasgow, over to Skye by ferry when the weather allows. Sligachan, the Fairy Pools, Talisker, the Quiraing and the Fairy Glen on day two. You book the rooms.
From $1,737 per person
Full refund only if you cancel at least 6 days before the start.
The most-reviewed 3-day tour that refunds at 24 hours, for $510 with the rooms and breakfasts. It leaves 60 High Street at 7:45am.
See this tourA 3-day tour gives you two nights away and one full day of touring on Skye. Most leave Edinburgh in the morning, cross the Highlands through Glencoe and Fort William, and reach the island in the evening of day one. Day two is the island. Day three is the drive home by Loch Ness or Fort Augustus.
What differs is where you sleep. On most tours both nights are in Portree, the island's main town, so you have two evenings on Skye as well as the touring day. The Hairy Coo and Highland Experience tours sleep you in Inverness and drive to the island for the middle day. Discover Scotland leaves you to book rooms near the Skye Bridge.
The rooms also decide the fare. Some tours put a B&B or hotel room with breakfast in the price; others sell the room as an option, or leave it to you.
A day tour from Inverness gives Skye a few hours. A 3-day tour gives it a full touring day, with time for the Storr, Kilt Rock and the Quiraing, and on some the Fairy Pools or Dunvegan Castle.
On most 3-day tours you sleep in Portree both nights. You see the harbour after the day visitors leave, and you choose where to eat.
No day tour leaves either city. If you are based in the south, three days is the least time you can give the island on a tour.
The Highland Explorer steam-train tours put the Jacobite from Fort William to Mallaig in the fare. You ride across the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and the coach meets you at the other end.
The two compared, from the operators' own figures. Shared fares only.
| A 3-day tour | A day tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Time on Skye | A full touring day, and two evenings on most | 1 h 20 to 4 h from Inverness; eight hours from Portree |
| Fare, per person | $245 to $761 | $94 to $162 from Inverness |
| Starts in | Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness | Inverness or Portree |
| Rooms | In the fare on most; an option or yours on some | None |
| Refund window | 24 hours to 21 days | 24 hours |
| Steam train | In the fare on the Highland Explorer steam-train tours | No |
If you are staying in Inverness and can only spare a day, the Isle of Skye day tours are the better buy. For a night on the island without three days, the 2-day tour from Inverness sits between the two.
The Discover Scotland 3-day costs $312: sixteen people at most, two hours at the Fairy Pools and an hour at Eilean Donan, with rooms you book near the bridge.
Check availabilityHow each tour spends its three days, and where the nights fall, is in our guide to three days on the island, day by day.
Still weighing three days against one? Compare every tour side by side on Isle of Skye Day Tours.