Isle of Staffa Scotland
United Kingdom
27
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
HX Expeditions (4 Cruises)
Ponant (1 Cruises)
Seabourn Cruise Line (16 Cruises)
Seabourn Venture
16 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
Nowhere: Staffa has no harbour and no terminal. Passengers reach the island by small boat to a modest metal landing stage on the east coast, when the sea allows. A steep staircase then climbs from the jetty to the grassy plateau on top.
No. It always depends on the weather, and the captain decides on the morning itself. The view from the sea is worth the trip on its own, which makes a cancellation easier to accept here than elsewhere.
A cathedral of black stone carved into the basalt columns on the east coast. From the jetty, a natural path formed by the tops of the hexagonal pillars runs along the cliff to its entrance, with a cable fixed to the wall for a handhold. Allow about twenty minutes there and back at an unhurried pace.
Because the composer Felix Mendelssohn visited in 1829 and drew his Hebrides Overture from it. The swell echoes under the vault as it would in a nave, and the sound of the place has not changed since.
From late April to early August, yes, on the grassy slopes of the northern side where they dig their burrows. Visitors who sit quietly back from the burrows often have these orange-billed birds land a few metres away. It takes stillness and a little patience.
Often around an hour, though it varies by ship. A proven split: about twenty minutes to the cave, the same again on the plateau with the puffins, and the rest for photographs and the walk back to the jetty.
No, and it is better to say so plainly. The staircase from the jetty is steep, the rock stays wet in all conditions and the column path demands a sure foot. Anyone with limited mobility can stay aboard without regret: the view from the sea is remarkable in itself.
None. No village, no shop, no café, no facilities. The islet is uninhabited and the call comes down to volcanic rock, the ocean and the seabirds. Everything comes from the ship and goes back to it.
Closed shoes with grippy soles, without exception. The basalt is permanently damp and the path is walked literally along the tops of the columns. Add a windproof layer: there is no shelter at all on the plateau.
Late April to early August, when the puffins occupy the plateau and the sea is on average more workable. Outside the breeding season, guillemots, fulmars and seals still animate the surrounding water, and the ship's naturalists are happy to identify them.
