Private Boat Charters for Groups, Tours, Filming & Research

A Cruise Holiday to Remember

Perfect for families, friends, clubs, or other social groups, a private charter is a great way to bond while enjoying a shared cruise adventure and experience around the beautiful Western Isles and Highlands of Scotland. 

Catering comfortably for groups of up to 10, you can bring as many or as few people as you like as the boat is yours. Talk to us about what you would like to see and do and we will put together a tailored itinerary lasting from a few nights up to a week or more. We can even arrange certain special experiences.

As well as your experienced professional skipper and chef, we can also provide an expert wildlife guide to accompany you who will help you spot and identify cetaceans, birds and other species from the boat and on shore excursions taken along the route. 

For the ultimate Scottish holiday experience, we can even arrange to meet up with our SKYEFARI minibus in certain locations for adventures further inland to visit remote areas or famous sights, and/or to seek out other iconic Scottish wildlife such as red deer, golden eagles, red squirrels, crested tits and pine martens.

Providing the help you need in the Hebrides

The Hjalmar Bjørge is available for private boat charter hire to TV, film and other media production crews anywhere within the West Coast of the Highlands and Inner and Outer Hebrides, including Skye, Mull and St Kilda, to act as a base for filming or other media needs. She is equipped with a large motorised dinghy, plenty of deck space for storage of equipment and she also has a small crane for loading and unloading gear and the dinghy.

The Hjalmar Bjørge is a supremely seaworthy and comfortable vessel fitted with stabilisers and operated by our experienced local skippers who are intimately familiar with all local waters, safe anchorages and sea conditions. We can also provide a chef and local wildlife guide if necessary. Whatever your needs, just ask and we will do our very best to meet them.

We have provided our facilities for day use in the past but this is very much subject to our cruising schedules and staff availability. We are more keen to provide our boat charter for longer periods to production and film crews who need a floating base of operations in the area to move between locations and to film from, utilising local experience. We can also provide assistance with consulting to assist with advising on locations and then scouting them as needed. Our owner David Lambie has decades of professional experience travelling around the Highlands and Islands and can usually advise or comment on most locations. We also have an extensive network of contacts to call upon.

N.B. Examples shown are from the MV Monadhliath which we ran in Stornoway.

Offer Your Clients a New Experience

We have been, and are, successfully working with several third party tour operators, originally chartering our two boats to be used for facilitating travel in and around the Scottish Highlands and Islands to fit in with your own itineraries, or offering a complete marine and coastal experience including shore excursions utilising our local knowledge and expertise. Now we are focusing exclusively on the Hjalmar Bjørge based in Oban.

We specialise in seeking out Scotland's iconic wildlife such as eagles, seabirds, cetaceans, seals, otters and lots more as well as cultural and historic locations. If you are looking for a partner who can be flexible, offer bespoke itineraries and can comfortably handle groups of up to 10 guests ( plus a trip leader/guide) then please get in touch today.

We are proud members of, and operate under, the Wildlife Safe Scheme (WiSE), are current silver level Green Tourism award holders, and official charity partner of our local Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust.

Looking for a MICE venue with a difference for an informal corporate retreat or incentive trip for a small group? Choose a cruise with us on the wonderful MV Hjalmar Bjørge from Oban and you could be in a different location each day around the Hebrides or West Coast of the Highlands. We can take you to remote areas for the night, or head for small local ports and harbours where you can head ashore. Our chefs will keep you well fed and our saloon lounges are comfortable places to discuss business or just relax with a favourite drink. It will certainly be a trip to be remembered by you, your team or clients.

Please get in touch with us today to explore the possibilities.

Wildlife Focused Vessel with Raised Observation Deck

If you need a small stable vessel for coastal or marine survey or research then we are equipped to help you. Our owner David Lambie has been working in ecological surveying for the past few decades, running his own company Stagfire Ecological Surveys with a large list of contacts. Before starting his own survey company, he spent significant time with Forestry Scotland and the RSPB. 

Whether you need to carry out a seabird survey, are monitoring cetaceans, or perhaps require remote drop-offs at otherwise inaccessible coastal locations over a number of days then we can help. The Hjalmar Bjørge has a raised observation deck and is equipped with a large motorised dinghy for reaching remote shorelines. She also has a small crane for loading and unloading the dinghy and any larger equipment you may need, with ample storage space on the upper deck.

Please let us know what you are looking for and we will do our best to help.