Ah, but then you are back to missing Staffa again :)

BTW, we went in June - and it rained every day at least once. No worries, it didn't stop us much, this is Scotland, after all... we were prepared. However, the high winds that came with it kept the boat from traveling to Staffa most of our three nights on Mull. Finally, the last afternoon, we got a chance, and even that was iffy - a storm rolled in while we were on the way, so our time was cut short. Still, it was worth the trip.

Steve, if you are just planning on visiting Iona and the castles, I'd suggest staying in Oban and taking the CalMac tour to Iona and going to the castle on your own. There are local buses from Craignure and the Mull Rail to Torosay. If you are walkers, there is a path from Craignure to Torosay. It's about a mile and a half from the ferry terminal.

If you want to take a trip out to Staffa and explore Mull, I'd take your car over and stay on Mull. My preferred choice would be Tobermory but Salen or Pennyghael would be fine too.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not much for tours and prefer independent travel. The Calmac tour suited me fine. We were not herded like cattle and there were no name tags:) We all rode the ferry with other passengers, met the coach after departing from the ferry (show your ticket and they'll tell you which bus). The bus driver told a few humourous stories and provided a great deal of local information during the trip out to Fionnphort. Upon arriving in Fionnphort, the driver told us when we could catch the last ferry from Iona. We were on our own on Iona. I came back on an earlier ferry, hoping to visit the St. Columba Museum.

Sorry that should read castles. I realize you want to visit Duart also.

OK. I've had to read a bit more to get the context here, and I read

"Drive from Portree on Skye to Tobermory via Fishnish and Ft. William. We'll spend 2 nights in Tobermory. On the first day, we'll visit Iona, and Staffa or whatever other places we want. On the second day, we'll visit the eastern end of the island including Craignure, Torosay, and Duart castles. At the end of the day (17:00?), we'll take the ferry to Oban and spend the night there."

First up, if you're coming from Portree come off the island at Armadale and drive south through Ardnamurchan to Lochaline. MUCH shorter journey. You do miss Glenfinnan, but.

Having said that the above plan is fine, if that's what you want to do. In June the days are long. You could be in Iona by 9am, with an early start- and if you saw the hordes getting onto that boat, you would WANT an early start. Back on the mainland by 1pm. All afternoon to mooch your way home. Next day to fulfill the rest of your plans.

IF you decide to sat in Oban, take one of the organised tours to get the most out of the day. I think they are all listed on this page

http://www.bonawehouse.co.uk/islands.htm

On the second day, there are a heap of people who will do private day tours of the island for you.

Personally, if I were going to spend two days on Mull, I'd not sleep in Oban. If my agenda was as yours, I'd pick the place I wanted to spend my evenings- that would either be Tobermory or Fhionnphort- or maybe Dervaig or Carsaig- and I'd stay there. End of.

Thank you to everybody for all the input!!!

For Historytraveler and Greendragon, one of the Bowman tours includes Iona as well as Staffa.

For Sheila, I'm considering every word you wrote and weighing the options.

Fortunately, there's plenty of time left and I can decide and redecide many times. :-)