Hello!
I would like to travel to Ireland from the U.S. and then get a ferry from Ireland to Scotland to visit the Isle of Iona and potentially other Islands. Does anyone know the best way to go about this? Is there a train from the place where the ferry would drop off in Scotland to Oban? We were there last year and know the transportation to Iona is quite the pilgrimage!
To get to Scotland you must take a ferry from Northern Ireland (UK) not Ireland. From Belfast you can sail to Stranraer. From Larne (20 miles north of Belfast), you can ferry to Cairnryan or Troon. There are direct trains from Stranraer and Troon to Glasgow (www.bahn.com).
From Glasgow, you then catch the train to Oban where you have to get a ferry to Mull and a bus to from the ferry terminal at Craignure on Mull to the Iona ferry.
I suspect flying from Ireland to Scotland might speed things up a bit, but I haven't investigated the schedules. You might take a look on Skyscanner.com.
As you have seen, getting a ferry will only be convenient if you're near Belfast or Larne. Even so, on the other side it will be a few hours on a bus or bus & train to Glasgow before you can get a train to Oban. I think flying to Glagsow would save a lot of time and cut down on all the transferring required.
What Is your point of arrival into Ireland and where are you hoping to depart from for Scotland? That will help a lot in offering advice.
