Here are details on the walking route above.
Circus Lane
Dean Village
Cairngorm Coffee - (many vegan options - I got a hot chocolate, dark chocolate cookie, and orange and chocolate truffle that I shared with a friend. Really decadent.)
Old town of Edinburgh
Edinburgh Castle
Grassmarket
Victoria Street
inspiration for Diagonal Alley in Harry Potter.
The Elephant Cafe (it burnt down in 2021 so this is a replica for fans I believe)
lots of little gift shops
Royal Mile
St Giles Cathedral (paid entry)
We stumbled upon Advocate's Close, a pretty alley with a view of Scott Monument. I had just gotten a magnet with that view and was excited to see it.
More gift shops
Waverly Bridge
Dinner - Dishoom (reserve in advance, this is a popular chain across the UK.)
We had the Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert so I took it easy with lunch and a cafe listed below, but below is a suggestion for more sightseeing.
Arthur's Seat - a hill which is the remains of an extinct volcano, you can hike up to see the view of Edinburgh.
Lunch - Maki Ramen.
I went to the FountainBridge location. 7.5/10 - I got the Veg gyozas and Spicy Hell ramen which were both good but not the best I've ever had. The ambience is cute.
I randomly stopped at Gardner's Crescent Garden which felt really nice as I soaked in the sun and heard the birds chirping.
MILK on Morrison St. They had had a turmeric latte which came in clutch since I wasn't feeling great, and a lovely vegan dessert.
Glencoe and Harry Potter filming locations
Day three was driving to the Isle of Skye via Glencoe, with a stop in Fort William for groceries at an Aldi.
From Edinburgh, we started with putting down the Glencoe Visitor Centre as our first stop and stopped at a few unplanned viewpoints that we saw along the way:
Glen Ogle Viaduct
Loch Tulla
Glencoe Visitor Centre
This was a beautiful visitor center, included a cinema with short films, a 3d map, a cafe with (unsurprisingly at this point) delicious vegan treats and "toasties" that I saw everywhere in Scotland, and a gorgeous view right outside it. With a mountain backdrop, we got to see a turf and creel house with a thatched roof that they've created for visitors, with yaks grazing close to it.
Another recommendation is Glen Etive, where James Bond's Skyfall was filmed, only a 15 min drive from the center.
We focused the rest of our sightseeing for Harry Potter filming locations.
We drove a few min to stop at the following stops:
Clachaig - where we found the hill where Hagrid's hut was in the films. I got to see the exact spot where the trio stood as they tried to save buckbeak, the bird.
You also got views of the lake where Harry casts a patronus charm in the Prisoner of Azkaban to fend off dementors.
We then quickly stopped at that lake, it was beautiful.
Glen Locan Viewpoint
Loch Leven - this is where the trio is dropped by the dragon after fleeing from Gringotts.
We then proceeded to Fort William to pickup some groceries from Aldi and our final stop before the Isle of Skye was Glenfinnan Viaduct.
Glenfinnan Viaduct - The Jacobite Steam Train
The train was suspended the time we went, but you can still hike up 5-10 mins to see the famous viaduct where the train featured in the HP films passes.
The town of Portree has cute cafes and souvenir shops. Lots of vegan treats and cute gifts to take home.
The Old Man of Storr hike - 2.5h with stops for pictures and taking in the views
Brother's Point, Rubha nam Brathairean (1h) - muddy and wet, but along the coastline and features the beautiful peninsula.
Kilt Point and Mealt Falls (viewpoint from the parking lot, we also saw a dinosaur footprint!).
Fairy Glen (45 min hike out and back) ft. Castle Ewen
We wanted to do the Quiraing or Neist Point but we came back to cook some Thai Red Curry, and ended the night with some wine and games.
Misty Isle Boat Tour (3h including the stop)
We got dropped off to explore Loch Coruisk, at the foot of the Black Cuillin Hills.
Fairy Pools hike (~1.5h) - highly recommend.
Dinner - Gasta Port Righ (Pizza) and croissants until 5pm. This was in the Isle of Skye Candle Co. Visitor Centre. The views were marvelous from the restaurant.
Quiraing Circuit (2-3h)
We did about 1.5h because of time and other constraints, but allocate at least 2h and preferably 2.5 - 3 hours to include ample of stops. Since we drove far for the boat tour earlier, we ended up driving a lot this day and wanted to make sure to fuel up before the hike since most restaurants close at 8pm. But you can probably do the hike earlier in the day or even the day before. We pivoted our schedule a lot and moved things around as things came up.
Beautiful patches of sunlight at around 8:30 PM / golden hour.
Can even go geocaching.
We had to skip Neist Point but it is recommended at sunset.
All of the hikes were different and beautiful in their own ways and we're so glad we did them!