Best day trips from Calgary: how to get there and what to see

Match the trip to the time you have and whether you are driving. With a car, everything on Mull is reachable in a day. Without one, you are tied to the bus and ferry timetable, so pick one destination and do it properly rather than trying to chain two.

If you only have one clear day, go west to Fionnphort and cross to Iona. If you have two, add Tobermory and the north coast road.

Tobermory is the island's main town: a painted harbour front, a distillery, a small museum and the best concentration of cafés and shops on Mull. It is an easy half day and works in poor weather because most of it is indoors or under cover. The drive north from Calgary passes Salen and the edge of the Sound of Mull.

Fionnphort is the ferry port for Iona, at the far west end of the Ross of Mull. The crossing is short, and on the other side you have Iona Abbey, the historic burial ground and white beaches within walking distance of the pier. This is the trip most visitors rate highest, and it needs a full day because the drive alone is over an hour each way.

The Ross of Mull itself is worth the drive: single-track road, crofts, and beaches such as those near Ardalanish. Ben More, the island's only Munro, sits south of the main road and suits walkers with a full day and good visibility.

Oban is the mainland option. You reach it by ferry from Craignure, which is a short drive from Calgary, but the crossing plus connections means you spend much of the day in transit. Treat it as a transfer day rather than a day trip.

Mull day trips are cheap if you drive and expensive if you rely on taxis. Ferries and buses are the main variable costs, and prices change by season, so treat the figures below as bands rather than quotes.

Ferry fares for foot passengers are modest; taking a car on a CalMac crossing costs considerably more. Distillery tours and abbey entry are separate. Fuel on the island is limited to a few stations, so fill up when you pass one.

Book ferries ahead in July and August. The Craignure and Iona crossings fill up, and turning up with a car without a booking is a risk in peak weeks.

Keep one day unplanned. Wind cancels or delays sailings, and a flexible day means a washed-out ferry trip does not cost you the whole holiday. Check the CalMac status page the evening before.

Take cash for small places and a layer for the wind even in summer. Midges are worst on still, damp evenings near water, so pack repellent for June to August.