Tour to see puffins and Fingal's cave

This is an easy answer because west coast tours does this daily. Starts in Oban, heads to Mull, Iona and Staffa. You see the caves and the puffins. There are quite a few stairs up to see the Puffins so keep that in mind.

https://westcoasttours.co.uk/book-tour/three-isles-tour-mull-iona-staffa/

Thank you so much! I'm not sure my travel companions will want a 10 hour trip, and I would prefer having longer than 1 hr on Staffa. If that exists.

I don't think you have a choice of how long to stay on Staffa.

Getting the ferry to Mull and then the drive to to the port that gets you to Iona and Staffa takes time. Even a 10 hour trip may be rushed with a lot of time on ferries and land vehicles. As for Staffa, you will be on the schedule of the boat tour that takes you there. My guess is that your tour pre-books tickets on one of the boat tours that does Staffa. And, depending on weather, the ferries to Iona and Staffa could be cancelled, that's what happened to us.

Take the tour from Oban. It makes the best use of your time - and there’s no real way to shorten it. I took the same tour from Tobermory, but I was staying there already for several nights.

The length of time you have anywhere is predetermined by powers higher up than the tour company itself, so I couldn’t find other options.

Be aware that weather can prevent boats from going or landing. If you only have one day, everyone should keep their fingers crossed. However, it was truly a memorable experience!

Edit: It isn’t a walk-in-the-park trip, but getting on the boat on Mull shouldn’t be difficult. And if any of your party decide they can’t do Staffa, they can stay on the boat. For the puffins, it’s a hike but you don’t have to do it all to see some and you can go slowly. A hiking pole for balance would help.

Access to Staffa is pre determined by the owners- the National Trust for Scotland. You simply cannot get there other than on a boat excursion, and simply cannot stay longer than the NTS allow that boat to be there.
In Autumn and Winter 2023 the pier has been enlarged to cope with the numbers visiting, and the access stairs rebuilt, again due to visitor pressure.

That caused controversy last year from two camps- those who thought the work was too much for the location, and those visitors who objected to the island closure to allow the work to happen.

The only way to "shorten" the tour is to stay on Iona and take a tour from there, or stay at Tobermory and join and end the tour from there. Or have your own boat and get special permission to land on Staffa.

But stay on Iona and Tobermory and you have to get there and back using the service buses and ferries- which really is not difficult.

This is a wild and remote place, which suffers from too many visitors. Unrestricted access is not possjble. The location means it takes time to get there.

We opted for West Coast Tours "Wildlife Tour" which includes Lunga, which is where all the puffins are. They are also on Staffa, but not near the cave, so you have to hike (and skip the cave). On Lunga, they are right near the landing area and there's a nice hike that may have them pecking your shoes. The bus ride from Craignure to Fionnphort is fun, with a driver providing commentary the whole way. We've seen more puffins on Lunga than anywhere except for Skellig Michael in Ireland. Sumburgh Lighthouse was another memorable location.

You could do the same tour on your own, but unless you're spending several days on Mull, I think it would be a mistake. The actual boat trip is with "Staffa Tours" which you can book from Fionnphort without West Coast involvement. There are also trips from Tobermory, but again, unless you're staying on Mull, a car is a burden.

A last word, puffin tourism is becoming troublesome, when people try to feed them, take selfies, and stray off the paths, disturbing their breeding. Be respectful.

And, depending on weather, the ferries to Iona and Staffa could be cancelled, that's what happened to us.

Or you could wind up taking the boat out but be unable to land due to weather conditions. That's what happened to me in mid-May last year. It was still a nice trip and I got to see puffins but only at a distance. 😊

Thank you all so much. My mother and I visited Skomer Island, and appreciated the care in which they limit outside influences, including but not limited to humans. We certainly will respect all wildlife, and support all restrictions for us pesky tourists.

Please continue to provide your experiences, it really helps to get a sense of what the day may entail!

I took a boat trip from Iona last May and we were fortunate with weather. The boat drops everyone off at the dock and then has to bounce around out in the sea until time to come back to the dock to pick you up. We had a bit over an hour and we headed straight to the cave first. Glorious hike along the rocks and a bit of a scramble into the cave but oh my, so cool. Then a very quick hike out and then up to the puffins. We sat and watched them fly up and plop close to us before darting into their burrows for as long as we could until we had to head to the boat. The boat has to leave at a certain time and can not wait at the dock in between drop off and pick up. The hikes to the cave and to the puffins are not hard but they do require stairs, balance and some mind over matter to make the steps into the cave. It was under repair when we were there so a bit dicey. Weather makes or breaks the trip. But if you get lucky and have a nice day, it is a highlight experience for sure.

The Waverley historic paddle steamer will be berthed at Oban North Pier from 20 to 23 May. She will be doing a variety of sailings out of Oban (timetable to be confirmed) based on Mull but will include Tobermory (direct), Iona and Fort William. Also I understand one Oban to Kyle of Lochalsh for a few days of Isle of Skye sailings.
So different options there.

The other side of the country from where you're aiming, but quick note there are plenty of puffin on the Isle of May, accessed by boat from Anstruther (near St Andrews).