Although the area is still geographically and logistically fairly remote, the accessibility of internet shopping has allowed more people to relocate to remote destinations, while carrying on viable business beyond the regions boundaries. Export of food products, commercial and professional services, art, craft and gift is enabled with fewer trading barriers than ever before. For those wishing to purchase products from this island from afar it has never been easier with many suppliers operating competitive and award winning online web shopping services.

As a result the area is better served than ever before, not only retaining its traditional shopping, but modernising all the time - supermarket late nights and Sunday opening are now part of the Skye experience. Long gone are the days where the unsuspecting visitor who failed to fill up with petrol on Saturday afternoon was stuck until Monday!

Visitors to the area can enjoy more traditional and individual village style shopping in traditional butchers, bakerys and green grocers, being served in the time honoured manner, as well as the convenience offered by local supermarkets.

The smaller towns and villages still have the local store, not only a shop but a meeting place where the issues of the day are debated. Many of them sell excellent local produce in addition to the essential items the visitor expects to find and all the holiday extras too. You can still buy beach buckets and spades beside baked beans and porridge.

One of the characteristics of this area is that it is still served by a variety of regular vans, from the mobile bank to the fish van. One of the fish vans travels long distance, bringing east coast fish to the island, supplementing the traditional west coast shellfish. Visitors and locals alike can place regular orders, a service missing in many major towns and cities in the UK.

Although much of the islands population buys online, particularly for specialist goods, the area has many interesting and unusual stores to browse, from book binders, to customised jewelers, candlemakers and chocolatiers.

If you need to replenish the caravan fridge, pick up essentials from the chemist, buy fishing tackle for a day on the coast or merely browse the craft shops in search of a souvenir of your holiday, Skye and Lochalsh offers the most eccentric and diverse of shopping choices.