Ticket information

Our routes are known as either ‘Bookable’ or ‘Turn Up and Go’. When booking a ticket on a bookable route you are booking and purchasing travel in advance for a specific sailing on a selected date and at a specific time. You can book travel online for these routes at any time.

Find out more about which routes are bookable here.

Our routes are known either 'Turn Up and Go’ or 'Bookable’. When you advance purchase a ticket for a Turn Up and Go route you'll be purchasing an open ticket for a chosen departure date, valid for the season in which you've purchased it, either summer or winter - but not both. It won't have a specific sailing time. 

You can purchase travel for these routes online at any time. All Turn Up and Go tickets must be used within the timetable season for which they have been purchased and cannot be carried over into the subsequent timetable season. Unused journeys are non-refundable

Find out more about which routes are Turn up and Go bookable here and about ticket validity for these tickets here.

10 journey tickets are available for every ‘Turn Up and Go’ route – and are very handy for frequent travellers. You can purchase these online in eTicket form and they will then be accessible through your online account or from our port and vessels in paper form.

You must have an online account to purchase this ticket type. 

As with all Turn Up and Go tickets, these are also valid for the season in which you purchased them – either summer or winter, but not both - and are non-refundable. All 10 journeys must be used within the timetable season for which they have been purchased and cannot be carried over into the subsequent timetable season. 

You can check for remaining 10-journey tickets in the ‘my passes’ area of your online account. 

Travelling to more than one island? Sailing from one island to another is a great way to explore Scotland’s west coast. You can book a multiple island-hopping journey online in one transaction, using our ‘multiple journey’ option. You can do this for ‘Bookable’ and ‘Turn Up and Go’ routes on the same transaction.  

Start building your island-hopping adventure today with the help of our itineraries and destination pages.  

Travelling with your pet? They’ll need a ticket too.

Choose between the following pet ticket options: 

Pet in passenger lounge

Select this ticket type if you wish to bring your pet onto the vessel and use our designated indoor pet areas. There will be a cap on numbers as we need to manage the space available for everyone's comfort, especially that of your pet. If this option shows as sold out, please consider opting for a 'pet remains in car' vehicle. 

Pet remains in car

Select this ticket type if you wish to leave your pet in your vehicle or to sit outside for the full journey. Your pet will still be ticketed as we need to know they are on board. There's no limit on these pet ticket numbers since your pet will not using the public areas of the vessel. Please note, you won't be able to return to the car deck during the crossing. 

A ‘pet remains in car'; ticket is a zero-value ticket for your pet only. You will need a separate ticket for your vehicle if you are travelling with one. 

Assistance dogs

Select this ticket type if you are travelling with a support and assistance dog. Your pet will still be ticketed as we need to know they are on board. There's no limit on these pet ticket numbers. Assistance Dogs are allowed to access all public areas on our ferries, except designated children's play areas. 

Find out more about travelling with pets on the ferry. 

All vehicles need a ticket. The vehicle ticket does not include the driver fare the driver is classed as a passenger. Find out how we charge for each vehicle type in our frequently asked questions.

We always strongly recommend booking travel in advance of travel for our Bookable routes.

Travelling with a vehicle on only one leg of your journey 

For Turn Up and Go routes, if you intend to travel as a foot passenger on one leg of a return journey, and with a vehicle for the other, please purchase separate tickets online for each leg. 

Concessions are available for islanders in certain areas - and they vary according to your location and the local authority area you are travelling in / to.  

For example, to use concessionary *SPT ferry fares, you must live permanently (or own, and pay council tax, in respect of a second home) on one of the islands covered by the scheme or live on the Cowal or Rosneath Peninsulas.  

Remember to carry your concession card or equivalent with you to present to staff, in line with your providers' terms and conditions.  

You can use your SPT Ferry Card, or Companion SPT Ferry Card online. When you hold one of these concessions, you can select these online, and they'll be applied to your ticket, meaning you don’t need to do this at the port office or with staff, if you don't wish to. Just have your details ready to add when prompted.

The process for all other concessions will remain the same and processed at your port of departure. 

Useful links to local concessionary travel schemes  

Find out more on the SPT website.  

Find out more about Western Isles concessionary travel.

* SPT have changed their concessionary fares structure. For more details, please visit SPT.co.uk

If you hold a blue badge issued by gov.uk, a 25% discount is available on vehicle ticket prices. All European Union blue badges will be accepted and receive the discounted fare. 

Blue badge discounts apply to the vehicle ticket, rather than the passenger / driver ticket. The blue badge holder must be travelling to qualify for the discount. Please remember to carry the badge at the time of travel, otherwise the full fare will be applied.  

Your blue badge concession can be added to your online account, and when making a booking online  prior to travel you can select this option - meaning the discount is applied directly. 

Blue Badge concession - when adding your vehicle online, please do this manually rather than using the vehicle registration look up function – this is currently unavailable to use on our online ticketing process for the Blue Badge discount.

We are keen to remind our customers about ticket validity for our Turn Up and Go routes - specifically unused single and return tickets, and unused journeys on 10-journey tickets. These are valid for the season they were purchased in – either summer or winter, but not both - and are non-refundable. Find out more.

Register in minutes to manage your tickets and journey through your account. Find out more.