Colonsay has two ways in by CalMac, and the calendar decides which one you get. From Oban the crossing takes about two and a quarter hours and runs on certain days only; from Port Askaig on Islay it takes an hour, on the days the same ship works the Islay end of the route instead. Winter rules from 19 October trim both to a few sailings each week.
Summer timetable to 18 October 2026 (sheet last updated 7 May 2026) and winter timetable 19 October 2026 – 25 March 2027 (last updated 7 July 2026), read on calmac.co.uk and checked against CalMac's sailing data on 7 October 2026. CalMac — Oban - Colonsay - Port Askaig - Kennacraig timetables (PDF) · 2026-10-07
Compare the two ways in before choosing a day. Oban gives the longer crossing but the better onward links: trains to Glasgow, buses, taxis and car hire. Port Askaig gives a one-hour sailing, but only on the days when the ship works south to Islay and Kennacraig, and it suits people already touring Islay or coming over from Kintyre.
In the last fortnight of summer, direct sailings from Oban run on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, all but the Tuesday one in the afternoon. Wednesdays and Saturdays are Islay days. The winter pattern, starting on 19 October, is sparer: Oban sailings on three weekdays (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) plus a Saturday link with Port Askaig.
There is a practical difference between the two winter Oban days, too. The Monday crossing is timetabled at about two hours forty, against two and a quarter on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the boat spends only fifteen minutes at Colonsay before heading back.
Tickets have to be bought in advance by everyone, walkers as well as drivers, and vehicle fares do not cover the driver, who needs a passenger ticket too. The shorter crossing from Port Askaig costs a little over half the Oban fare.
SPT Ferry Card holders and their companions pay reduced fares, applied when booking online, and a Blue Badge discount is available on vehicles. CalMac's route page says the Oban fare also applies between Kennacraig and Colonsay.
| Adult, single | £ 9.95 |
| Adult, return | £ 19.90 |
| Child 5–15, single | £ 5 |
| Adult SPT concession, single | £ 2.50 |
| Car, single | £ 50.95 |
| Car, return | £ 101.90 |
| Motorcycle, single | £ 25.50 |
| Motorhome up to 6 m, single | £ 50.95 |
| Adult, single | £ 5.60 |
| Adult, return | £ 11.20 |
| Child 5–15, single | £ 2.80 |
| Car, single | £ 23.60 |
| Car, return | £ 47.20 |
| Motorcycle, single | £ 11.80 |
Summer 2026 fares, valid from 27 March 2026, from CalMac's route page and fares sheets. CalMac had not published separate winter fares on the route page when we read it on 7 October 2026. CalMac — Oban–Colonsay fares, summer 2026 (PDF) · 2026-10-07
Plotted on a map, Colonsay sits about 58 kilometres south-west of Oban and 25 kilometres north of Port Askaig, which explains the gap in crossing times: two and a quarter hours against one. Oban sailings use the same terminal as the Craignure boat to Mull and the long sailing to Barra.
The Islay end matters more this year than usual. Port Ellen has been closed for rebuilding since June 2026, so every connection with the mainland at Kennacraig, including Colonsay's, runs through Port Askaig; our Islay page has that timetable.
Colonsay sailings leave from CalMac's main terminal in Oban, which the company calls Scotland's busiest port, with rail, bus, taxi and car hire connections in the town. There is free wifi in the terminal and a shop about 50 metres away; CalMac had not yet confirmed the port office's winter opening hours when we checked.
Vehicles queue at the check-in booth on the left after the car park entrance.
The ferry berths at Scalasaig, where the terminal building has a ticket office, waiting area and toilets, and fuel, a cash machine and a grocery are about 100 metres away. There are only two parking spaces beside the terminal, and no bus, train or taxi connections listed by CalMac.
Until 18 October the port office keeps short hours matched to the sailings, closed on Sundays; winter hours were still to be confirmed. CalMac's port page asks vehicles to arrive 45 minutes before departure, while the route page and timetable say 30; allow the longer time.
CalMac wants a valid ticket for every passenger and vehicle before travel, and group bookings must all travel on the same sailing for every leg. eTickets can be shown on a phone.
Motorhomes, campervans and caravans may be allowed on Colonsay only after contacting Colonsay Estate on 01951 200211. Do it before booking the vehicle space.
In bad weather the ship may leave Colonsay before its published time. CalMac's notes ask passengers and vehicles to be ready to board as soon as she arrives.
Text code 10 covers CalMac's SMS alerts for the whole Oban – Colonsay – Port Askaig – Kennacraig route.
The winter sheet prints Glasgow train times, but its own footnote dates them to an older rail timetable. Use ScotRail's current times for the connection at Oban.
CalMac describes Colonsay as an island with a lively calendar of cultural events, and the route's own timetable shows it: in 2026 the summer sheet amended sailings for Islay's Fèis Ìle in May and for Colonsay's Ceòl Cholasa in September. The community can also ask for longer stops to get goods ashore, at the master's discretion and if the weather allows.
CalMac's route page names two ships. MV Clansman was commissioned in 1996 from Appledore Shipbuilders in North Devon and named by the Princess Royal in March 1998; MV Finlaggan, built by Remontowa in Gdansk, is the Islay ship, launched in 2011 at a naming ceremony in Port Askaig.
Until 18 October 2026, direct from Oban on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at 16:20, Tuesday 13 October at 09:00 and Sundays at 16:30. From 19 October, on Mondays at 12:05 and on Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:10.
Yes: Port Askaig to Colonsay takes about an hour, against about 2 hours 15 minutes from Oban. But it runs only on the days the ship serves Islay, which are Wednesdays and Saturdays until mid-October and Saturdays in winter.
From Oban, £9.95 single for an adult and £50.95 for a car, under the summer 2026 fares. From Port Askaig, £5.60 for an adult and £23.60 for a car. Drivers also need their own passenger ticket.
Only with permission. CalMac says motorhomes, campervans and caravans may be allowed but only after contacting Colonsay Estate on 01951 200211 before travelling.
Not with the direct sailings currently timetabled: the ship leaves Colonsay again fifteen minutes after arriving, so you will be staying overnight.
The winter sheet drops both Friday holidays this season, 25 December as well as 1 January. The Monday, Wednesday and Saturday sailings around them are in CalMac's sailing data as normal.