Puffin & Wildlife Tour

The Puffin Tour is very popular, the only downside is that people don’t want to leave! The island is part of the Treshnish Isles Special Area of Conservation which is a highly important area for seabirds. There can be up to 3000 puffins on the island in addition to other seabirds such as razorbills, guillemots and fulmars to name a few. 

Around the cliffs of the island there are numerous burrows where the puffins nest, and later in the season you sometimes watch the hatched pufflings (baby puffins) poke their head out for a look. On the puffin tour we are able to get very close to the burrows and watch the adults fly back and forward bringing fish to the burrow. We always ensure that we don't go too  close and disturb the birds.

This is a photographer's dream and trying to capture the 'puffin with fish in beak' shot is the frustrating but challenging task. The puffins only land for a few seconds before heading into their burrows. The puffins form pair bonds and spend the winter out at sea, heading back to the island around early May and stay till the start of August.

We always have a guide onboard who will keep a sharp eye out for all the wildlife and will accompany you on the island. Landings will be via small dingy so a basic level of fitness is required to hop on and off the boat and land on the island. We would advise you to wear sturdy footwear for the island landing.

To reach the island from Oban is a long day, approx 90 nautical miles (~160km) and with small passengers numbers and personailsed service this is not a budget trip. As it's such a distance we also need minimum numbers to run the tour along with favorable weather. A pick up is also available from Tobermory, Isle of Mull.  We do have some dates where you can book on as small groups or individuals, we can do private charters for groups which can reduce the cost, contact us for more information.

See here for a gallery of images from this tour.

Please see an example day itinerary below.