Good to Know

All details provided below are subject to change in line with Government requirements. 

Please bring enough cash for lunches, dinners and other incidentals. Not every shop in Fionnphort or Iona will have a card machine.  There is a cash-machine at the local shop which is part of the UK’s Link network and you can also get cash at the local Post Offices in Fionnphort, Bunessan and Pennyghael.

We advise that you plan meals ahead.  Dinner is taken early on the Ross of Mull and you’ll not find much open after 8pm so please factor that into your travel arrangements. Fionnphort has a thriving local pub, the Keel Row, which has a bar and a restaurant. This is one of the main places to eat in the evening and it serves good quality meals each evening between 6pm and 8.30pm.  The award winning Ninth Wave is a short walk away and must be booked ahead due to its popularity.

The Ferry Shop gets very busy and has an excellent selection of everything from snacks to souvenirs as well as being our local post office. Newspapers arrive from the mainland around lunchtime.

The pier is busy and bustling. It’s from here that you can take the ferry to Iona – a quick 10 minute trip away – or enjoy a private trip to Staffa or further to the Treshnish Isles. For Iona, the Cal Mac service is frequent and reliable. Tickets can be bought on the day but remember you are going as a foot passenger – only residents are allowed to take their vehicles over. Private tour boats leave for Staffa and the Treshnish Isles and should be booked ahead, preferably online.

Fishermen also land their langoustines and crabs at the pier and otters can sometimes be spotted trying to grab a cheeky quick bite without having to work too hard.  Some of those catches find their way into the seafood offered at the Creel shack which is right next door to the Pier. Sit outside on a sunny afternoon and enjoy a lobster or seafood platter before heading over to the Kiosk to enjoy a local ice-cream for pudding. The Kiosk is open all year round and serves tea, coffee, tasty sandwiches and toasties as well as its famous ice-creams.

The Ross of Mull is renowned for its abundant wildlife and draws many enthusiasts on the look-out for hen-harriers, waders, otters and, out to sea, puffins, dolphins, porpoises, Minke whales and basking sharks. Walkers based at Fionnphort are spoilt for choice – fine coastal walks, quiet sandy beaches, unfrequented nature reserves, rugged hills and mountains, peaceful tracks to deserted villages……. Historians too will find plenty to absorb them, not to mention botanists and geologists – this is one of the oldest areas in the world!