Which Tarbert, and which boat? The one on Loch Fyne, in Kintyre — and from Monday 19 October to Monday 16 November it is not the usual car ferry at all but MV Due West, a twelve-seat charter for foot passengers sailing from the marina pontoons, while the Portavadie slip is prepared for CalMac's Small Vessel Replacement Programme.
Summer timetable 27 March to 18 October 2026 (sheet last updated 19 June 2026) and winter timetable 19 October 2026 to 25 March 2027 (sheet last updated 7 July 2026), first read on calmac.co.uk on 25 September 2026 and read again, unchanged, on 13 and 15 October 2026, together with the route's service notices and CalMac's sailing data of those dates. CalMac — Tarbert (Loch Fyne)–Portavadie summer and winter timetables (PDF) · 2026-10-15
Which Tarbert are you driving to? Scotland has two with a CalMac ferry, about 240 kilometres from each other in a straight line. This page is about Tarbert on Loch Fyne, the village on the narrow neck of Kintyre, and its boat across the loch to Portavadie on the Cowal peninsula. The other Tarbert is on Harris in the Outer Hebrides, reached from Uig on Skye; the two routes share nothing but the name, and a satnav told only "Tarbert ferry" can send you the wrong way.
Is this the Tarbert that the Arran boat used to use in winter? The same village, yes — but that is a separate question, covered on the Claonaig–Lochranza page, because CalMac's current winter timetable for Lochranza does not involve Tarbert at all. From Tarbert's own slip the only CalMac crossing is this one, 25 minutes to Portavadie.
So what is it for? It is a short cut. CalMac describes it as connecting two areas of Scotland without a large detour by road, and in practice it lets anyone on Kintyre reach Tighnabruaich, the Kyles of Bute and the Cowal side without the long drive round the top of Loch Fyne. It is turn-up-and-go: there is no sailing to reserve, only a ticket to hold.
With two adults aboard, a car crosses for £19.20: £11.60 for the car and £3.80 each, because CalMac's vehicle fares never include the driver. A return costs exactly double, £38.40, and it is not tied to a sailing — only to the timetable season it was bought for.
The steepest step on the list is a campervan crossing the six-metre line. Up to six metres it pays the car rate; between six and eight metres the fare jumps to £29.00, whereas a caravan of the same length pays £17.40.
| Adult, 16 and over | £ 3.80 |
| Child, 5 to 15 | £ 1.90 |
| Infant, 0 to 4 | Free |
| Adult SPT concession | £ 1.90 |
| Adult SPT companion | £ 1.90 |
| Pedal cycle | Free |
| Car | £ 11.60 |
| Motorcycle | £ 5.80 |
| Baggage trailer up to 2.5 m | £ 5.80 |
| Trailer 2.5–6 m | £ 11.60 |
| Trailer 6–8 m | £ 17.40 |
| Caravan up to 6 m | £ 11.60 |
| Caravan 6–8 m | £ 17.40 |
| Motorhome up to 6 m | £ 11.60 |
| Motorhome 6–8 m | £ 29 |
| Motorhome 8–10 m | £ 34.80 |
| Motorhome 10–12 m | £ 40.60 |
Last published fares: summer 2026, valid from 27 March 2026. CalMac had still published no winter 2026/27 fares for this route on 15 October 2026, so check the fares tab before buying for travel from 19 October. CalMac — Tarbert–Portavadie fares (route page and fares PDF) · 2026-10-15
Using the Department for Transport's positions for the two slipways, the gap across the loch is about five and a half kilometres, and every sailing is timed at 25 minutes. Loch Fyne runs inland for miles north of this point, so the alternative for a driver is the road up one shore and down the other by the head of the loch. That is the case for the boat: it turns Kintyre and Cowal into neighbours. From Portavadie the road runs on to Tighnabruaich and the Kyles of Bute, and from there the five-minute Colintraive crossing to Bute is within reach.
The Kintyre end is a slipway on Pier Road, on the harbour side of Tarbert village, with free parking for about a dozen cars, free Wi-Fi and a defibrillator, but no toilets — the nearest are in the village. It is unattended, so tickets are bought on board or online beforehand. A cash machine and a shop are about half a mile away in Tarbert; for fuel, CalMac's own page names both Lochgilphead and a petrol station at Clachan, eleven miles off.
Buses stop at the turning circle in the village rather than at the slip. The Islay ships do not use this slipway either: they load at Kennacraig, on West Loch Tarbert, and have nothing to do with this crossing.
Portavadie is better equipped than Tarbert: a waiting area with toilets, including an accessible one, free Wi-Fi and parking for roughly six cars. It is still unattended, and CalMac sells tickets on board. Local buses call at the top of the slipway, and for anything else — fuel, cash, a shop — CalMac points you five miles on to Tighnabruaich.
The slipway sits beside Portavadie marina. From 19 October to 16 November the replacement boat uses the marina pontoon, not this slip, and passengers wait at the pontoon entrance until a crew member meets them.
Vehicles and foot passengers must be at the slip ten minutes before departure, with the ticket ready to scan. A crew member checks cars in; late arrivals can be refused.
You name a date when buying online, but the ticket works on any sailing in that summer or winter period. It dies at the end of it and cannot be refunded, so a ticket bought now for a trip after 18 October is the wrong one.
An online purchase covering several people holds only if they all cross on one sailing; get separate tickets if you may split up.
From 19 October to 16 November only foot passengers can cross, twelve at a time, on MV Due West from the marina pontoons; wait at the pontoon entrance until the crew collect you. Kennacraig port office, on 01880 280281 (option 2), answers questions about the arrangement.
There is no charge for a bike. A party of six riders or more needs to warn the port office ahead of time, and may not get its first-choice sailing.
CalMac warns that the electronic message board at Glendaruel, on the Cowal approach, is out of order and may show incorrect information. Check the route's service status instead.
Portavadie did not grow up around the ferry. Between 1975 and 1977 a workers' village was built at Polphail, about 570 metres south-east of today's marina, to house the workforce of a construction yard for oil platforms. The Scottish Archaeological Research Framework, which surveyed it, records that the village was never occupied and began falling into ruin almost as soon as it was finished, although its accommodation blocks could have slept more than 400 people. Graffiti artists later turned the empty buildings into a canvas, and by the time the framework was written the site was due for demolition.
MV Isle of Cumbrae, the route's ship, was launched at Troon in 1976 by the Ailsa yard. CalMac's account of her career takes her from the Largs–Cumbrae crossing to Lochaline–Fishnish on Mull and then to Colintraive–Rhubodach before she became the regular summer ferry here. She is 32 metres long, with a small passenger lounge up from the car deck, toilets at car-deck level and room for dogs; CalMac does not publish her car or passenger capacity. Her Largs connection is why she went back to cover Cumbrae's maintenance days for four days at the end of September 2026.
No. That goes to Tarbert on Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. The Portavadie ferry leaves Tarbert on Loch Fyne, in Kintyre, from a slipway on Pier Road, postcode PA29 6UF.
No. For those four weeks the Portavadie slip is closed for enabling works, and CalMac replaces the car ferry with MV Due West, a foot-passenger charter with twelve seats that sails from the marina pontoons at Tarbert and Portavadie. The normal winter timetable starts on Tuesday 17 November.
The winter timetable from 19 October simply omits the 12:00 and 13:00 from Tarbert and the 12:30 and 13:30 from Portavadie, whatever the day of the week. The morning ends with the 11:30 from Portavadie and the afternoon starts with the 14:00 from Tarbert.
£19.20 one way and £38.40 return: £11.60 for the car plus £3.80 for each adult, including the driver. Children aged 5 to 15 are £1.90 and under-fives travel free.
Eight, all listed in CalMac's planned maintenance notice: Monday 23 November, Wednesday 23 December, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, 1 and 2 January, Sunday 17 January and Thursday 11 February. On those dates neither the car ferry nor any replacement boat runs.
Until 18 October, the 18:30 from Portavadie every day. From 19 October it is the 17:30, Sundays included — except on weekdays up to 16 November, when MV Due West's last departure from Portavadie is at 17:40.
A waiting area at the slipway with toilets, an accessible toilet and free Wi-Fi, and about six parking spaces. Tarbert's slip has around twelve free parking spaces but no toilets.
Yes. Both slipways are unattended, and CalMac sells tickets on board as well as online. Buying online in advance is its recommendation, but it says staff may still carry you if you turn up without one.