Three days: Oban, Mull and Iona
Three days by car, from Oban and back.
The route
Mull is a big green island of sea lochs, eagles and single-track roads, with Iona lying just off its western tip.
Three days is enough to see the best of both. It starts in Oban, at the MacDougalls' castle above the bay, before the ferry to Craignure and Duart Castle on its point. The first night is in Tobermory, the painted harbour town at the island's northern end. On the second day the road runs west by Dervaig and Calgary Bay to Ulva Ferry, for a boat out to Staffa and Fingal's Cave, then along Loch na Keal and south through Glen More to a night near Bunessan. That puts you on one of the first boats to Iona in the morning, from Fionnphort, and back in Oban by evening.
Before you go
Book the ferry from Oban to Craignure
Book the car as soon as your dates are fixed; the car deck fills well ahead in summer.
Book the boat to Staffa from Ulva Ferry
As soon as your dates are fixed, as the boats are small.
Book the ferry from Craignure to Oban
Book the car with the outward crossing; summer sailings fill well ahead.
Online before the day, for the lower price.
Day one
Tobermory
A morning at Dunollie above Oban Bay, then over the water to Mull, for two castles on the Sound of Mull and a waterfall in the woods before the night in Tobermory.
1 hr 15 min at the wheelAbout 33 miles
Dunollie Museum, Castle and Grounds
An attraction
It's 4 minutes' drive north along the Corran Esplanade to Dunollie, the old seat of the Clan MacDougall on its crag at the mouth of Oban Bay. The ruined tower dates mostly from the 15th century, and in 1746 the family left it for a new house just below. Walk up through the woods to the ruin for the view over the bay to Kerrera and Mull, then see the museum in the 1745 House. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, until the end of October.
6 min by car
The ferry from Oban to Craignure
The CalMac terminal for the ferry to Craignure on Mull is 6 minutes' drive back through the town. The crossing takes 50 minutes, or an hour on the Loch Frisa, and runs past Lismore lighthouse and Duart Castle. A car has to be booked, and in summer the car deck fills well ahead, so book both ways at once, the crossing back from Craignure on day three included, as soon as you know your dates. Cars must be at the port 30 minutes before sailing.
50 min by boat, 9 min by car
Duart Castle
An attraction
It's a 50-minute crossing to Craignure, then 9 minutes' drive east to Duart Castle. It has guarded the Sound of Mull since about the 13th century, and it's the seat of the Clan Maclean. It lay in ruins for well over a century until Sir Fitzroy Maclean, the 26th chief, bought it in 1911 and restored it. It's open daily from April to 25 October, from 10.30am; adults pay £13, and the grounds and tearoom are free.
35 min by car
Aros Castle
An attraction
Drive 35 minutes north up the Sound of Mull, past Salen, to the ruin of Aros Castle on its headland above the bay. The MacDougall lords of Lorn probably built it in the 13th century. They backed the losing side against Robert the Bruce, and the castle went to the Lords of the Isles and later to the Macleans. By 1688 it was already described as ruinous and useless, and the broken walls stand close to the road.
About 15 min by car
Aros Park Waterfalls
An attraction
Twenty minutes' drive on is Aros Park, the woods of an old estate just outside Tobermory. The Allan shipping family's house stood here until the army pulled it down in 1962. The Lochan Trail circles Lochan a' Ghurrabain, made to power the estate's mill, and the steeper Waterfalls Trail leads to a pair of falls, one plunging more than 100 feet from the cliff top. Storm damage and tree felling have closed parts of the trails, so check Forestry and Land Scotland's local alerts first.
6 min by car
Tobermory
An attraction
It's 6 minutes' drive into Tobermory, your home for the night. The British Fisheries Society founded the town as a fishing port in 1788, and its painted houses along Main Street became famous on the children's programme Balamory. A Spanish galleon is said to have sunk in the bay in 1588, though nobody has found its treasure. Before dinner, walk the harbour front, or follow the path from the end of Main Street, by the CalMac pier, just over a mile to Rubha nan Gall lighthouse.
If it rains
Dunollie's museum in the 1745 House and Duart's rooms are both indoors, so give them longer. Aros Park's Waterfalls Trail is steep and boggy in a downpour; walk the flat Lochan Trail instead, or skip it and reach Tobermory in time for the Hebridean Whale Centre on Main Street (weekdays, 10am to 5pm) and Tobermory Distillery's visitor centre, open daily, 10am to 5pm.
Worth a detour
- Rubha nan Gall Lighthouse
A shore path north from Tobermory pier to the lighthouse at the mouth of the bay.
Where to eat
The GalleonA restaurant
Café FishA restaurant
Am BirlinnA restaurant
Croft 3A restaurant
ObanThe Waterfront Fishouse, ObanA restaurant
ObanGeorge Street Fish, ObanA restaurant
North PierPiazza, ObanA restaurant
ObanThe Oban InnA restaurant
ObanHinba, ObanA café
ObanOban Chocolate CompanyA café
ObanThe Barn at CologinA restaurant
ObanPoppies, SaulmoreA caféDay two
Staffa
West by the white sands of Calgary Bay and the falls of Eas Fors to Ulva Ferry, for the boat to Staffa and Fingal's Cave. Afterwards the road runs east along Loch na Keal, with Ben More across the water, then south through Glen More to a night near Bunessan. Leave Tobermory about two hours before your boat sails.
2 hr 35 min at the wheelAbout 77 miles
25 min by car
Calgary Bay
An attraction
It's 25 minutes' drive west by Dervaig to Calgary Bay, a long curve of white sand backed by machair, a grassland on shell sand rich in wild flowers. The bay gave its name to Fort Calgary in Canada, now the city in Alberta. A path on the north side runs out to the old stone pier and up to the roofless houses of Inivea, left from the Clearances. The car park, with toilets, is 100 yards from the sand. With an afternoon boat, linger here and at Eas Fors.
20 min by car
Eas Fors Waterfall
An attraction
Eas Fors is 20 minutes' drive on round the coast, past Treshnish and Torloisk. Here a burn, or stream, falls in three stages, the last straight over a cliff to the shore of Loch Tuath. The name says waterfall twice, in Gaelic and in Norse. Park in the small space before the bridge. There are no barriers above the drop, so for the safest view of the last fall, walk half a mile down the road towards Ulva Ferry and take the track back along the stony beach.
5 min by car
The boat to Staffa from Ulva Ferry
Turus Mara's boats for Staffa leave from the pontoon at Ulva Ferry, 5 minutes' drive on. The trips run on set days and times, from three hours to a whole day with Iona or the Treshnish Isles, so book first. You get about an hour ashore to walk over the basalt columns into Fingal's Cave, which the composer Mendelssohn visited in 1829. Puffins nest there from late April to early August. Adults pay from £45; the boats sail from April to October, weather allowing, and dogs can't go.
1 hr 45 min by car
Uisken Beach
It's 105 minutes' drive to Uisken, by Salen, Craignure, Glen More and Bunessan. The first 6 miles follow Loch na Keal's north shore, one car wide with no car park: passengers can watch for otters and eagles, but never stop on the road, verge or a passing place. Uisken is a sandy bay with a small car park. Climb the hill at its east end to the Last Look Back, a cairn named for the funerals that once walked to Kilvickeon church. If your boat was in the afternoon, come in the morning instead.
If it rains
The boats to Staffa don't sail in bad weather, and Turus Mara posts each day's trips on its trip status page. If yours is called off, stay the morning in Tobermory for the distillery, open daily from 10am, and the Hebridean Whale Centre on a weekday, then drive the coast by Calgary Bay in the afternoon. The otters and eagles of Loch na Keal don't mind rain: passengers can watch the north shore as you drive it, without stopping on the road.
Worth a detour
- Isle of Ulva
The little ferry across from Ulva Ferry to an island of walks, if the Staffa boat is not sailing.
Day three
Iona
Across to Iona on one of the first boats, before the day trips from Oban arrive, for the abbey, the nunnery and the pale sands at the north end, then back over Mull for the ferry to Oban.
20 min at the wheelAbout 43 miles by carAbout 3.5 miles on foot
15 min by car
The ferry from Fionnphort to Iona
It's 15 minutes' drive to Fionnphort, where you leave the car in the car park by the slip. Visitors can't take a car to Iona, so this is a crossing on foot. CalMac's little ferry runs frequently through the day, and an adult return is £4.80. Buy the ticket online or at the port, and be at the slip 10 minutes before the boat.
10 min on foot
Iona Nunnery Ruins
An attraction
The crossing to Iona takes 10 minutes, and the Nunnery is a 3-minute walk up from the jetty. Reginald, son of Somerled, founded it in the early 1200s, with his sister Bethóc as its first prioress, and its roofless walls of pink granite are the most complete medieval nunnery left in Scotland. The church, the cloister and the outlines of the rooms around it are all still clear. Entry is free.
9 min on foot
Iona Abbey
An attraction
It's a 9-minute walk north to Iona Abbey, where St Columba founded his monastery in 563. The Book of Kells is thought to have been made here, before Viking raids drove many of the monks to Ireland. The abbey church was restored in the early 1900s, and from 1938 the Iona Community rebuilt the monastic buildings around it. The Reilig Odhráin is said to hold early kings of Scotland. It opens at 9.30am from April to September, 10am in winter; adults pay £10 online.
25 min on foot
North End Beaches
An attraction
A 25-minute walk north on the island road, past scattered houses and open fields, brings you to the beaches at the north end. The first is Traigh Bhan nam Manach, the White Strand of the Monks, a long stretch of pale sand with low dunes behind and Mull across the water. Dùn Ì, the island's highest point at just 101 metres, rises beside the road on the way. There's usually room to sit alone for a while, even in summer.
35 min on foot
The ferry from Iona to Fionnphort
It's a 35-minute walk back down the island road to the jetty, with time for lunch in the village before the boat. The ferry back to Fionnphort runs frequently until early evening in summer, and until about half past four in winter, and the crossing takes 10 minutes. If you're on the bus, leave Iona in good time: the 96 leaves Fionnphort for Craignure at 3.20pm, the last one back, and CalMac's Iona timetable says to leave Iona by 2.45pm to catch it.
10 min by boat
The ferry from Craignure to Oban
After the 10-minute crossing back to Fionnphort, it's 65 minutes' drive along Loch Scridain and through Glen More to the pier at Craignure. The ferry to Oban takes 50 minutes, or an hour on the Loch Frisa. Your car should already be booked; if it isn't, CalMac takes bookings online until check-in opens, if there's room. Be at the port 30 minutes before sailing, and look for Duart Castle on its point as the boat leaves the Sound of Mull.
1 hr by boat, 5 min by car
McCaig's Tower
An attraction
It's an hour's crossing to Oban on the Loch Frisa, or 50 minutes on the Isle of Mull, then 5 minutes' drive up the hill to McCaig's Tower. John Stuart McCaig, a banker, built its ring of 94 granite arches from 1897, as a monument to his family and to give the town's stonemasons work. He died in 1902 with only the outer wall finished. It's free and open all day, and the view over Kerrera to Mull, where you have just been, is a fine one to end on.
If it rains
The Iona ferry runs in most weather, but check CalMac's service status page before you leave. The abbey church, its cloister and the museum of carved stones are under a roof, so give them the time the north end beaches would have had. Back in Oban, swap McCaig's Tower for a tour at Oban Distillery, a 5-minute walk from the station beside the ferry terminal, open until 7pm from May to September and 6pm in October; book ahead, and no children under 8.
Worth a detour
- Bay at the Back of the Ocean
The white beach on Iona's Atlantic side, across the island from the abbey on foot.
- St Columba's Bay
The pebble bay at the south end of Iona where Columba is said to have landed.
Where to eat
ConnelThe Oyster Inn, ConnelA restaurant
ObanKerrera Tea GardenA caféObanThe Oban InnA restaurantObanGeorge Street Fish, ObanA restaurantNorth PierPiazza, ObanA restaurantObanThe Waterfront Fishouse, ObanA restaurant
St Columba LarderA restaurantObanHinba, ObanA café
The Keel RowA barObanOban Chocolate CompanyA café
FionnphortNinth Wave RestaurantA restaurantObanThe Barn at CologinA restaurantPhotographs by Andy Shillam, Dom Simpson, Steven Kemp and Kevin Newton via Google