wildlife watching – These Vagabond Shoes.

Visiting the Falkland Islands | What You Need to Know

Falkland Islands Travel Guide

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago of seven hundred or so low, rocky islands which look like they’ve been flung out into the South Atlantic Ocean by the hooked tip of South America. Lying a few hundred kilometres from the coast of Argentina, a troubled history means they look further afield for their closest connections; up the length of the Atlantic to the British Isles, 9,000km (5,600 miles) to the north. The islands are an outpost of Britishness, and a gateway to Antarctica, South Georgia, and the wild Southern Ocean. There’s really nowhere quite like the Falkland Islands.

These small islands aren’t widely known outside certain spheres of interest, making them a destination for curious and intrepid travellers to explore. They’re not easy to travel to, nor particularly affordable, filing them in a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trip category for most who visit. Planning and preparation are key to making the most of your trip, so read on to learn more in my guide to visiting the Falkland Islands.

In this guide for travellers, you’ll find the information needed for planning a visit to the Falkland Islands, including the best things to do, with options for different seasons, background on the history and ecology of the islands, and detailed travel information. If you can’t find what you need to know about visiting the Falkland Islands, post your question in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer it and update this post!

Photo Journal | Machair Wildflowers on the Isle of Coll

The island of Coll is breathtakingly beautiful. The sort of place where you leave a little piece of your heart behind when you finally bring yourself to leave.

coll_feall_1_small — The sweeping arc of Feall Bay, on the southwestern coast of Coll

coll_machair_6_small — The beaches of Feall and Crossapol are separated by a fixed dune system rising over 50 metres in places, including a large swathe of flower-rich machair

The turquoise waters of the Sea of the Hebrides wash up on sweeping silver-white beaches backed by lofty, marram-clad dunes, reaching over 50 metres high behind the strand at Feall. Between the coastal bents and the bogs and bare rock inland, is a rare place; machair, a habitat unique to the Hebrides, the fringes of northwestern Scotland, and western coast of Ireland.

What I’ve loved this season | Summer 2019

Where I’ve been and what I’ve done:

Through this summer most of my travels have either been onboard Irene, or around the areas where the ship has been based. After completing the TGO Challenge, and taking part in an interview for a winter job, I returned to Oban to rejoin the ship. After a quick turn around, we picked up Kag, our kayaking guide, and a bunch of boats, and headed out to explore the islands of the Inner Hebrides.

oban_1_sm — Looking back at Oban from the middle of the Sound of Kerrera

Our first stop was the sheltered water of Loch Spelve, on the eastern side of Mull, to wait out high winds and feast on mussels from the local farm and foraged seaweed. As I was pottering about in the tender I had a phone call. I was successful at the interview. I got the job! Or more accurately, I was going to be part of the team to do the job. More about that below.

night_fishing_small — Deckhand Dan, possibly the least successful fisherman on Irene.

Once storms abated, we headed through the Sound of Mull and round Ardnamurchan Point to the Small Isles, spotting a couple of minke whales on the way. We dropped anchor off Eigg, under the imposing An Sgurr, for a couple of nights, and I was fortunate to join the group for a paddle along the east side of the island accompanied by singing seals and diving gannets. Kag also introduced us to the concept of sea diamonds, which made kayaking in a total downpour seem damply magical.

Back in Oban, we had time for a quick crew turn around and a couple of great nights out, before heading out. This time we turned southwards, heading for Jura, and the sheltered water of Loch Tarbert, and Islay, dropping the kayakers in near Ardbeg for a paddle round to Port Ellen, with as many whisky stops as they could manage. On the return leg, we called in by the islands of Oronsay and Colonsay, anchoring in beautiful Kiloran Bay for a barbecue on the beach.

irene_colonsay_1_sm — Irene at anchor in Kiloran Bay, Colonsay. An extremely damp beach recce, but the weather dried up overnight for a beautiful stay.