Which town, Oban or Fort William, makes the better base for exploring the West Highlands? Oban has a fine and breezy coastal setting but Fort William is nearer more rugged scenery.  Helpful facts for itinerary planning for you to make your own choice – but we tend towards Oban.

In planning a tour of the West Highland seaboard of Scotland, most visitors are faced with the Oban or Fort William question. Which one makes the better base for exploring the area?

Both are quite substantial communities (for that thinly-populated part of Scotland). Both are sited by salt water. Both have a wide range of accommodation and things to do in and around the towns.

The two places lie only 44 miles / 70 km apart by road and there is public transport. Railways and buses serve both. A cycleway (mostly) also links them.

So whichever one you choose, Oban or Fort William, you can certainly see both places. If you are driving or touring you can also easily take the longer route between them that takes in Rannoch Moor and Glencoe and goes via Tyndrum.

Is either Oban or Fort William worth visiting?

For most tourers on a fairly usual route, notably the standard quick circular tour of Scotland – Edinburgh-Inverness-Great Glen-Glencoe etc – see that link – then Fort William lies on the itinerary anyway, at the lower end of the Great Glen.

(The Great Glen is the diagonal valley running coast to coast with Inverness at the top and Fort William at the foot.)

Fort William could be described as unavoidable for road tourers in the West Highlands. It’s a natural route centre.

Oban, on the other hand, is more of a gateway than a route centre. For generations its role has been that of a vital ferry hub for island connections. For road travellers on a Highland tour, simply turning north at Tyndrum means you can miss Oban altogether.

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So in deciding to visit either Oban or Fort William, your itinerary could bypass Oban but will be hard-pressed to avoid Fort William if you are intending to do any kind of West Highland exploration.

These incude Seil and the Slate Islands, Dunstaffnage Castle, Dunollie Castle, the local museum (Oban was an important seaplane base in WWII), the local distillery, plus a variety of fine gardens and the prehistory of Kilmartin Glen – or a dozen other things from forest walks to a former 18th-century iron-smelting site.

You could even get a passenger-only ferry across to the island of Kerrera – it’s only minutes away and then be able to say you visited a Scottish island. (It just about qualifies, even if it’s so near Oban.)

And that’s before you’ve even started considering day trips to the other islands such as Mull or seal cruises or longer ventures out to the islands of the west.

Do the same with that map in your Fort William Hotel and you’ll see straight away that the place screams ‘Scotland’s Outdoor Capital’ at you.

It’s in the shadow of Ben Nevis (and all that…) and as one of the wettest places in Scotland it’s a brilliant piece of branding.

It’s got an all-year ski and mountain bike centre just a few miles away. The West Highland Museum in the town is interesting, as is nearby ‘Treasures of the Earth’, a gem rock museum. (It opens all year as well. Ideal for a wet day in Fort William. There are lots of those.)

“…downtown Oban looks out across the water, downtown Fort William turns its back to it.”

The Caledonian Canal’s big set of locks at Corpach – ‘Neptune’s Staircase’ – is also interesting (there’s that word again) and further afield there are all the delights of the road to Mallaig.

This route through fine Highland scenery is often labelled ‘The Road to the Isles’ and is where – for example – visitors used to stop off at Glenfinnan for the association with Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Now the majority stop off for the association of the Glenfinnan Viaduct with the Harry Potter movies.

So both places have plenty of diversions and points of interest. Fort William has rugged scenery really close by. Oban probably gets better sunsets and has a more salty sea-going air.

Fort William is busy because you can’t avoid it; Oban because it’s a traditional resort and also where folk make their ferry connections to the Scottish islands

Oban has a fine promenade and a sense of bustle. We have a separate page on the story of Oban with lots of pictures.

It’s a nice place to stroll around. Walk out as far as Dunollie Castle in one direction. Stroll around the ferry pier to watch the ships come and go – and enjoy a beer , a seafood sandwich or fish and chips. It’s that sort of a place.

So, while downtown Oban looks out across the water, downtown Fort William turns its back to it.

Perhaps as a consequence, whereas Oban has a sense of something going on, Fort William has, well, a long straight shopping street with visitors wandering aimlessly up and down.

That’s just how the two places developed. However, at least Fort William has the mountain of Ben Nevis at its back.

Just tell me –

Oban or Fort William – where should I stay?

Fort William?

If you are a keen hill-walker, climber, skier, mountain biker, marathon runner or terribly, terribly outdoorsy in any of these ways, then you will be attracted to the landscapes and facilities of the Fort William area.

If you are less inclined to strenuous pursuits though, then something like the Jacobite Steam Train (which connects Fort William and Mallaig) may still also appeal. Repeat, Fort William has a good choice of things to see nearby if you make it a touring base.

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The problem is that the actual town of Fort William is a wee bit dreich sometimes. That’s a useful Scots word to describe everything from the weather to the experience of aimlessly wandering up and down in work-a-day Fort William with not a huge amount to see right there within the town.

Oh, sure, there are shops, oh, and a dog-friendly pub called the Dog and Drool. No, wait, it’s really called the Grog and Gruel. Pleasant place for a pint…

For Harry Potter fans, the Glenfinnan Viaduct makes for a pleasant – say – evening drive from Fort William. Talking of driving…

Here’s a link to a company who checks all the car rental prices in the UK – so you can get the best deal. (And we get a small commission.)

So, what about Oban?

On the other hand, Oban seems positively go-ahead and vibrant by comparison to workaday Fort WIlliam. Perhaps it’s the sea air. Or perhaps it’s the seafood.

It possibly exceeds Fort William for shopping choice. And places to eat and drink. (Oban’s dog friendly pub is The Lorne.)

OK, it hasn’t got a big mountain in its back garden – but it’s got islands on its horizon and, paradoxically, always feels more, well, Scottish, somehow.

So, personally, it’s Oban every time for us. Besides, from a touring point of view, you can take in somewhere like, say, the Ice Factor at Kinlochleven or even dramatic Glencoe just as easily from Oban as you can from (slightly nearer) Fort William.

Unless you need to climb Ben Nevis with an early start (or far that matter any of the other mighty hills of Lochaber); or unless you are on such a tight schedule that you have to miss Oban anyway – only under this kind of circumstance would a stay in Fort William be better than a stay in Oban.  

Then are more mid-range but excellent venues such as or the Glenfinnan House Hotel west of Fort William or the Holly Tree Hotel at Kentallen (between the two towns). This is one of our favourites and it’s recommended.

Choosing this kind of base means you have the benefits of a rural location though easy access to town facilities by way of shops and so on. Similarly, both Oban and Fort William have good self-catering choice in and around.

In any case you could argue that it doesn’t really matter which of the two you choose as you probably will be spending time outside them, taking in all the Highland scenic and activity stuff – especially the ‘Road to the Isles’ running west from Fort William.

I’d still choose Oban though…

More on Oban. More on the Road to the Isles