Puffins - Lunga or Ascrib Islands to see them?

Posted by victoria.k97 on 04/04/24 07:08 AM

We'll be visiting both the Isle of Mull and the Isle of Skye and would love to see puffins.

We have the option of either seeing puffins on Lunga (departing from Fionnphort or Tobermory on Mull) and/or on the Ascrib Islands (departing from Uig on Skye).

Purely because of timing, I am hoping to do the puffin tour from Uig so that we can fit in time for Staffa and Iona while on Mull.

Does anyone have any input as to whether one location is actually better than the other for puffins? Does anyone know if the tours to the Ascrib Islands actually stop and let you off on the island(s) amongst the puffins the way the tours on Lunga do?

Posted by Skyegirl

Isle of Skye, Scotland

04/04/24 08:51 AM

1306 posts

Another option is to get a 1/2 day trip to Canna from Elgol on Skye with either Misty Isle or Bella Jane boat trips. There's a very large puffin colony on Canna and I've done the trip many times. It's fabulous.

Posted by victoria.k97 OP

04/04/24 08:55 AM

35 posts

@Skyegirl, do you mean the trips to Loch Coruisk? That is all I can seem to find with Misty Isle and Bella Jane.

Posted by jjgurley

Mountains of S. Oregon

04/04/24 12:53 PM

783 posts

We did the "Wildlife Tour" with West Coast Tours in 2022. Although it's an all day trip, you get two hours or so on each of Staffa, Lunga, and Iona. You board the ferry in Oban and everything is handled from then on. Ferry to Mull, bus to Fionnphort, small boat to the three islands. The small boat leaves you on Iona, where you catch the ferry to Fionnphort, back on bus to ferry to Oban. The small boat is actually Staffa Tours, so you can arrange the same circuit if you deliver yourself to Fionnphort without Westcoast Tours package. Staffa Tours also offers the same tour from Tobermory if that fits into your travel plans more readily. You can also start on Iona. Lots of options.

On Lunga, there were Puffins everywhere, and if you sat quietly, they would surround you. Of course all this magic only happens in the Spring and early Summer. Almost as many puffins as Skellig Michael.

Posted by Skyegirl

Isle of Skye, Scotland

04/04/24 02:00 PM

1306 posts

With Bella Jane you need their Aqua Explore trip to Canna to see the puffins. Misty Isle certainly used to do Canna trips but their website isn't the best so you would need to email them to enquire. But the Aqua Exlore/Bella Jane trip is fantastic. You land on Canna and can explore but wouldn't have time to get to the puffin colonies on foot. But the views you get from the boat of their breeding places and to see them on the water is amazing.

For the Ascrib Islands you also do not go ashore to the colonies. It's not good practice to get close on foot to their breeding places.