Isle of Arran

This is the timetable which shows the connecting trains, although there are no longer through tickets.

https://www.calmac.co.uk/summer-timetables/ardrossan-brodick#11%20-%2027%20July

Cal mac are trying to foist their reservations system on even foot passengers, but in all truth in September there is no need to do so.

I have never heard of anyone taking a private guide to the island- most people just use the public bus which connects with the 'big ship' saiings- but not the sailings run with MV Alfred

You might try looking at Rabbies tours website. We did a three day with them but I thought I saw they had a new one day tour recently.

I spent three nights on Aaron, and absolutely loved it. I had a car and took the ferry over with the car, and I think the ferry took maybe around 50 minutes. I’m not really aware of any tours there, but I do know that there is excellent bus service there. Probably better than many of the other islands.

At the hotel I stayed at, I met a woman and her daughter, who were hiking all over the island and they were getting around just by bus and having a wonderful time doing so. If you have time, I would highly encourage you to spend the night. It’s a beautiful place and I really enjoyed my stay there. But if you can’t, you can’t. Regardless, there’s plenty to see and do there.

This is the Visit Arran website- https://www.visitarran.com/

As you can see there is a self guided GeoTourist Tour on an app- https://www.visitarran.com/see-do/tours/geo-tourist

a self guided Arran Art Trail- https://www.arranarttrail.com/

cruises to Holy Isle from Lamlash- https://lamlashcruises.org.uk/

(all of which are more geared to those driving)

and

the Mogabout Safari-https://www.visitarran.com/activities-tours-and-heritage-listings/mogabout-arran-safari

but nothing about car or bus tours- may be worth contacting them- see here- https://www.visitarran.com/contact-us

PS- Rabbies are to have a new day tour on a Friday from Glasgow in 2024- https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-glasgow/day-tours/day-island-arran-day-tour

and currently have a 3 day tour from Edinburgh on a Monday, which returns via Kintyre- https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-edinburgh/2-4-day-tours/isle-of-arran-adventure-scotland-in-miniature-3-day-tour

I rushed my last post so here is more:

First, the easiest way to get there is to take the train from Glasgow Central Station to Ardrossan. This takes about one hour; maybe a bit less or more depending on the time. Once you are there, you take the Calmac ferry to Brodick on Arran. That takes about one hour. You can calculate everything at the Calmac site when you are looking at the timetables, as they also have the times for the Glasgow train to Ardrossan. https://calmac.co.uk/summer-timetables/ardrossan-brodick

Brodick is a nice place and is the largest village on Arran. There is good hiking nearby if that's what you like, or you could take a bus up to Brodick Castle and Grounds, which is slightly north of the village. There is some fun shopping nearby - my favorite places were Arran Aromatics, which has some wonderful scented bath products made there (good for souvenirs) and Arran Cheese Shop. There are also several distilleries on Arran; including Lagg Distillery, which is near the south end of Arran and Lochranza Distillery, at the north end.

I loved both areas and both distilleries are reachable by bus, but since you're there for just the day, it might be a stretch. I would seriously consider spending a night or two if you can. I found Arran very charming and I loved my stay here.