Getting there
Orkney Islands travel always starts on the water: a ferry from the Scottish mainland, or a cruise ship calling at Kirkwall. This guide shows how each of the eleven tours on this site gets you across or meets you on arrival, which crossing it uses, where you wait on the morning, and what the price covers. Tours start from $157 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. Without a car, let a tour carry the logistics. Coming over for one day? Take the Scrabster to Stromness ferry and book the $157 tour that meets it at the terminal; the ferry fare is yours to pay. Already in Kirkwall? The $157 West Mainland day starts at the Travel Centre. On a cruise, the $249 private day includes pick-up and drop-off. Starting on the mainland, our top pick is the $654 three-day tour from Inverness, which crosses from Gills Bay and gives you two nights in Kirkwall.
The crossing
A tour that waits at the terminal, then brings you back for the return sailing.
For Orkney Islands travel on foot, one crossing does most of the work: the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness. The $157 day tour is built around it. In the listing’s own words, it «meets the Scrabster - Stromness ferry and returns in time for the ferry back». You walk off the boat, find the group in the car park of Stromness Ferry Terminal, and spend five and a half hours on the West Mainland.
The day covers the Yesnaby cliffs, the Ring of Brodgar, the Stones of Stenness and a guided 1.5 hours at Skara Brae, with entry to Skara Brae and Skaill House included. Then an hour of your own in Kirkwall, or the Italian Chapel for an extra fee, and Scapa Flow on the way back. The group is capped at 14.
Two things are not in the price: the ferry fare, which the listing states plainly, and lunch. Pam from the United Kingdom, after this day: «Take a packed lunch as it gets very busy to find food.» Reviewers rate the day 4.8 from 223 reviews.
Meeting points
Orkney Islands travel is simpler once you know which stand or car park is yours.
The car park is where the $157 ferry day meets you, and one of five pickup points for the $212 private full day.
Stand 5 is the start of the $157 West Mainland day, which ends there or at the cruise port if required. Stand 4 is a pickup point for the private full day.
The $225 beaches and cliffs day starts on Hatston Industrial Estate. The private full day can collect you there too.
Two Kirkwall hotels are on the private full-day pickup list. The Odyssey, at $1,316 for a group of up to three, picks up in Kirkwall.
The $249 private day includes pick-up and drop-off. The beaches day guide writes: «I can collect you directly from your cruise ship on arrival».
The top pick meets at the bus stop by Inverness Cathedral on Ardross Street; the $779 tour, opposite the Victorian Market entrance. Both ask you to arrive 15 minutes early.
The $1,257 tour meets at 1 Parliament Square, on the Royal Mile. The other two give no street address.
By sea to Kirkwall
Pick-up on one, collection from the ship on another, a port drop-off on a third.
If your Orkney Islands travel is a port call, the ship does the crossing for you and the question is who meets you. Four tours fit a ship’s day. The $249 private day is described as «perfect for cruise passengers»: six hours through Neolithic, Viking and wartime Orkney, in a fully electric vehicle, with pick-up and drop-off included. It is rated 5.0 from 15 reviews.
The $225 beaches and cliffs day takes up to seven people, and its guide can collect you from the ship. Steven from Germany: «He picked us up and dropped us back at the … ship, which gave us more time to explore». The $157 West Mainland day starts in Kirkwall and can drop you at the cruise port at the end. The Odyssey, at $1,316 for a group of up to three, is tailored for cruise shore excursions.
One tour does not fit: the ferry day. Its own listing says the cruise port is 15 miles from its starting point in Stromness.
On the way
What Orkney Islands travel looks like between the ferry and the first stone circle.
A road with a white railing curves along a causeway of piled concrete cubes, and the sea breaks white against the blocks on the open side.
A long red and yellow sandstone church with a round rose window in its tower, reached by a gravel path between leaning gravestones on a cloudy day.
Two pointed stacks rise out of a grey-blue bay in front of a wall of high dark cliffs, with a wide green pasture running to the cliff edge.
From the mainland
Board with the group, cross the Pentland Firth, sleep two nights on the islands.
The five multi-day tours start in Inverness or Edinburgh, not on Orkney, and each one puts the ferry crossing inside the itinerary. That is the easiest Orkney Islands travel there is: you board with your group, and the guide drives you on the other side.
Our top pick, the $654 three-day tour from Inverness, runs up the northeast Highland coast to John o’ Groats, then on to Gills Bay, «where you board the ferry, and cross the Pentland Firth». The $779 three-day tour crosses the Pentland Firth after John o’ Groats too. From Edinburgh, the $1,294 five-day tour boards the ferry close to John o’ Groats; its listing warns that timetables vary with the season and that the John o’ Groats visit on day 2 may not be possible.
Every multi-day tour gives you two nights on the islands. Sandra from Austria named her highlights on the $779 tour: «…the ferry ride and the walks next to the different cliffs.»
Every tour, current fare
All eleven tours by where they meet you. Prices are per person, except the Odyssey, which is priced for a group of up to three.
| Tour | Price | Price is for | Length | Where it meets you | What the price covers | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Mainland day | $157 | per person | 6 hours | Stand 5, Kirkwall Travel Centre | Guide, up to 14 guests, Skara Brae for 85 minutes. Meals not included | 4.9 · 275 |
| Ferry day | $157 | per person | 5.5 hours | Stromness Ferry Terminal car park | Guide, Skara Brae and Skaill House entry. Ferry fare not included | 4.8 · 223 |
| Private full day | $212 | per person | 8 hours | Five pickup points, Kirkwall and Stromness | Private guide and pickup. Meals not included | 4.4 · 5 |
| Beaches and cliffs | $225 | per person | 6 hours | Hatston, Kirkwall, or your cruise ship | Shared tour, up to 7 guests. Meals not included | 4.8 · 21 |
| Cruise ship day | $249 | per person | 6 hours | Pick-up included; place not stated | Private guide, pick-up and drop-off | 5.0 · 15 |
| The Odyssey | $1,316 | group of up to 3 | 5 hours | Pickup in Kirkwall | Private guide and pickup. Italian Chapel at an extra fee | 5.0 · 50 |
| Three days from Inverness, our top pick | $654 | per person | 3 days | Ardross Street, Inverness | Guide, two en suite nights in Kirkwall. Ferry fare not stated | 4.8 · 87 |
| Three days, the Far North | $779 | per person | 2.5 days | Victorian Market, Inverness | Guide, two nights on Orkney. Ferry fare not stated | 4.9 · 25 |
| Five days from Edinburgh | $1,257 | per person | 5 days | 1 Parliament Square, Edinburgh | Guide, two nights in Kirkwall, two in Inverness. Ferry fare not stated | 4.8 · 22 |
| Five days, the north coast | $1,294 | per person | 5 days | Edinburgh, point by option | Guide, two en suite nights in Kirkwall. Ferry fare not stated | 4.9 · 30 |
| Eight days from Edinburgh | $2,314 | per person | 7.5 days | Edinburgh, designated queue | Guide, two nights on Orkney. Ferry fare not stated | 5.0 · 6 |
Before you book
For Orkney Islands travel, these are the lines on the listing to read first.
The $157 ferry day does not include it. Book the sailing yourself, and leave time to reach the terminal car park.
Every one crosses by ferry, but no listing says whether the fare is in the price. Ask before you pay.
No tour on this site includes meals. On a day visit, bring a packed lunch.
Skara Brae and Skaill House entry is included on the ferry day only. Maeshowe is on three multi-day routes; its ticket is not mentioned.
20 kilograms on the top pick; 15 kilograms on the Far North tour, the five days from Edinburgh and the eight days.
The top pick and the north coast tour must be booked at least 14 days in advance.
Our verdict
From the mainland, book the top pick at $654. Orkney Islands travel needs no planning on it: the ferry from Gills Bay is on the route, you sleep two nights in Kirkwall, and 87 reviewers rate it 4.8. For a single day by ferry, the $157 tour meets you at Stromness, Skara Brae entry included. Already in Kirkwall, the $157 West Mainland day has the most reviews here: 275 at 4.9. On a ship, the $249 private day with pick-up.
Book direct
The ferry day, the Kirkwall day, the beaches day that can collect you from a ship, and our top pick from Inverness.
★ 4.8 · 223 reviews
★ 4.9 · 275 reviews
★ 4.8 · 21 reviews
★ 4.8 · 87 reviews
Common questions
Through a tour. For one day, take the Scrabster to Stromness ferry and join the $157 tour that meets it; the fare is extra. For longer, the five multi-day tours from Inverness and Edinburgh cross with you, one of them from Gills Bay, and drive you around the islands.
No listing says so. The crossing is part of every multi-day route, but whether the fare is in the price is not stated. Check with the listing before you pay. On the ferry day, the listing is clear: ferry fares are not included.
Yes. The $157 tour meets the ferry at Stromness and returns in time for the ferry back. It runs five and a half hours, with Yesnaby, Brodgar, Stenness and Skara Brae, where entry is included.
Yes. The $249 private day includes pick-up and drop-off, and the $225 beaches day guide can collect you from your ship. The $157 West Mainland day can end at the cruise port. The ferry day starts 15 miles away, so it does not fit.
Two nights on the islands on all five. Four name Kirkwall. The top pick and the north coast tour use small, locally owned guesthouses and B&Bs with en suite rooms.
No listing on this site says so, on day tours or multi-day tours. Bring a packed lunch on a day visit.
Your options
Orkney Islands travel comes down to one choice: cross on your own and get met, or cross with a group. Pick your crossing, then book the tour that matches it.
Go deeper
The day tour that meets the ferry from Scrabster at Stromness.
From a cruise shipTours that mention ships calling at Kirkwall, and what fits a port day.
From InvernessThe three-day tours from Inverness, and what each day covers.
From EdinburghThe five- and eight-day tours from Edinburgh that cross to Orkney.
Planning the tripOne day, three days or five: how the tours fit a trip to the islands.
From Inverness: 3-Day Orkney Islands & Skara Brae Tour
★ 4.8 · 87 reviews · 3 days