Last Updated on October 14, 2025
Overview: Planning a trip to the Isle of Skye and wondering what transport options you have from Edinburgh? I’m outlining all the best routes in this guide. It covers exactly how to get to Skye by train, bus, ferry, guided tour, or self-drive— complete with links and estimated costs.
Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye are two of the most popular places to visit in Scotland, so many travelers find themselves wondering how to get from one to the other.
The Isle of Skye, often reduced to just “Skye”, is a rugged island in the Inner Hebrides archipelago. Because it’s over 200 miles away from Edinburgh, it takes a little bit of advanced planning to get from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye.
The isle is connected to mainland Scotland via a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) bridge called the Skye Bridge, but getting to it can be tricky if you’re relying on public transport and not doing a self-drive route.
In this blog, I outline all the best routes you can take to get from Edinburgh to Skye. It includes detailed directions, where to book tickets, estimated costs, and practical planning advice so that you don’t run into any mishaps along the way.
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Edinburgh to Isle of Skye at a Glance
This is a general overview of how to get to Skye, what your transport options are, and more about what we will be digging into in this blog. The apertif, if you will.
Keep reading past this section for a full breakdown about traveling from Edinburgh to Skye via train, bus, rental car, ferry, and guided tour.
Distance: 236 miles (380 km) *Edinburgh to Portree
Transport options: Rental car, bus, train, and ferry (or a combination of any of those). There are no flights that operate to or from the Isle of Skye.
Cost: It will depend on what mode of transport you prefer, but expect to spend around £50-100 ($67-135) round-trip, per adult.
How long does it take? It ranges from 5+ hours with your own rental car to a 9-hour journey via bus or train. Regardless of the length, plan to set aside a full day to make the journey to Skye.
How do you access the island? On wheels, the only way to access Skye is via the Skye Bridge, a 1.5-mile-long bridge that connects Skye to the rest of the mainland. It’s free to drive across. Alternatively, you also have two ferry options: one in Mallaig and the Skye Turntable Ferry in Kylerhea, which allows you to bypass the Skye Bridge.
Edinburgh to Isle of Skye by Train (& Ferry option)
The Isle of Skye doesn’t have a rail system, so it’s impossible to get there directly by train. However, you can take the train to jump-off points like Inverness and Fort William and choose additional transport from there to get you all the way to Skye.
ScotRail is the go-to for all rail travel in Scotland, so use that website to book all of your train tickets.
Kyle via Inverness
The first option will be taking a train from Edinburgh to Inverness, then another train from Inverness to the Kyle of Lochalsh.
Dozens of trains leave daily to get to Inverness, and round-trip tickets can cost around £50 ($67) depending on when you book. Some trains are faster than others, but most of the time it will take about 4 hours to get from Edinburgh to Inverness on a direct ticket.
From Inverness, there is a special rail line called the Kyle Line that will take you to the Kyle of Lochalsh (usually reduced to just Kyle). It’s a small town that is at the base of the Skye Bridge that connects Skye to the rest of Scotland, so it’s a convenient location to catch a bus or local tour onto the isle.
Tickets usually start at £18 ($24) one way and take 2 hours and 40 minutes to get to Kyle.
Armdale via Mallaig
The most interesting (and scenic!) way to get to Skye is by taking a train and ferry combo. Note, this option is only available for travelers visiting from April to October.
The trip looks like this: train from Edinburgh to Fort William, ride the Harry Potter Train (Hogwarts Express) from Fort William to Mallaig, then take a ferry from Mallaig to Armadale. It’s a longer, more expensive journey than most other options, but if you’re traveling slowly and don’t mind either of those factors, it’s a juice worth the squeeze.
Trains from Edinburgh to Fort William depart daily and can cost around £70 ($94) round-trip. The cheapest trains often have 1 stopover in Glasgow and take just under 5 hours to get to Fort William.
Once you get to Fort William, you have the rare opportunity to ride one of the world’s most famous rail journeys to Mallaig. It’s famous for the scenery, of course, but also because it’s the train all the students in Harry Potter took on their way to Hogwarts in the movies. You know the one: “Anything from the trolley, dear?”
West Coast Railways operates the train, and the actual name of it is the “Jacobite Steam Train” (although everyone knows it as the Harry Potter train).
If you choose this route, keep in mind you may need to stay overnight in Fort William to catch one of the two train services. One is the morning service, running from Monday, April 7th, to Friday, October 24th, 2025. The other is the afternoon service that runs from Monday, May 5th, to Friday, September 26th, 2025. Tickets for this MUST be purchased far in advance because it’s so popular.
Unfortunately, West Coast Railways doesn’t offer one-way tickets on the Jacobite Train, so if you want to do this, you have to pay for a round-trip ticket and only ride it one way. Tickets start at £69 ($92) per adult and £39 ($52) for children 16 and under. Find tickets.
Instead of riding back to Fort William, you’ll get off in Mallaig, head to the ferry terminal, and ride to Armadale. This ferry only runs a couple of times per day, takes between 30 and 45 minutes, and costs £3.85 ($5) per person. It only runs from March to October, so keep that in mind if you’re not traveling in peak season. Book your ferry ticket in advance online here.
Edinburgh to Isle of Skye by Bus
Taking the bus from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye is the longest transit option in this guide. Like the train system, there are no direct bus routes to Skye, and so you have to transit through Inverness or Glasgow to get there.
Luckily, the bus can take you all the way to Portree, the vibrant capital of Skye. From there, you can join tours or take a local stagecoach bus to get around.
CityLink is the only bus operator that allows you to book the entire journey from Edinburgh to Portree as one ticket. Expect to pay around £92 ($124 USD) round-trip, per person. The journey takes 8 hours.
If you have the time, I recommend taking a bus to Inverness, staying overnight there, and then continuing the rest of the journey the following morning. You can also do this by transiting through Glasgow instead.
Portree via Inverness
If you’re choosing to overnight in Inverness, you need to buy a bus ticket first from Edinburgh to Inverness, then from Inverness to Portree the following morning.
You can purchase this first ticket through MegaBus or Flixbus for affordable, direct routes. There are about a dozen buses that leave from Edinburgh’s central bus station to Inverness daily. Prices can be as low as £26 for a round-trip ticket. It takes around 4 hours to get from Edinburgh to Inverness.
Traveling from Inverness to Portree, there’s a good variety of timetables to choose from for your journey. A direct, round-trip bus ticket costs £45.50 ($61) and takes 3 hours and 15 minutes. CityLink is the only platform that offers this route, so you must use that to book the second leg of your bus trip.
Portree via Glasgow
You can also get to the Isle of Skye by transiting through Glasgow. It makes the most sense if you’re already going to be in Glasgow before going to the Isle of Skye because this route is not cheaper and hardly any faster than going through Inverness first.
Bus tickets from Edinburgh to Glasgow can be purchased through CityLink or MegaBus. You can grab tickets for as low as £11 round trip and it takes 1 hour and 20 minutes to get there. You can book a similar journey between the two cities by train using ScotRail if you prefer a more comfortable ride. It costs about the same and takes 1 hour on direct routes.
The trip from Glasgow to Portree can also be booked through CityLink. Roundtrip tickets cost £76.80 ($103), and take between 6 and 7 hours to get to Portree.
Edinburgh to Isle of Skye by Car
If you value flexibility and want the most efficient way to travel from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye, get a rental car. Choosing this option will allow you to explore everything the isle has to offer with virtually no restrictions.
It’s more expensive than public transport, but it can be affordable if you split a rental with your friends or the group you’re traveling with. Rental cars in Scotland can get as low as £22 ($30) per day in the off-season, but average around £60 ($80) during peak season.
Most major rental companies operate out of Scotland, so you’ll see a lot of familiar names when you’re looking. Get the best prices with honest reviews using Rentalcars.com and Discover Cars.
Once you get into the Highlands, the service can get spotty, so make sure your rental has a GPS feature or that you have the driving directions downloaded on your Google Maps.
Self-drive (via Invergarry)
The quickest route from Edinburgh to Skye goes north, passing the Cairngorms National Park and Fort William before arriving on Skye via the Skye Bridge. This route is 204 miles (328 km) and takes about 4.5 hours before you factor in any stops you want to make.
Along the way, you can choose to stop at one of these places if you’re not trying to get to Skye as fast as possible: Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, Pitlochry, Eilean Donan Castle, or the Cairngorms National Park.
Driving directions: Exit north out of Edinburgh and take the A90 until it merges with the M90. You’ll pass over the Queensferry Crossing Bridge and continue on the M90 until it merges with the A9 near Perth.
Follow the A9, passing the southern border of the Cairngorms, until you reach a fork. Take the A889 to Laggan, then the A86 after a few miles towards the Spean Bridge. At Spean Bridge, the road name changes again to A82, which takes you around Loch Lochy to Invergarry.
Optional Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle detour: When you arrive in Invergarry, you can choose to continue to Skye or make a detour to these two locations. If you have the time, it’s worth the 1.5-hour detour and 50 additional miles round-trip to your drive. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot “Nessie”!
Passing through Invergarry, the A82 spits you out on the A89, which takes you directly to Skye via the Skye Bridge. The bridge is the only access point to the isle other than taking a ferry.
Private Driver
If you don’t want to drive yourself from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye, you can hire a private transfer to get you there instead. Just know, this is the most expensive transport option.
If you choose to do this, you have quite a bit of options. Tour Skye is one of the most well-known companies, and they service transfers from Edinburgh to Skye year-round. Highland Discovery Tours is another top-rated operator worth looking into.
Also, try contacting any of the Isle of Skye bus tour operators to see if they can accommodate a transfer. By doing so, you could get a better rate than with a private company.
Guided Tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye
If you’re interested in a “done-for-you” way to get from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye, your best bet is to join a group tour.
Group tours leave almost daily from Edinburgh year-round, so there are plenty of tours for you to choose from. They’re offered for a variety of lengths, but the most common option people choose are the three-day tours from Edinburgh.
Most tours are three days because that is the most practical option. One and two-day tours to the Isle of Skye aren’t common.
It’s worth mentioning that these tours pack in a ton of sights into all three days, which is great since you’re paying a premium, but it’s a whirlwind trip.
I did the 3-day trip with MacBackpackers, and it felt like we were constantly on the move to make it to the next thing. I (quite literally) had to run down the Old Man of Storr trail so I didn’t miss our bus leaving for Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls.
If you like to dilly dally in places or take your time, I don’t recommend these tours. Another thing is that, depending on the time, the bus driver will choose to skip certain sites. So, while there may be a lot of places listed on the tour booking, it’s not guaranteed you’ll see everything. Adjusting your expectations is important when considering this option.
Top-Rated Tours from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye
That said, for a lot of people, these tours are a great way to see the main things on the Isle of Skye. These are the tours I recommend if it seems like a good fit for your trip:
⭐ From Edinburgh: 3-Day Isle of Skye and The Highlands Tour: This is one of the most affordable 3-day guided tours offered to Skye. Highlights include Culloden Battlefield, an overnight stay in Inverness, Portree, the Quiraing, Kilt Rock, Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Ness, and a photo pit stop in Glencoe. An optional add-on is a boat tour on Loch Ness, which I recommend. Book this tour
⭐ Edinburgh: Isle of Skye & Optional Jacobite Train 3-Day Tour: The focal point of this 3-day tour is the option to ride the Jacobite Steam Train (AKA the Hogwarts Express). It’s usually mandatory to make a round-trip journey on this train, but this tour gives you the rare option to ride only one way. Other highlights include Eilean Donan Castle, Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock, Dunvegan Castle, Fort William (for the train), and Glencoe. Book this tour
⭐ From Edinburgh: Isle of Skye & The Highlands 3-Day Tour: Haggis Adventures, one of the most well-known Skye tour companies in Scotland, operates this 3-day tour. Highlights include Loch Ness, Eilean Donan Castle, overnight in Portree, a full day on Skye, Armadale Castle, the option to ride the Hogwarts Express from Mallaig to Fort William (a must!), and Glencoe. Book this tour
Common questions about getting to the Isle of Skye from Edinburgh
These are the most asked questions travelers have about how to get to the Isle of Skye from Edinburgh.
Is there a train from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye?
No. There are no direct trains that run from Edinburgh directly to the Isle of Skye.
The closest train routes run from Edinburgh to Inverness or Fort William. From either of those villages, you must take a bus the rest of the way to get to the Isle of Skye. I lay out both of those options in the “Edinburgh to Isle of Skye by Train” section of this blog.
Can you do a day trip from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye?
Technically, yes— but it’s not recommended.
To do this, you will need to have your own rental car. Self-driving from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye takes no less than 4.5 hours one way, not including any stops you might need to make. So ten hours of your day will be spent in the car.
In this case, the juice is not worth the squeeze, especially if you’re working with the limited daylight hours in the spring or fall. However, if you’re ambitious enough and don’t mind an exceptionally long day, it’s not impossible.
With that in mind, there are plenty of other great day trips from Edinburgh that will be more worth your time than trying to squeeze in a trip to Skye.
Is it worth going to the Isle of Skye?
Absolutely, yes.
The Isle of Skye is one of the most visited isles in the United Kingdom for a reason. Many people who come to Scotland and visit Skye wish they had planned more time there in their itineraries because it’s that beautiful.
It’s a must-see for anyone traveling to Scotland.
How to get to the Isle of Skye from Edinburgh without a car?
Getting to the Isle of Skye from Edinburgh is possible without a car.
You can take a combination of buses and trains to get there, but it’s important to know that public transport is limited in Skye, and it will be hard to get around once you arrive there.
Note from Aaren: I am in the process of writing a guide for traveling around Skye without a car, so stay tuned for that! It’s coming soon.
I detail all the different routes you can take in the sections “Edinburgh to Isle of Skye by Train” and “Edinburgh to Isle of Skye by Bus”.
If you have any other questions about visiting Scotland, please reach out! Otherwise, browse my other Scotland guides to help you plan your trip:
How To Travel Scotland on a Budget
Best Coffee Shops in Edinburgh
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