Travel to the Isle of Skye on our day tour from Drumnadrochit!
by more than 2400 happy customers
#1 for tours from Inverness and Invergordon
The Ultimate Isle of Skye Tour departs from Inverness at 8.15am and will pick you up in the car park in the centre of Drumnadrochit at 8.45am. From here the tour itinerary is exactly as detailed on our Ultimate Isle of Skye Tour page (the only stop you miss is number 2, the Highland cows, which we briefly stop to see before we pick you up) . At the end of the day we will drop you off back in Drumnadrochit at approximately 7.45pm, before the tour ends in Inverness at 8.15pm.
There are so many wonderful sights on the Isle of Skye and we have carefully crafted our itinerary to enable you to see as much as possible in one day, without feeling rushed. Even if you have your own transport we would highly recommend leaving the driving to our highly experienced driver guide; we are adept at safely manoeuvring the single track roads and tourist traffic, letting you concentrate on enjoying the world-class scenery on Skye.
CloseThere are a number of companies in Inverness offering tours to Skye, and we appreciate that it can be difficult to decide which company to use. We wanted to summarise the main benefits of coming on our tour, so that you can make the best choice for your group. So..here goes…
We very much hope that you will choose to come with us to Skye, and are looking forward to meeting you, and showing you the best the island has to offer, very soon!
We sell our tours through a number of online agents. However, we would strongly encourage you to book directly on our own website, for the following reasons;
We very much look forward to showing you the Highlands!
This tour picks up from the Loch Ness Hub carpark in Drumnadrochit at 8.45am. Please ensure that you are at the pick-up location a few minutes prior to pick up time, as we are unable to wait for any latecomers. The tour will return to Drumnadrochit at approximately 7.45pm. It is possible that we may return a bit later than this, although we always try to keep to our schedule as much as possible.
The pick-up point is from Loch Ness Hub carpark (next to the public toilets).
Firstly, it is worth mentioning that all seats offer great views and plenty of legroom. However, many guests have seating preferences so, in response to this, we give you the opportunity, on our Ultimate Isle of Skye Tour and our Invergordon shore tours, to book the following chargeable upgrades;
The price of the upgrades vary depending on the option and tour selected, with prices between £5 and £20 per person (note that any fees paid for seat upgrades are non-refundable if you cancel your tour). If they are available, upgrades will be given as an option when booking. Please note that it does not make any difference which side of the coach you sit on, so we don’t take requests for specific sides.
The rest of our seating will be allocated by your driver guide and we will do our best to seat all groups/couples together. If you are unhappy with your seat please let your tour guide know and he will do his best to accommodate your requests, although obviously many guests would prefer a window seat so it is not possible for everyone to have these!
The opportunity to purchase seat upgrades is a definite advantage of booking with us directly, through our own website. These upgrades are not available if our tour is booked through online agents.
Please note that seat upgrades are not currently available on our Skye Hiking Tour. The reason for this is because we have less time on the coach and use a smaller 16-seater vehicle for this tour. Consequently, seat position is not as crucial, and we seat guests according to group composition (we have 4 single window seats, 4 double window seats and four seats together at the back).
For our Ultimate Isle of Skye Tour we generally use one of our two 33-seater mini-coaches, both of which were built to our precise specifications, to ensure the highest levels of passenger comfort. They are very well-appointed with panoramic windows, comfortable reclining seats and USB ports under every seat. You can rest assured that you will be able to relax and enjoy the majestic scenery in complete comfort. You can read more about our coaches here.
On occasion we may use our smaller, 16-seater executive mini-coach. It offers all of the same features as described above, but also boasts a panoramic glass roof, for that extra special view!
When joining the tour in Drumnadrochit there are four main stops where toilets/bathrooms can be accessed, as follows
Outside of these times it may be possible to make unscheduled bathroom stops – please just ask your driver guide to see what they can do for you, as the last thing we ever want is for our passengers is to be uncomfortable.
There are also public toilets at the meeting point in Drumnadrochit (at The Loch Ness Hub)
We are delighted to be working with our friends at The Isle of Skye Baking Company in Portree to offer a delicious packed lunch option. At the start of the tour you will be given access to a menu with QR code. By scanning this QR code or visiting the website you can order and pay for a lunch, which your driver guide will collect in Portree, and deliver to you upon your return to the mini-coach there.
We offer this service to enable you to save time, and focus on seeing the sights of Portree. If you do not wish to take this option you are welcome to bring your own food with you, or pick something up during our 40 minutes in Portree. Please note that there is definitely not time for a sit-down lunch in Portree.
The Isle of Skye Baking Co. offers a variety of quiches (e.g. bacon & leek or panfried mushroom & roast aubergine), filled breads, scones (e.g. cheese or treacle), cakes (e.g. sticky toffee pudding cake, courgette & walnut cake) shortbread (various specialty flavours include lime & coconut and lemon & poppy) and oatcakes plus a limited selection of soft drinks. They are all made on the premises and their exclusive WOW menu changes on a daily basis. They also offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Prices vary, from around £4 for a filled bread, to £8.50 for a filled bread and sweet selection. They also sell some lovely edible souvenirs, which you can add to your order!
We are delighted to support this wonderful local business who, like ourselves, pride themselves in providing excellent products and service to their customers.
On this tour you spend approximately 1 1/4 hours at the Fairy Pools; the location is windy and exposed, with absolutely no shelter from the elements, so it is imperative that you are appropriately dressed for this. We really cannot stress this enough – if you are soaking wet you will struggle to enjoy the rest of the day. As we say in Scotland, “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”!
We would strongly recommend wearing hiking boots with ankle support (as a minimum you will need sturdy comfortable trainers/sneakers) as the path is often muddy and slippery. We would also strongly recommend bringing a waterproof jacket, and ideally waterproof trousers/pants too (note that umbrellas are not appropriate on Skye – they just blow inside out and are rendered useless very quickly). In addition to these essentials we would suggest wearing layers, including a thick sweater/fleece option, and bringing a hat and gloves and warm jacket in your bag.
Even if the sun is shining brightly when you leave Drumnadrochit, they do say that you only really experience Scotland when you see four seasons in one day, so please be prepared!
The stop where we spend most time on this tour is at the Fairy Pools. The walk from the coach park to the pools is uphill on a rough path. To get to the first pool will take a fit person around 15 – 20 minutes and the distance is 0.7 miles. To then walk on to the last of the pools is a further 0.3 miles and will take around 10 minutes (this is entirely optional as you can enjoy the beauty of the pools from the first vantage point). In total a fit person will walk the 1.5 miles there and back in around 40 minutes, and will have around 35-50 minutes to enjoy at the pools themselves.
You can choose to go for a walk in Portree but there is no requirement to do any walk other than at the Fairy Pools (even at the pools your guide can take you to an alternative natural sight nearby, but please note that there are no other activities, shops or things to see at the Fairy Pools).
In the summer of 2023 bridges were built at the Fairy Pools, in order to enable access to the pools, whatever the weather. (Previously, stepping stones had to be used to cross the streams and, if the stones were submerged, it was not possible to cross). The being said, if it is very rainy and windy the Fairy Pools is really not a pleasant experience, as you cannot see the views, the water will not be the brilliant blue the pools are famous for and, most importantly, there is no shelter, so you are likely to get completely soaked. This makes for a really unpleasant experience, if you have to spend the next six hours feeling damp! Consequently, if the weather is bad we may decide that it would be advantageous to visit another sight instead. We really only do this if we have to, as we know many people book this tour primarily to visit this top sight.
On this tour in general we will do our best to tailor our itinerary to the weather conditions. Whilst it is not always possible to avoid the rain, we can adjust our timings to try and ensure that we visit the most exposed sights at the least rainy times.
First and foremost; we would not encourage you to swim in the pools. However, if you are considering it please bear the following in mind;
We cannot stress enough how cold the water is – it might look enticing but, even in the height of summer, it is estimated to be around 4-6oC (42oF) which is colder than the (notoriously chilly) North Sea!!
Open water swimming is inherently dangerous and should only be attempted by very confident swimmers
There is nowhere to change, which is fine if you put your swimming stuff on under your clothes, but perhaps not as fine when you come out desperate to get some warm clothes on, but everyone is looking and pointing at the crazy person who has just been swimming!
If you do decide that you still wish to swim in the pools, you should bring a towel and swimming costume.
Swimming in the pools is done entirely at your own risk.
In a word, no. We do not visit Talisker Distillery on any of our tours, as it often gets exceptionally busy there and, as such, we are unable to guarantee the quality of the experience offered.
We do have limited availability for private tours (primarily in shoulder months such as April and October). These are most suited to groups of 8+, as the smallest vehicle we have is an executive 16-seater mini-coach. Please contact us about availability and pricing.
Unfortunately not all of the stops offer wheelchair access, as a lot of the terrain on Skye is very rugged. Also, the coach is not equipped for passengers to remain in their wheelchairs. That being said, if you are able to get out of your wheelchair at the coach steps and walk onto the coach, there is no reason why you could not enjoy the whole tour from the comfort of the coach and we will make every effort to accommodate those with mobility problems.
We welcome children over the age of six on our tour.
It should be noted that approximately 60-70% of the day is spent on the coach, so it may be an idea to bring some toys, games and snacks with you.
Unfortunately, due to the duration of the tour and time on the coach, we do not feel that this tour is appropriate for children under the age of six, so the tour is not open to this age group. This is for the comfort of other passengers and also to ensure that the driver guide can focus on doing their jobs without any distractions.
UK law states that each passenger must have their own seat and use their seatbelt at all times. Consequently, it is not possible to take a child on your lap. From experience we know that, very occasionally, parents try to bring children on without purchasing a seat. However, we would like to make it clear that this is not allowed and there will be no refund if you are refused entry to the tour for taking children under 6 or those whom you haven’t booked.
Yes! If you would like to spend a few days in Skye we are happy to drop you off there, so that you can continue your trip independently. In order to see as much as possible of Skye on the tour we’d recommend dropping you off in Sligachan, Broadford or Kyleakin at the end of the day. However, if you would like to be dropped off somewhere else please contact us and we’ll do our best to accommodate your request (although please note that we cannot drop you off in Portree, as we do not return there at the end of the day).
If you are dropped off in Skye you will most likely miss the photo stops at Eilean Donan Castle and Urquhart Castle/Loch Ness.
You are also welcome to start the tour in Drumnadrochit, then finish in Inverness. Please just book the tour from Drumnadrochit, then note in the “special requests” section that you will finish in Inverness (main drop off is the Inverness Bus Station at 8.15pm).
Founder & Tour Guide
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Gordon founded WOW Scotland in 2010 and hasn’t looked back since. He is passionate about showcasing his homeland, and is continually striving to create the best possible experiences for every guest.
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Prior to being a tour guide, Rob ran successful food and tourism businesses in Edinburgh and Perthshire. He has now been in the Highlands for 16 years, where he loves to indulge in his joint passions of golf and hiking.
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With over 10 years of experience as a tour director and guide, Andrew prefers to consider himself as a storyteller, amateur historian and, above all, an ambassador for Scotland
