Scuba Dive Oban & the Hebrides

Logistics

Travel

This 6 day itinerary is based from the beautiful coastal town of Oban. The boat departs daily from Dunstaffnage Marina, based just outside of Oban town centre. Dunstaffnage is a short 10 minute drive, and taxis can be easily arranged by your accommodation provider. 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 provide 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.

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 might save this day for when there is stronger winds offshore.

Scuba dive the Garvellachs

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.

Scuba dive the Sound of Mull and Tobermory Visit

The upper Sound of Mull is well known in the dive community for it’s wreck diving. The Hispania or the Rondo are wrecks we will plan to visit. There is also incredible wall diving around the islands in the Sound, where we can find soft corals and rare red fingers. We will schedule a lunch stop in the charming town of Tobermory, where you can also find a compressor as well as some local delights.

Scuba dive with Spurdog Sharks

This unique experience is a shallow baited dive where we hope for lots of photography opportunities. This will be a single dive day to allow us time to set up the dive site for you.

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!

Swimming with Basking Sharks

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.

Swimming with Seals

Scotland boasts one third of the world’s grey seal population, swimming with these curious animals is a moment you will remember. This can be done as an alternative activity on our basking shark day if we are not successful in finding sharks.

Scuba Dive with Puffins at the Treshnish Isles

This island is a bird watcher’s paradise with breeding colonies of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes and shags. We hope to gain a unique experience by diving beside the colony, capturing diving sea birds such as puffins and guillemots. We will also have a short time to head ashore and rest your sea legs on the beautiful Isle of Lunga, an idyllic lunch spot to enjoy the puffins.

Who is the tour for?

We plan on scuba diving 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 six day itinerary one day will be focused on looking for sharks, 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 shark swim 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. We do recommend bringing a wetsuit for our snorkelling activities, or renting one of our 8mm semi dry suits. These are much more practical for shark swimming than drysuits, and will keep you warm. We cannot provide drysuit hire. Tanks can be filled at puffin dive centre in Oban, some days you will need to bring 2 full tanks. We will let you know in advance what equipment you will need daily.

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!

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

What’s Included?

• 6 day wildlife tour and boat diving
• Knowledgeable and experienced skipper
• In water guide for shark snorkelling and swimming
• Guided island landings
• Hot drink
• Use of binoculars, books and information guides.

Additional Considerations

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

Cancellations

Please see our cancellation policy and terms and conditions here.

Bookings

Our 6 day Scuba Dive Oban & the Hebrides tour run once a year in June. With only 10 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.