Dunvegan Castle & Gardens

We spent all day here! It was great! We started off with the seals boat tour - saw 9 in total plus a seagull chick. The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. Then had a picnic in the gardens which were so peaceful, beautiful and well maintained. Then we finished in the castle. The rooms are fabulous. The staff are super friendly and knowledgeable. All in all, worth the £17.50 for the castle and gardens and the £13.50 for the seals! Not good for mobility though.

This place was awesome!!! The castle was very, very cool, but the gardens were just kick ass. I love taking closeup flower pics, and i probably took over 100 different flower shots, but with my camera, so can't post here unless I edit later... I think we spent about 4 hrs here. Would have loved to sit down and just relaxed for another.

Dunvegan Castle & Gardens is a gorgeous historical place in immaculate condition. You can tell this property is much loved and well cared for. The gardens are huge and have two waterfalls with streams running through. The staff located inside the castle are so kind and informative. I definitely recommend this stop.

Overall very nice. Beautiful and very big gardens. Unfortunately there is only small parts of the castle available to see, because others is private to the family - I would say not worth the price for tickets. There are options for other activities as well.

We didn't venture into the castle itself but a walk around the different parts of the garden is lovely, from the water garden, round garden and the walled one. Then we ventured into the wild forest! Its a great way to explore!

June 2025: much of the grounds are under renovation still. There's some nice views of the castle and water, but that's pretty typical for the Isle of Skye. There's many not so nice views too. The gardens are largely skippable and only the walled garden section is of any note (there are a couple waterfalls in other sections but you've likely seen much grander on the isle). The castle itself is more interesting and the staff are largely quite friendly although some need to work on people skills (observed a woman who really knew her Scottish history try to engage a guide , but he kept giving her terse one sentence answers - more out of awkwardness than blowing her off). The more interested you are in clan trivia the more you'll get out of this naturally but as someone who knows nothing about it, I found the castle exhibits engaging and nicely done.

Beautiful history and gardens/grounds. Managed seal tour first thing and was treated to some lovely views, lots of seals, many pregnant and happy to let us get close on the boat. Lots of sea life. The castle is very well maintained and holds a lot of history. Free parking too!

Excellent historical site with beautiful garden which is perhaps the highlight of the place. We spent around an hour exploring the insides of this medieval castle (btw still inhabited by the chief of the Macleod clan) and the outside watergarden, walled garden and rhododendron garden. We found the price to be on a high end, equalling 17£ per person. Overall really recommend.

Historic, beautiful, well organized castle with many docents. An amazing place full of history, walks and a massive gorgeous garden!! The Dunvegan castle and gardens is the Oldest continually inhabited castle in Scotland. There is a cafe nearby, a short video on the castle, docent guides at the door and in several rooms... and everything has a short description to add meaning. In the warmer weather- April to September there are Seal tours. If you just can't bear to leave there are 5 holiday cottages for rent! That must cost a pretty penny ( or pound)! More info at www.dunvegancastle.com

Duvegan Castle and Gardens Dunvegan Castle (Caisteal Dhùn Bheagain) is located 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, off the west coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod, The castle was first built in the 13th century and developed piecemeal over the centuries. In the 19th century the whole castle was remodelled in a mock-medieval style. The castle is built on an elevated rock overlooking an inlet on the eastern shore of Loch Dunvega The gardens are truly mesmerizing and enjoyable to walk through for its well kept and lush presentation.

Loved visiting the castle and seeing the history of the family that lived there. Fun to see the fairy flag and get the different stories associated with it. The Gardens are beautiful I wish we would've been able to take the boat tour as well. Plan to spend 3-4 hours here with doing the boat tour.

The visit to this castle was really a surprise. In a good way. We bought the "Gardens Only" ticket for 12£ each. Our Bulldog was welcome on the grounds as well. What seems like a smaller area from outside is actually a pretty big-sized area. The castle itself is very beautiful. Great location by the water. Be sure to get some views from down at the water. It's a historically important castle. It's the seat of the famous MacLeod Clan.Building started somewhen in the 1200s. And it's the only Highland fortress to have been continuously occupied by the same family for 800 years! And it's one the greatest Hebridean castles. In the 19th century the whole castle was remodelled in a mock-medieval style. What we found equally impressive were the gardens. Especially the Round Garden and the Water Garden. So much green, so many plants and flowers. Small creeks and waterfalls. It's beautiful. Sometimes we felt like being in the jungle. It's just an amazing place to have a walk. Very well worth the entrance fee. We really took our time here to check out all the (to us) rare and unkown plants. Lots of informative signs around the gardens, explaning the flowers and trees. A really fantastic visit. A great castle and breathtaking gardens. A real highlight on the Isle of Skye!

This was a highlight of our day! A very interesting walk through the castle with photos and artifacts. I learned that there was no return after being thrown in the dungeon! People were thrown down in a hole on top of those who went before them, if their remains weren't washed out by the sea. The kitchen was close by so they cut a slit in the wall so those in the dungeon could smell the cooking while they starved to death. The gardens were beautiful! A lovely walk on a beautiful day. Well worth the ticket price.

Despite this attraction being the very last on my Isle of Skye to do list, we were pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed this castle. Its a smaller and less extravagant castle, but it has lot of charm and interesting history. Not to be missed if you have any Macleod blood in your veins. We did skip the gardens though, the midges(Scottish mosquitoes) were especially fierce and hungry. Wear bug repellent! £11 is a bit excessive compared to other castles, but I suppose its not cheap maintaining and repairing a castle.

My family and I visited Dunvegan castle last week. My son uses a walker as his main form of transportation. Before buying our tickets we asked the woman selling them if he was able to go in. She informed us that there were two flights of stairs but the rest was flat. My husband and I said we could carry him and walker up stairs and then continue our tour. When we reached the castle the woman taking our tickets told us that we could not bring my sons walker in the castle for the tour because 'it was too narrow'. My sons walker isn't even as wide and some adults. She then told us we would have to carry him if that was ok. My son is 65lbs and 4'7". I left with my son super upset and emailed the Dunvegan castle. No response. Their website says they will accommodate special needs with the exception of an electric wheelchair on the second floor. How my family was treated is illegal and their staff (or at least one) are ill informed and mistreat people with disabilities. I do not recommend this castle in any way. Disability or not.

A wonderful castle where you get to learn about the Clan MacLeod. It was not too busy in the late September season when we visited, and we really really enjoyed walking the gardens. Most castles are a bit stuffy and restrictive (no photos, don't touch this, don't touch that etc;). The gardens are where you get to explore, smell, touch and really enjoy the beauty of these castles. Kudos to all the people that upkeep the gardens, truly wonderful work.

If you're looking for Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, you're storming the wrong castle This impressive castle is the official "home" of the Chiefs of the Clan MacLeod & there is a ton of rich history associated Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the Chiefs of MacLeod for nearly 800 years.... lots of Clan battles have fought here but the castle never faltered ... and it was a MacLeod who helped Bonnie Prince Charles escape Cumberland's army Renovations are currently being done on the castle facade but we were still allowed access to the interior - lots of Jacobite relics & other historical items to behold Including the famous Fairy Flag - dated between the 4th and 7th centuries A.D., this flag was magical for when the MacLeod's were in great danger, they were to wave the flag and they would be delivered Walk up an impressive staircase to see portraits of the family & ancestors - rooms are richly furnished & staff around the castle will help people look in old books through family trees to help trace roots Beautiful walled / gated gardens to the side - this is a must-not-miss! The motto of Clan MacLeod is "Hold Fast" - not "There can be only one" ... so they may have filmed Highlander here - but the only Immortals you'll find are the ghosts of history past

Castle is not very impressive. Small actually, when compared to other castles. The history of the castle relates to the MacCleod clans. I toured the whole castle in about 30 minutes tops. One bright spot is the garden. There are also the seal tours (I skipped that but thought it would be interesting). The guides were very helpful, friendly and some are even attractive. In retrospect, this place is not as striking as others, even though many tour companies show this tour spot. There are other places to visit, such as the Uig, Ewing's castle (spelling?), The Kilt rock, Old man of Storr, Quiraing...- these places are far more majestic and beautiful in my opinion.

My son and I loved it all: -the castle with great info about the McCleoud clan -the gardens - so beautiful -the seal tour! Just wow! We are glad we came here! The staff is superfriendly also. Don't miss this castle if you are visiting Skye! You can take a local bus from Portstree to get here!

While the castle itself is not all that spectacular or interesting compared to others, this is worth the trip because of the gardens and the seal boat tours. In late July, the grounds rivaled those of many botanical gardens with a gorgeous variety of flowers. The seal boat tour was 1/2 hour, reasonably priced (7.50 for an adult ticket when we went) and got us very close to some of the seals in the nearby colony, in addition to some excellent bird watching opportunities. This stop was a worthwhile addition to our west loop drive in Skye.