Hi all. We recently returned from a wonderful trip to Oban & Isle of Mull & since this group was very helpful in planning, I thought it best to come back with trip report + some driving tips we wish we had thought through. It is also safe to say we saw & met more sheep than we did people on this trip & loved it! Thank you all for your helpful inputs. Happy to give more specific info/ recs if anyone has any questions!
Warning: Long Post!
Itinerary
Day 1: London-Glasgow via train; Glasgow-Oban (by rental car); Drove via A82-A83-A819-A85; Stopped at Luss (Loch Lomond); Arrived in Oban late PM; 3 nights in Oban
Day 2: Oban to Glencoe; drove all around the region & Loch Etive (A828 then A82)
Day 3: Oban & surrounding areas: Ganavan sands, Oban town, Pulpit Hill etc
Day 4: Oban to Isle of Mull (Tobermory) via 11 am Craignure CalMac Ferry; On reaching Craignure, stopped at Duart Castle & then headed into Tobermory then further on to Calgary beach & back to Tobermory by 6pm; 2 nights in Tobermory
Day 5: Tobermory to Fionnphort; then ferry to Iona; Return to Tobermory late evening
Day 6: Tobermory to Craignure to Oban to Inverary; overnight in Inverary
Day 7: Inverary to Glasgow (rental car drop off); Glasgow-London by train
Driving & related notes
- Picked up rental car from Arnold Clark on South Street (to avoid driving through Glasgow city centre); extremely nice people here
- Driving times: Note that google maps & the Sat Nav on rental cars give an estimate based on driving the speed limits (which were 60 mph in most areas with some even at 70mph). However, due to reasons mentioned below, we, as North American drivers (new to London), could not drive at those speeds. Add 1.5 hours easily to your driving time if you are like us plus some time for stops.
- We didn’t find too many pull out points for scenic look outs. Only passing lanes on most roads. I wish there were more look out scenic stops along the roads to admire the beauty of the place because it is absolutely stunning!
- Driving: As a N.American driver (with ample prior experience driving on opposite/ left side) it was extremely challenging to drive for the following reasons:
- extremely narrow lanes
- small/ lower cars preferred but takes time getting used to
- Driving on opposite side than we are used to
- single lane roads on most A roads i.e. one lane on each direction only
- Single-track roads in most of Isle of Mull & some parts of mainland around Oban as well with plenty passing lanes
- no shoulders on the side of most roads
- speed limits high for such kind of roads (60/70 mph)- we could only drive a max of 30mph on single-track roads & sometimes 40/50 mph on regular roads due to winding roads
- Extremely winding roads
- The drives overall were more tiring & stressful for the small distances we covered
- Tip: Try & always have an active co-passenger as a navigator + look out person; we felt this especially for the drive on single track roads esp from Tobermory to Calgary Beach.
- Tip: do let trucks, locals etc pass by giving an indicator/ signal earlier than you think is required since they are driving fast & close. There were sufficient “Passing Places” on most roads & I have to say they were much kinder to us as tourists than drivers are in the US.
This is not a list of negatives, but just our personal experience & opinion based on driving here especially as North American drivers who are used to bigger cars + bigger roads so hoping to set expectations of fellow travellers. Locals were of course able to drive at higher speeds. UK drivers are excellent & were very understanding of us as rental car drivers (thanks Arnold Clark stickers on back of rentals!).