Oban & Isle of Mull itinerary- March end?

Well, I can tell you that if it were me, I would take the 3rd night from Oban and assign it to Mull. With only 2 overnights in Mull, you really only have one full day, and that would be a shame, imo. There is a lot to see and do in Mull (although granted, I have not been there in March).

On the reliability question- In March 2023 out of 527 booked sailings on the Craignure route only 14 were cancelled, in April out of 606 booked sailings 39 were cancelled.
Now cancellations can be due both to technical and weather. April is a bit surprising- trying to remember back I think many of the April cancellations were due to delays in the winter ship overhaul programme.

As I mentioned in your earlier thread, with a car there is also the Lochaline route- in March last year of 632 sailings, just 10 were cancelled, in April all 792 sailings ran. Tonight is a stinker of a night, but the Lochaline route was almost the only CalMac route which ran on until the last sailing (looking at maritime charts and the CalMac website).

So that's your pure statistics. On that basis you would be highly unlucky not to be able to get to Mull, if not to the planned port. In the interests of honesty, Craignure pier has issues with it's fendering currently so there are weather limits on the pier. There is still 2 months for Argyll and Bute council (the pier owner) to effect repairs- so not a worry.

Oban could be busy for Easter if the weather is nice, but most everyone if they go to Mull will be on a day tour boat trip or going to Iona. So I don't see an issue with that really. In my experience Iona soaks up the numbers. Get just out of the village and in my experience you will leave people behind fast.

By the time you come back south the Holidays are pretty much over, so somewhere Loch Lomond way should be nice.

Hi there Mardee! Hope you are well & thanks for your reply! Would love to do as you are suggesting but a couple of things- 1) we'll probably only be able to reach Oban by around 5/6 pm on day 1 so the suggestion for 3 nights & 2) also concerned about the weather in mull in March end/ April 1 & thoughts of getting stuck on the island- not sure if it is a rational one though. Hoping someone local or someone who has been there around March/ April can chime in!

@isn31c- hello again & thank you for such a detailed reply. From the data, it seems that most likely than not, we should be able to make it to Mull & back.
Re the Lochaline route- are you suggesting we use that to get to Mull from Oban? If so, from the map it looks like Lochaline may be a long drive from Oban or am I missing something? I did see you mentioned the Fishnish to Lochaline ferry in the last post. It sounds like a great suggestion, thank you! But again, trying to understand logistics in case we have to use that route-
- is it too difficult to get Lochaline; is that drive worth doing anyway since it may be beautiful?
- if we make it to Mull, would we still be able to see things/ drive around if the weather is not very cooperative?
- as Mardee suggested, would you also recommend we drop a night in Oban & add to Mull instead?

thank you!

If the Craignure ferry from Oban is running, take that and book that route, probably the sooner the better.

But the road to Lochaline is 66 miles from Oban, using the short cut of the Corran ferry which is a shuttle service that takes 5 minutes or so. Route planners will tell you 2 hours. Say three to be safe. I think it's a really nice route, but your prime aim is to maximise your time on Mull, so first preference is the direct ferry.

Keep Lochaline in your back pocket in case of ferry issues, then you are not sat there clueless in the ferry line up at Oban but be straight up the road.

Last year Mardee got really lucky, all the Craignure boats were full due to a breakdown, but then CalMac magically found a ship from nowhere (diverted from somewhere else), she arrived (unbooked) and drove straight on with no wait.
The port staff will always go that extra mile for you.

You can always come back some other time and do the back door route.

Your second question- from last year you know how conflicted I am personally on time on Mull vs time in Oban, and on this forum I am an outlier for that. Most people here say run away from Oban.

You have to assume that the weather will be kind to you. As you are a first time overseas visitor I'll give Mardee the casting vote and say sacrifice a night in Oban for a night on Mull.

@isn31c This has been very helpful! Thank you so much again. On my way to finish my bookings now & hoping for a good time! Will report back after the trip!

Abby, there is a member who goes by Skyegirl here who you might want to ask about weather related questions. She lives on Skye and usually chimes in. So she might see this, but if not, you could try sending her a PM.