If you can plan your itinerary to take the bridge to Skye and avoid this horrible service, do so…read more We planned an entire day around our ferry schedule. When we arrived in Mallaig for our ferry they told us they had cancelled it and booked us on one 4 hours later, yet never told us (they claimed they sent an email, but based on the number of others arriving to the same surprise, we were clearly not the only ones who received no such email). That required backtracking more than an hour to Fort William and then 90 more minutes beyond that to the Skye bridge. Plans for the day completely disrupted because of this company's failure to serve its customers.

We took the ferry from Oban to Mull, then an entertaining bus ride across Mull with narration by…read moreRichard our driver, then a short ferry to Iona where we spent a large part of the day. It's high season so the ferries were packed and seats filled up quickly but the ride was smooth and embarking and disembarking were both fairly quick and easy. The bus ride across Mull was enjoyable, the scenery was spectacular and watching Richard and everyone else navigate the single lane road was fascinating. The return trip in the afternoon was just as interesting except I fell asleep in the middle of the bus ride. This was the best way to see the islands and we would love to return and visit again. The CalMac ferry has a restaurant and bar, as well as a video game room and a small shop. Or you can just sit and enjoy the scenery or people watch. It's a 45-50 min ferry ride from Oban to Mull. The bus ride across Mull is also 45 mins but it feels shorter if you have an entertaining driver. The ferry from Mull to Iona is only 5-10 mins long. Ferries depart every few mins so you never have to wait long for one. It's safe, organized and as long as you listen to the announcements and follow instructions, the process is flawless.

We booked a 2 island tour for late June 2024. We booked in December of 2023. Then we saw they…read moreoffered a 3 island tour. We emailed them about changing to that tour. No response for literally 5 months. They responded finally and said that was fine. There was an additional charge-we understood that. They did not ask for payment. Now we are there, literally in Oban the day before our tour. We were supposed to get details about the trip emailed to us, including our ferry tickets. Nothing. We went to the store front (after a days drive to get there). It was closed. Now what? We got up early and walked in the rain to go to the shop. The person behind the counter said "oh ya, I know about that one." We had emailed them asking what the status was-again no response. They hadn't sent us the email because we owed them the balance. Could they not have contacted us to share that info? We live in the US, so calling would have been very expensive. We paid the balance and ran to get on the boat. Better communication please! The tour itself was lovely, but it was stressful in the planning stages.

If you travel from Glasgow to Oban this is the final stop before the bus heads Back to the big…read morecity, here you can purchase tickets to other destinations by bus. A lot of people miss or forget facilities that are available to them, here there is use of free toilets and there is a bag drop of where you can leave your bags here for an hour or two, only costing £1 per bag, train station charges £3 for one hour for a small locker. You couldn't get staff any nicer here, I've always found them very helpful and polite, the office is ideally located at the sea front where all the shops are, and only a few minutes walk to the ferry terminal. The bus stop for the city link bus to glasgow is right outside.

Their customer service is very poor. They canceled the tour to Staffa that we purchased months in…read moreadvance and only sent an email the day before to say it was canceled The woman at the counter said that they canceled the day before due to weather and swale conditions. Yet other companies took tours to Staffa that same day The woman was short/brusque with us and did not offer to help Us find another provider We were here from the states and only had that one day available before heading to Ireland The only reason we included oban in our vacation was to go to Staffa and fingals cave, so it was very disappointing not only to miss this but to also be treated without empathy was salt in the wound I recommend seeking out other providers for this service

We went on a boat tour of Staffa and Iona, although we had been to Staffa to see the Puffins a…read morecouple of days previously, my husband wanted to walk into Fingal's Cave to take pictures. I am not the outdoor kind of gal, and since we had previously cruised by it on the previous tour- I didn't feel the need to leave the boat. I asked Sean if I could remain on board. He was very kind and said no problem and I was more than welcomed to remain. This hour was absolutely THE BEST PART of the tour! I had the privilege to see some of the Puffins fairly close just floating on the waves, while others were flying very fast in a huge group towards the island. It was a lovely sight to see. Sean was the perfect gentleman and patiently answered all of my questions. He gave me so much insight into various aspects of the tour, like the Puffins habits; fishing for lobster/mussels and the Staffa Boats. Plus, I asked him where I could purchase "local" wool yarn and he told me where to shop. The yarn I purchased was simply perfect and exactly what I was looking for. Sean was friendly, polite and very professional. I was so, so happy that I remained on the boat. Thank you SO MUCH Sean and Staffa Tours. VDC

This train station is cute and tiny with only one platform. This is an end point so it's a last…read morestop or a first stop. The ticket office is fairly large though with good signage around. There are employees abound to ensure you are getting on the right train and giving you warnings about which cars to use, etc. This train station is super convenient, letting you out right in the seemingly busiest part of town. Our hotel was a literal 2 min walk away, I could see it from the platform. Super convenient. I only wish I had gotten some pictures because the train planters made from barrels may be he cutest decoration I've ever seen at a train station. Next time, hopefully!

Lovely little train station with only one platform. Great for links to the ferry add is a two…read moreminute walk to the ferry terminal. The station is also close to the main part of the town centre.

There is not much to dislike about the Oban Ferry Terminal. It is located right next to the train…read morestation for an easy transfer. There is an information desk inside for Oban as well as a ticket counter. I was travelling with my dog and everything about the place was very dog friendly. There is a nice big indoor ramp that bridges over to the ferry so you don't get slammed by rain entering and exitting by a ladder like at other ports. And there are lovely views of the bay in Oban, with great little shops and restaurants. Oban is not a bad place to get stuck either, if you miss a transfer. People are very friendly and I hear there is a good distillery in town.

When I've been here in the past there was an old ticket office & waiting room with a vending…read moremachine that served your instant tea & dried instant Knorr soup. In recent years there has been a lot of renovation to the building to bring the look to the 21st century, modern ticket office & heated waiting room, comfortable seating but plastic plants, what could be missing? Coffee machine - well they got rid of that for health & safety reasons. Wifi - well forget that one, would be quicker sending message by pigeon, the area is like a black hole for any type of phone signal that brands all phones useless. There is a television in the waiting room but it shows nothing worth viewing unless you like constant adverts. Toilets are there but you now have to pay for them 40p, they do have disabled toilets & baby changing rooms that are free.

This review is long overdue. The short version is that Rachel is so lovely and amazing to work with…read morethat we would not recommend looking any further, no matter what you need she can make it happen!! The longer version: We found Rachel when researching whisky tour possibilities. When we decided that we wanted to elope we weren't sure how things would turn out, coordinating from across the Atlantic. Things couldn't have gone better!! When we first reached out to Rachel she was prompt and pleasant to communicate with. She responded to all of our questions with thoughtful and helpful answers. At first she let us know that she wasn't sure about putting together a wedding but after we described what we were looking for she told us not to worry! We fell in love with her sense of connecting to the natural world and her seriousness about environmental responsibility. She put together a truly one of a kind itinerary for us that we will remember forever. She included locals at every step of the way and we seriously could not have been happier with how things turned out. She even kept it off of social media until afterwards which was no small matter :) even behind the scenes, everything from the planning to finding time to talk on the phone to payment was easy and stress free. The wedding day was perfect, the details were all worked out with backup plans that we didn't need. The spot down the Oa where we had the ceremony was absolutely stunning! Everything about our blessing was so special and lovely. She made sure there were little things that were so special like having our wonderful piper Neil play a circle of sound around our little plateau. The flowers were mostly local and Anne was a perfect match for putting them together. The bouquet and buttonhole were absolutely stunning! Everything had a part of Islay in it and we couldn't have asked for better. Margaret Anne and Nikki were excellent helpers and Nikki was our impromptu makeup artist. Lorraine did a lovely job with the hair- it was beautiful and didn't blow around hardly at all! Rhianna was a fantastic photographer and Ben did a lovely job editing the photos. Some of the above will get their own reviews but most of them do these things as a side job and it couldn't have been more perfect! In addition to the wedding, Rachel helped arrange travel from Glasgow to Islay with a very nice gentleman (David?). He was the consummate professional driver with a lot to say about many different topics. Rachel picked us up from the ferry and poured us our first Islay dram on Islay soil. She put together an "exploring day" for the day after the ceremony where we went around the island and saw almost everything that didn't revolve around whisky. We went bird watching at Gruinart and had oysters and a picnic at Machir Bay. We saw some very stubborn cows and local art. We had a very special stop at the Altoon sun circle since standing stones were high on our list of things to see. All along the way we had lovely conversations about everything local and Rachel's experiences. She is the perfect hostess! Rachel also out together a three day whirlwind whisky tour where we saw every distillery plus Jura! When we didn't have Rachel as a driver we had Charlie who was so much fun to be around. Rachel seemed to cultivate the perfect mix of distilleries and types of tours to form the perfect look at the different distilleries. Some places had a full tour, some a warehouse tasting (the best way to taste whisky in our humble opinions), and even a semi-private tabletop tasting at Ardbeg over lunch! Everywhere we went, Rachel knew each person we were meeting so we were always warmly welcomed and well taken care of. This wasn't difficult since it seems that everyone on Islay are good, kind people who want to see you enjoy their lovely island. We were sad to leave after our week in paradise but we can't wait to go back! We would enthusiastically and wholeheartedly recommend Rachel to anyone who wants to visit Islay for any reason!

If you are going to Islay for any reason, sightseeing, distillery touring etc look no further than…read moreWild and Magic. My son-in-law was tuned on to them from a trusted source from his Scotch Malt Whiskey Society membership and they planned and organized our three day visit from there. After a few questions on our preferences they schedule the tours, B&B and all the local transportation and did an outstanding job. Rachel (the owner) picked us up from the airport (our flight was an hour late) and got us settled in at our B & B and said Calum would pick us up at 8:30 the next day to begin our tours. Both Rachel and Calum are local to Islay and have grown up there so they know everyone and everyone knows them. They are very knowledgeable and just wonderful people Calum took us around for two day and was a delightful host and companion. Rachel personally took us around the last day and then dropped us off a the airport. Again, if you are coming to Islay let Wild and Magic make your visit them most memorable possible.