Lismore's northern tip reaches to within about a kilometre of Port Appin, and a small council boat covers the gap in ten minutes, up to fourteen times a day. It carries people, bicycles and dogs — no cars — and lands at the Point, a long way from CalMac's car-ferry slipway at Achnacroish.
Argyll and Bute Council timetables for 1 June – 31 October 2026 (Rev 1, 18 February 2026) and 1 November 2026 – 31 March 2027 (Rev 0, 18 February 2026), both read on 24 September 2026. Argyll and Bute Council — Port Appin – Lismore Ferry Service Timetable (PDF) · 2026-09-24
Lismore lies in Loch Linnhe, and at its northern end the island reaches back towards the mainland until only about a kilometre of water separates it from Port Appin. That gap is what this ferry exists for. A council boat runs across it on a fixed timetable from seven in the morning, and ten minutes later you step off at the Point, the island's northern tip, ready to walk or cycle south.
It is easy to book the wrong boat. The better-known ferry to Lismore is CalMac's car ferry from Oban, which takes 55 minutes and lands at Achnacroish, roughly 6.7 km further down the island. The Port Appin boat is a separate service, run by Argyll and Bute Council rather than CalMac, for people on foot and with bicycles, and it does not carry vehicles at all.
Nor does it ask for a reservation for most of the year. The council describes it as turn up and go, with specific sailings not bookable; tickets are bought online in advance and kept for up to a year. The exceptions are the late-evening boats between November and March, which run only on request.
The adult single went up from £2.40 to £2.55 this year, about 6 per cent, according to the council's own table of old and new charges. Unlike the season-bound tickets on CalMac's Clyde routes, a ticket bought here stays valid for 365 days from purchase, so a ten-journey book makes sense even for someone who visits Lismore a few times a year.
Children under five travel free, as do schoolchildren and school escorts. Islanders and residents of peninsulas who meet SPT's criteria can buy concession tickets — the ticket shop lists a £1.28 concession single — and may be asked to show a National Entitlement Card when boarding.
| Adult single | £ 2.55 |
| Adult, 10 journeys | £ 16.10 |
| Child 5–16, single | £ 1.50 |
| Child, 10 journeys | £ 7.75 |
| Under 5 | Free |
| Bicycle | £ 2 |
| Electric bicycle | £ 4 |
| Dog | Free |
| Up to midnight | £ 91.50 |
| After midnight | £ 118.20 |
Argyll and Bute Council ferry charges 2026/27 Argyll and Bute Council — Lismore ferry tickets and ferry charges 2026/27 · 2026-09-24
Slipway to slipway, the crossing is about 1.1 km, straight out from Port Appin to the Point. The alternative route onto the island starts at Oban, well to the south — the same port that sends CalMac's long run out to Barra — and takes CalMac 55 minutes to reach Achnacroish, further down the island. That is the one to use with a car; this is the one to use on foot or by bike for anyone starting on the Appin side, or heading for the island's north end.
The mainland end is the slipway at Port Appin, on the Appin shore of Loch Linnhe. The council's pages give no street address, no parking information and no facilities at the slip, so plan as if there were none. Tickets are sold online in advance and the ticket shop asks passengers to be there 20 minutes before departure; the published timetable itself simply says the boat keeps to the times shown.
The council calls this landing Point; the Department for Transport's stop register lists the same spot as Port Ramsay Lismore Ferry Terminal, at a locality it names Lismore Point. Whichever name you meet, it is the north end of the island. The CalMac car-ferry slip at Achnacroish is roughly 6.7 km further south in a straight line, so check which end your accommodation or walk starts from before choosing a boat.
Tickets are sold through the council's online shop and last a year. The winter timetable adds that they can also be bought on board; the summer sheet does not mention paying on the boat, so do not count on it before November.
From 1 November the 20:00 every evening and the 21:30 on Fridays and Saturdays only sail if booked before the last sailing on the previous working day.
Cycles pay £2.00 each way and electric ones £4.00. Buy the cycle ticket with your own. Dogs cross free.
The boat does not sail between the 12:00 from Port Appin and the 14:00, or between 12:15 and 14:15 from the Point. Plan a morning walk on Lismore around the 12:15 or the 14:15 home.
The council's timetable page and both timetable sheets give 01631 730383 for timetable enquiries; the ticket shop lists 01852 300794. Ticket questions go to 01631 569167 or 01546 604578.
Not on this boat. Vehicles go by CalMac from Oban to Achnacroish, where CalMac, at the council's request, asks motorhome and caravan drivers to have a pitch arranged on Lismore before they travel.
The fares belong to the same council table that prices the Easdale and Cuan crossings further south, and the rules come from the council's own terms of travel rather than CalMac's conditions: boats run first come, first served, and the council says it will add sailings when demand requires. Those terms, and the tickets, apply under Scots law. It is a more formal arrangement than some small Scottish passenger boats manage: the Balmaha boatyard's run to Inchcailloch has no printed timetable at all.
Two small inconsistencies are worth knowing about before you set off. The ticket shop asks passengers to arrive 20 minutes before departure, while the timetable says only that the boat keeps to the times shown; and the shop gives a different phone number for timetable enquiries from the one printed on the council's timetable sheets. When in doubt, use the council's 01631 730383.
No. CalMac's service leaves Oban, carries cars, takes about 55 minutes and lands at Achnacroish. This one is Argyll and Bute Council's foot and cycle ferry from Port Appin to the Point at Lismore's north end, and takes ten minutes.
You cannot: the boat carries foot passengers, bicycles and dogs only. With a car you need CalMac from Oban, which asks drivers of motorhomes and caravans to have a pitch agreed on the island before travelling.
Not between 12:00 and 14:00 from Port Appin, or between 12:15 and 14:15 from Lismore. The gap is the same in summer and winter, on weekdays and on Sundays.
The 20:15, or the 21:45 on Fridays and Saturdays. From 1 November both of those evening sailings, and the 20:00 out from Port Appin, operate only if booked before the last sailing on the previous working day.
The council says tickets expire 365 days after purchase. That makes the £16.10 adult ten-journey ticket, and the £7.75 child version, usable across several visits in a year rather than within one season.
£2.00 for an ordinary bicycle and £4.00 for an electric one, on top of the passenger fare. Dogs travel free.
The council publishes an out-of-hours rate shared with its Cuan and Easdale ferries: £91.50 up to midnight and £118.20 after it. Both figures come from the council's 2026/27 table of charges.