Summer timetable, 27 March - 18 October 2026
Departures 1–10 / 10
Departures 1–10 / 10
Crossing time
~35 min
Operator
Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac)
Map – Kilchoan-Tobermory Ferry
| Fare type | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult, single | £3.85 |
| Adult, return | £7.70 |
| Child (5-15), single | £1.95 |
| Child (5-15), return | £3.90 |
| Infant (0-4) | Free |
| Adult, SPT Ferry Card concession, single | £1.95 |
| Adult, SPT Companion Ferry Card, single | £1.95 |
| Pedal cycle | Free |
| Car, single (excludes driver's own fare) | £11.85 |
| Car, return (excludes driver's own fare) | £23.70 |
| Motorcycle, single, including rider | £5.95 |
| Blue Badge car, single (excludes driver's own fare) | £8.89 |
| Caravan up to 6m, single (excludes towing vehicle) | £11.85 |
| Light goods vehicle up to 6m, single | £15.70 |
Fares use CalMac's Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) pricing. This is a 'Turn Up and Go' route: you choose a preferred date when buying online, but the ticket is valid for any sailing within the selected timetable period (summer or winter), not just the date you picked. Advance online purchase is recommended for both foot passengers and vehicles, though CalMac may still carry you without one if there's space. Pedal cycles travel free, but groups of six or more must tell the port office in advance since the first sailing of choice can't always be guaranteed. SPT Ferry Card, SPT Companion Ferry Card and Blue Badge concessions can all be applied online. Vehicle fares shown are for the driver's vehicle only and do not include the driver's own passenger fare, which is charged separately. Light goods vehicles over 6m/3.5 tonnes/3m high/2.3m wide are charged at the commercial vehicle rate instead. All fares in pounds sterling (GBP).
This CalMac crossing links Kilchoan, at the western tip of the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula on the Scottish mainland, with Tobermory, the brightly painted capital of the Isle of Mull. It's a genuinely different route from the passenger-only water taxi to Drimnin further up Loch Sunart, and from the bigger vehicle ferries that reach Mull via Oban-Craignure or Lochaline-Fishnish — Kilchoan-Tobermory is the only direct link across the Sound of Mull itself, carried by the single vessel MV Loch Linnhe on a 35-minute, roughly 7.5km crossing.
Like most of CalMac's smaller routes, this is a 'Turn Up and Go' service: you pick a preferred date when buying online, but the ticket then covers any sailing within that timetable period, not just the date chosen. The current summer timetable, valid until 18 October 2026, runs seven sailings a day each way, Monday to Saturday, with a lighter five-sailing Sunday pattern that disappears entirely once winter arrives. From 19 October 2026 the route switches to a noticeably thinner winter timetable — three sailings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, four on Tuesday and Thursday, three on Saturday, and none at all on Sunday — a change worth knowing about if you're planning an autumn or winter trip to Ardnamurchan. CalMac also runs occasional one-off tidal adjustments to a handful of named dates each year, shifting a single midday sailing by 15-30 minutes around unusually low tides.
Fares follow CalMac's Road Equivalent Tariff, so pricing is set centrally rather than by distance sailed: an adult foot passenger pays £3.85 single, a car £11.85 single (plus the driver's own passenger fare), and pedal cyclists travel free. Both terminals are genuinely small — Kilchoan's slipway is unstaffed, while Tobermory's port building keeps set opening hours in season — so advance online booking, even for foot passengers, is the more reliable way to travel than turning up and hoping for space.
- Arrive at the slipway a few minutes before departure; vehicle queues build quickly in summer.
- Check the operator's notices before travelling — tides, weather and maintenance affect sailings.
- Confirm accepted payment methods: several crossings are contactless-only.
Frequently asked questions
35 minutes, covering roughly 7.5km across the Sound of Mull, on CalMac's vessel MV Loch Linnhe.
It's a 'Turn Up and Go' route — you don't reserve a specific sailing, and a ticket bought for a chosen date is valid on any sailing within that timetable period. CalMac still recommends buying online in advance, for foot passengers as well as vehicles, since space isn't guaranteed if you just turn up.
An adult foot passenger pays £3.85 single or £7.70 return; a child (5-15) £1.95 single. A car costs £11.85 single or £23.70 return (this doesn't include the driver's own passenger fare, charged separately), and a motorcycle with rider is £5.95 single. Pedal cycles travel free.
Only during the summer timetable (27 March-18 October 2026), when there are five Sunday sailings each way. Once the winter timetable starts on 19 October 2026, there is no Sunday service at all.
From Monday 19 October 2026 to Thursday 25 March 2027. The winter pattern is thinner and varies by day: three sailings on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, four on Tuesday/Thursday, three on Saturday, and none on Sunday.
Yes, cars are carried as standard. The vehicle fare (from £11.85 single) covers the car only — the driver still needs their own separate adult foot-passenger ticket.
On the mainland side, at Kilchoan's unstaffed slipway (PH36 4LJ) on the Ardnamurchan peninsula; on Mull, at CalMac's terminal on Main Street in Tobermory (PA75 6NU), which keeps set opening hours through the summer season.
No. The small passenger-only crossing to Drimnin, further up Loch Sunart, is a separate, unrelated service — this page covers only the CalMac vehicle ferry between Kilchoan and Tobermory.