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Puffins vs Iona?

Hello! I am planning a three week family vacation in Scotland this coming June/July. We will be spending two nights in Oban (one full day to Island hop), during which I am torn about what to do.

I have my heart set on getting to a Puffin colony, and we could do this by visiting Lunga out of Oban. However, I also very much want to see the abbey at Iona. We will have some time in St. Andrews later in the trip, where we could potentially take a side trip to the Isle of May and visit the Puffin colony there. Does anyone have thoughts about which Puffin colony experience would be better? Is there a higher chance to see other animals like whales on the west vs east coast?

Or any thoughts about choosing Iona vs Lunga?

Thanks for the help!

Posted by
610 posts

Have you considered one of the day trips from Oban that goes to Iona, Mull and Staffa? It might combine both of your desires. I don't know if Staffa has the same numbers of puffins as Lunga, but I do think they have some.

Posted by
1376 posts

Hi, Kate,

If you have the opportunity, visit the islands of St. Kilda. There are thousands of puffins on the cliffs of Boreray. You may also be able to see some on the stacks off of Handa Island, near Scourie. Also at Foulsheugh Bird Sanctuary, south of Stonehaven.

Your best chance of seeing whales would definitely be off the west coast. There are dolphin pods near Aberdeen (harbour), Spey Bay, and near kessock Bridge (Inverness).

Slainte!

Mike (Auchterless)

Posted by
771 posts

As mentioned above, West Coast Tours does a 3 island tour. It starts with taking one of the large car ferries from Oban to Mull. Then there's a narrated bus drive across Mull to Fionnphort where you switch to a small boat and go to Staffa. Staffa has lots of puffins and Fingal's Cave, but it's not inhabited so there are no services. Next you go by boat to Iona. You spend time on Iona then take a boat back to Mull to repeat the process. It's not a guided tour--you get tickets for each leg of the journey and just make sure you time yourself to get the bus in time to get back across Mull.

At Staffa, the boat docks, then you climb a metal staircase up to the island top, then walk about 10 minutes to where the puffins are. If you sit/stay very still, they may come up to you, and photo ops were great. We chose to spend our time there, and not try to get down to Fingal's cave.

Once on Iona it was time for a late lunch, and there were 1 or 2 cafes open. We then wandered around and got an audioguide for the Abbey. It was a very enjoyable day, even though the weather was a bit dreary (we were there in May.)
If you are there in tourist season, I recommend making reservations for dinner ahead of time. The boat gets back about 8 PM, and many of the restaurants by the harbor are booked early.