Trying to decide whether or not to include Mull, Iona and Staffa to our Scotland itinerary. We plan to stay in the Isle of Skye for 3 nights. One tour book said Mull, Iona and Staffa were doable as a day trip and another said no. It seems to me a day trip is too rushed. So, I am wondering whether to include it or instead after visiting Skye go to Torridon, Inverew Gardens and then stay in Ullapool for a couple of days. Thoughts????

JanisJ or mlgb (or maybe both) will give you really good advice over in the Europe board under the Scotland tag.

I really loved Iona but I was seeking a spiritual retreat feel. Mull was just too big and difficult to get around without a car. Also Tobermory was cute but not enough to keep me on Mull 3 nights. I left after two nights sacrificing my pricey room deposit. But I was blessed with an extra night on Iona which was perfect for me.

>>Mull, Iona and Staffa were doable as a day trip <<

From where?? Semi-sorta possible day trip from Oba but certainly not from Skye. Even from Oban it would not be a satisfactory visit really. They do run coach tours out of Oban but me personally I would not go to Mull unless I could stay at least two nights.

>>So, I am wondering whether to include it or instead after visiting Skye go to Torridon, Inverew Gardens and then stay in Ullapool for a couple of days. Thoughts????<<

Can't really give you useful advice without knowing your full itinerary - how many days/weeks is the trip? Where else are you going? You are traveling to Skye from where? Torridon and Ullapool are pretty remote -- where are you thinking of going after Ullapool? And when is this trip?

So - lay out your full tentative itinerary and then we can help you massage things. (Hint - the more details you provide the better advice we can give. On you other thread you ask about needing to pre-book accommodations in the Highlands . . . If you meant Skye and/or Torridon you absolutely will need to prebook)

And if you do stay on Mull -- I would not stay in Tobermory. I'd stay in Fionnhort or possibly on Iona.

Meant to add -- From say Portree to Torridon to Inverewe to Ullapool is about a 6 hour drive with no stops and you will want at least a couple of hours at the Gardens, plus other photo op stops. So a VERY long day.

I will post an itinerary in the next couple of days. We would be going to Mull, Iona and Staffa from Oban. And then to Skye for 3 nights. Or after we leave Skye we would head to Glen Torrid and then Inverewe Gardens (this would exclude trip to Iona etc). Don't know if we would spend the night there close by to the gardens and visit them the next day or what. Then we would head north, shortest route to take the ferry to the Orkney Islands.

OP has indicated in other posts that it's the last two weeks in May. What's not clear is if the OP is still visiting Iceland in the same two weeks. So yes, a more complete timeline and itinerary would be useful. Here's what the OP wrote in September: At the risk of reaffirming my broken-record status, I'll offer these ideas, knowing that they might not be shared widely. On an itinerary that includes Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Highlands and golf, relegating such fabulous destinations as Mull and Iona (Staffa is usually a drive-by experience) to a secondary target doesn't make a lot of sense - to me.

In fact, I'll go further. If it was me, I'd give strong consideration to swapping Mull for Skye, thereby reducing road time and increasing the variety and efficiency of the hours one does spend on the road.

This is not meant to take anything away from Skye, or from the northwestern Highlands, far from it. Like so many other travel experiences, the northwest of Scotland offers incredible scenery, roads-less-traveled, and all that. The region - Applecross, Torridon, all the way up to the north coast - is stunning.

But it's also time-consuming to visit, has very limited accommodation options, and if the weather goes bad (and we're talking spring in western Scotland, so rain happens) a lot of the scenery vanishes. Not saying it will happen, but it can.

By comparison, a more southerly plan - such as Glen Etive, Glen Coe, Oban, Mull/Iona, and parts of Argyll - has tremendous variety, but somewhat closer together, and with more "real-time" alternatives in case the weather is less agreeable.

Consider this imaginary loop from Edinburgh - https://goo.gl/maps/qSPrYZdugpp . This misses Loch Ness, Inverness, Skye and the entire Northwest. But what it includes are historic and fascinating towns like Stirling and Callendar (with access to the Trossachs,) two of the most beautiful glens (Etive and Coe) in all of Scotland, Mull and access to Iona and Staffa, a huge collection of prehistoric sites - standing stones, stone circles, Celtic carved gravestones - in tiny Kilmartin, beautiful Inveraray with its grandiose castle... and all of it far closer and more easily accessed than Skye or Torridon.

This is but one of many alternatives, but one that I'd investigate were I in the OP's shoes. There's plenty of time - things won't start booking up for several months, and generally won't be booked up as early as Skye - so I'd do the homework. I personally think Mull offers comparable experiences - in some cases superior - to Skye but has less publicity. But like I say, others will disagree.

Edited to add - the OP responded while I was composing this opus, and mentioned Orkney. Yikes. So two weeks including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Skye, Wester Ross, Sutherland, Caithness and Orkney? And asking about Mull, Iona and Staffa? And golf someplace? SMH.

Seriously, this is simply too much by half. Some serious priority-setting is needed. And in case you're using something like Google Maps to compute drive times... don't trust it. Add 30% to 40% to estimated driving times and feel lucky if that's all it is.

>>In fact, I'll go further. If it was me, I'd give strong consideration to swapping Mull for Skye,<<

Ditto big time! But then tidy would have the problem of trying to explain to their friends and neighbors back home that they went to Mull ("Huh?") and didn't go to Skye ("You went to Scotland and didn't go to Skye ?!" ).

Orkney is a great place to visit -- BUT unless you have a lot more time you simply can't squeeze in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Mull/Iona/Staffa, Skye, Inverewe, Orkney, Golf, and where ever else, then presumably back to EDI or GLA to fly home. Ullapool to Thurso alone is a 4 hour drive.

You need to throw out all the drive time calculations you may have seen on line -- most require adding nearly 50%. Always add 25% but that is often still unrealistic.

Gardyloo's suggestions are spot on especially in regard to adding Orkney to your itinerary. Too much.
Have been to Skye a number of times when low clouds, rain and cool temperatures had everyone indoors except for the locals and the hardiest of tourists. Could be fine but do be prepared.

I am listening to you. We will have probably closer to 3 weeks for Scotland and then just a short layover in Iceland 3-5 days. The weather is a concern. As I said I will post a rough draft itinerary in the next day or two. I appreciate all of your input.

Oops, while I was supporting Gardyloo's suggestions, my reference to the weather was for another poster. You asked about the shortest route from Inverewe Gardens to catch a ferry for Orkney, but I'm not sure there is such a thing as shortest route when traveling in the Highlands. You could head north and go to Scrabster which is just west of Thurso to catch a ferry to Orkney or go south to just north of Inverness and drive along the coast to Gill's Bay where there is a car ferry to Orkney. I like Ullapool but would not spend two nights there. Most of the places of interest would be enroute. Three weeks is a good amount of time, but travel in Scotland is slow. Knowing your entire itinerary will help in assessing your options.