Seal & Lagoon Snorkelling from Oban or Tobermory

Yes – our minimum age is 8 years old. All under 16s must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian. Our tours are adventurous with long days at sea and are not suitable for young children.

Private charters are available for families with younger children. Contact us for more info.

For those wanting to snorkel on the tour, we advise that you should be able to swim 100m comfortably in open water, along with general fitness to enable boarding a boat via a ladder.

In Coll, due to fluctuating tide levels, we may have to use a vertical pier ladder to board the vessel.
On certain tours, we use a small dinghy to transfer from the boat to shore – the terrain can be very rocky and rough with no structured pier/ pontoon. You will need to be able to get on and off the dinghy. Our guides will be there with you.

Anyone with a serious pre-existing medical condition should consult their GP before booking ANY of our trips.

All participants are required to complete a Declaration of Medical Fitness for Snorkelling form (under 18s need this countersigned by a parent/ guardian).

We welcome everyone on board – if you have accessibility concerns please get in touch with us.

No qualifications are necessary to come on our trips. All interactions are snorkel based so no scuba qualifications are required.

Snorkel experience is not required but would be advantageous in order to get the best from the trip. The more confident you are the better.

You MUST be able to swim at least 100m in open water unaided if snorkelling.

Our main boat is ‘Cearban Mhor’, she is a 12m Redbay Cabin RIB built for the Atlantic conditions! She has been custom-built for our wildlife tours and has a large viewing platform to watch wildlife, as well as an enclosed indoor space to give you the best of both worlds.

Cearban Mhor can take up to 12 guests, our smaller boat Cearban Beg can take a maximum of 10. You will be accompanied by 1 guide and skipper.

We can provide charter services for larger groups with two other boats offering 12 spaces each.

Our boats have an emergency chemical toilet on board. They have a limited capacity and use should be kept to a minimum. There are toilets at the pier for all of our locations for use before and after tours. Please note Cearban Beg, which is mostly used for scuba diving trips, does not have a toilet.

Yes, we can offer a wide range of charter services and bespoke tours. Please get in touch if you have any ideas or would like to know more about our services. Here are just some ideas to get you started!

We have a range of water sports equipment so you can add swimming, snorkelling, kayaking or paddle-boarding options into your itinerary.

We have worked regularly with media groups and can offer a range of filming services.

Safety on board our boats is our absolute priority. Our boats are all well maintained and have all the appropriate safety equipment as well as emergency oxygen and first aid. Our experienced team are all rescue and first aid trained and will always be on hand to help. Our skippers each have decades of experience in the local area and are well used to the local sea conditions and weather.

You will be given a safety briefing and orientation on your first day on board, and a briefing before any in-water activities. Our friendly team will always be there to answer your questions and help where needed.

All of our boats have a sheltered area to keep you protected from the elements. Once we are swimming or snorkelling you won’t be able to enter the cabin in your wet gear so make sure you bring layers and sun protection to keep yourself comfortable.

Our Oban day tours last around 8 hours including 2-3 hours travel time each way to the destination. En route there will be plenty of scenery and wildlife to enjoy.

The weather can be changeable in Scotland, so we advise you to be adequately prepared. At sea, we are much more exposed and you’ll feel much colder than on land. We advise you to bring plenty of clothes to keep you warm.

Water temperature over the season ranges from 10-16 degrees and we have a range of equipment that will keep you warm. Our rental gear is of high quality and with adequate preparation you will be comfortable in the water.

Essential:

• Snorkelling gear – can be hired upon booking
• Swimming costume (wear under clothes)
• Food – plenty!
• Water – plenty!
• Warm layers: Hats, jumpers, waterproofs
• Sun protection: glasses, hats, sunscreen
• Towel
• Medication i.e. inhalers/ EpiPens/ seasickness tablets (take before you get on the boat).
• Sturdy footwear

Optional:

• Cameras
• Binoculars
• Changing robe
• Flask
• Midge repellent
• Tick remover

There will be hot drinks on board for when you get out of the water – but no other food or drink is provided.

YES!

Please bring lots of food and snacks – it is a high energy experience and you will eat more than usual. Food is not provided and there are no options to get more food once you have started your tour.

This depends if you are susceptible to getting seasick! As we are at sea most of the day, we advise you to bring seasickness remedies if you suffer from mal de mer. You need to take seasickness tablets prior to the trip departure.

We aim to stay in calm waters but this is not always possible. The sea can be choppy and rough at times. It is best to err on the side of caution.

Our charter boats are cabin RIBs which are highly seaworthy and built for the Atlantic. During strong winds, we can shelter in some areas to look for wildlife taking short passages of rough crossings. Unfortunately, some conditions are not safe to go out in and tours may need to be rescheduled or cancelled.

The conditions are closely monitored by our experienced skippers. In bad conditions we will use the most up to date forecast which is made available at 9pm each night. This means that we occasionally have to make a late call to adapt the plan for the following day.

We understand that this can be frustrating – we will give as much notice as possible to minimise disruption to your tour.

No! We are highly experienced with 10 years operating in the area. However, the natural world is very unpredictable, not a zoo or an aquarium and therefore sightings are never guaranteed.

We can however promise that you are visiting a wildlife hotspot with a highly experienced team – we will do our very best to give a great experience no matter what the conditions.

There are chances of spotting the following:

• Common and bottlenose dolphins and porpoises
• Minke whales and even orca (killer whales) are spotted on occasion
• Common and grey seals
• Otters
• Golden and white-tailed sea eagles
• Seabirds such as puffins, fulmars, gannets, skuas, guillemots and razorbills
• Rare visitors include leatherback turtles and sunfish (Mola mola)

Due to the long trips and our hope to get to close to wildlife without disturbance we don’t allow dogs on the boat. There are some good dog sitters in Oban such Sian At Happy Paws or ask at the facebook group ‘information oban’.

You are very welcome on our tours. You will have a great experience watching all of the action from the boat without getting wet. You will be able to help us collate wildlife sightings which will help with our on-going research. You are able to participate in all other activities offered during our excursion such as island landings to see puffins and Fingal’s cave. You will still need to book a space on the boat – please comment that you are not going to swim.

Oban has been referred to as the ‘Gateway to the Isles’ as from here you can explore the Hebrides by ferry. Oban itself offers an abundance of adventure with epic hiking, great food and water sports. It can be very busy over the summer as it is a popular tourist destination so make sure to book your stay ahead of time.

There are many independently owned guesthouses and B&Bs, one we would recommend is Glenroy Guesthouse.

For a more luxury option you can check out The Perle.

Kintaline house a very nice self catering option, 10 minute drive from marina and close to Tralee beach.