Useful Information

What’s included in your cruise

Full-board and accommodation are included in the price of your holiday whilst on the ship, plus any hotel nights advertised.
Hot drinks such as tea and coffee are included, as well as mineral water – help yourself or please just ask your steward or chef. Alcoholic and soft drinks can be purchased from the bar. Please use the honesty book to record your purchases and this will be settled at the end of the cruise. We can only accept cash on board but there are cash points in Oban.
All your meals plus snacks such as cakes, biscuits, fruit, etc. are included. If you have any food allergies or strict dietary requirements, please let us know as soon as possible if you have not already. We are very happy to cater for these if you give us details in advance of your cruise so we can supply appropriately whilst in port.
Bed linen and towels are provided.
Any berthing fees and ships expenses are catered for within the price.
We occasionally meet up with our own minibuses and guides ashore for optional excursions further afield and these are included in the cost of your holiday.
Visiting attractions whilst ashore is not covered. Unless specifically stated on the itinerary.

What to bring

Clothing – Bring sensible layered clothing and footwear (such as walking boots or stout shoes) including waterproofs/wind proofs and hats/gloves for shore visits, and for time spent on deck. Wellingtons are not essential unless you like to wear them for walking. Footwear may get wet during any beach landings, many guests go ashore barefoot, carrying their footwear. Dress is informal, there is no dressing for dinner. (Unless you wish too.) Bring soft shoes or slippers for relaxing below in the cabins or sitting in the saloon.
Luggage – Please do not bring hard-sided suitcases. Space is limited in the cabins and you’ll have more space if you bring soft bags which can stow away more easily than suitcases.
Toiletries – Make sure you bring whatever toiletries you need and don’t forget your toothbrush! We do provide liquid hand soap in the bathrooms of course.
Electronics – You are welcome to bring laptops, cameras, and other devices. There are “regular” 240v power sockets in your cabin for charging batteries, etc. We don’t have hairdryers, do bring your own hairdryer but please remember they can only be used whenever the engine or generator is running.
Binoculars – Feel free to bring your favourite pair of Bins. We do have a selection of scanning binoculars on board for our guests plus a pair of top-quality Swarovski Optik binoculars that you will be able to try out and share with your fellow guests thanks to our partnership with this market-leading brand.
Library – We have a small, select library aboard Hjalmar Bjørge, including books on…Wildlife identification guides, for air, sea and land, Flora and Forna of the Islands of the Scottish West Coast, Habitation and history of the islands we visit; as well as a good selection of Ordinance Survey, and walking maps.
Sundries – Small but very handy… Sun Block, Midge repellent, and Sunglasses.

Where will we go?

Whilst booking your place online you’ll have read the cruise overview, this outlines where we plan to visit, depending on weather and sea conditions. Your skipper will brief you each morning on the possibilities for that day. Experience has shown that it is best to be flexible on these points because occasionally, it just is not possible to reach the destinations that we hoped to visit on that day; that is not to say we won’t look at trying to reach them later on in the cruise. Wherever we go you will certainly see amazing scenery, a variety of interesting and exciting wildlife, at sea, ashore and in the air. From our anchorages you can venture on remote walks, visiting beautiful places that would be hard to reach by other means.

Seasickness

A small number of guests are prone to seasickness, as we want you to enjoy your holiday, we may alter our course if our original plans take us into heavy seas. It’s always a good idea to come prepared for the possibility of seasickness. We suggest bringing your own tablets with you and then you probably won’t need them! Most of our passengers favour “Stugeron” or “Kwells,” where as some people may prefer avoiding over the counter medicines, using acupressure wristbands instead these are available in chemists, or the more expensive battery-powered bracelets can work too. Traditional remedies include… chewing stem ginger or ginger biscuits or eating green apples all help to calm the stomach.

Midges

Midges are not a problem whilst at sea, but during the summer months you may encounter them whilst walking on the islands; some islands are more prone to midges than others. However you are advised to take suitable precautions such as covering up or applying repellent creams/lotions.

Contact with the “outside world”

Mobile phone signal – There is mobile signal around the islands, but the topography and remoteness of some places we visit means it can be very limited. There is no signal on some of the more remote, sheltered anchorages, (including St Kilda,) so it’s possible to be 2 or 3 days out of contact. However the coverage is constantly improving!
WiFi – There is limited WiFi aboard, which you may be able to read emails and messages with. Again depending on where we are and strength of signal.
Tracking our progress – The Hjalmar Bjørge is fitted with a ship tracking system, so your family and friends can follow your progress during your cruise by logging onto marinetraffic.com and typing “Hjalmar Bjorge” in the search box.
Emergencies – Feel free to give friends or relatives at home our contact numbers and tell them they may reach you via these numbers. In an emergency the vessel can also be reached via the Coastguard so make sure they have the name – ‘Hjalmar Bjorge, (commonly pronounced ‘Halma George.’) Should you be unexpectedly called home we will be as helpful as we possibly can.

General Safety

It is very important to note that everyone has a responsibility to act safely whilst onboard the ship or our tender and to respect other passengers and crew during our cruises.
Please let our crew know immediately if you see anything that might cause concern while onboard ensuring it can be addressed as quickly as possible.

Departure point

Departure is normally from the new pontoons adjacent to the North Pier in Oban. There is a secure gate to enter the pontoons, if we have a mobile contact number for you, we will text you the code on the morning of your cruise. Please keep the skipper’s mobile number handy in case you need to contact us: 07469 486262 Access onto the boat is direct from the pontoons—no sets of steps or ladders!

Please aim to arrive around 2.30pm on the day of departure, unless you are told otherwise.
You will arrive back in Oban around mid-morning on the last day of your cruise, breakfast will be served before you leave us.

Travelling to Oban

Train: If you are travelling by train, Oban is located along the scenic West Highland Line and is approximately a 3 hour journey from Glasgow Queen Street Station with 4 trains departing throughout the day. Its a 10 minute walk from Oban train station to the North Pier pontoons.

Bus: There is a bus service from Glasgow Buchanan Street bus station, operated by City Link.

Car: Oban is easily reachable by road from Central Scotland by following the A82 around the west side of Loch Lomond and then either via Tyndrum; or by following the A83 through Inveraray. If travelling from the south, Oban is a 2.5 hours drive from Glasgow.

Car parking in Oban is extremely limited, with very few long-term parking options, but we do have an arrangement with Stoddarts of Oban who provide private parking, protected by CCTV, at their premises in Oban Town Centre. This is about a 10-15 minute walk to the North Pier pontoons. (You can opt for outdoors or indoors parking.) Pre-booking is required so please call them on the following number to check the current charges and let them know you are cruising with us.
Stoddarts of Oban: 01631 564176 ask for Sally.

We also have 2 Argyll & Bute Council parking permits, which allows you to park in any Council car park in Oban, including those close to the North Pier pontoons. Please contact us directly about booking this option.

By air: From Glasgow Airport, take the AirPort Express bus into Glasgow City Centre, alighting the bus at George Square next to Queen Street Train Station, to catch the train to Oban. Airport buses are every 30 minutes and the journey time is around 15 minutes. The 2024 fare was £10.50 each way, or £17 open return per adult.

Ferry: If you want to travel by sea, Oban is a busy ferry port with regular ferry services to and from the islands of… Mull, Colonsay, Coll, Tiree, Lismore, Barra and South Uist.

Useful Numbers

Customer Service: 07871 463755 or 01599 555723 to speak to Linda.
Boat Phone: 07469 486262 – will get you through to Hjalmar Bjorge, either the skipper or one of the crew. (Please only use this number on your cruise dates, including departure day in case of delay. All other calls and queries to Customer Service.)