The Skye Trail Walking Holiday – Walk Skye from North to South
Walk the Isle of Skye from north to south on one of Scotland’s great long-distance trails. Over seven days, we’ll follow the Skye Trail from Rubha Hunish to Broadford, travelling through Trotternish, past the Storr, along remote coastline and beneath the Cuillin.
With a maximum of eight people, this is a small-group, fully supported walking holiday. We’ll take care of the daily transport and logistics, so you only need to carry a day pack and concentrate on completing the trail. If you’ve walked the West Highland Way and are wondering what comes next, the Skye Trail could be it.
Trip Overview
Location: Scotland
Duration: 8 nights
Group Size: Max 8 (small group)
Style: Guided and fully supported long-distance trail
Walking Grade: Active
Typical Distance: Approximately 14–22km per day
Accommodation: Hostel
Room Type: Shared same-sex dorms
Transport: Car-free – Glasgow pick-up and drop-off, all Skye transfers and support vehicle included
Meals: Breakfast and packed lunch each walking day.
Price: From £1795 per person
Check Dates & Book Your Place
Select a date to view availability, room options and prices, and book your place to join Large Outdoors.
Dates & Availability
We run this trip on selected dates throughout the year.
Upcoming dates:
Saturday 29 May - Sunday 6 July 2027
Simply select your preferred date in the booking box to check availability and book.
Can I Book with a Deposit?
Book more than 12 weeks before departure with a 20% deposit. Within 12 weeks of departure, full payment is required at booking.
A Good Fit for You If…
You’re looking for a multi-day walking challenge, with seven consecutive days on the trail and the satisfaction of completing a long-distance route.
You’re comfortable walking consecutive days of around 14–22km.
You enjoy rougher and more remote walking rather than needing a surfaced trail throughout.
You like the idea of completing a recognised point-to-point route without carrying a full backpack.
You’re happy staying in sociable hostel accommodation and sharing facilities.
You want to experience Skye away from simply travelling between its main visitor attractions.
You enjoy traveling as part of a small group, with a maximum of eight people.
Probably not for you if…
You’re looking for a leisurely sightseeing holiday with short walks.
You prefer shorter walking days or mostly well-surfaced, clearly defined paths.
You want private hotel accommodation and an en-suite room.
You’re uncomfortable with exposed terrain, steep slopes or sections where the path can be indistinct.
You’re looking specifically to climb the Cuillin or spend the week reaching mountain summits.
You’d prefer to have a rest day between longer walking days.
What People Say
“I completed the West Highland Way with Large Outdoors and the support throughout was wonderful. Having the transport and practical side taken care of meant I could simply enjoy the walking each day.”
Exploring the Isle of Skye
Walking the Skye Trail gives us a very different way to get to know the island.
Rather than driving from one well-known viewpoint to another, we’ll gradually travel from the northern tip of Skye to the south, passing through communities and landscapes that show how varied the island really is.
Portree provides a change of pace around the middle of our route, while places such as Sligachan, Elgol and Torrin introduce us to the quieter southern part of the island. Along the way there are reminders of Skye’s crofting history, abandoned settlements and the Highland Clearances, alongside small communities where people continue to live and work today.
Our evenings are deliberately kept flexible. Depending on where we finish and what works best for the group, we can stop somewhere for dinner, find a local pub or restaurant, or head back to the hostel and cook.
It makes this much more than simply ticking off kilometres each day. By the time we reach Broadford, we’ll have travelled through a substantial part of Skye under our own steam.
Highlights
Complete the Skye Trail from Rubha Hunish in the north to Broadford in the south.
Seven consecutive stages covering approximately 130km across the Isle of Skye.
Walk through Trotternish, past the Quiraing and Storr, and beneath the Cuillin.
Maximum group size of just eight people with a Large Outdoors leader.
Fully supported walking with Glasgow transfers, daily transport and a support vehicle included.
Here’s what’s included in your trip:
Eight nights’ hostel accommodation.
Seven days of guided walking.
Large Outdoors walk leader.
Maximum group size of eight people.
Pick-up from Glasgow city centre on arrival day.
Return transport to Glasgow on departure day.
All transport required during the holiday.
Daily transfers to and from the start and finish of each stage.
Support vehicle throughout the trip.
Breakfast each morning.
Packed lunch on each walking day.
Large Outdoors support before and during your holiday.
You’ll only need to carry a day pack while walking – your main luggage stays at our accommodation.
What’s not included
Evening meals.
Lunch on travel days
Drinks and personal spending.
Travel to and from Glasgow.
Personal walking equipment.
Travel insurance.
Keeping evening meals separate gives us more flexibility. On some days we may eat while we’re out, while on others we can return to the hostel and cook together or make our own arrangements.
Suggested Itinerary
The Skye Trail is an outdoor journey, so our itinerary always remains flexible. Weather and ground conditions can have a significant effect on Skye, and your leader may alter timings or arrangements where necessary.
The aim, however, is to complete all seven stages of the trail from Rubha Hunish to Broadford.
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We’ll meet in Glasgow city centre before setting off together for the Isle of Skye – but today isn’t simply about getting from A to B.
We’ll make the journey part of the holiday, stopping at a few Highland cafés along the way before having lunch in Fort Augustus, where there’ll be time to stretch our legs and take a look at Loch Ness.
From here, we’ll continue through the Highlands, stopping at Eilean Donan Castle before crossing the bridge onto Skye and making our way to our accommodation. Once settled in, we’ll get together to run through the week ahead and get ready for our first day on the Skye Trail.
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Approximately 20km
And we’re off.
We begin at Rubha Hunish, the northernmost point of Skye, and start our journey south.
The conventional first stage finishes at Flodigarry, making it considerably shorter than the demanding stage that traditionally follows. On our supported version of the Skye Trail, we continue beyond Flodigarry towards the Quiraing.
This gives us a first day of approximately 20km and divides the northern part of the trail more evenly across our first two walking days.
Our vehicle will meet us at the end of the stage and return us to our accommodation.
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Approximately 22km
We return to where we finished and continue south through the Trotternish landscape towards the Storr.
This is one of the more demanding parts of the Skye Trail, with rough terrain and substantial ascent and descent. It is also a day that puts us right amongst some of the geological features for which northern Skye is known.
By starting at the Quiraing rather than Flodigarry, we’ve reduced the length of the conventional second stage and created a more balanced pair of days.
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Approximately 14km
Today we leave the Storr and follow the coastal version of the Skye Trail towards Portree.
It’s a shorter day in terms of distance, which comes at a useful point after our first two stages, although this remains proper rough-country walking.
Eventually the island’s main town comes into view and we reach Portree – an important milestone on our journey south.
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Approximately 19km
Leaving Portree behind, our route heads south towards Sligachan.
The character of the trail begins to change as we move away from Trotternish and towards the mountain landscapes of central Skye.
We finish at Sligachan, with the Cuillin providing the backdrop to the next part of our journey.
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Approximately 18km
Today we walk from Sligachan towards the west coast and Elgol.
We’re now passing beneath rather than over Skye’s biggest mountains, with the Cuillin accompanying us through much of the day.
This section takes us through some much quieter country before eventually reaching the small coastal community of Elgol.
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Approximately 16.5km
From Elgol, we continue around the southern side of Skye towards Torrin.
Although slightly shorter in distance, this is another varied day of walking through a much less visited part of the island.
By now Broadford is getting closer and there is a definite sense that we’re approaching the final part of our journey.
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Approximately 20km
Our final stage.
We leave Torrin for the last section of the Skye Trail, passing through the landscape and abandoned settlements of southern Skye as we make our way towards Broadford.
Eventually we reach the end of the trail.
Seven walking days and approximately 130km after leaving Rubha Hunish, we’ve crossed Skye from north to south on foot.
We’ll return to our accommodation for our final evening together and a well-earned chance to celebrate completing the trail.
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After breakfast, it’s time to leave Skye and begin our journey back to Glasgow.
We’ll make appropriate stops during the journey and aim to arrive back in Glasgow later in the day, where our trip ends.
Exact timings will be confirmed in your final joining information.
Getting There & Accommodation
Here’s everything you need to know about getting there and where you’ll be staying.
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Glasgow Pick-Up & Drop-Off
This is designed as a car-free walking holiday.
We’ll collect the group from a central Glasgow meeting point on Day 1 and travel together to the Isle of Skye.
There is no need to bring your own vehicle to Skye. Once we arrive, our own transport and support vehicle are used to get the group to and from the individual stages.
At the end of the holiday, we’ll travel back together and drop you in Glasgow on Day 9.
The exact Glasgow meeting point, collection time and expected return time will be provided in your joining information.
Please make sure any onward travel on the final day allows plenty of time for the journey from Skye and the possibility of traffic or other delays.
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We’ll be using hostel accommodation as our base for eight nights.
This keeps the trip sociable and works particularly well for a small group of just eight people. Rooms and facilities are shared, so this is a different style of holiday from our hotel-based trips.
One of the big advantages of our supported approach is that you don’t have to pack everything up and carry it along the Skye Trail each morning.
Your main luggage remains at the accommodation while we transport you to the start of the day’s stage. At the end of the walk, our vehicle collects us and brings us back.
Breakfast and a packed lunch are included each walking day.
Evening meals aren't included, allowing us to decide what works best each day. We may stop for food while returning from a walk, eat locally or head back and use the hostel's self-catering facilities.
Check Dates & Book Your Place
Select a date to view availability, room options and prices, and book your place to join Large Outdoors.
Dates & Availability
We run this trip on selected dates throughout the year.
Upcoming dates:
Saturday 29 May - Sunday 6 July 2027
Simply select your preferred date in the booking box to check availability and book.
Can I Book with a Deposit?
Book more than 12 weeks before departure with a 20% deposit. Within 12 weeks of departure, full payment is required at booking.
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