An itinery guide to your Scottish Island Hebrides trip of a lifetime

Part 1. Northern Islands

Do you need help planning your trip? Here is my 10 day plan to help you out. Set over 3 posts: Northern Islands, Southern Islands and Helpful Links.

Planning the Outer Hebrides Road Trip can be overwhelming if it is your first visit. It is absolutely worth it, and to get the most out of it, planning is advisable.

Your options are limitless, so you will need to make it your own, but I hope this will help you narrow things down. We began at the Butt of Lewis in the very north, and worked our way down to the south of the islands.

We loosely followed the book by Robbie Roames, which I would highly recommend; full of easy to follow information, QR codes and different length itineraries. (See link below for campsites, books and helpful website links)

Beginning our trip, we took the ferry from Ullapool to Stornaway and stayed at Laxdale campsite, Stornaway.

• Day One Itinerary. (Lewis)
  • Garry Beach and walk – stunning beach views with good walks and possible surfing (check safety first).
  • Port Stoth- walk to Europie Beach and round to Butt of Lewis. Great wildlife, flowers, birds and views.
  • Off grid camp at Port Stoth.

• Day 2 Itinerary (Lewis and Great Bernera)
  • Drive to west coast of Lewis. Calanais Standing Stones. Visitors Centre is closed (2025), but you can still visit. Parking is temporarily on the road. The stones pre-date Stonehenge. Can be busy.
  • Bosta Beach on Great Bernera. Beautiful beach with stunning views. Highland Cattle roaming around the carpark. Toilets. Potential overnight campervan stop.
  • Cliff Beach. Stunning beach with Atlantic views and waves. Often deserted. Not suitable for swimming due to undercurrents. Can stay overnight in campervan for £10 honesty box payment. Great walks to the nearby beaches.

• Day 3 Itinerary (Lewis and Harris)
  • From Cliff Beach stop off, drive around the Bhaltos peninsula. Beautiful drive on single track roads, with views and beaches to die for.
  • Visit Ardroil Beach (Uig Bay). Vast and deserted beach, with great car park and campervan facilities. (£4.00) The famous Lewis Chessmen pieces were discovered here, dating back to 12th Century.
  • Visit Mangersta Stacks. A real change from the beautiful beaches. A short walk takes you to great views of the stacks. We were lucky to sea a White Tailed Eagle and a Golden Eagle from here. Take your binoculars. Parking can be tricky.
  • Drive to Huisinish Beach. Absolutely stunning beach, however the road is quite an experience. 30 minutes of twists and turning on single track road. When we arrived, we nearly had to go back as the car park was full. Possible campervan stop here although it was busy and basically a carpark with showers and campervan facilities.

• Day 4 Itinerary (Harris and Scalpay)
  • Back down the Huisinis Road is the Eagle Observatory. A 3k return walk to the Observatory on a good path. We didn’t see any Eagles but we could hear so many Cuckoos, and were lucky to see three.
  • Drive to Scalpay island. Walk to the stunning lighthouse, run by an amazing couple. Great cakes, and a lovely cuppa. If the weather is on your side-fantastic views of Skye and the mainland. We were hoping to see dolphins, but unlucky that day. Rumours of otters too. Cute bothy on the premises.
  • Drive to Horgabost Campsite, ready for a rest day. We booked 2 nights. Walk to Macleod’s Stone from the campsite in the evening.

• Day 5 Itinerary (Harris)
  • A relaxing day at the campsite. If you need to do your washing, take a short drive to Leverburgh Community Centre. While you are waiting, top up your food at the fabulous community shop opposite.
  • We got lucky with very warm weather, so dried the washing and sat in the sun.
  • Walk to the famous Seilebost beach; aquamarine lagoon-style inlets, wide sand flats and white sand, and look over to Luskentyre beach. Often lists as in the top ten beaches in the world. Prone to quicksand however.
• See Part 2 and 3 for the Southern Islands and more detail. Below is an easy 10 day block guide, book and links details.
• https://naturallyoutdoorsy.com/?p=357
• https://naturallyoutdoorsy.com/?p=359

Day	Campsite/ Overnight Stop off	Area
Pre Day 1	Laxdale Holiday Park. Great facilities. EHU	Stornaway, Lewis
1	Port Stoth (Off Grid Camp) Free	Butt Of Lewis
2	Cliff Beach (Off Grid Camp) £10 honesty box	Lewis
3	Huisinish Beach (Off Grid Camp) Pay at carpark machine. Off grid camp.	Harris
4	Horgabost Campsite (Optional EHU. Some facilities)	Harris
5	Horgabost Campsite	Harris
6	East Beach, (Off grid camp) £10. honesty box	Berneray
7	Moorcroft Campsite. Great facilities and optional EHU	North Uist
8	Kilbride Campsite. Facilities. Cafe. Optional EHU	South Uist
9	Wavecrest Campsite. Some facilities and EHU	Barra
10	Wavecrest Campsite. Some facilities	Barra

Book	Author	Details
Road Trip Outer Hebrides	Robbie Roams	This was our main bible for the week. Really helpful and easy to use
Outer Hebrides Bradt Guide edition 2	Mark Rowe	Really helpful for extra info on each day
The Outer Hebrides, 40 Coast & Country Walks	Paul & Helen Webster	We use these mini walk guides a lot. Really helpful for varied walks in your chosen area
Visit Outer Hebrides web page	A must for your info on do’s and don’ts for Campervans	https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/planning-your-trip/motorhomes
Visit Outer Hebrides Map of facilities and campsites	Really helpful but not exhaustive. Download it and take it with you	https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/dbimgs/1769_BB%20Campervan%20leaflet_REPRINT_Screen.pdf