Park on Mull, buy a £2.40 foot ticket and cross the Sound of Iona in ten minutes: that is how nearly everyone reaches Iona, because Argyll and Bute Council lets vehicles onto the island only with a permit. The summer timetable, with boats shuttling across frequently around midday, lasts until 18 October; from 19 October the ferry settles into seven fixed round trips, with the early and late ones run only when someone asks.
Summer timetable 27 March – 18 October 2026 (sheet last updated 10 December 2025); winter timetable 19 October 2026 – 12 March 2027 and 17–25 March 2027 (last updated 15 September 2026). A separate sheet covers 13–16 March 2027. Read on calmac.co.uk and checked against CalMac's sailing data on 1 October 2026. CalMac — Fionnphort-Iona summer and winter timetables (PDF) · 2026-10-01
Decide first how you are getting to Fionnphort, then pick your boat. The ferry to Iona is the short, easy part: a ten-minute crossing of the Sound of Iona on CalMac's MV Loch Buie, from the tip of the Ross of Mull to Baile Mòr on Iona. The hard part is the road across Mull, and the fact that your car almost certainly cannot come with you.
Iona is covered by a Prohibition of Vehicles Order, first made in 1978, and Argyll and Bute Council now enforces it strictly. A permit can be applied for online from the council and takes 48 hours to process; without one you park at Fionnphort and walk aboard. CalMac only sells foot tickets online for this reason.
The timetable changes gear on 19 October. Until then the boat runs a summer grid, with frequent crossings in the hours around midday. After that it runs seven fixed round trips from Monday to Saturday, with an early boat from Iona and an evening round trip that run only on request, and a winter Sunday on which every sailing must be requested in advance.
On foot the sums are small: £4.80 return for an adult and half that for 5 to 15-year-olds, with under-fives free according to CalMac's fares sheet. Bikes cross free, but six or more travelling together should warn the port office in advance and may not all fit on the first boat.
Only foot tickets can be bought online. If you hold a vehicle permit, CalMac's team sells the vehicle ticket separately; the fares sheet lists vehicle prices as payable at the port or on board. Every ticket is turn-up-and-go, valid on any sailing in the period bought, so a summer ticket is no use after 18 October.
| Adult (16+), single | £ 2.40 |
| Adult (16+), return | £ 4.80 |
| Child (5–15), single | £ 1.20 |
| Child (5–15), return | £ 2.40 |
| Adult with SPT Ferry Card, single | £ 1.20 |
| SPT companion, single | £ 1.20 |
| Bicycle | Free |
Summer 2026 fares, valid from 27 March 2026. CalMac says winter tickets will be on sale shortly and has published no separate winter fares. Read on 1 October 2026. CalMac — Fionnphort-Iona fares, summer 2026 (PDF) · 2026-10-01
Between the two slipways the Sound of Iona is about 1.5 kilometres wide, and the crossing takes ten minutes. Most visitors reach Fionnphort from the other end of Mull: the Oban to Craignure ferry lands them on the east coast, and the A849 then runs across the whole of the island to the Ross of Mull. That road journey is the long part of a day trip to Iona, so work out the bus or the drive before you look at the ferry grid.
Fionnphort is where the A849 runs out, at the western tip of the Ross of Mull. The slipway is unstaffed: buy your ticket online beforehand or from the crew on board. There is a large pay-and-display car park at the approach to the slip and a large free car park about 500 metres back, three accessible spaces at the slipway, and toilets including an accessible one. There is no waiting room; CalMac suggests the local tearoom.
The West Coast Motors bus from Craignure stops about 40 metres from the terminal, and The Ferry Shop is 100 metres away. The nearest fuel is MacDougall's Garage, two miles back up the road.
The boat lands at the slipway in Baile Mòr, the island's village. Toilets, including an accessible one, are at the top of the slip in a block the council opened in May 2026, and there is a public telephone. There is no bus, train or taxi rank at the landing; the council notes that a local taxi exists and that bikes can be hired on the island.
Iona Abbey is about ten minutes' walk from the slip. Around the landing the council is building a rock breakwater to shelter the exposed slipway, with the aim of finishing before winter 2026/27, so expect contractors and restricted parking near the pier.
Iona has been under a Prohibition of Vehicles Order since 1978, which the council says it is now strictly enforcing after damage to the island's roads. Permits come from Argyll and Bute Council (01631 569160); allow 48 hours. Without one, leave the car at Fionnphort.
In summer the 18:15 from Fionnphort waits for the service bus from Craignure. Going back, CalMac advises leaving Iona by 14:45 if you want the 15:20 bus from Fionnphort to Craignure, Monday to Friday. In winter, ask for the evening boat to wait when you request it.
Sailings marked on request run only if someone phones CalMac on 0800 066 5000 in time: by 16:00 the day before for most, by 16:00 the same day for the winter evening round trip.
From the landing the abbey is roughly a ten-minute walk, and Iona is small enough to see on foot. Many guest houses will meet you at the pier if you tell them your boat.
Foot passengers and vehicles alike must check in no later than ten minutes before departure. Neither slipway has a ticket office, so have your ticket ready to scan.
CalMac's SMS service for this route uses code 13. Iona's landing slip is exposed to the weather, which is exactly why the council is building a breakwater there.
Why the effort? Historic Environment Scotland, which cares for Iona Abbey and Nunnery, describes the island as a centre of Christian worship since St Columba arrived in AD 563. His monastery survived Viking raids until the end of the twelfth century; around 1200 the sons of Somerled founded a Benedictine abbey, and monastic life ended with the Reformation of 1560. HES is also opening the abbey on Sundays 4, 11 and 18 October, which suits the last weeks of the summer ferry grid.
The landing itself is being rebuilt around the boat. The council's works at Iona include a rock breakwater to protect the exposed slipway and reduce disruption, slipway repairs and a new toilet block; a separate breakwater and overnight berth for Fionnphort has been out to public consultation.
Not without a permit from Argyll and Bute Council, which needs 48 hours to process. Without one you leave the car at Fionnphort, where there is a pay-and-display car park at the slipway and a free one about 500 metres away.
The last timetabled boat from Iona is 16:30, Monday to Saturday, from 19 October. An 18:15 runs if it is requested by 16:00 that day. On winter Sundays every sailing, including the 18:15, must be requested by 16:00 on the preceding working day.
£2.40 single or £4.80 return for an adult, and £1.20 or £2.40 if the child is 5 to 15. Bikes go free.
No. You cannot reserve a specific crossing; a turn-up-and-go ticket covers any sailing in the timetable period you choose. CalMac still recommends buying it before you travel, because both slipways are unstaffed.
In summer the 18:15 from Fionnphort waits for the service bus, except on Sundays, when the 18:00 does not wait until further notice. In winter the evening sailing will wait for the bus if you ask when requesting it.
No. No sailings are timetabled for either 25 December or 1 January. Two request-only round trips run on both 26 December and 2 January, at 12:30 and 14:15 from Fionnphort.