Armadale sits at the southern tip of Skye, half an hour by sea from Mallaig, and from mid-October it is served by a different ship on a very different timetable: three crossings a day at most, one on Sundays, and no caravans or trailers at all.
Summer single-vessel timetable 31 July to 15 October 2026 and winter timetable 19 October 2026 to 25 March 2027, read on calmac.co.uk on 24 September 2026 and checked against CalMac's booking data for 24 September to 15 November. CalMac — Mallaig–Armadale summer and winter timetables (PDF) · 2026-09-24
Armadale is at the southern end of Skye, on the peninsula CalMac describes simply as the island's south, facing the mainland across the Sound of Sleat. Mallaig lies about seven and a half kilometres away, at the western end of the rail line from Fort William, and the ferry covers the distance in thirty minutes. It is the Skye crossing that meets the railway: CalMac advertises connections from Mallaig to Glasgow Queen Street.
The crossing runs all year, but not in the same way. Since 31 July the route has run to a single-vessel timetable — MV Coruisk is the ship named in CalMac's current notices — with five or six return trips on weekdays, four or five at weekends, and tidal amendments on a string of autumn dates. On 19 October that timetable ends and MV Lochnevis takes over, fitting three return trips at most around her Small Isles run and just one on Sundays — and, being single-ended and small, she carries no caravans or trailers.
Between the two sits an awkward few days: from 16 to 18 October CalMac's route page says there is no service, while its more recent service notice has a passenger-only boat on the Friday and the Sunday. Both versions are set out below.
A family of two adults and two children with a car pays £25.25 to cross to Skye and £50.50 there and back. The driver is never included in the vehicle price, so a lone driver's car costs £17.25 each way.
The more important rules are about what CalMac will carry, not what it charges. Booking is essential; motorhomes, campervans and cars towing caravans are barred from the standby lanes here, island residents excepted; and from 19 October, when the single-ended Lochnevis takes over, caravans and trailers are not accepted at all.
| Adult, 16 and over | £ 4 |
| Child, 5 to 15 | £ 2 |
| Pedal cycle | Free |
| Car | £ 13.25 |
| Blue Badge car | £ 9.94 |
| Motorcycle | £ 6.65 |
| Motorhome up to 6 m | £ 13.25 |
| Motorhome 6–8 m | £ 33.15 |
| Motorhome 8–10 m | £ 39.75 |
| Motorhome 10–12 m | £ 46.40 |
| Caravan up to 6 m (summer only) | £ 13.25 |
| Trailer up to 2.5 m (summer only) | £ 6.65 |
| Light goods vehicle up to 6 m | £ 17.25 |
Summer 2026 fares, valid from 27 March 2026. CalMac has published no separate winter fares for this route. CalMac — Mallaig–Armadale fares, summer 2026 (PDF) · 2026-09-24
Between CalMac's two pier positions the straight-line distance is about 7.6 km, north-west from Mallaig to the southern peninsula of Skye. The printed timetables allow thirty minutes for it in both directions and in both seasons, although CalMac's Mallaig port page still says forty-five.
Drivers heading for Skye join the vehicle lanes at the Mallaig terminal, shared with the South Uist and Small Isles sailings. The route pages ask for vehicles twenty minutes before departure; CalMac's Mallaig port page says thirty for Armadale. Arriving earlier than that is discouraged — do not join the lanes before your check-in window opens.
Fill up before you queue: Johnston Bros' filling station is about a hundred yards from the terminal. Mallaig is also the end of the West Highland line, with the station five minutes' walk away, which is what makes this crossing workable without a car, in the way the station-and-pier building at Wemyss Bay does for Bute's main crossing.
Armadale's terminal is small but complete: ticket office on the left of the building, waiting room, Wi-Fi, toilets and baby changing. Twenty-five car spaces sit inside the harbour area, with two disabled bays by the terminal and separate room for motorhomes, lorries and motorcycles. Drivers check in at a booth to the right of the car park entrance.
Everything else is within about three hundred metres — a petrol station, a shop, and a cash machine at the post office — and a Stagecoach bus stop is fifty metres from the pier. CalMac lists three local taxi firms for onward travel on Skye.
CalMac says booking is essential on this route. If your vehicle turns out longer than you declared, you can be charged extra or have the booking changed on arrival.
MV Lochnevis cannot take caravans or trailers, so from 19 October until the spring anything towed has to use another way onto Skye.
Lochnevis is single-ended: drivers back onto the car deck on every winter sailing. Take it slowly and follow the crew.
A motorhome or towed caravan turning up unbooked at Mallaig or Armadale will not be put in the standby lane, so its crossing is only as certain as its reservation.
Low tides force amended sailings on several autumn dates, most of them only by 15 to 35 minutes. The dates and changed times are listed under the timetable.
From 27 September to 15 October the A82 between Inchree and Onich is closed overnight from 19:00 to 06:00, except on Friday and Saturday nights, with escorted convoys at set times. Allow for it if you are driving up for an early boat.
Coruisk, named after the freshwater Loch Coruisk on Skye, was launched in 2003 at Appledore in Devon: 65 metres long, 1,599 gross tons and capable of 14 knots. She has a coffee cabin, a pet area and a lift up from the car deck. CalMac's own route listing names only Lochnevis, the winter ship, which is one of several places where its pages lag behind the service notices.
In winter the Armadale boat and the Eigg ferry are, for most of the week, the same ship on the same day: Lochnevis crosses to Skye first thing, goes out to the Small Isles, and comes back in time for the late-afternoon Armadale sailings. That is why the winter timetable here has nothing between mid-morning and four o'clock.
Thirty minutes on the timetabled sailings, in both summer and winter. CalMac's Mallaig port page still says 45 minutes, but every departure on the printed timetables and in the booking system takes half an hour.
No. From 19 October the route is run by MV Lochnevis, and CalMac says she cannot accommodate caravans or trailers. Towed vehicles are only carried on the summer timetable.
18:30 on Mondays and Saturdays, 18:25 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 18:15 on Wednesdays and Fridays, but only until 1 November and again from 11 March. In between, the last departures are 17:00, 16:55 and 16:45, and on Sundays 16:45.
No. CalMac has cancelled Saturday 17 October for vessel maintenance elsewhere on its network. The Friday and Sunday either side have passenger-only sailings, according to the latest service notice.
Yes. Mallaig station is about five minutes' walk from the terminal, and foot passengers check in ten minutes before departure. Armadale has a Stagecoach bus stop fifty metres from the pier.
£25.25 one way for a car with two adults and two children aged 5 to 15, and £50.50 return. The car alone is £13.25; the driver pays £4.00 like any adult.
CalMac asks everyone to book online in advance, foot passengers included, and to carry an eTicket. Booking is described as essential on this route.