Skye, also known as The Isle of Skye is a wide island off the west coast of Scotland. Connected to the main-and of the United Kingdom by a single bridge, Skye is known for its rugged terrain, wild weather, and gorgeous vistas. In our recent trip to Skye, we spent the whole time there in a campervan. Let me tell you - it’s the only way to see it.

why do it in a campervan?

As you hopefully know already, Skye is a land of unparalleled beauty. Dominated by rugged mountain ranges, deserted beach-scapes and rolling green hills, the place seems carved by the hands of a truly beneficent God, albeit one that had drunk a little too much whisky at the time of creation. Nearly all 5000 residents of Skye reside in the towns of Portree or Broadford, or in a few scattered villages. Despite this, the sites of interest to a backpacker on Skye from the Old Mann of Tor, Dunvegan Castle, Kilt Rock, and Neist Point Lighthouse are all geographically disparate, and several hours drive from both towns. To make matters worse, Portree is the only place on Skye that has a decent hostel - the rest is only serviced by expensive Bed and Breakfast style accomodation. Skye is only connected by a thin network of roads and highways, and isn’t well serviced by a train or bus network. While buses do run around the Isle of Skye, they are irregular, and only visit the main towns of Portree and Broadhead, and visit the smaller villages less frequently. Therefore, without a Campervan, you’d either be waiting to catch the local bus to each attraction, then waiting for it to return to head back to Portree, or hiring a car - which is hugely expensive. I’m going to advise that you go for the latter.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FIRST

Before setting out on your campervan tour of Skye, you need to be aware of a few things first. Namely, around whether you plan on wild camping or staying on official campsites. Wild camping is perfectly legal in Skye, and there are abundant places around the Isle that have plenty of space for campervans. Just make sure that you have an onboard toilet, a fully charged leisure batter and plenty of water in the tank before settling down for the night. I’d also recommend that you use the website https://park4night.com/ - this has an excellent list of free parking options. However, if you do need to be hooked up to power to survive in a campervan, then you’ll need to stay at official campsites. Skye has about 8 official Campgrounds, all of which have toilets, powered sites, running water, and staff during the tourist season. However - be warned - these sites all shut down after the summer months and aren’t available in Autumn or Winter - a fact that we only found out as we were driving there. So, if you require an official campground each night for your campervan, don’t visit Skye in Winter.

Secondly, Skye is prone to wild weather. I say that without any hyperbole at all. The weather here is wild, often unpredictable, and highly capricious. In our week we experienced pelting rain, sunny days, typhoon level winds and finally some snow - and this was in Autumn. Most nights the temperature hovered at above 2-3 degrees celcius, but it was very, very cold. The sun tended to set at around 4:30 pm, leaving us with little daylight to use. Therefore, if you don’t like the feeling of your campervan being shook to and fro, avoid Skye, especially in the winter.

Thirdly, the price of things is pretty high in Skye. The price of beer, a pub meal and items at the supermarket seemed to be slightly higher than the rest of the Scottish Highlands. We’d certainly expected this, but it’s worth knowing before you go; awkward experiences at the supermarket be damned.

HOW TO PREPARE

As in any campervan trip, visiting Skye in a campervan requires some degree of preparation - especially of you plan on wild camping. I would suggest that you bring the following/prepare the following before visiting.

• Have a full tank of petrol and a full gas cylinder. Both are tricky to find on the Isle, especially in the off season.

• Plan out your route fully. If you plan on wild camping, know where you’re going to wild camp each night. If you’re staying at campsites, book your place weeks in advance. In summer, consider booking this months in advance.

• Bring all the basics with you. This means having enough to cook with, having spare SD cards for the camera, and spare charging cables for your phones. i’d also recommend having fully charged portable batteries. not that Skye is underdeveloped - but their shops and supermarkets lack the essentials.

• Bring wine: the supermarkets carry a horrible selection for an extremely high price.

• Bring wet weather gear and have a method for drying clothes in the car. If you plan on going outside the campervan at all, it’s highly likely that your clothes will get wet at some stage. Possibly very wet. Bring plenty of spares and a line to use in the van to hang them out on.

OUR EXPERIENCE

We spent a total of 4 nights in a campervan around the Isle of Skye. In that time we wild camped at Kyleakin (my families old castle just around the bay), climbed a mountain, heard the wailing at Kilt Rock and drank some very tasty whisky. All in all we circumnavigated the island, beginning at Kyleakin, before cruising through Portree to ascend the Old Man of Storr just up the road. We wild camped close to kilt Rock before driving inland the next day to climb through the Quiraing Mountains. After this we visited the oh-so instagrammable (read: photogenic) Neist Point Lighthouse before returning back south via the Tallisker Distillery.

In our time on Skye we only ever travelled in our van, and slept each night in it. We cooked most of our meals in the van, and only went out for the odd pub feed and a few beers here and there. Doing so, we saved a huge amount of money, and were able to camp in some of the more amazing locations that we’d come upon in our trip so far. Waking up to the sound of waves crashing on the coast below us was a clear standout - so too the feeling of the van being violently rocked by gale-force winds in the night. However, the greatest standout was the freedom having a campervan afforded us - it was fantastic not having to base ourselves out of Portree and return there every night - doing so would have been a pain, and included a considerable amount of backtracking. In our time on Slye we were able to do off the beaten track activities like visiting Wild Otters in Kylerhea, or eating Oysters at the Tallisker Distillery. Now, three weeks after our campervan trip there, I can’t imagine having done it any other way.

SAMPLE CAMPERVAN ITINERARY FOR SKYE

Night 1: Arrival and Portree

Spend your first day on Skye getting onto the island via the bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland to Kyleakin on Skye. After arriving in Kyleakin, make a quick detour through the village to see the crumbling fort over the harbour - this belonged to the Mackinnon clan (my family), and despite not being overly impressive, would greatly impress me if you went to see it. Afterwards, take the road north from Kyleakin through Broadford. Don’t stop here - the town is as boring as watching paint dry. Keep heading north for another hour until you reach Portree. Find a park just outside of town and take a wander through. Several of the pubs in town, including the Pier Hotel, are well worth visiting. However, you won’t be able to camp here - so keep driving north until you reach a wild camping location.

Night 2: Old Mann of Storr and Kilt Rock

Spend your second day ascending the Old Man of Storr. This walk takes about 2 hours, and will reward your exertions with a fantastic view of the strait between Skye and the mainland, not to mention sweeping views of the valley below. After descending, keep driving up the main highway north until you come to Kilt Rock. There is an easy carpark to park up in here, and you can spend the night, especially in the off season. Take your time in wandering around the cliffside above Kilt Rock - listen carefully to the mournful sounds of the wind against the rock - it’s genuinely incredible, and will certainly set you up for some strange dreams.

Night 3: Mount Quiraing to Dunvegan Castle

Third day on the island and it’s an absolute doozy. You can’t come to Skye without completing the circuit around mount Quiraing. Drive west from kilt Rock on the thin mountain highway that cuts the island in half until you come to the Quiraing circuit carpark. The circuit took us about 3 hours, and despite the mud, wind and often-times rain, the circuit was breath taking, and was easily my favourite part of visiting Skye. After completing the circuit, keep on driving west until you come to Dunvegan. Dunvegan castle is legendary for a reason, and inc;udes an excellent pub below it’s main floor. After visiting, park up for the night.

Night 4: Niest Point to Tallisker to Kyleakin

Your final full day on the island is going to be easier on your body than the first two. Start off by visiting Neist Point Lighthouse, which is the westernmost point of the Isle. After taking the trip down and back from the lighthouse, start heading back east on the same road that brought you there, take this west back towards Kyleakin, after stopping off at the Tallisker Distillery for some whisky tasting, and some excellent oysters at the Oyster Shack directly next door - a truly sublime experience. After these gustatory treats, keep heading west until you reach Kyleakin in the next hour. Head on down to my favourite pub on Skye, the unpretentious King Haakon Bar for a victory pint to celebrate your round trip.

Wanna read more about the Isle of Skye? Get our must see attractions here!