Getting Here To Iona
By public transport or by private transport
Public Transport
If you are travelling from Glasgow, you need to get to the town called Oban, than take a ferry over to Isle of Mull, bus from Mull - Craignure to Fionnphort and a small ferry over to Iona. The easiest time for travel would be to depart from Glasgow at 12:21 on a way to Iona and at 9:00am (8:30 on Saturdays) on your way back home:
For detailed timetables and bookings please visit:
BUS: www.citylink.co.uk
TRAIN: www.firstgroup.com
When you arrive to Oban you will need to catch a ferry to Isle of Mull. After 45 minutes boat trip you will
get to a place called Craignure situated on the east coast of Isle of Mull. For timetables and bookings please
visit: www.calmac.co.uk.
Water Taxis
The last ferry going back to Mull is at 6:30pm. If you are staying in one of the lovely B&Bs on Mull but would love to have a dinner at the Argyll Hotel in the evening or have you just missed the last ferry going to Iona? There is still an option to hire a boat taxi. Call Mark Jardine or Gordon Grant and book your boat journey:
Mark Jardine
Tel: 01681 700338
Email: info@boattripsiona.com
Website: www.boattripsiona.com
Boat called Freya
Gordon MacCormick
Tel: 01681 700362
Email: gordon@volanteiona.com
Website: www.volanteiona.com
Boat called Volante
Private Transport
If you are picking up a hire car from either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airport you can be comforted by the fact that the route up to Oban is well sign posted and straightforward. Both airports are linked on to the M8, which is the main motorway running between the two cities, and is also linked to the motorway routes up from the South.
There are various route planners on line that will give you detailed instructions, and from Glasgow they will guide you along the M8 and over the Erskine Bridge to pick up the A82. From then on they tend to diverge in opinion with some taking you via Tyndrum and on to the A85, and some taking you via Inveraray and the A83/A819/A85. Both routes are scenic and approximately the same time (about 2 ½ hours drive).
If you are wishing to break your journey for a stop, or some lunch, then the Inveraray route is best, since it allows you to stop at either the Loch Fyne Oyster Farm or the George Hotel; both great venues to eat. Inveraray is about and hour from Glasgow, and is normally the place we recommend people to break their journey overnight if they are landing or arriving late into Scotland and cannot make the 4pm ferry from Oban.
For driving directions from anywhere in the Uk to Iona use Google Maps.
Once you have reached Oban, follow the signs through the town to the ferry terminal. You need to be in the queue for the ferry at least half an hour before departure. If you are an hour or so too early park in queue anyway (you’ll be directed where to go) and then have a quick wee look around the town while you’re waiting.
The Ferry trip is about 45 minutes over to Craignure on Mull, and when you arrive you simply turn left off the Ferry and follow the road to Fionnphort. It is a one track road that at times has quite a lot of traffic, and there are passing places to allow people to overtake slower vehicles. If you are unaccustomed to the narrowness of the roads, or you just wish to enjoy the scenery as you head along the Ross of Mull, please pull over to allow cars behind you to go ahead.
Finally when you reach Fionnphort, the road literally terminates at the pier and the ferry over to Iona. Drop your passengers and their baggage at the boat, and then retrace your steps a few hundred yards and park your car in the Public Car Park behind the Keel Row Pub.
Car access is restricted on to the island, and your car will be perfectly safe in the Fionnphort car park.
