Aros Experience can be found on the southern edge of Portree (Phone: 613649; Viewfield Rd; Open: 9 AM – 5.30 PM). It combines book and gift shop, visitor center, theater and cinema. There is a large parking area in the Center, so drivers may take their car or bus to the front entrance allowing passengers to enter the building quickly, especially during rainy days.

In Aros Experience, you can buy souvenirs and gifts, while listening to the haunting tunes of Gaelic music, you’ll find an interesting range of Skye’s unique gifts. You might even commission your own Skye jewelry during your visit.

The 150-seat restaurant offers daily specials meals written on black boards and a range of snacks. Over the years they have established a reputation for delicious food at affordable prices. The restaurant may provide a catering service for groups however you need to pre-book. The catering service can be performed at any time that suits the group’s schedule. Once booked, they will guarantee that adequate space is reserved for the group in the restaurant. Often groups can order special dishes prior to arriving and the restaurant staffs can make suggestions according to your budget. Alternatively, the visiting group can choose from the current menu which changes each day.

Kids are welcome and they have provided small playing areas, one indoors and during sunny and clear days you can choose out-door playing area. Customers can dine outside, bask under the warm sunlight and revel the scenery of Portree Bay.

The visitor center (adult: £3; child: £2) offers fascinating views through live CCTV images on nearby heron and sea eagle nests. Groups can take advantage of their concession rates for this exhibition. It allows groups to view to the live nest-cam images with the help of RSPB officers. In this center, you can also get a wide-screen view on Skye’s amazing scenery; the aerial shots of Cuillin are worth the wait. The center is a perfect retreat during rainy and foggy days.

In the Isle of Skye Tartan, they offer a Kilt Hire service to cater all kinds of occasions and family photographs. For £40, you will get Kilt, sporran, jacket, shoes, belt & buckle, bowtie, flashes, and Sgian dubh.

There are no large cities, per se, located on Isle of Skye. Towns and villages are all relatively small in size; however, you will find all basic facilities and amenities available for an extremely enjoyable vacation.

Portree is Skye’s liveliest and largest town, it has a scenic harbor with amazing views of surrounding hills and lined with colorful and brightly painted houses. Its name, Portree, is a Gaelic for King’s Harbor, to commemorate James V, who arrived in 1540 to pacify nearby clans. The current population is approximately 2500 and 40% can speak Gaelic. There are several ways to get to Portree: from the Western Isles through Uig, the Mallaig to Armadale ferry; Skye Bridge; and the (seasonal) Kylerhea ferry. Buses are the only available public transport services. Portree has a few modern and comfortable B&Bs, yet most are bland and often lacking in character. In early August the annual Isle of Skye Highland Games is held.

Broadford (Gaelic: An T-Ath Leathann) is a service community village for nearby communities in Skye. This long and straggling village has a 24-hour gas station, a bank with ATM, a big co-op department store, a tourist office and small hospital. Three miles east of Broadford is the Ashaig airstrip, in May, it is the venue of the annual Skye Music Festival. You will find a lot of B&B around Broadford. The village has been expanding and evolving significantly in the past five years, with a number of new shops opening in this period.

Dunvegan (Gaelic: Dùn Bheagain) is the location of Dunvegan Castle and the seat of the Clan McLeod chief. The town has been expanding and evolving significantly in the past five years, with a number of new shops opening in this period. Dunvegan is now home to four medium sized B&B’s/hotels, a restaurant, a bakery, two general stores, a cobbler, tourist information, two gas stations, a fishing store, a gun shop, a vegetable and fruit ’shack’ and a cake shop. The town also has a recycling facility and other smaller facilities. It sits on the edge of the big ‘Loch Dunvegan’, while The School House is a famous restaurant for delicious dishes, made from freshly caught fished from the loch itself.

The Isle of Skye is rich in history and Gaelic culture. Inhabited since the Mesolithic era there are plenty of Isle of Sky attractions to suit visitors of all ages. This is, for example, one of the most beautiful areas of natural beauty in the region. Walkers, climbers and nature lovers alike will enjoy the varied scenery, wild coastline and beautiful beaches.

There are many Isle of Skye attractions that will please history buffs into the bargain. The island has been home to many peoples over the years including the Vikings and Scottish clan leaders. It is therefore full of things to see and do from a historical perspective.

Popular Isle of Skye attractions include:

* Castles — there are many different castles on the island. Some are in ruins whilst others have survived the years relatively intact and give visitors an interesting snapshot of island life through the ages. Notable castles here include Dunvegan Castle, home of the famous MacLeod clan and the ruins of Caisteal Maol and Knock Castle. The ruins of Armadale castle are also home to some impressive gardens and the Museum of the Isles.

* Museums — there are a number of museums that are worth a visit if you are searching for Isle of Skye attractions to suit you. In addition to the Museum of the Isles at Armadale visitors may also enjoy a visit to The Aros Experience near Portree. This museum has an interesting exhibition about the history of the island. Ellishader’s fossil museum is a must for any dinosaur buffs and kids and adults alike will enjoy a trip to Glendale’s Toy Museum.

* Trips — there are many different organised and recommended trips that you may want to take around the island. Isle of Skye attractions here include trips on a Glass Bottomed Boat and Llama trekking around the island. Skye is also famous for its whisky and the Talkisker Whisky Distillery allows visitors to take a tour and learn more about how this famous drink is made.

In the past visitors looking for Isle of Skye travel options were fairly dependent on the regular ferry services which traveled to and from the island from various mainland locations (including Mallaig and Glenelg). The ferry services still run today but, in 1995, however, the Skye Bridge was opened which made things easier for visitors to the island.

The bridge links Skye directly with mainland Scotland. It initially opened with a toll payment system in place. Locals and visitors, however, were not happy with the charges made here and the Scottish Executive bought the bridge out of private ownership in 2004 and removed the toll payment system so crossing it is now free of charge. This bridge really has opened up Isle of Skye travel and access routes for both locals and visitors.

Visitors can also access the island via airplane as there is an airstrip near Broadford. This does tend to be used for private planes, however, and most will come to the island either via ferry or by vehicle over the bridge. There are also a variety of bus services into the island from many major mainland towns and cities. These use the bridge which, again, has broadened the options when it comes to deciding which Isle of Skye travel routes to use.

Most of these services will run into Portree. If you are using the train as part of your Isle of Skye travel itinerary then most people will head for the Kyle of Lochalsh to access the Skye Bridge. Some will then pick up a bus on to the island itself or, indeed, simply walk across it.

The main road on the island itself is the A87 trunk road. Visitors looking for Isle of Skye travel options when they arrive on the island without a car have a variety of options. Most will opt to use one of the local bus services that run on the island. Some only concentrate on major routes and towns whilst others run local services across the island itself.

If you want to use a car when visiting the island but don’t want to drive into the area then you can hire cars from a variety of locations. One particularly popular way of really experiencing the best of Isle of Skye travel opportunities is to hire a bike. You can do this in Portree and Broadford, for example. There are also plenty of taxi firms on the island and some coach operators do guided tours of Skye if that would be of interest to you.