Outer Hebrides Road Trip: Your 1 Week Itinerary for the Western Isles

If you want to experience the wilds of Scotland, a road trip through the Outer Hebrides is a great introduction. Here’s my itinerary to help you plan your Western Isles adventure.

Go on a road trip to the Outer Hebrides and you’ll avoid the crowds of the almighty North Coast 500, and get to see some of the most open and free parts of Scotland. 

I went to the Outer Hebrides with my friend and fellow travel blogger, Helen in Wonderlust. Sounds incredibly stupid now, but I hadn’t quite realised I’d planned a road trip to the Outer Hebrides, as I was going off Instagram pictures I’d seen. Genuinely thought I was going on a road trip to the Western Isles – who knew it was the same thing, hey? 

Anyway, confession over, let me guide you through our Outer Hebrides road trip, so you can do the same (one day!). 

Click to see the Outer Hebrides Road Trip Route Map

This was our basic route for the Outer Hebrides road trip. I planned it two weeks before – the day before I went to Norfolk for four days – so, it was a skeleton of an idea, which we planned to flesh out while we were there. 

I’d originally planned more destinations, including Ullapool, but when it came to booking the ferries I realised it was just too much.

Just a warning, booking the ferries for our Outer Hebrides road trip was more complicated than I thought. Knowing the names of the ferry ports, planning the timings and connections, and then, knowing if they had space was harder than I planned. This probably took me about three hours, but with this guide you’ll be able to do it in way less.

More tips on actually booking the Outer Hebrides road trip below. 

So, let’s get onto the Western Isles road trip itinerary, shall we?

Day 1: Driving through Loch Lomond

After driving up from Portsmouth, where I live and about 275 miles away, the day before, we actually set off from Preston. Managed to swing by Tebay Services to drop £50 on snacks,