Basking Shark Map

Scuba Dive Oban & the Hebrides

Oban diving and underwater photography
Explore your adventure
  • Highlights
  • Itinerary
  • Prices
  • Bookings

Highlights


See the best of the wild Inner Hebrides above and below the surface from our comfortable boat, designed for an adventure in the Atlantic. Join our only multi day scuba diving trip based on the Hebridean wildlife! All tours are different as we navigate the sea conditions, but this is what we hope you will experience:

  • 5 days at sea exploring the best of the Inner Hebrides
  • 6 boat dives with fantastic photography opportunities
  • 1 day spent offshore searching for offshore wildlife inc whales/dolphins & basking sharks (snorkel only with sharks)
  • Snorkel in the legendary Fingal’s Cave
  • Guided landing to meet & photograph charismatic puffins at the Treshnish Isles
  • Dive historic shipwrecks and cold water reefs
  • Dive & snorkel with the resident grey seal colonies
  • Baited dive to look for Spurdog sharks & rays
  • Opportunity for whale and dolphin & seabird /eagle watching

Itinerary


Travel

This 5 day itinerary is based from the beautiful coastal town of Oban. The boat departs daily from Oban town centre. Due to the nature of the weather and tides our itinerary will vary daily, and we will keep you updated on meeting times throughout the week. For more information on travel and staying in Oban please see our FAQs.

On the Tour

Once you arrive at the marina a member of our friendly crew will meet you, show you to the facilities and boat. Here you will find trollies to help load your dive gear and tanks on board. We can rent hire tanks if needed. Our fantastic itinerary includes many other highlights of the Hebrides, it’s flexible in nature to allow for the wild Atlantic conditions.

Here is the itinerary split into days, the individual sites or experiences may change depending on weather and we will mix the schedule to get the best weather for each location. We need settled sea conditions for our offshore trips so we’ll pick the best weather days for them.

  • Coastal Oban (2 dives)
  • Garvellachs/Firth of Lorne (2 dives)
  • Spurdogs & Rays (1 dive)
  • Offshore wildlife & lagoon snorkel (1 snorkel)
  • Fingal’s Cave & Treshnish (1 snorkel & 1 dive)

divers exploring the shipwreck of the Breda

Scuba dive coastal Oban

Oban is famous for its’ dive sites, with plenty of reefs and walls to choose from as well as the Breda wreck. We will plan to do this on the first day of the trip, to give everyone opportunity to check their gear and test out the waters. We also might save this day for when there is stronger winds offshore as conditions closer to Oban can be dived in most weathers.  This day would most likely be at the shipwreck of the Breda which lie between 12-28m and a wall dive such as Maiden Island.

Scuba dive the Garvellachs / Firth of Lorn

We will spend a day diving in this special area of conservation South of Oban. The Garvellachs are known for their fantastic visibility and marine life. With soft coral and anemone walls, you can search for some of the rarer species here, such as crayfish, cotton spinners and northern sea fans. There is a lot of tide (and therefore marine life)  at this location so we have to dive at slack water. Dive sites will vary with sea conditions and group needs but depths are usually 15-25m max.

Scuba dive with Spurdog Sharks

This unique experience is a shallow baited dive where we hope for lots of photography opportunities. We have to setup the bait station and allow the tides to take the scent out to attract in the sharks. The dive itself has to be at slack water so the time will be based on that. The site is shallow <10m and it will be a one dive day for as long as you can manage on the dive.

The time we run the trip is at a certain part of the sharks migration which is triggered by sea temperature. This varies year on year so we can’t guarantee their presence. We have only had one trip they didn’t show up on the baited dive but were seen on nearby reef dives. So we did tick the box just not at the time we hoped to!

 

 

Swimming at FIngal's Cave, Staffa, Mull, Scotland

Fingal’s Cave Snorkel

Visit the legendary Fingal’s Cave on the Isle of Staffa – the basalt columns formed from volcanic activity fringe the cliffs of the island, plunging in to the water. An adventure playground which will be a highlight for snorkellers, swimmers and watchers alike. Snorkelling in this natural wonder should be on every bucket list!

The cave is shallow 3-4m so it’s best to snorkel so you are able to see all the formations and experience it in 360 degrees. This will be the first stop of the day before heading up to dive with the grey seals and visit the puffins later.

Dive with Seals

Scotland boasts one third of the world’s grey seal population, swimming with these curious animals is a moment you will remember. We usually visit the seals via snorkelling but we also offer this as a scuba dive on this trip. It’s usually white sand with kelp forest reefs and great visibility (10-20m) and usually max 6-8m.

This day will be one snorkel, one dive and one island landing. An alternative dive would be with puffins and guillemots, so the group will have a choice of which dive that day.

Guillemot swimming underwater at Mingulay, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Dive with Puffins/Guillemots & Island Landing

As the other option instead of the seal dive. We heads to a location near the bird colony so as not to disturb them and drop the divers into a shallow area of kelp forest. The divers exhaled bubbles shimmer in the water and the birds dive down to investigate them.

Following the dive this day we’ll then land you via dingy with our guide to have some lunch with the birds and you can snap away for some amazing photos.  The island is a bird watcher’s paradise with breeding colonies of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes and shags.

Snorkelling at the lagoon, Hebrides, Scotland

Offshore Wildlife & Lagoon

This day we’ll be looking for all the big stuff, eagles, seabirds,  porpoises, whales, dolphins, bluefin tuna and basking sharks. Every day is different and pot luck what turns up.. We’ll head out to our favourite spots and see what we can find before heading into the lagoon later for snorkel around the amazing kelp forest, seagrass beds and seal colony. We pick the best weather day for this trip and we use our big boat for this day.

 

Basking Shark at the Isle of Coll

Snorkel with Basking Sharks

The tour is at a time when the sharks are arriving from their winter migration. We’ll spend one day searching for them and other marine life. This tour is a not a targeted basking shark tour like our 3,4 & 7 day dedicated trips in July-Sept. This tour is a dive tour and we have an opportunity to have a look during one of the days. If you are specifically traveling for basking sharks we suggest booking one of those tours.

The Sea of the Hebrides is the only Marine Protected Area (MPA) for basking sharks in the world. Swimming alongside these gentle giants is a moment you will never forget. Visit these endangered animals responsibly, with our dedicated and passionate team.Over the past decade, we have developed our Code of Conduct for encountering sharks to ensure their welfare & protection. This practice ensures both shark and customer safety which is our highest priority and allows you to get the best chance of a memorable experience.

painted buildings of Tobermory waterfront
Tobermory Harbour

Tobermory Visit

An obligatory visit during a dive trip to the west coast. We’ll have a stop here on our offshore days where you will have a short time to explore the waterfront, cafes, restaurants, distillery (maybe) and craft shops. The painted buildings of the water front is an iconic view of the area.

Who is the tour for?

We plan on scuba diving and/or snorkelling each day on this tour, along with a variety of island landings.

This tour is for certified divers with cold water diving experience only. Scuba dives are unguided so participants must be comfortable diving in buddy pairs and be able to deploy an SMB.

During this five day itinerary one day will be focused on looking for offshore wildlife, if your main purpose for visiting is basking sharks we suggest looking at our Coll based snorkel tours, these are closer to the action and later in the peak season.

To participate in our snorkel  activities you must be comfortably able to swim a minimum of 100m unaided in open water. With the remote location we operate in there are some physical challenges such as boarding the boat by ladder and landing on the islands without facilities, please see here for more information.

Equipment

For those that need it we can hire tanks and weights. We do have a limited number of BCD and regulator sets for hire, and 8mm semi dry suits. Most divers will bring a drysuit but using a thick wetsuit (if you are hardy) will be ok the shallow nature of the sites. Some journeys can be long and surface intervals can be in windy locations so wetsuit people would be advised to have dry robe type of kit to keep warm in-between.

You can fill tanks can be filled at puffin dive centre in Oban, some days you will need to bring 2 full tanks. We can fill air for own hire tanks but we don’t have the facilities to fill everyone else’s in the short time we have.

We will let you know in advance what equipment you will need daily. We’ll email you prior to the tour what we plan for the first day and then before you leave each day, what the plan is for the following day.

Tour expectations

The natural world is very unpredictable, not a zoo or an aquarium, therefore sightings are never guaranteed. We can however promise that you are visiting a wildlife hotspot with a highly experienced and passionate team . Our boats are comfortable cabin RIBs built for the wild Atlantic conditions which are closely monitored by our experienced skippers. We will do our very best to give you a great experience!

Ready to join us on an adventure?

Prices


Tour prices

Per person

from £750

Private Charter rates

from £7,500 (Up to 8 divers)

Important Info Icon

A 50% deposit is required at the time of booking, with the final balance due 12 weeks prior to tour departure.

Group tours have specific payment terms & conditions. Please email for more information.

What’s Included?

  • 5 day wildlife tour and boat diving
  • Knowledgeable and experienced skipper
  • Crew & guide to assist with kitting up, entry & exit
  • In water guide for snorkelling
  • Guided island landings
  • Hot drink
  • Use of binoculars, books and information guides.

Additional Considerations

  • Accommodation
  • Equipment Hire & Tank Air Fills
  • Food and Drink
  • Transfers to and from the marina

Cancellations

Please see our cancellation policy and terms and conditions here.

Bookings


Our 5 day Scuba Dive Oban & the Hebrides tour run once a year in June. With only 8 spaces per boat.

HIRE EQUIPMENT

If you are participating in our in water activities please check our hire equipment information. You will need to input your requirements and sizes at the time of booking – find our wetsuit size charts here.

READY TO BOOK

After booking you will receive a confirmation email with a linked information document.