Hi everyone! I got a request to follow up on my trip, so here's a really quick follow up for anyone who's interested:

Day 1 - Edinburgh: We had breakfast at Loudons New Waverley and walked around the city centre (Royal Mile, Victoria St., Cockburn Street, Grassmarket, Princess St. gardens, Scott monument) and then went to Dean’s village. In the afternoon we did the Johnnie Walker experience, which was really fun and then had dinner at La Locanda.

Day 2 – Edinburgh to Oban/Fort William: We rented a car from Arnold Clark and headed towards Loch Lomond. We then stopped at Inveraray for lunch (Samphire restaurant) and then visited Inveraray Castle. We really enjoyed the visit and the gardens were lovely in May. We didn't have time to visit Kilmartin because we had to drive at our accommodation, which was further than Oban. We stayed at Old Springwell Croft (Lismore Cottage), located at the village of Onich. We booked it through Booking.com and would highly recommend it. It has amazing views over the loch. However, it is further than Oban, so it'd be more convenient to book accommodation in Glencoe/Oban for this night.

Day 3 – We went to the Glenfinnan Viaduct and then explored the Glencoe area. If you can, definitely go to Glen Etive! The landscape there is mesmerising. We followed this driving route: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co....coe/index.html

Day 4 – Isle of Mull: If you have a car, definitely go to catch the ferry early as space was limited and it was on a first come first served basis if I recall correctly. We took the Corran - Ardgour ferry (crossing only takes 5 min) and then drove from Ardgour to Lochaline (1 hour). This driving route was incredible and we saw some of the best landscapes during our whole trip during this. Then we took the Lochaline to Fishnish Calmac ferry (20 min duration). We arrived at the Isle of Mull and then visited Duart Castle (didn't go in though) and had lunch at Am Birlinn. We really enjoyed the food there (everything is locally sourced and freshly prepared). We then went for a coffee at Calgary Farmhouse café and explored the art gallery there. We also did the Calgary Art In Nature woodland walk, which for me was one of the highlights of the trip. It is a trail overlooking Calgary Bay with beautiful artwork perfectly blending in the nature surrounding the trail. We then went to Tobermory, where we spent the night at Park Lodge Hotel (decent, but not the best). We had dinner at Macgochans (enjoyed the food). Tobermory is a really cute fishing village and has the distillery, some shops and a few good restaurants.

Day 5 – Iona & Staffa: We woke up really early and drove to Fionnphort to catch our Iona/Staffa tour. We didn't have time to explore the island because we were in a rush. Fionnphort is tiny and I'm not sure there's anywhere to stay there. I tried finding accommodation there in Booking.com and couldn't find anything. We only saw a cafe and a seafood stall opposite the harbour. We booked the tour with Staffa Tours. The tour was ok, though we couldn't really hear the tour guide. Essentially they took us to Fingal’s Cave, where we stayed for one hour, and then we got off at Iona. I'd highly recommend visiting both, but we were really really lucky with the weather. Staffa's landscape and the cave are very impressive, but we only saw one puffin. Iona is beautiful. It has some great shops with handmade items, really good cafes/hotels for grabbing lunch and white sandy beaches. We then took the ferry from Iona to Fionnphort and drove to Craignure to take the Craignure - Oban ferry to go to Oban. If you have a car you should definitely book this ferry in advance, as space is limited. We had dinner at Oban Bay Hotel, which we really liked and stayed nearby to Corriemar House.

Day 6 – Oban to Edinburgh: Drove back to Edinburgh through Stirling. We stopped to see the Kelpies and had brunch at River House Stirling.

Overall, we really enjoyed our trip and we were soo lucky with the weather. At times our road trip did feel a bit rushed, with lots of driving. I'm so glad we took your advice and didn't go to Skye, as I couldn't imagine covering even more ground. I'd have liked to have more time to explore the Isle of Mull at a more leisurely pace, but we definitely wanted to see Staffa and Iona and didn't have an extra day. Maybe a good idea would be to do a day tour from Oban to the islands, though it would be a shame to miss the gorgeous drive from Ardgour to Lochaline when going to Mull if you have a car. There's so much to do, so it's always a matter of choosing your pace vs how much you want to see. I hope this is helpful and thank you all for your tips and suggestions!

Thanks for reporting back. It would be better if your latest post was a thread of its own tagged as a trip report. I'd maybe ask the moderators to do that for you . . .

Sounds like you squeezed in a lot of great sights.

(Yes, thare are places t stay in/near Fionnphort. Including this marvelous place with views across to the Abbey on Iona. Seaview Bed and Breakfast Accommodation, Isle of Mull. One minute from Iona Ferry. I don't think Booking..com or other booking engines make sense for tiny hamlets/villages)

We created a new thread for your Trip Report

The drive down the Glen Etive Road to Loch Etive (12 miles one way) was one of the highlights of our trip to Scotland last year! I am happy you were able to do that. And also happy to hear you had great weather, as did we in June 2023.

Just saw your trip report…great to hear it all went so well and the weather played ball too(it has not been a good summer here this year.)
Re Fionnphort…we’ve also stayed here, lovely B&B in the village, just for info:

https://www.holidayisleofmull.co.uk/accommodation.php

Ninth Wave is a memorable small restaurant in Fionnphort serving quite amazing lunches(Michelin quality but not prices.) and also now offers a boutique little self catering cottage with I believe, short breaks available.

https://www.ninthwaverestaurant.co.uk/accommodation

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Ardgour - Lochaline route!

Thank you for the information I'm sure it'll be really useful to anyone planning a trip to Mull and I'll definitely have it in mind in case we ever return there!