Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
20 Feb 2026
Reply rate
81.8 %
Usually responds within 4 days
Feedback
10
Email verified
Host offers payment
Badges (3)
Details
Description
Our hostel is family run, has 27 beds, 5 acres of land and is situated in the small village of Portnalong on the west coast of the beautiful Isle of Skye in the north west Highlands of Scotland.
We pride ourselves on offering the highest level of customer service and cleanliness as well as a friendly and relaxed atmosphere for guests and staff to enjoy.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The hostel is in the Scottish highlands, run by Scots and offers a genuine Scottish Island experience!
Although English is the main language spoken, our multi national/ cultural guests provide helpers with a great opportunity to improve and develop their language skills and learn about the cultures of other nations.
We prefer our helpers to commit to a full summer season as this allows us time to really get to know each other and learn about the other's way of life. All of our previous helpers, ( well...with the exception of one..., we'll tell you about that too, if you're the right people!), are now our friends and keep in touch. Our last helpers, (the wonderful Tim and Sheree), stayed for 6 years before heading off to New Zealand (before they got too old!), to try van life there!
Our previous helpers have said that their hostel experience with us made them more confident communicators, connected them with a load of new friends and taught them lots about Scottish and Island/Gaelic culture.Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage
This host offers accommodation and payment.
Host has indicated that they will pay at least the UK minimum hourly wage for each hour worked and that accommodation will also be provided inline with UK guidance. They are asking for help with a business or business activity. Contact the host directly via the site messenger for more information and details about the wage provided. Any arrangements should be agreed in advance with your host.
Help
We are looking for two cheery souls who able to get on with people from all walks of life and who are hardworking, honest and reliable. All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the UK have good spoken and written English as reception duties may be included. Van lifers are particularly welcome!
Our ideal candidates would be a couple or a couple of friends. We have space to accommodate up to two campervans with hook up as well as a large towing caravan, with parking, in the Hostel garden. Having your own transport is must as island bus services are not the most regular and run limited routes!
We are a family run hostel and like to get to know our helpers well, you know, make a proper connection, so it's important to us that you would be able to commit to a minimum of 3 months, ( May, June, July), and even better, the full summer season, (1st May - 30th Sept). As we said, it's a family run hostel and it's hard to keep that family feeling going if the Workawayers are always changing!
Ideally, we would like to recruit helpers that want to immerse themselves in the hostel experience, so it's a must that you are sociable, friendly and outgoing. It really helps if you like people!
The right candidates would be expected to help with all aspects of the day to day running of the hostel: general cleaning duties, checking in guests, outdoor groundskeeping/gardening etc. - basically you'd be happy to do a bit of anything and everything! There may also be further opportunities in the future, for the right people! We're not being mysterious, we'll tell you all about them if you're the right people!
In return, we offer the opportunity to experience what it is like to live on a majestic, remote Scottish island steeped in Highland heritage and tradition. Our guests come from all over the world and our hostel is a cultural melting pot....it's kind of like travelling the world without having to pack a suitcase! The whole world comes to visit us - how great is that?!! These are paid positions with hours to be mutually agreed.
We are happy to take Workawayers who identify as rat-race drop outs, freethinkers, dreamers, non conformists etc. All we ask in return is that you are honest, nice, happy, can use your initiative and have a good work ethic. Simply put, we're looking for all round great people to who would like to spend an unforgettable summer on the Isle of Skye in an interesting, friendly and laidback work environment.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Campervan pitch with hookup and wifi in the hostel grounds with use of all hostel facilities.
Large towable type caravan.
What else ...
The Hostel makes an ideal base from which to explore the Cuillin mountain range, swim in the Fairy Pools (not for the faint hearted!), take a tour of Talisker whisky distillery, spot a sea eagle or a shooting star and see for yourself the spectacular, wild landscapes that make the Isle of Skye a world class destination
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have good internet connectivity and wifi is available throughout the hostel and hostel grounds. We have had in the past several workawayers who did their online work alongside hostel duties and it worked well for both parties!
Space for parking camper vans
We can take one or two campervans and have hook up and wifi available on the pitches.
Can possibly accept pets
We have two dogs and two cats ourselves and may accept workawayers with a friendly/well behaved dog. as long as it gets on with ours!
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Caley
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (9)
It is so difficult to find the right words to express my love for the Hostel (place, family, & team). It almost felt too good to be true. But it's real, it happened, and I had an incredible time there.
The Hostel is number 1 in Scotland but I have to believe it must be pretty high up in the world rankings. The family that… read more
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.7)
It is so difficult to find the right words to express my love for the Hostel (place, family, & team). It almost felt too good to be true. But it's real, it happened, and I had an incredible time there.
The Hostel is number 1 in Scotland but I have to believe it must be pretty high up in the world rankings. The family that… read more
We had a great time with Georgia, Tim and Danny who also work at the Hostel. We stayed there for 3 months and we all became good… read more
Can highly… read more
Ah Scotland is a magical place. The hostel and the business are well run and taken care of, it was impressive to see how to manage and maintain a top rated facility and surely I've left way more equipped on good… read more
