Which One is Better (in 9 Rounds)

Coming up: ferries, fish, trekking, tripping, dimensions, decisions, making friends, avoiding other tourists, more animals than you might be expecting, exciting things you haven’t heard of, and deciding between the Isle of Skye and the Isle of Mull (over 9 rounds).

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye and the Isle of Mull are two of Scotland’s most famous islands.

… and, presumably, since you’re reading this guide, you’re not sure which of the two you want to visit 🤔

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So: which is easier to get to? Which has better outdoor adventures? Which has better food and drink? What are the beaches like? Where will you find fewer tourists? And are either of them good for spotting Scottish wildlife?

In short: Which is better, Skye or Mull?

Coming up, all that and more: here’s everything you need to know about whether you should visit the Isle of Skye or the Isle of Mull! 🥳

Table of Content

🥊 Round 1: getting to the islands (accessibility)

The ultimate winner of this round is: Skye

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: you can drive to Skye over a big bridge from the Scottish mainland. So it’s super simple to reach

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: to reach the island, you have to take a ferry—but by Scottish-island standards, it’s still very accessible

Some of Scotland’s islands are very inaccessible (and that accessibility can be sporadic and unpredictable).

… but getting to Skye couldn’t be easier: you just drive over a bridge 🙏

You don’t need to rely on public transport, you don’t need to know any schedules, and you don’t need to book anything. Simple.

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⛴️ But to get to the Isle of Mull, you have to take the ferry. The two most popular routes are from Killchoan to Tobermory (35 minutes), and the main route from Oban to Craignure (50 minutes). The shortest ferry route is from Lochaline to Fishnish, and only takes 18 minutes—but it isn’t very popular. All ferry routes are operated exclusively by Calmac Ferries.

All that said, Mull is much further south than Skye, and the ferries are very regular and reliable. So Mull is still relatively easy to reach.

💯 The score so far: Skye 1 – 0 Mull

🥊 Round 2: the size of the islands

The ultimate winner of this round is: Mull

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: it measures in at a surprisingly-massive 1,656 square kilometers (639 square miles)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: it’s much more manageable for a visit, measuring 875 square kilometers (338 square miles)

Mull is around half the size of the Isle of Skye.

… which might make it sound less impressive.

🤷 But that actually makes it much more explorable from a tourism perspective. You see, you could spend weeks on the Isle of Skye without seeing everything—driving from one side of the island to the other takes almost 90 minutes.

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… but in a week or two on Mull, seeing the best bits is much more manageable.

💯 The score so far: Skye 1 – 1 Mull

🥊 Round 3: working out what to do

The ultimate winner of this round is: Skye

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: you’ll find MILLIONS of guides online (and you can also buy plenty of guide books)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: Mull is much lesser-known… so it’s harder to know what to do

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Around 650,000 people visit Skye every year 😱

Admittedly, Mull gets LOADS of visitors too.

… but although around 600,000 people visit Mull each year, lots of them only take day trips to the island… and many only really visit the capital of Tobermory.

So, in short:

• Skye is more famous and accessible
• It gets around 10% more visitors each year
• The trips these visitors take are often longer and more extensive

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📚 Because of all that, Skye is much more well-known (and therefore more written-about). If you want to find out what to do on the Isle of Skye, it’s super easy to find online guides.

(and here are some of our most popular ones):

… but with the Isle of Mull, it’s a bit tougher to find good information. If you like to know exactly what to do when you visit a place, you’ll prefer the Isle of Skye 🤓

💯 The score so far: Skye 2 – 1 Mull

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🥊 Round 4: avoiding other tourists

The ultimate winner of this round is: Mull

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: in summer, Skye is BRIMMING with tourists. And even though we’re tourists too, it can get a bit annoying (especially in the outdoor places where you want to find a pocket of peace)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: it’s also very touristy… but it’s a lot less touristy than Skye

Again, Mull gets slightly-fewer tourists.

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… and, again, when these tourists do come to Mull, they often only come for the day. So in the height of tourist season (which is late spring and all of summer), Mull feels much less touristy than Skye.

In short, if you want to avoid big packs of other tourists, head to Mull.

💯 The score so far: Skye 2 – 2 Mull

🥊 Round 5: indoor things to do

The ultimate winner of this round is: Skye

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: for culture, museums, and events, Skye is probably Scotland’s best island. So it was never gonna be beaten here

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: you get some interesting indoor venues—but not too many

Because only around 3,000 people live on Mull, there’s not a huge amount of action and adventure. Yeah, the outdoors here are world-class. But if you’re looking for loads of museums and galleries and arts venues, you’ll probably be a bit disappointed. Some of the best venues include:

• The Mull Museum (in Tobermory): a charming and quaint little place, this former home tells the story of Mull’s people, geology, wildlife, and history. It feels like it was curated by somebody’s grandparents (and it probably was).
• Mull Theatre (in Tobermory): Mull’s creative hub, this place hosts live music, performances, talks, dance, film screenings, and more. Given the venue’s small size, you’ll be impressed by the massive quality of its work.
• Aros Hall (in Tobermory): a community-owned cultural events space, this local spot features exhibitions, talks, dances, community gigs, and heritage events. It’s the closest you’ll find to what might vaguely be described as an ‘alternative’ venue on Mull.
• Ross Of Mull Historical Center: a local history center in an original restored cottage near the southwestern tip of the island (in the tiny village of Bunessan).

(as you’ve probably noticed, most of Mull’s best venues are gathered in the island’s capital of Tobermory)

🌴 … but because around 10,000 people live on Skye, there’s just (much!) more going on year-round. More year-round businesses. More places that stay open when it’s cold and dark. More art and entertainment. More places to learn about local people and culture.

Some places are traditional and quaint, but others are a bit more alternative and aspirational. Highlights include:

• Skye Museum of Island Life: a living-history museum, with a bunch of thatched cottages, showing what rural life was like on Skye 100 years ago.
• Las Port Righ: just south of central Portree, this little cinema and cultural spot shows big movies, under-the-radar independent stuff, live music, and intimate comedy. It’s a very trendy space.
• Atlas Arts: an organization rather than a venue, these guys host internationally-minded contemporary arts performances and events (often with site-specific venues). They serve up stuff like screenings, gatherings, residencies, meals, workshops, and even baking sessions. A lovely way to mix Skye’s community spirit with its surprisingly-contemporary arts scene.
• Skye Live Festival is a boutique music festival blending indie, traditional folk, electronica, and lots of leftfield independent stuff. It’s not all indoors.
• … and across the island, you’ll also find open mic nights, a wider range of music, and some great pop-up events in the summer. For spontaneous events, Skye is infinitely better than Mull.

Overall, for trendier and busier indoor events and venues, Skye is the better choice here (although both islands have more choice and variety than most visitors expect).

💯 The score so far: Skye 3 – 2 Mull

🥊 Round 6: feeling like you’re really ‘in’ Scotland

The ultimate winner of this round is: Mull

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: Skye is outrageously pretty and dramatic. But it feels like you’re sharing that feeling with 10,000 other people, three drones, and 8 million campervans. And all of that can really dilute the overall Scottish-ness of the island

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: Mull is quieter and slower—and villages feel lived-in rather than curated. In Mull, it’s easier to feel like you’re watching real life

Mull feels much more quiet and remote.

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… and again, unlike Skye, it’s LITERALLY removed from the mainland (so it actually is much more quiet and remote) 🌴

But there’s more: even traveling on Mull is different to traveling on Skye. The infrastructure isn’t quite as good. The roads aren’t as convenient. It’s less set up for tourism. It feels like the roads are made for farmers and villagers; not for phone-touting Instagrammers. The most-remote sections of Mull feel more removed than the most-remote sections of Skye.

So, short and simple, but: Mull wins this one 👍

Btw: for loads more under-the-radar Scottish adventures, and feeling like you’re really ‘in’ Scotland, get yourself over to our guides on:

💯 The score so far: Skye 3 – 3 Mull

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🥊 Round 7: coastal action

The ultimate winner of this round is: Mull

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: the coastline here is super-dramatic, with 400 miles (640km) of cliffs, rocks, stacks, lumpy headlands, and weird rock formations. If you like looking at cool coastal scenery, you’ll much prefer Skye

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: the coastline here is calmer, gentler, and more inviting—with long beaches, shallow bays, and low cliffs. If you like sitting on soft, sandy, silent beaches, you’ll prefer Mull

Both Skye and Mull are islands. Obviously 🙄

… so both Skye and Mull have massive coastlines:

• Skye’s coastline measures in at around 400 miles (640km)
• … while Mull’s coastline measures in at around 300 miles (480km)

While you’re on Mull, make sure you take a trip to Iona island (with a permanent population of 170 people, this pilgrimage site is home to an historic abbey and some super-quiet hikes). You should also head to the island of Staffa (surrounded by famous otherworldly hexagonal rock columns, it’s an official National Nature Reserve, and it’s well-known for its summertime puffins).

🌴 Close to Skye, you can visit islands like Raasay, Rona, Rum, and Eigg—they’re all excellent (and very varied), but they’re not quuuuiiiiite as impressive as Staffa and Iona. And many of them don’t have direct ferry access from Skye (so, to reach them, you have to go back to the mainland).

In general (and I am definitely generalizing here), Skye’s coastal scenery is more dramatic. But Mull’s beaches are actually more beautiful (and definitely less busy). Combine that with trips to Staffa and Iona, and Mull wins this one (but only just!).

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🥥 Btw, some of the best beaches on Mull include:

• Calgary Bay: you get a wide bay, some swimmable (and shallow) water, and plenty of space even in summer. Because it’s on the island’s west coast, it’s one of Mull’s best (and most popular) spots for sunset.
• Ardalanish Beach: near Mull’s southwestern tip, this place is both rocky and sandy—and because it’s a ten-minute walk from the nearest parking lot, it’s VERY peaceful.
• Kilninian Beach: featuring black sands, many birds, and even occasional otters, this one is secluded even by Mull’s standards.

💡 Top tip: we’ve already covered the 13 best beaches on the Isle of Skye here.

💯 The score so far: Skye 3 – 4 Mull

🥊 Round 8: hiking

The ultimate winner of this round is: Skye

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: the hikes here are more accessible, and easier to find information about. And some of them are world-class (and much more adventurous than you’d expect)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: some of the hikes here are genuinely top-tier. But once you tick off the best-known wanders, it’s a bit tougher to find further adventures

Skye and Mull are both EXCELLENT for hiking.

🥾 We’ve already covered Skye’s 15 best hikes here. But they include:

• The Old Man of Storr: an accessible and easy(ish) wander around some strange and surreal roadside rocky pillars. It’s busy, but it’s iconic.
• The Quiraing: a lumpy land formation that looks like something from a different planet. It’s boggy, it’s weird, and it’s probably the greenest place you’ve ever seen.
• Loch Coruisk Circular: this hike (usually) starts with a ferry ride, and takes you around the entire shores of a wildlife-packed loch.
• The Skye Trail: a hyper-adventurous unwaymarked multi-day trail measuring in at around 79 miles (128km). It’s the best on-foot way to see the island’s highlights—but it’s an imposing and unpredictable beast.

(and you also get MANY MORE underrated treks and trails on Skye)

🥾 Some Mull hiking highlights include:

• Ben More: the highest mountain on Mull, this big boy measures in at 945 meters (3,100 feet). It’s a steady rather than super-steep walk, and it’s a good option for unseasoned(ish) hikers who still want to head high.
• The Tobermory lighthouse circular: starting and ending in central Tobermory, this 2-hour walk gives you wooded trails, waterside views, a little lighthouse, and a golf course. It’s flat and easy, but still super pretty.
• Treshnish coast and cave: this 4-hour walk is super varied. An adventure around a western Mull peninsula, it features cliffs, abandoned villages, craggy coasts, endless sheep, and a cave once used to brew illegal drinks!

… but, in general, the vast majority of Mull’s hikes are lesser-known, lesser-trodden, and lesser-publicized. So if you want easy access to a massive number of good hikes (without having to do too much navigation or planning or map-reading), Skye is better. And, in general, Skye just has MORE hikes.

💯 The score so far: Skye 4 – 4 Mull

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🥊 Round 9: spotting wildlife

The ultimate winner of this round is: Mull

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Skye in short: it’s Scotland’s best place for seeing golden eagles… and wildlife-spotting is a thing here. But Skye’s wildlife simply isn’t as impressive as Mull’s

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Isle of Mull in short: it’s one of Scotland’s very-best locations for seeing a wide range of diverse wildlife. Highlights include otters, red deer, white-tailed eagles, whales, dolphins, and basking sharks

Recently, Mull has become super-popular with wildlife-lovers. And according to the island’s own website, the “Isle of Mull has earned an enviable reputation as the premier wildlife tourism destination in the UK.”

Pretty big review! 👀

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… and with a glowing review like that one, it’s never gonna be beaten. Deer, otters, and eagles are surprisingly common, while you’ll find loads of tours based on animal exploration. And because many people head to Mull specifically to see wildlife, it’s easy to find information on how and where you can find the most impressive creatures and critters. You see: lots of Mull’s tourist infrastructure is built around animals 🐂

While Skye also has wildlife, the island isn’t primarily known as a destination for animal enthusiasts. So while red deer are common on the winter lowlands, and while there are loads of sealife-spotting boat trips on Skye, information isn’t as widespread, and the animals aren’t as rife (or as impressive).

For more on Scottish wildlife, here are:

💯 The score so far (and the final score!): Skye 4 – 5 Mull

The Isle of Skye vs the Isle of Mull: The Verdict

So: the overall winner in the contest between Skye and Mull…

… with a score of 5 points to 4…

… is… MULL! 🏅

Basically, Mull takes the edge here because it feels much more remote and removed than Skye.

In general, and if we had to sum this guide up in 50 or so words:

👉 Skye is more impressive to look at, with more to do; but Mull feels more like a real adventure, and I overall would choose Mull. That said, if you value simple accessibility, and being able to easily find loads of info on things to do, see and explore, you’ll actually prefer the Isle of Skye 👈

And, of course, if you have time, we obviously recommend visiting both Mull AND Skye. They’re two of Scotland’s most impressive places… and until you’ve seen both of them, you haven’t really seen Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

For more Scottish island adventures, get yourself over to our guides on:

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