Operator's 2026-27 timetable: summer service 1 April to 31 October 2026, winter service 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027. Weekday summer pattern shown by default; Saturday, Sunday and October/winter changes switch in by date. Read on 28 September 2026. · Representative sailings only — check the operator for today's full timetable
Map – Knoydart Ferry
| Fare type | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult (15+), Mallaig to Inverie, one way | £9.00 |
| Child (5-14), Mallaig to Inverie, one way | £4.50 |
| Adult (15+), Inverie to Tarbet, one way | £7.00 |
| Child (5-14), Inverie to Tarbet, one way | £3.50 |
| Adult (15+), Mallaig to Tarbet, one way | £16.00 |
| Child (5-14), Mallaig to Tarbet, one way | £8.00 |
| Infant (up to 4 years), any crossing | Free |
| Dog of any size, any crossing | Free |
Each crossing is sold as a separate one-way ticket, bookable on the operator's website; the first and last boat of the day must be booked online in advance. Children under 5 and dogs of any size travel free. The operator does not normally charge for luggage but may add a small charge for an unusually large amount of freight. If a sailing is full, ring the office: with five or more waiting the operator says it will open an additional sailing. All fares in pounds sterling (GBP).
The Knoydart ferry is a small passenger boat service across Loch Nevis, run by Western Isles Cruises from its pier office at Mallaig harbour to the landing at Inverie, the main village of the Knoydart peninsula. Inverie has no road connection at all. The operator's own lifeline page puts the overland alternative at a two-to-three-day walk across the mountains, which is why the boat also carries the food, post and medicines for the roughly 120 people who live there. The company says it has run the route for about sixty years, and the same boats can continue up the loch to Tarbet.
There are two seasonal timetables. The summer service runs from 1 April to 31 October and the winter service from 1 November to 31 March. In summer the boat makes four sailings each way on weekdays and Saturdays and three on Sundays; in winter Saturdays and Sundays drop to two each way. Crossings take 30 to 45 minutes depending on the vessel: the first and last boats of the day are the quicker ones, while the middle-of-the-day sailings can use the traditional wooden MV Western Isles, which has a bar, toilets and a deck you can walk right round.
Three things decide whether a trip works. The first and last sailings of each day can only be booked online in advance, so a day walk that ends at Inverie needs a seat on that last 18:30 boat. Every sailing is weather dependent; the operator asks you to check with it the day before and gives a full refund if a service is cancelled. And the tide nudges the clock: the live booking calendar moves some first sailings earlier, to 07:15 or 08:15 on several October days, so the printed timetable is a guide rather than a promise.
Everyone is asked to arrive 30 minutes before departure. Mallaig has no public parking on the pier itself; the operator points drivers to the council's West Bay and East Bay car parks, five and ten to fifteen minutes' walk away, and says spaces cannot be reserved. Dogs travel free but must stay on the open deck on a short lead and are kept out of the cabins.
- 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.