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Orkney & Shetland Isles

7-day Self-Drive Discovery

Enquire Now

from £1009

Upcoming tour dates

April – October (November - March on request)

Highlights

  • Old Man of Hoy
  • nordic charm
  • UNESCO World Heritage Sites
  • spectacular nature
  • North-Atlantic ferry crossings
Hier finden Sie die Route zu unserer Rundreise Shetland und Orkney.

Just off the north coast of mainland Scotland lie the sparsely populated archipelagos Orkney and Shetland. Each with their very own, distinctive landscapes and culture, they do share a common Celtic and Norse history. And both are home to numerous prehistoric sites, plenty of wildlife and stunning coastal scenery with towering cliffs and pristine beaches.

The ferry crossings are partly what make this trip so exciting, because it’s from the boat that you can best see some of the main points of interest, such as sea stacks, seabirds and marine wildlife.

You will be staying in carefully selected, authentic B&B or hotel accommodation, where you will enjoy the warm island hospitality. As with all our tours, you will be given a leisurely and well-balanced itinerary so you get to both relax and discover.

  • The tour to Orkney or Shetland for explorers
  • A beautiful round trip across the Orkney islands
  • We offer you an exciting self-drive tour across Orkney
  • Orkney and Shetland are the perfect place to start a discovery tour
  • Drive yourself and explore Orkney and Shetland
  • Book one of our self-guided tours on the Orkney and Shetland islands
  • Explore Shetland on of of our self drive tours.
  • Do a trip to Shetland and drive yourself across the beautiful Island.
  • Visit the Highland Park on Orkney on one of our self-guided tours
  • Enjoy one of our self-guided tours across Shetland
  • Enjoy Orkney on one of our self-guided tours
  • Take a road trip and explore the beautiful Shetland islands
  • Enjoy an organised trip across Shetland
  • The best way to explore Shetland is on a road trip
  • On Shetland you find a lot remains of prehistoric culture
  • Book a round trip on Shetland and discover the beautiful landscape
  • Explore the Jarlshof in Shetland
  • Enjoy an amazing cliff walk
  • The tour to Orkney or Shetland for explorers
  • A beautiful round trip across the Orkney islands
  • We offer you an exciting self-drive tour across Orkney
  • Orkney and Shetland are the perfect place to start a discovery tour
  • Drive yourself and explore Orkney and Shetland
  • Book one of our self-guided tours on the Orkney and Shetland islands
  • Explore Shetland on of of our self drive tours.
  • Do a trip to Shetland and drive yourself across the beautiful Island.
  • Visit the Highland Park on Orkney on one of our self-guided tours
  • Enjoy one of our self-guided tours across Shetland
  • Enjoy Orkney on one of our self-guided tours
  • Take a road trip and explore the beautiful Shetland islands
  • Enjoy an organised trip across Shetland
  • The best way to explore Shetland is on a road trip
  • On Shetland you find a lot remains of prehistoric culture
  • Book a round trip on Shetland and discover the beautiful landscape
  • Explore the Jarlshof in Shetland
  • Enjoy an amazing cliff walk
  • Programme
  • Services
  • Dates & Prices
  • Reviews

Programme

Programme

Day 1: Aberdeen to Shetland

Your journey begins in Aberdeen, the third biggest city in Scotland. Aberdeen with its granite houses and white beaches is also known as the “Silver City by the Sea”. Don’t miss architectural highlights like St Machar Cathedral and Marischal College in the centre of Aberdeen. In the afternoon your overnight ferry to Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Isles, will leave from Aberdeen harbour.  Accommodation: Cabin on the ferry

Day 2: History of Shetland

You will reach the Shetland Isles at 7am. Enjoy a hearty breakfast and head off to discover the southern part of the main island. Immerse yourself in the varied history of Great Britain’s most northerly islands and get an understanding of the Norse background of the islanders. Visit Mousa Broch, Scotland’s best-preserved Iron Age round tower, and the Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement, one of the most remarkable archaeological sites ever excavated in the British Isles. It contains remains dating from 2500 BC up to the 17th century AD. Learn more about Shetland’s story and history at the Shetland Museum and Archives in Lerwick or step back in time into a traditional 19th century thatched crofthouse at the Crofthouse Museum. If there is still time, stop by at Valhalla Brewery, the most northerly brewery in Great Britain. Accommodation: Lerwick

Day 3: Shetland’s Wildlife

The remote archipelago of over 100 islands is a land where the summer sun barely dips below the horizon and the scenery and wildlife combine to create an inspiring and unforgettable experience. Shetland’s nature reserves offer a diverse range of creatures, from Shetland ponies grazing on hillsides to otters, bottlenose dolphins, porpoises and seals and even the occasional pod of orcas swimming in the coastal waters. At the southern tip of mainland Shetland, Sumburgh Head is characterised by steep cliffs, a historic lighthouse building and one of Britain’s most accessible seabird colonies. Over the summer months the towering cliffs are home to over a million seabirds, including endearingly cute puffins. Accommodation: Lerwick

Day 4: The Slow Pace of Life

Learn more about Shetland Wool and visit the islands only spinning mill. From the centre of Lerwick take a short stroll to The Horse of Knab, a sharp headland jutting out into the sea half a mile south east of town, and enjoy the fantastic views over the Bressay Sound to the Isle of Bressay. Visit Tommy and Mary’s Burland Croft Trail for a hands-on experience of crofting life in the 21st century. Then it is time to say Goodbye the Shetland – in the late afternoon you will board the ferry to the Orkney Isles and will arrive in Kirkwall just before midnight. Accommodation: Kirkwall

Day 5: Neolithic Orkney and Whisky

Take a drive around the island past Scapa Flow, a body of sheltered water which played an important role in World War One. You will discover Skara Brae, a more than 4000 years old stone-built settlement, Europe’s most complete Neolithic village.  Together with the Ring of Brodgar, a neolithic henge and stone circle, as well as Maes Howe, a unique chambered cairn and passage grave, they are part of the “Heart of Neolithic Orkney” an UNESCO World Heritage Site. For whisky fans a visit to Highland Park, the most northerly whisky distillery in the world, is a must before ending the day in one of the islands many seafood restaurants. Accommodation: Kirkwall

Day 6: The Old Man of Hoy

Discover Stromness, Orkney’s second largest town is an architectural gem, an inspiration for artists and writers and a firm favourite with visitors. The famous seaport has remained unchanged in centuries and is retaining its original maritime charm with narrow winding streets and steep passageways all leading to its iconic waterfront and harbour. Take the local ferry to the Isle of Hoy, the most mountainous in the Orkney archipelago, where a fantastic walk leads you the spectacular Old Man of Hoy. The sea stack formed from red sandstone is with 137m (449 ft) one of the tallest stacks in the United Kingdom and popular with climbers from all over the world. Hoy is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) with the northern part of the island an RSPB Reserve due to its significance for birdlife, particularly great skuas and red-throated divers. Accommodation: Kirkwall

Day 7: The Northern Highlands of Scotland

In the morning visit the Italian Chapel, a beautiful small chapel built by Italian prisoners of war captured in North Africa and transported to the island. Across the island of South Ronaldsay you continue to St. Margaret’s Hope, here the ferry leaves for Thurso on the Scottish mainland. Follow the route along the East coast to Inverness and from here back to Aberdeen, where your journey ends.

Services

Services

Tour includes

  • 5 overnight stays in 3-4* B&B or hotel accommodation (en-suite)
  • 1 overnight on Aberdeen-Lerwick ferry (2 pax cabin or reclining seat)
  • Lerwick-Kirkwall ferry (includes allocated seat)
  • Orkney-Mainland ferry
  • 5 x Scottish breakfast
  • hire car for 7 days from/to airport including insurance and Sat Nav
  • Scotland road map
  • comprehensive info pack including leisure and restaurant recommendations
  • 24/7 emergency hotline

Not included

  • flights
  • lunch and dinner
  • breakfast on the ferry
  • fuel
  • admissions
  • additional driver

Optional add-ons

  • £69 pp additional night in Edinburgh/Glasgow B&B, based on 2 people sharing (£41 single supplement)
  • £89 pp additional night in Edinburgh/Glasgow hotel, based on 2 people sharing (£61 single supplement)
  • from £50 per day car hire extension
  • from £40 pp Royal Military Tattoo tickets (subject to availability)

Additional Information

Duration: 7 days
Participants: from 2 pax
Start: Aberdeen Airport (Glasgow/Edinburgh transfers possible)
Finish: Aberdeen Airport

When deciding on your travel dates, please bear in mind that we require at least 6 weeks to prepare. Every trip is meticulously planned and organised, and the information pack is compiled with great care and attention. We also have to allow time for the information pack to be delivered (postal delivery can take on average 4 weeks in Europe). If you do want to travel at short notice, please contact us by email. Thank you for your cooperation!

Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

Termine

April – October (November - March on request)

Preise

£1009per person (no cabin)
£1099per person (overnight in cabin)
£399Single Supplement

The ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick is an overnight crossing. You can choose between a cabin or a reclining seat. Hotel rates on request

Reviews

Reviews

Anita & Gaby am 05.10.2017

Erst einmal herzlichen Glückwunsch zum 10. Geburtstag. Wir freuen uns mit Euch. Dann wollen wir uns noch bedanken für unseren tollen Urlaub im Juni/Juli auf Orkney und  den Weg an der Westküste entlang. Die Reise war super, ebenso die Unterkünfte mit vielen lieben Gastgebern. Eure Tipps waren wie immer sehr hilfreich und man hatte oft die Qual der Wahl welchen Vorschlag man dann umsetzt. Vom Schottlandfieber gepackt haben wir bereits Flüge gebucht und wollen nun die Hebriden besuchen. Liebe Grüsse Anita und Gaby

Jürgen und Sandrine am 11.06.2017

Liebes Wind & Cloud Team! Wir jetzt schon das dritte Mal mit Euch unterwegs gewesen und jede Reise wird uns unvergesslich sein. Die Orkney-und Shetland-Inseln eignen sich unseres Erachtens eher für Wiederholungstäter wie uns, da die Anreise doch recht lang ist. Empfehlenswert ist dabei die An-und Abreise nach Aberdeen oder Inverness. Eure Vorbereitung und die Fülle an Informationen, die man von Euch für jede Reise bekommt, haben uns wieder bestens unterstützt. Die Inseln sind einfach ein Traum, wir überlegen sogar, dort hinzuziehen. Aber vorher müssen wir mit Euch noch die Äusseren Hebdrigen erkunden 😉 Vielen Dank und Grüsse an alle!

Maike Knobel am 23.08.2016

Wir möchten uns für eine toll ausgearbeitet und perfekt organisierte Reise bedanken. Empfehlenswert ist auf jeden Fall, sich für die Anreise auf die Shetland Inseln den Luxus einer Kabine zu gönnen, da man doch die ganze Nacht unterwegs ist und erst am Morgen in Lerwick ankommt. Wir hatten eine kleine aber feine Aussenkabine und kräftigen Wellengang ;-). Die Unterkünfte waren durchweg nett, komfortabel und daher sehr gut ausgewählt. Auf Orkney duften wir sogar das Fernglas der Besitzerin ausborgen. Wir werden Sie weiterempfehlen.

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Wind & Cloud Travel Ltd
43 Hopetoun Road
South Queensferry
Edinburgh
EH30 9RB
Scotland

+44 (0)131 3311576

info@windandcloudtravel.com

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© 2018 Wind and Cloud Travel Ltd www.windandcloudtravel.com – Background picture by John McSporran via pxhere.com

Vibes Awards Winner 2014
Schottlandreise ist mit der Gold Master Green Tourism Scotland Auszeichnung für ihre Arbeit belohnt worden.