​​Bank some Scottish island time in 2025​

Have you planned in your bank holidays for 2025? If you're looking for ways to spend them wisely, we have island inspired ideas for you. Get the most out of your long weekends on the west coast. 

Bon voyage!

The adventure begins as soon as you board – travelling across the sea is more exciting than car, train, and plane. You can walk around on the deck, enjoy the views and visit the onboard café for freshly prepared food and drinks made with locally sourced ingredients. 

Ferry to the Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde boasts many shorter ferry trips – taking in Arran, Bute, Cumbrae and Cowal. Choose between them for a perfect day trip or build an itinerary to take you around the entire area, hopping from one island to another, over a longer break.  

First stop Arran

Sail to Arran from Troon. The island is so geographically diverse it’s often referred to as ‘Scotland in Miniature’ – thanks to its mixes of beaches and bays, mountains, and moorland.  

Beautiful Bute

Beautiful Bute can be reached from Wemyss Bay or Colintraive – you can reach the island in 35 or 5 minutes respectively, yet you’ll feel like you’ve travelled further. The island is renowned for its sheltered beaches and its famously grand architecture. Catch views of Arran from Scalpsie Bay or enjoy the wide sandy beach of Ettrick Bay. 

Cowal and Dunoon 

For a taste of the Highlands, head over to the Cowal Peninsula from Bute (Rhubodach – Colintraive) or take the frequent passenger ferry to Dunoon from the mainland town of Gourock. Make time to visit Benmore Botanic Garden – a 120-acre mountainside garden, with avenues of conifer trees of incredible stature, and plants from the Orient, Himalayas, as well as North and South America. 

Great Cumbrae

The Isle of Cumbrae, also known as Great Cumbrae, is a short sail from the coastal town of Largs. At just 4 miles long and 2 miles wide, it’s perfect for walking or cycling around the 10-mile circular loop, or up and over the top taking in stunning coastal views. Millport – the main island village - has been a popular holiday spot for generations.  No visit to this little island is complete without seeing the Cumbrae Crocodile rock or enjoying an ice cream from The Ritz Café in Millport.  

Gigha

A trip to the Isle of Gigha is perfect for a short break or a day trip with a difference. The most southerly of the Hebrides, it's just a 20-minute ferry journey from Tayinloan in Kintyre. There's plenty to draw you into this wee slice of paradise, including the island's beautiful 'twin beaches' at the north end of the island - fine white sands, clear turquoise waters and a beautiful view out to Jura. Gigha also offers some of the best food on the west coast – fresh local produce with a glorious backdrop. Make sure you visit The Boathouse for scrumptious scran, and sample some of the Wee Isle Dairy’s ice cream. Devine. 

Mull, Iona and Staffa

Mull, Iona and Staffa - this short break is an island hat-trick in the making. Sail to Mull from Oban or add to the adventure by journeying to the stunning Ardnamurchan peninsula, where you can take the ferry to Mull from Lochaline or Kilchoan. Mull is renowned for its wildlife - while it's never guaranteed, the waters around the island are a good place to spot Minke whales - and sometimes orca, dolphins, porpoises and basking sharks. From Mull you can take a trip to the 'magic isle' of Staffa - home to Fingal's cave composed of towering hexagonal basalt columns. It's a beautiful sight. From May to August, a colony of puffins choose to breed here, a sight which is just as memorable as the cave.  

Iona also lies off Mull's southwestern coast - a peaceful and tranquil spot, surrounded in spectacular sandy beaches, and home to Iona Abbey. Measuring just one and a half miles wide and 3 miles long, this tiny island has a huge place in Scottish and European history. 

Northern Skye

Pack your boots and coat, Skye is best explored on foot. Stunning mountain scenery with geological features from the Old Man of Storr to the dramatic Quiraing. North of Dunvegan, you'll find Claigan's coral beach, it's easy to see why this spot is known locally as a 'wee gem'. The beach itself is formed of fossilised algae, and at low tide you can explore the tidal island of Lampay. Just a few miles away is Dunvegan Castle - the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod and the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland, full of tales and treasure - from the legendary fairy flag with miraculous powers and artefacts from Bonnie Prince Charlie himself.