The Perfect 10 Day Guide To The Isle Of Mull

The Isle of Mull, one of the Inner Hebrides Isles, is one of my favourite Scottish islands!

Why? Because it’s an island that has everything on offer! From wildlife, to scenic roads, to great paddleboard locations, to fun cycling routes, to walks for all abilities. And that’s not all! You can easily hop off the island for a day to explore another gorgeous, picturesque island. Oh and did I mention about the crystal, clear turquoise waters? Yup, Mull has them too!

So Mull sounds like a dream right? Honestly, it really is! So if you are unsure where to head this summer, get this island added to your list!

If you need some help planning, this guide will hopefully help you plan that perfect trip!

To make it even easier, I’ve pinned it all on this Google map for you: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DxhQENGRM8EaLUHD8

Best Time Of Year?

One of the questions I get asked the most, when is best to visit the Isle of Mull? Honestly, there isn’t a right answer! Any time of the year, Mull will be beautiful to visit. It just depends on what you would like out of your visit!

We visited in May, and we got incredibly lucky with the weather! We had 10 days of dry weather. About 8 days of them were in glorious, warm sunshine.

May is always one of my favourite times of year to visit Scotland! The weather is starting to warm up, but it’s before the peak tourist season starts. The summer months, you are more likely to get drier days, but expect the island to be busier. September is another nice time to visit, when the weather is often still good, but the summer crowds have gone. Autumn is nice for all the autumn colours, and winter is great if you want to visit with the least people around!

However, soemthing that is worth noting, if you do decide to visit during the winter months, and you are coming across to the island in a campervan, you may find some campsites shut. So a bit of research head may be needed!

How To Get To Mull?

Getting to the Isle of Mull is easy, as longs as you don’t mind hoping onto a ferry!

The incredible company, CalMac, operate the ferries to and from Mull. They go from the port of Oban, and takes around 45 to 55 minutes to get across to the port of Craignure.

If you are someone who doesn’t have the best sea legs, you might be ok on this crossing! The ferry travels along a fairy-sheltered sea loch. It does not go out into the open seas, like many of the other ferry crossings to neighbouring Scottish Isles.

If you are planning a ferry trip to the Isle of Mull, I recommend booking your ferry crossing in advance. It is a busy route, and can often get full, especially at peak times!

The great thing about CalMac, if you decide to you want to change your ferry coming off the island to a different date during your trip, you can free of charge! Just as long there is availability.

To book, please visit the CalMac website: https://www.calmac.co.uk/en-gb#/

Where To Stay

The island is full of different accommodation, and no matter where you choose to stay, with the island being quite small, most places are pretty much accessible in just a couple of hours’ drive!

However, as we visited the island in our campervan, Casper, I personally can’t recommend any particular accommodation to you. Instead, I can recommend many great campsites/park-ups! The great thing about Mull, it’s pretty well equiped for vanlifers!

If there’s one campsite to stay at, it’s Fidden Farm! Honestly, it’s a campsite of dreams! The Instagram-famous campsite is located on the Ross of Mull, of the shores of Fidden Bay. A perfect bay for paddleboarding, swimming, and canoeing. If you are planning a day trip to the Isle of Iona, the ferry port is about a 30-minute walk away! Oh, and did I mention about the incredible sunsets?

Wild camping on the island in a campervan is harder to do, and is very much discouraged. Instead, we noticed local farmers and land owners have opened up their land for campervans to stay the night, paying a small donation. Lochbuie and Calgary Bay are two perfect examples, where you pay £10 (price at the time we visited) into the honesty boxes to stay the night.

The Perfect 10 Day Route Around Mull

Here’s how to spend a perfect 10 days on the Isle of Mull, in your camper van, exactly how we did it:

Remember, you can follow it to a tee, or use my route to help you plan your own route!

Day 1

If you can, get yourself on a morning sailing from Oban to Craignure.

Once you’ve arrived on the Isle of Mull, head south to Lochbuie and park up on the little campervan site. Here, enjoy a relaxing afternoon beside the loch. If you have a paddleboard or a canoe, it’s a great spot to get out onto the water!

If you are staying the night at Lochbuie, there is a little honesty box at the Old Post Office where you a pay a small fee to stay the night. There is also a drinking tap for water bottles, some rubbish bins, and toilets which are open 24 hours.

Day 2

In the morning, enjoy a lovely 3-mile walk to Moy Castle and Laggan Sands. If you are lucky, you may see some Highland Cattle chilling on the beach!

Here is a full walking guide to the route: https://livingwiththewolf.co.uk/no-1-lochbuie-walk-moy-castle-and-laggan-sands/

In the afternoon, wave goodbye to Lochbuie, and make your way down the Ross of Mull, to Fidden Farm. A campsite of dreams!

The drive along the Ross of Mull is spectacular! Also, look out for the ‘Three Lochs’, on your left-hand side, as you drive along the scenic A849. There is a little car park you can pull over, and I have tagged the location on the map. However, the car park was too uneven for us to get our van into, so please be careful!

When you arrive at Fidden Farm, check in for 3 nights, and grab a view along the sea front if you can! If you have a paddleboard, canoe, or even fancy a swim, get yourself out into the water! Honestly, Fidden Bay is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever paddle boarded!

Day 3

Spend a day on the Isle of Iona!

You can walk from Fidden Farm to Fionnphort, where you catch the CalMac ferry over to Iona. The walk is about 1.5 miles long, and takes about 30 minutes to walk. The other option, you can drive. However, on Fidden Farm, you don’t get given a pitch. So if you drive away for the day, you can’t be guaranteed to have the same pitch when you return.

You don’t need to book the ferry in advance, you just turn up, and pay!

I have a full separate guide on how to spend a day on the Iona: https://livingwiththewolf.co.uk/one-day-on-iona-a-complete-day-trip-guide/

Day 4

Head back to Fionnphort, and hire some ebikes for the day!

There is a little bike hire company called Ross of Mull Bike Hire, located next to the Creel Seafood Bar. You have to book your bikes in advance through their website: https://rossofmullbikehire.co.uk/

Once you’ve picked up your bikes, head to Knockvologan Sand Bank. If you can, find somewhere in the car park in Knockvologan to lock up your bikes. If you can’t, wheel them down the path with you to the beach. But whatever you do, definitely make sure you get yourself down to the beach. It’s absolutely breathtaking!

After you’ve enjoyed your time at Knockvologan, head back on the road, past Fidden Farm, and over to Loch Pottie. A little loch with a cycle path, and a nature reserve.

This route is just under 10 miles long. If you want to make the route a little shorter, you could always miss out Loch Pottie.

To make it easier, you can follow the map below. Make sure your location is turned on and you should be able to see exactly where you are on this map. Or if you prefer, download the GPX file and use it on your choice of route tracker.

Downloadable GPX File

Day 5

Today, you move on from Fidden Farm and head over to Salen Bay, camping at Salen Bay Campsite. But before you do, if the weather permits, spend the morning getting yourself out on the water one last time, enjoying the beauty Fidden Bay has to offer!

Once you’ve checked into the campsite, you can either take the little 1-mile circular shore route from the campsite, all signposted, which takes you along the edge of the Sound of Mull. Or you can take a walk through Salen and head over to the Salen Shipwreck. Where, if you are lucky, you might be able to see some seals chilling over on the little rocks!

For sunset, head down to Salen Bay. If the sky performs, you won’t be disappointed! Honestly, it was one of the most incredible sunsets I’ve ever witnessed!

Day 6

Today, drive on to Tobermory, the famous, colourful town on Mull.

I’ve written a full separate guide to Tobermory, and the walk you can do over to the lighthouse: https://livingwiththewolf.co.uk/tobermory-lighthouse/

At the end of the day, drive west across Mull. You can either spend the night at Tobermory Campsite or stay in the car park for Standing Stones. If you choose to stay in the car park for Standing Stones, the farmer who owns the land will pop by in the evening to collect £10 from you. So make sure you have some cash on you! Also note, it is just a car park. Therefore, there are no facilities!

Day 7

In the morning of Day 7, walk my favourite trail of the holiday, Crater Loch.

Drive to the car park called, Small Car Park, along the B8073. Just as the name says, it really is only a small car park, so try and get there early! That being said, it wasn’t busy when we visited in May!

The walk itself is only a short 2.5-mile walk, with a short climb up. As you reach Crater Loch, you will be greeted with fabulous 360-degree views!

Here is a full separate walking guide to the route: https://livingwiththewolf.co.uk/mulls-must-do-hike-crater-loch/

In the afternoon, head west, over to Calgary Bay, where you can park up for the night, leaving money in the Honesty Box.

Calgary Bay is a dream! The water is that crystal clear, it looks like one giant swimming pool! If you have a paddleboard, canoe, or just your swim stuff, this will be paradise for you!

Day 8

Today on Day 8 of your trip, catch the little ferry across to the Isle of Ulva for the day.

A beautiful, small, community-owned island, full of lots of different hiking trails to choose from!

I have written a whole separate guide to the Isle of Ulva, with everything you need to know about visiting the little island: https://livingwiththewolf.co.uk/exploring-ulva-everything-you-need-to-know/

After a day on Ulva, drive the incredibly scenic road to Port nan Gael Campsite, back on the Ross of Mull again.

A beautiful campsite, right next to Loch Scridain. If you fancy a night off cooking, I recommend the food at The Clansman. A pub located next door to the campsite.

Day 9

Day 9, your final full day on Mull!

Start your day by having a bit of a chilled morning beside Loch Scridain, looking out for otters. Sadly, we didn’t see any!

Once you’ve had enough, check out of your campsite and drive east to Duart Castle. It’s the castle you see on the ferry to the Isle of Mull!

You can pay to go inside the castle, walk along the shores looking out for Eagles, or do the little woodland walk they have created.

More about visiting the castle, please head over to their website: https://duartcastle.com/

After you’ve finished enjoying your time at Duart Castle, head to Shieling Holidays Mull Campsite in Craignure, and spend your final night with views over the Sound of Mull.

Day 10

Sadly, this is the day you catch the ferry from Craignure, back to Oban on the mainland, to start your journey home!

If you have more time on the Island, here are some other recommendations that I haven’t done, but would like to:

Visit the beach at Uisken – great paddle board location and the farmer lets you stay the night at a small fee.
Go out on a boat tour to the Isle of Staffa (at the time we were on Mull, they were working on the landing jetty on Staffa, which meant you couldn’t off the boat and explore the island).
Climb Ben Moore – the island’s highest mountain and only Munro!
Revisit the Isle of Ulva and walk over to Gometra Island.

Want to see our trip in action? We have a full YouTube series, day by day: https://youtu.be/T6r8Yqch1dU

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