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Oban to Portree (Skye) Via Mallaig

Posted by (Spokane) on

Hello,

I will be going from Oban to Portree to Inverness. Travel from Portree to Inverness is clear enough. I am trying to figure out my trip from Oban to Portree. Catching a bus to Fort Williams (FW), and then a bus from there to Portree seems to be the most efficient thing to do by far. I continue, however, to entertain the option of taking a bus to FW, then catch a train from there to Mallaig, ferry over to Armadale, finally bus to Portree. I have heard great things about the leg from FW to Mallaig – it’s the terrain of the highly regarded Jacobite train I believe. Plus it would be nice to not go in and out of Portree/Skye the same way. But I am concerned by the number of connections that need to be made here in a region that is somewhat thin on public transportation frequency (from what I gather.) While I expect the connections are set up to make for an efficient journey, missing one would have a significant impact on the trip, correct? Especially the bus from Armadale to Portree? Any opinion on this would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Posted by
1567 posts

Hi, Vishal,

How are things in the Lilac City? Your second option is very doable. Please note that Citylink only operates between Oban and Fort William twice a day, so in order to follow that schedule, you'd have to catch the early bus, which leaves at 9:50. That would put you in to Fort William at 11:18.

From Fort William, you'd take the 12:13 Scotrail train to Mallaig, which gets there at 1:35. That train is timed to meet the 2:00 p.m. Mallaig to Armadale ferry. Once you get to Armadale, you can catch a Stagecoach bus to Portree. Not every bus which leaves Armadale pier goes all the way to Portree; some only go as far as Broadford. If that's the case, you can take the Citylink bus from Broadford to Portree. The last two of the day are at 4:35 and 8:10 p.m.

It looks as though the ferry arriving at 2:45 in Armadale does not have a bus meeting it. Your next bus out of Armadale doesn't leave until 4:45, and only goes to Broadford, which means that you'd end up taking the 8:10 p.m. Citylink bus from Broadford to Portree. If you can somehow get a lift from Armadale to Broadford, you could catch the 4:35 p.m. bus to Portree.

Good luck!

Slainte!

Mike (Auchterless)

Posted by
1377 posts

Mike's advice is as always spot one! If you don't want to wait for the bus in Armadale (there are a couple of shops and a cafe) you could organise a taxi to Broadford or Portree.

Posted by
75 posts

Things in Lilac City are looking wonderful! Thanks for your very helpful response, auchterless! I have more questions, but will create new posts for them. Hope to see you there, haha.

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