Ferry from Oban to Craigsnure, and on to Iona questions

Ferry Tickets for foot pax- no need to buy ahead, no capacity issues (unlike for cars) in September. No price advantage to booking ahead.

Independent day trip travel to Iona is not possible on a Sunday due to the bus timings.

The bus is tap and go or cash and can't be pre booked, it is just a normal service bus route. The bus fare is £2 each way.

On a Saturday it is the first ferry out at 0725. It's whichever of the big boats is on the route at the time, so do have the legendary CalMac breakfast during the crossing in the restaurant. At Oban you MUST have a ticket before boarding, and must be in the departure lounge by 0715. The terminal opens at 0545 on a Saturday.

At Fionnphort you arrive at 0950, and walk straight on to the waiting 0955 ferry, buy ticket on board.

There never has been an integrated ticket. Up until the pandemic there was something called Island Hopscotch where you could buy both ferry tickets in one (that applied for several dozen route combinations across the network) but that went for good with the new computerised reservation system. Also normally you would buy a day bus rover ticket on Mull, but with the £2 fare cap in place that no longer applies. If you were arriving by train you would buy a through rail/ferry ticket to Mull.

An alternative would be to book a West Coast Tours package, where they provide the ferry res, put you on the bus, then on a ferry to Iona, and all the same things back. We did the "wildlife tour" a few years ago and it was very easy, and we got to spend hours with the puffins.

Although this link includes the word Staffa, the tour does not:

https://westcoasttours.co.uk/book-tour/tour-mull-iona-and-staffa/

Yes, and you spend £59 as against £18.40 done on your own, and get over two hours less on Iona.

For travel to Iona on a Sunday you could take the West Coast Tours 2 Island tour.

However, that only gives you 2 hours on Iona and the cost is £59 per person.

Both the 2 and 3 Island tours provide commentary from Craignure to Fionnphort.

CalMac do suggest that passengers buy ferry tickets in advance though as said, you shouldn’t have any problems getting on the Oban Craignure run.
Iona really does deserve more than 2 hours - if it’s a nice day then do try to get out to the North End beaches which are gorgeous.They lie beyond the Abbey and are around a 40 min easy walk from the ferry.
If you are walkers then a quick ‘wheech’ up the island’s highest hill, at a mere 100m or so height, is also well worth it.The 360 degree views of islands, mountains, the ocean and Iona’s white sand ringed coast, is stunning for very little effort.
There are various little cafes/hotels which offer food/coffee etc.My favourite is the Argyll Hotel.
The Celtic crosses in the Abbey museum are superb.
If you can factor in the Staffa trip(though check it out in terms of if it appeals, the crossing can be choppy and you’ll need warm layers) it’s a magnificent outing.

I wrote up one of many trips we have made to Iona here though there’s plenty online to inform your visit too of course.It’s a terrific day trip from Oban.Hope you get some decent weather for it though Iona often seems to bask in sunshine when Mull is in cloud (or worse!)

https://annestravelsandhikes.com/2022/04/30/exploring-the-island-of-iona-a-green-jewel-in-a-peacock-sea/

What has come to light since I wrote this morning is that Friday/Saturday 11 and 12 September is the Mull Mod (Mod Ionadach na Dreollinne in the Gaelic- the last two words being the old Gaelic name for Mull), so the ferries will be unusually busy that weekend.

Also at lunchtime on the Friday there will be a massed children's choir on Tobermory beach, even if the proceedings of the Mod itself are not of much interest to most tourists).

Thus over that weekend alone there will be much more pressure than normal on foot passenger space (and a lot of pressure on catr spaces) on the ferry, making reservation not essential, but far more desirable. Of course Tobermory is the opposite direction from Craignure than Iona.

Thank you so much to each of you for your responses. They are all very helpful. It is good to know about the Mull Mod, and the Choir concert on Friday. We will definitely plan to go on Saturday and catch that 0725 ferry - love the breakfast suggestion. We love full breakfasts! and we love to HIKE, so heading up to the highest peak there will be on the agenda. We have close friends who did this last year and shared pictures with us, so it was already on my radar. We are definitely NOT taking a car over, and will enjoy the bus across Mull.

I appreciate the WestCoast information. This is helpful just in case...

Now I just will have to pay attention to getting BACK, and maybe this was mentioned, but I will also keep reading up.

THANKS YOU for such speedy responses as well!

On the way back the bus from Fionnphort is at 1520, arrive Craignure at 1640. The tour buses are at the same time, so I would be looking to come off Iona around 1430, beating the tour folk off, and also give me a little bit of time to enjoy Fionnphort- the return bus should be there waiting from 1440.

Then the ferry back from Craignure is at 1705, although on such a busy day it will probably be a little late.

You might have a few minutes to look around the wee village, perhaps pop in to see Torosay Parish Church if it's open, as it sometimes is.

If it was a nice afternoon/evening I might be inclined to enjoy the freedom of not having the pressure of a car booking, and go on the woodland walk along the route of the former Mull railway to Torosay Castle and back, then catch the next ferry at 1835 on the little boat- the Loch Frisa. When the railway and Torosay Castle was open people did tend to see Craignure as a destination like that, not just as a ferry port.

When you get back into Oban don't be a in a rush to disembark- let those who are running for the train to Glasgow get off first.

Am I reading this correctly that there is only one bus across Mull to the ferry for Iona? I have a group of 27 people who depart Perth on a September Saturday morning heading for Oban ferry, bus across Mull, and ferry to Iona to stay 2 nights on the island. Is this going to require private transportation? Thank you.

Basically one bus which does several trips in the day. But yes for 27 people you will need private transport, as that number will half fill the bus.
Maybe contact West Coast Motors and see if they will run a special charter bus.

You will also need to book the ferry as well with such a large group.

If arriving in Oban by train you will also need to make a group booking with Scotrail. Don't just buy 27 tickets!!