Beautiful photos Gardyloo!

I'm inclined to do the 2 glens on the way up from Mull to Skye than en route from Glasgow to Oban as that'll be our first day on the road so don't want to put too much pressure on myself with more driving than we have to (and we're hoping to get to Oban by early afternoon to have some free time there).

I've done some further digging overnight and I'm thinking maybe, both accounting for all the driving to be had and the long day that it can turn into depending on traffic, drive from Tobermory to Glencoe in the morning (maybe not on the first ferry but the second!), spend some time at the visitor centre and doing the easy Glencoe Lochan trail, have lunch in the area. Continue to the mountain resort to go up in the chairlift to get a view of Rannoch Moor and then drive down to Glen Etive stopping along the way there and back at the various viewpoints (I'll need to look these up and confirm what can be seen from or close to the roadside), and then head back to Glencoe for the night.

It probably isn't the most in depth plan for Glen Coe/Glen Etive/Rannoch Moor but mindful of time and that we won't be able to do everything. I certainly can do more driving and can manage about 8 hours in a day but would rather avoid it if I can to actually enjoy myself, hence I think the breaks in Glencoe village and at the resort doing the chairlift will be really helpful.

Yes as advised, it would be much better to spend time in and around Glencoe rather than Fort William which though better than it used to be is really not somewhere which is worth time in itself.

The chairlift is a great idea…at the top,there is an obvious roughish path(boggy in places) which in 15mins or so will take you to outstanding views over the mountains and if clear, Ben Nevis as well as Rannoch Moor.

The Kingshouse Hotel is very pleasant these days for lunch with a fab view or tea/coffee.Quite a spot, as is the Clachaig Inn at the other end of the Glen if you decide to stop off there.

There is gorgeous scenery on the loop of road which twists and winds to from Glencoe to Kinlochleven but you might feel you have enough mileage to get under your belt on that day.The Lochleven Seafood Cafe does great food and is in a stunning location …about 4 miles detour off the A82.

It makes sense to use the Fishnish- Lochaline ferry route off Mull…just be prepared for about 40 mins of single track road which starts off with nice, long sightlines but has few of these as you negotiate beautiful Loch Sunart.

janisj is right about Glenfinnan re scenery….if you can stop at St Finnan’s church, this is a lovely spot and gives a stunning view over the loch far below and the rugged mountains all around.

Definitely worth having enough time on Mull to up your chances of that superb Treshnish trip happening as weather /wind can easily cause it to be cancelled.You will not get any closer to puffins than on Lunga…they are literally at your feet.

If of interest, my own experience in the link below , of this marvellous boat trip which lives up to its billing as ‘Puffin Therapy.’

https://annestravelsandhikes.com/202...fin-therapy-2/

Glad you’ve got a good few hours on Iona…the walk might be too long for you(perhaps 40 mins on a flat road/then a field track)to Iona’s glorious North End beaches, dazzling white sands and turquoise seas with the ethereal Treshnish Isles on the horizon.The Argyll Hotel does lovey home made cakes for a tea stop sitting out on the lawn(hopefully, if weather behaves itself!) and in Fionnphort , the Creel Seafood Shack at the little ferry building does excellent fresh seafood.Mull,like Skye , punches well above its weight re nice places to eat.

Heading down to Elgol, a superb drive in itself, Amy’s Place in tiny Torrin is a lovely cafe stop with outstanding views of mighty Blaven, one of the rocky Black Cuiloin peaks which dominates the views on that drive.Give yourself plenty of time to drive the 14 single track miles to Elgol given it can be stop start with cars coming the opposite way from having done the Coruisk trip.Also, time to park(you may also not get parked at the small, main jetty area but have to park at the top of the steep hill instead and walk down.) Time to get your gear sorted for the trip too etc.
On a decent weather day, to me, it’s THE No 1 trip to do on Skye.Truly magnificent, Gothic scenery.The boat will take you into Loch Scavaig (fantastic in itself too) from where you will walk on a path(can be wet) to Loch Coruisk.

Sounds a fantastic trip all in!

Scotlandmac's description of the highs and potential issues re Egol and Loch Coruisk are spot on. My main concern is I don't think you have enough time on Skye to fit it in IME you'd need at least another night and preferably staying that night somewhere on/near the southwest corner of the Isle.

Thanks Scotlandmac, Janisj!

I am very excited for the trip to Lunga, it'll be such a treat I'll add in the stop at St Finnan's Church too.

If I may ask about driving:
Mull - Glencoe: how busy (or not) is the Fishnish-Lochaline ferry route compared to Craignure-Oban? We'll book all our ferries in advance but I noticed that the Fishnish-Lochaline ferry doesn't allow one to book in for a timed departure like one can with the Craignure-Oban route so I'm just mindful we may lose a little time if we aren't there quite early enough to snag a seat on the ferry crossing we'd hoped for.

to Skye: the current summer timetable (I'm mindful it'll likely change for next year) has a big gap in the day for Sunday crossings meaning that if we can't make the 11:30am crossing (which we can't - we'd still be in Glenfinnan because of the Jacobite steam train) then the next one is at 3pm - I'm trying to decide whether we kill a few hours waiting for the ferry or instead take the detour and drive the extra 30 minutes via the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh, and in that case...depending on how bothered we are and timing, maybe see Eilean Donan that day so as to maybe just maybe squeeze in the Elgol/Loch Coruisk boat trip on our drive out of Skye a few days later.

I suppose both options for both drives could work but will certainly be guided by whatever advice or recommendation you may be able to give on the matter.

Re Fishnish-Lochaline ferry. AFAIK it basically runs continuously every 45-ish minutes so there is no need to pre book -- the ferry takes about 25 minutes.


"or instead take the detour and drive the extra 30 minutes via the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh". Not sure I understand the 'extra 30 minutes' part. Glenfinnan to Mallaig is about a 45 minute drive and the ferry takes a bit less than an hour. Skipping the ferry and driving around from Glenfinnan to the bridge takes about 2.5 hour. You'll be doing enough driving - I wouldn't be looking to add an extra 60 miles.

But in any case I'd book the 3PM ferry (assuming there isn't an earlier sailing on next year's schedule). Between the scenery, the Monument, church, beaches, and maybe a late lunch in Mallaig you could easily fill time until 2:30-ish when they'd start queueing for the ferry.

The difference in time is what I got on Google Maps when looking at Glenfinnan to Portree. It suggested only a 20 minute difference in the entire duration of the journey so I didn't even notice the difference in miles! As you rightly point out in any case, we've got enough driving as is and the ferry crossing means some downtime from behind the wheel.

Mmm I think you're right that we wouldn't need to really add that much 'filler' if we went to see the sights near Glenfinnan and had a lazy lunch. We'll just do that. In any case, if we get to Portree early I think it'll do us some good given we'd want an early start in the mornings on Skye to avoid traffic and secure parking (god knows I have enough cut out for me in convincing my sister that getting out the door at 8:30am isn't that early and has sound reasoning behind it!).

Appreciate all your insight - you are a treasure!

The Fishnish - Lochaline route gets queued out these days, I’m sorry to say.It tends to be quiet coming FROM Lochaline but huge queues build up because of Mull’s increased popularity leading to the Oban crossing being booked out well in advance.In addition, the past few years have seen significant issues with ferries due to the aging fleet, as well as cancellations due to weather (which of course have always been with us.) These problems tend not involve the smaller ferries such as that used on the Fishnish run.So -getting on the ferry you want isn’t guaranteed at all as it perhaps used to be.

It takes about the same time to drive from Fort William to Portree via the Skye Bridge route (as janisj says, more road mileage )as going via Mallaig though IMO that former route is more scenic again.But -the Mallaig route is absolutely lovely too. The longer driving time is evened out by the check in time for the Mallaig ferry plus the time taken to do the crossing itself.
If you do choose the Bridge route clearly you will also be adding a 20 min each way detour to Glenfinnan then back to Fort William.
That’s always the trade off using the ferry route..being tied into timetables which don’t quite suit.We mostly go the Bridge route to Skye because of that but we use the ferry too on occasion; it’s overall less tiring simply because it’s less driving.
If you have time to spare and timings work, the Highland Soap Cafe on the edge of Fort William is a very pleasant place to stop for coffee with a beautiful shop too.
If you take the Mallaig route then the little Arisaig Marine cafe down by the jetty is a better option , to me , than anything in Mallaig itself.On a sunny day, sitting out on their quiet terrace by the sea looking out over the bay, is a joy.

The Coruisk trip has two operators offering it so boats are going out many times each day.That tends to mean you can book it a day or even less in advance allowing you to decide what the weather’s doing as it needs a half decent day to appreciate those outstanding landscapes at their best.

Just how far out of the way is Elgol?

We'd originally toyed with the idea of doing a cruise on our way out of Skye en route to Inverness (we'd stop by Eilean Donan and Loch Ness on our drive up) but understand Elgol adds a fair bit of travel time.

Bella Jane's 1.5 hour AquaXplore cruise looked good to us so I'm trying to figure out if we can fit in a brief stop in Elgol and cruise that day with it being only 90 minutes in duration compared to the usual 3+ hour cruises.

Elgol is 14 miles of single track road, mostly highly scenic once you near Torrin.I’d factor in an hour to comfortably drive it(maybe 40 mins actual drive without stops…tough NOT to stop though given the scenery) then time to park, get yourselves sorted for the trip and walk to the little harbour.There is usually a 15 min check in time for the trip itself.

You might manage this but note what I said about the drive time itself.This trip will not to take you into Loch Coruisk but will certainly give you some outstanding views of the Black Cuillin rearing out of the sea.You will not get that from the drive from Armadale north though you will get fab views of the mountains at Sligachan, an easy stop.But different to the Elgol vistas of course.

Would you recommend it?

I query whether we are spreading ourselves too thin seeing as we would then continue to Inverness with stops but I think we can manage say up to 5 hours of driving that day given we’d be breaking it up throughout.

Maybe it’s madness but considering how late the sun sets in the summer and with it being broken up, I’m thinking we could manage it with the shorter cruise. Hmm.

I thought I’d answered your question yesterday but my response seems to have disappeared.

if it’s a half decent weather day, yes it’s worth it.Outstanding scenery on the drive to Elgol which itself offers truly stunning views of the Black Cuillin rising out of the sea.You won’t get these views from the drive from Armadale north for example unless you detour to Ord a d that west coast of the Sleat peninsula.

That shorter trip won’t let you see Loch Coruisk ..it may take you into Loch Scavaig which is certainly worth it in itself.

Your issue is then having the three hour drive to Inverness…ideally you would have another night in the south of the island or part way to Inverness, just to break it up though it’s entirely possible of course.

The last time I did the Loch Coruisk trip, there was an elderly couple on board who were doing it as a day trip from Inverness.They loved it and didn’t regret the extremely long drive there and back.But you will have been driving a lot by then and may feel differently about another big detour.