1 Day Tour from Inverness - Isle of Skye, Fairy Pools, and Eilean Donan Castle
Recommended by 90% of travelers
Inverness, Scotland
- 12 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Head for Scotland's Isle of Skye and skip the hassle of driving or booking transportation on this jam-packed, full-day guided tour from Inverness. Traveling by minibus, you also visit such famed sites as Loch Ness and Eilean Donan Castle on the journey to the island, where you swim in the Fairy Pools and spend some time exploring Skye's highlights.
- Skip the hassle of driving on this guided minibus tour
- Learn about local history and culture from your guide
- See Skye's top attractions including the Fairy Pools
- Stop at the Talisker Distillery and enjoy a dram of whisky
What's Included
- Driver/guide
- Live commentary on board
- International guide
- Meals and drinks
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Your tour does not include accommodation in the price
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 87 Ardross St, Inverness IV3 5NS, UK
Bus Stop, next to St. Andrews Cathedral, Ardross St (corner of Kenneth St), Inverness, IV3 5NS
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.8:30 am
Itinerary
1
Loch Ness
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Black Cuillin (Pass By)
2
Fairy Pools
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Talisker Distillery
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Portree Harbour
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
5
Eilean Donan Castle
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Minimum age is 6 years
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- The duration of the journey is approximate, the exact duration will depend on traffic and weather conditions
- Near public transportation
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Not recommended for travellers with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 29 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 165 reviews
Robin_M, Apr 2026
The driver got sick and cancelled right before the trip was suppose to start.
Also, we had sent two messages and hadn’t gotten any responses prior to the cancellation
Michelle_H, Apr 2026
Our tour was canceled and the email notification was sent to my spam. So we showed up and no tour. We found an entirely different company loading up at the same time location and they let us buy last minute tickets in their tour.
Virag_S, Oct 2025
Superb trip..nice driver Mr Richard. He was very nice and knowledgeable of the history of inverness and scotland.
James_S, Oct 2025
Beautiful tour of Loch Ness area, the fairy pools and castle. Our guide was knowledgeable and very friendly. He deviated a little from the itinerary due to the tour being on Sunday. Our lunch stop was at a small restaurant which our guide pre booked for us. Great choice. He also added a late stop a a small cafe on our way back from the tour. This was done so we didn't have such a long drive without a break. Very thoughtful and appreciated.
kadibrewer, Oct 2025
It is a long drive from Inverness but our tour guide, Richard was absolutely amazing!! Lots of fun facts along the way, broke up the driving with fun stops. The fairy pools are one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and the views the entire drive are breathtaking. Would 1000 percent recommend this tour!
Addi_G, Oct 2025
Richard gave us the best tour!! he was so sweet and just made it so perfect! we got to see everything!!
Katherina_W, Oct 2025
I booked and paid for this tour, but the tour company canceled it due to lack of interest on the day we booked. Now, a month has passed, and I'm still waiting for my refund.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thanks for the review.
You booked through a 3rd party, description clearly states on their website and ours, if minimum numbers are not met there is a possibility of cancellation, which you agreed to prior to payment in their t&c's. You are barking up the wrong tree.
Nae fraud.
Get your facts right ;)
Charlotte_S, Sep 2025
Perfect tour!!! 10/10
Rained and stormed the whole trip but the guide was more than up to the task of entertaining. The scenery was stunning and the group was small. Very much worth the money.
Mandy_M, Sep 2025
Richard was an excellent driver and tour guide. We got very interesting commentary on our trip and he was a delight on the whole journey. Highly recommend.
Niccolo_L, Aug 2025
The trip was carried out in a comfortable 9-seat van, covering several beautiful spots in the Highlands. Peter, our guide, was highly knowledgeable about every place we visited and added a touch of good Scottish humour throughout the journey. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and well-organized tour
Kristen_S, Aug 2025
Lovely full day adventure to Skye. Very nice bus ride with commentary the whole way. Sheep, cows, hikes, castle tour. Got a full day of the highlands!!
Tuddy, Aug 2025
The guide Rob was awesome bus was playing up on leaving. Bus broke down had to get back by city bus. Rob couldn't get hold of tour company 5 of us stranded in a place we didn't know. Had to wait for city bus to get us back to Inverness. Cost us over 33.00 pounds each. Should have been back at 7pm by the tour bus. Didn't get back till 930pm. Not very happy
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
Our buses are highly maintained, all buses are serviced every 6 weeks, but there are certainthings that can't be checked until they break unfortunately. It is not only us, we have picked passengers up of two of the biggest companies that do Inverness-Skye on 4 separate occasions this season.
Regarding your safety: there is nowhere safer in the world than Skye, Rob put you on the bus back to Inverness as he could not find another company with 5 seats that could help.
This tour returns at 20:30 we can only apologies for you being 1 hour late and having to get the service bus back to Inverness.
varsha_N, Jul 2025
Fantastic service by Rab, his energy , enthusiasm and knowledge made the trip very memorable . Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thanks for the wonderful review.
Rab is our senior guide and really enjoys his job.
Safe travels.
Alessandro_S, Mar 2020
A great experience that allowed me, despite my time limitations, to visit Skye and learn a lot about Scotland's story and culture. Gordon has been a wonderful guide: charismatic, knowledgeable, funny and flexible. If you only have one day to see Skye, I would recommend to give it a try.
Response from Host, Mar 2020
Hi traveller,
thanks for your review.
We are happy to hear that you enjoyed the Inverness to Skye Tour in company of our Gorrrrrrdon : )
Take care, and see you in occasion of your next trip to oor bonnie Scotland :D
jeshukis, Sep 2019
This was a great day trip! I feel like we got to see a ton of stuff without the hassle of renting a car or overnight accommodation. Loved stopping to feed the highland coos along the way. Our guide was knowledgable and entertaining..
Response from Host, Sep 2019
Hello traveller,
what a wonderful review you have left for our future fellow travellers. Many thanks for that.
We also operate tours from Edinburgh, so when you come back to Scotland, do not hesitate to get in touch : )
Kelly_R, Aug 2019
The whole tour was great! Rob our driver was very informative and I really enjoyed learning about the ways of Scotland from him. I was a bit confused at the Fairy pools...not sure if we saw them or not haha! We hiked as far as we could with the time given, it didnt look like the pictures, but regardless the views were amazing and well worth the trip!!! Thanks for the great time everyone! highly recommend
Response from Host, Sep 2019
Hi traveller,
many thanks for taking some time to leave your review.
We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your tour of the Isle of Skye in company of our knowledgeable tour guide Rob.
The Fairy Pools don't look like in picture, you are right, they are waaaay better! : )
skyblubug, Aug 2019
What a great day! I had a short window of time to get out of Edinburgh and explore the highlands while on vacation and chose this trip to see the Fairy Pools with little expectation of seeing anything else due to the distance/travel time needed.
This trip gave me a cliff's notes version of Scotland highlights and left me wanting to return for more! Gordon, the guide, and Andrew, the bus driver, filled the day with many memorable experiences. We had a chance to see and explore Portree, Eilean Donan Castle, Urquhart Castle, hand fed and pet highland cows, frolic in the fairy pools and learn the history of the lands and clans to fill the time on the bus, as well as visit a distillery for a whiskey tasting! This tour made my vacation experience memorable and enchanting. Travelling alone for this tour, I was relieved Gordon was so attentive to group dynamics making sure everyone on the tour was safe at all times. 10/10. Would do this again!!! Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Aug 2019
Hi traveller,
we are so chuffed to hear that you enjoyed the day with us ^_^
If and when you come back to Scotland, get in touch again for one of our amazing tours from Edinburgh : )
DIPESH_P, Aug 2019
Worth going to enjoy climate, mountain & greenery but the main headache is its too far & get tired traveling by bus.
Response from Host, Aug 2019
Hi Dipesh,
many thanks for taking some time to leave your review.
I must disagree on that: Skye and the Highlands never fail to amaze. We work there and yet are never tired to see the gorgeous landscapes and dramatic skies everyday.
The Inverness to Skye is a scheduled group tour that covers about 240 miles in 12 hours. This is the perfect tour for those travellers who want a quick taster of the bonnie Isle of Skye.
It goes without saying that it would be ideal spending more time on the island - this is why we organise a 2-day tour of the Isle of Skye from Inverness on a private basis. If you ever come back to Scotland, do not hesitate to get in touch to reserve that tour - I am 100% sure you will enjoy it thoroughly!
Mark R, Jul 2019
our guide was incredible and the tour was on time and paced just right. saw a lot in one day. could have skipped the whisky distillery but overall was a great tour.
Nadine_B, Oct 2018
Absolutely splendid. Even if weather was not on our side, this day was terrific. We already had the chance to visit Highlands but this new visit, at Skye, was amazing. Fairy Pool is magic ! Land was giant ! And our guide was TOP !Many thanks for this fabulous day.Absolument splendide ! Même si la météo n'était pas de notre côté, cette journée était incroyable. Nous avions déjà eu la chance de parcourir les Highlands mais cette nouvelle viste, à Skye, était "amazing". Fairy Pool MAGIQUE. La lande géante. Et notre guide au TOP !Merci pour cette fabuleuse journée.
Elena_M, Aug 2018
We bought this tour because it was the only one that included together fairy pools, the old man of storr, kilt rock, etc ...Loads of expectations, we left at 8.30 in the morning from Inverness. We were thinking of reaching Skye’s island in the morning as it was on the tour itinerary but our driver did everything to waste time: stops in the bars every 5 minutes, visits to unknown places or places of little interest, etc. ..We arrived at 1PM on the island and went to the fairy pools. It was raining and very cold, so many people in the group decided not to cross the river to reach the pools. Only 3 person want to go. So The driver accompanied the people to the pools leaving all the others - now soaked in the rain - on the bus for two hours without even being able to go to the bathroom !!!After the fairy pools we have not seen anything more than what we had been promised because of the weather .... so he have been told usBasically we spent 80 euros without doing the planned route, a real scam!In my opinion, Viator should take action against this company that has proved dishonest and unfair because it promised more stops to visit in their itinerary while, in fact, he did less than its competitors. The guide has chosen a totally different and uninteresting path from that foreseen in a completely arbitrary way.We hope that other customer don’t make the same mistake!
David_L, Jul 2019
Fuimos 8 pasajeros más el guía Gordon. A pesar de la distancia entre Inverness y la isla de Skye, fue todo muy ameno porque el guía contó muchas anécdotas e historias muy entretenidas. Además el guía era un poco flexible con la gente que, como yo, nos gusta la fotografía y quizás nos gustaba quedarnos un poco más de lo establecido. En las Fairy Pools incluso nos dimos un baño los que fuimos porque nos hizo un día espléndido. Sin duda, una de las mejores experiencias que he tenido con los tours de Viator. 100% recomendable
Andrea_O, Jun 2019
Me encantó! El guía Gordon, un ser adorable, y su chofer también!! La visita a la cascada de las hadas fue hermosa, lo único que hay que tener en cuenta es que hay que caminar bastante para llegar, por suerte a mí me tocó un hermoso día.
También visitamos las vaquitas peludas, nuestro guía llevó zanahorias y todas se acercaron hacia donde estábamos nosotros y pudimos sacarles unas fotografías hermosas!
Fué una de las mejores excursiones que hice durante mi estadía en Inverness, sin dudas muy recomendable!
Response from Host, Jul 2019
Muchisimas gracias por tu comentario, ha sido un placer llevarte a la Isla de Skye. Cuando vuelvas a Escocia, contactanos para uno de nuestros tours de las Tierras Bajas de Escocia!
Un saludo : )
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