Hidden Scotland
Sign in
A picnic bench on the grass above Salen Bay, the calm water and hills beyond.
Isle of Mull

Salen Bay Hire

Kayaks and paddleboards for hire by the hour on Salen Bay, on Mull's east coast, with seals for company.

Visit website
Welcome

Salen Bay Hire rents out kayaks and stand-up paddleboards on Salen Bay, on the east coast of Mull, by the hour: an easy way to get out on the water in the middle of the island.

It works from Ardmor Road in Salen, beside a picturesque bay, and the seals that live here are friendly company for paddlers.

Single kayaks and paddleboards cost £15 an hour and double kayaks £22, with lower prices for locals. It is open every day, from 8.30am to 6pm, and from 9am on Sundays, and there is plenty of kit to choose from, so you can usually turn up for an hour's paddle, though it is worth getting in touch first on a busy day. Salen sits at the narrowest point of Mull, about halfway between Craignure and Tobermory, and the ruin of Aros Castle stands on its promontory just to the north.

Round the cornerIsland sauna shackA wood-fired sauna in a converted horsebox that moves round Mull's shore, from Salen Bay to Calgary Bay, open all year.1 min by roadSee itThe Island Sauna Shack, a blue converted horsebox with a stove chimney, on a rocky shore by the sea.
Before you go

Single kayak £15 an hour, double kayak £22, paddleboard £15; local prices £12, £20 and £12.

Open daily 8.30am to 6pm, Sunday from 9am. Ardmor Road, Salen; email info@salenbayhire.co.uk or telephone 01680 300250.

Getting there
CalMac ferry: Oban to Craignure (50 minutes), Lochaline to Fishnish, or Kilchoan to Tobermory.
Prices
Kayak or paddleboard £15 an hour; double kayak £22.
Hours
Daily 08:30 to 18:00; Sunday from 09:00.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
8.30am–6pm
Tuesday
8.30am–6pm
Wednesday
8.30am–6pm
Thursday
8.30am–6pm
Friday
8.30am–6pm
Saturday
8.30am–6pm
Sunday
9am–6pm
Where it is

Ardmor Road, Salen, Isle of Mull, PA72 6JL.

Close byIn Salen.
  1. Eas Fors, SalenA knitwear studio, shop and coffee shop at Salen on Mull, run by a brother and sister who grew up on the island.Under a mile2 min by road
  2. Aros Castle on its green knoll above a still bay at low tide, trees and a white house along the shore.Aros CastleThe ruins of a 13th-century hall-house and bailey on a promontory above the Sound of Mull near Salen.3 miles7 min by road
  3. Riders on horseback cross a shallow, seaweed-covered shoreline under stormy skiesPony TrekkingTake a guided pony trek over hills, loch, river and beach.4 miles8 min by road
  4. Golf balls near the hole on a putting green with two playersGolf on MullMull has two golf courses, one on the clifftop above Tobermory and the other on the shore of Scallastle Bay.6 miles12 min by road
  5. Walkers on the rocky summit ridge of Ben More, snow lying in the corries.Ben More, MullMull's only Munro, an old volcano of magnetic rock climbed from sea level on the shore of Loch na Keal.6 miles12 min by road
Directions
The Island Sauna Shack, a blue converted horsebox with a stove chimney, on a rocky shore by the sea.ActivityIsland sauna shackA step away
AttractionsLoch na Keal road6.9 miles
A tall waterfall pouring over dark rock in Aros Park, a burn tumbling through boulders below among trees.AttractionsAros Park Waterfalls9.8 miles
The green 'Tobermory Stores' sign over the shop window, a painted mural below.ShoppingTobermory Stores10 miles
The whitewashed front of the Tobermory Distillery visitor centre, painted with the year 1798 and bottles.ToursTobermory distillery10 miles
Colourful waterfront houses at Tobermory reflected in still harbour waterAttractionsTobermory10 miles
A man serving a customer at the hatch of the Fisherman's Pier trailer, the chalkboard menu beside it.AttractionsFisherman’s Pier Fish and Chips11 miles
The blue front of the Hebridean Whale Centre on Tobermory's Main Street.AttractionsHebridean Whale Centre11 miles
The blue front of Brown's on Tobermory's Main Street, a rally car parked outside.ShoppingBrown's Tobermory11 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near Salen Bay Hire, and when each is next free.

The house's gabled wing with a decked terrace and two chairs, solar panels along the roof, seen across a grassy slope.Borradill House
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Glenborrodale
  • 11 miles from Salen Bay Hire
Free 15–17 NovBorradill Cottage, ArdnamurchanBorradill Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In the Isle of Mull
  • 11 miles from Salen Bay Hire
Free 29 Nov – 1 DecA landscape view of the whitewashed cottage in low evening sun, its blue doors, lit lamps and teak chairs, smoke rising from the chimney.Fern Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Croggan
  • 13 miles from Salen Bay Hire
Check datesA white cottage with a grey slate roof stands behind a stone wall among trees on a hillside.The Old School
  • Sleeps 4
  • In the Isle of Mull
  • 17 miles from Salen Bay Hire
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay on MullAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.