Private tours
Three of the eleven listings on this site are private: one guide, one vehicle, your party only. This Orkney private tour guide puts them side by side: the hours, where you are collected, the sites each one names, and what each of you pays travelling alone, as two or as three.
Quick answer
The short answer. For two or three people, book the five-hour Orkney private tour with a native islander: $1,316 for the whole group, 50 reviews at 5.0, which works out at $658 each for two and $438.67 each for three. Travelling alone, the eight-hour day at $212 per person costs far less and names more sites. Coming off a ship, the six-hour tour at $249 per person has pick-up and drop-off in the price.
What private means
Your party in the vehicle, your pace, and a pickup.
On a shared day you fit the group. The West Mainland day out of Kirkwall, at $157 per person, takes up to 14 guests on a set route. An Orkney private tour turns that around: the vehicle carries your party and nobody else, and the day bends to you.
The listings put it plainly. The five-hour tour «moves at your pace, entirely customized to your interests and physical abilities», in a dedicated vehicle. The cruise passenger day is described as yours alone and tailored to your interests, in a fully electric vehicle, and it is listed as wheelchair accessible. The eight-hour day is «tailored for those seeking a personalised journey».
Every Orkney private tour here also has pickup in the price, which helps if you are staying outside Kirkwall or coming in on a ship.
Five hours, stop by stop
The order and times are the listing’s own. You can ask to change them: the tour is built around you.
Your guide collects you in Kirkwall. The price, $1,316, is for your group of up to three, and larger parties can ask.
Optional, with an extra fee that the listing does not state. Say on booking whether you want it.
A stop at Scapa. Scapa Flow was the main British naval base in both World Wars, as another listing here notes.
A stone burial cairn. The eight-hour day’s listing invites you to step inside it.
The cliffs of the west coast, known for their sea stacks.
The Neolithic village by the Bay of Skaill, with an hour of guiding among the houses.
Guided, 45 minutes at the Ring of Brodgar and 20 minutes at the Stones of Stenness.
An optional half hour in Kirkwall to end the day.
The eight-hour day
Eight hours, nine named places, five pickup points.
The eight-hour Orkney private tour costs $212 per person, so for one traveller it is the lowest fare of the three. It also names the most stops: Skara Brae for an hour and a half, the Ring of Brodgar for 30 minutes, the Stones of Stenness for 20, the Italian Chapel for 25, and Unstan Cairn, where you step inside.
Two stops appear on no other private route here. The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village overlooking Eynhallow Sound, and the Brough of Birsay is a tidal island, reached only at low tide. Yesnaby and Scapa Flow are on the list too.
Pickup and drop-off are at one of five points: two hotels in Kirkwall, Hatston, the Kirkwall Travel Centre (Stand 4) or the Stromness Ferry Terminal. The listing asks for your names and ages, for discounts at some of the sites; it does not say who pays the entry. Katrin from Germany: «Throughout the day, he shared an incredible amount of knowledge with us and showed us many of Orkney’s most fascinating places.»
On the road
The two private day tours with a route share a set of stops; the eight-hour day adds a few of its own.
A narrow doorway framed with flat stones cuts into a green mound. On both private day tours with a route, a chambered cairn is one of the stops.
A white altar, stained-glass saints and a painted vault behind a curling iron screen: the Italian Chapel, built by prisoners of war.
Layered grey rock steps down to white surf and open sea. The Yesnaby cliffs on the west coast are a stop on both private routes.
A blue creel lies on the stones of a wide shore, and a flat green island sits across the water. The eight-hour day lists the Brough of Birsay, reached at low tide.
From a cruise ship
Six hours, pick-up and drop-off, no fixed route.
The six-hour Orkney private tour for ship passengers costs $249 per person and covers, in the listing’s words, 5,000 years of Orkney history, from Neolithic monuments and Viking heritage to the islands’ wartime past. Pick-up and drop-off are in the price, the vehicle is fully electric, and the listing calls it perfect for cruise passengers. Fifteen reviewers rate it 5.0.
What it does not give is a route: no sites are named, so you agree the day with the guide. Where the pickup happens is not stated either, so check it against your ship’s call. The five-hour tour is also pitched at shore excursions, with pickup in Kirkwall. One shared day does not work from a ship: the tour that meets the Scrabster ferry starts 15 miles from the cruise port.
Every private option, current fare
The three private listings, with the shared West Mainland day and our top pick for scale. Read the «Price is for» column: one fare is for the whole group.
| Tour | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Pickup or start | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Five hours with an islander | $1,316 | your group, up to 3 | 5 hours | Live guide in English, dedicated vehicle, the route above. Italian Chapel extra | Pickup in Kirkwall | 5.0 · 50 |
| Eight-hour private day | $212 | per person | 8 hours | Live guide in English, nine named stops. Entry fees not stated | Five set points, Kirkwall to Stromness | 4.4 · 5 |
| Cruise passenger day | $249 | per person | 6 hours | Live guide in English, electric vehicle, pick-up and drop-off. No fixed route | Pickup included, place not stated | 5.0 · 15 |
| West Mainland shared day | $157 | per person | 6 hours | Up to 14 guests, Skara Brae guided for 85 minutes | Stand 5, Kirkwall Travel Centre | 4.9 · 275 |
| Three days from Inverness, our top pick | $654 | per person | 3 days | Two nights in Kirkwall in en suite rooms, Maeshowe and Skara Brae | Inverness, by the cathedral | 4.8 · 87 |
Split the bill
The five-hour tour is priced per group; the other two per head. Here is the same arithmetic for one, two and three people.
| Tour | Travelling alone | Each, as two | Each, as three | Three of you, in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Five hours with an islanderper group, up to 3 | $1,316 | $658 | $438.67 | $1,316 |
| Eight-hour private dayper person | $212 | $212 | $212 | $636 |
| Cruise passenger dayper person | $249 | $249 | $249 | $747 |
The arithmetic
Per group against per head: the sums for one, two and three.
Group size decides it. Travelling alone, the five-hour tour costs $1,316, more than six times the eight-hour day. As two, it is $658 each against $212. As three, the whole party pays $1,316 against $636 on the eight-hour day and $747 on the cruise passenger day.
So why do people pay more for the five-hour Orkney private tour? The reviews. It has 50 at 5.0, against 15 for the cruise day and 5 for the eight-hour day, which sits at 4.4. If the guide is the point of going private, that record is what you are buying.
In their words
Three travellers on the five-hour tour.
Jon from the United Kingdom, on the five-hour tour: «We had a fantastic informative tour … personalised to meet our interests.» Ann from the United States had a wet day and the plan moved with it: «We had some drizzle so we were able to make some adjustments to the trip that worked so well.» The listing itself says the tour runs regardless of the weather.
Karen Knight from Canada: «So much better than a big bus tour!!!»
Before you book
A private day is only as good as the brief you give. Sort these out on the listing first.
The five-hour fare covers up to three; more is «by arrangement». The other two charge per person.
Kirkwall, or one of five set points. The cruise day does not name a place: ask.
On the five-hour tour it is optional, with an extra fee. Decide before the day.
None of the three says entry is in the price. The eight-hour day asks your ages for discounts.
No listing says food is part of the price. Plan your own lunch around the hours.
Our verdict
Book the five-hour tour at $1,316 if there are two or three of you: at $438.67 each for three, you get the most reviewed private guide here, 50 reviews at 5.0. Alone, take the eight-hour day at $212, the longest day and the widest list of sites. Off a ship, the cruise passenger day at $249 brings pick-up and drop-off.
Book direct
One fare per group, two per person. Check the date you want on each listing.
★ 5.0 · 50 reviews
★ 4.4 · 5 reviews
★ 5.0 · 15 reviews
Common questions
None of the three private listings says so. Skara Brae entry is in the price on one tour here, the shared day that meets the Scrabster ferry. The eight-hour private day asks for your names and ages for discounts at some sites.
Yes. The five-hour tour gives Skara Brae an hour and the Ring of Brodgar 45 minutes, both guided. The eight-hour day gives them an hour and a half and 30 minutes.
An hour on the five-hour tour, an hour and a half on the eight-hour day. On the shared West Mainland day it is 85 minutes, guided.
The cruise passenger day has pick-up and drop-off in the price and is described as perfect for cruise passengers; the listing does not say where pickup happens. The five-hour tour is also pitched at shore excursions, with pickup in Kirkwall.
On the five-hour tour the chapel is optional, with an extra fee. The eight-hour day stops there for 25 minutes, and its listing does not mention a fee.
Just your party. The five-hour fare covers up to three people, with more by arrangement. The other two listings price per person and do not state a group size.
Not set on private?
A private guide is not the only good way round the islands. The shared West Mainland day starts at $157 per person, from the Kirkwall Travel Centre. With more time, our top pick is three days from Inverness at $654, with two nights in Kirkwall. But to have the day shaped around you, book an Orkney private tour.
Go deeper
Tours that mention ships calling at Kirkwall, and what fits a port day.
Skara BraeThe stone village by the bay, and which tours give you time inside.
West MainlandThe west of the main island: stone circles, the village and the cliffs.
Day toursThe one-day tours on the islands, compared by start, hours and stops.
From Inverness: 3-Day Orkney Islands & Skara Brae Tour
★ 4.8 · 87 reviews · 3 days