Orkney Day Trip - Starts in Stromness
Recommended by 98% of travelers
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Scotland
- 5 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
If you’re pushed for time but still want to make the most of your trip to Orkney, then book this tour to discover its major highlights. Learn about Orkney’s neolithic history, and visit the ruins of Skara Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Yesnaby Cliffs, and much more. With round-trip transit from the Stromness Ferry Terminal—and just a guide and small group for company—you’re ensured a personal and hassle-free experience.
- Take the stress out of planning with a predetermined itinerary
- Explore remote Orkney without having to hire a car
- This tour is ideal for first-time or time-pressed visitors
- Enjoy a personalized approach on this small-group tour
What's Included
- Bottled water
- Admission Fee - Skara Brae / Skaill House
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Ferry Fares
- Admission Fee - Italian Chapel (optional stop instead of Free Time in Kirkwall)£4.00 per person
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Stromness Ferry Terminal Car ParkFerry Rd Stromness, Stromness, Orkney KW16, UK
Meet Orkney Travel minibus at Stromness Travel Centre
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Start time.10:30 am
Itinerary
1
Yesnaby Cliffs
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Skara Brae
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Ring of Brodgar
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Standing Stones of Stenness
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Kirkwall
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Scapa Flow (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- THIS TOUR IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CRUISE SHIP GUESTS DUE TO LOCATION OF STARTING POINT
- Please note: The seats in our vehicle are between 48cm and 51cm wide. While there is generous legroom, the seat width may feel restrictive for some guests. If you think this may affect your comfort, you're welcome to purchase an additional seat. Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns – we're happy to help.
- Lunch is available at Skara Brae café and Kirkwall, however, we do suggest you bring some lunch with you to give you more time at the sites.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
5.0
based on 193 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Lots of lovely sites…our tour guide George was very knowledgeable and friendly..made us laugh a lot and answered our questions with great enthusiasm and knowledge
We chose this one because we preferred not being on a large group tour. Our driver and guide was Dougie who was just brilliant. We learned so much and had fun doing it.
A great overall look at the most iconic Neolithic sites in the Orkneys with a knowledgeable and passionate local guide
I learned so many new things about Hoy I didn’t know before, I was so excited to learn that it is the best island on all of Orkney and all of the information about it. Scapa Flow was a bit overrated but the views over Hoy were fire. Would love to come back to Orkney and will make sure to head directly to Hoy for the best scenery and friendliest people.
Excellent food choices and locations.
Great job by our guide.
Each place was uniquely Scottish.
Lots of stmosphere.
Dougie, our driver and guide, was exceptional in showing us what he'd discussed at the ancient sites we visited. Later in the tour, he mentioned Orkney's important role during the two world wars. Dougie took time to get acquainted with everyone in our group and was a kind but effective shepherd for us.
This was a terrific tour with a great guide. Very knowledgable and kept everything running on track. We were fortunate to have lovely weather too and felt we got to see a bit of amazing history, some beautiful views and a really nice day trip. We wished we could stay longer... maybe next trip!
Covered loads of historical places on Orkney in comfort with friendly and knowledgeable tour guide (Dougie).
This was an absolutely stunning and wonderful trip. Our driver and guide Doogie was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and pleasant and very accommodating. The weather cooperated 50% of the time. Sometimes it was pouring rain. Sometimes it was sunshine. We learned so much about the history of the Orkney islands and of Scotland in general. Our guide was not just taking us in the van, he walked through all of the places we went to and gave us much more information than we would have gotten - Had we just been doing it on our own. This is a tour that I absolutely highly recommend! If you can have Doogie take you, that would be an absolute benefit.
George was warm & friendly, he shared his extensive knowledge clearly and his passion for Orkney is obvious. The meeting & drop off point was the perfect location - very easy to find.
Excellent visit! This tour allowed us to get around without needing to rent a car. We enjoyed all of the sites and got a unique look at Scotland's very early history.
Iain was excellent. His knowledge of the history of the area was extensive and made our tour so interesting. We enjoyed the sites of Orkney and loved the area.
Very accommodating and friendly, changed pick-up to the cruise ship for ease. Enjoyed the experience and the stories of culture and history.
We enjoyed the whole experience. We were met as we came off the ferry by Rachel who was very informative for the whole trip. We loved all the places we visited. However we only realised afterwards that we never got a bottle of water as promised. A small thing but something we expected as we hadn’t brought any of our own. We were delivered back to the ferry in plenty of time. On the whole we would certainly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Hello. Thank you for the lovely review. Rachel is an excellent guide. We apologise for you not receiving a bottle of water. We actually keep bottles of water in the boot of the vehicle and hand them out on request, this is to reduce plastic waste. We will make this more clear in the future.
Fantastic day tour of main sites. Easy connection with ferry from Scrabster. Tour leader Rachel is very knowledgeable and friendly and made the day very special.
Lots of walking so wear decent shoes!
Our tour guide Iain was very knowledgeable and friendly. Would definitely recommend this tour.
Despite the weather being so bad we couldn’t visit skara brae we had a blast and learned so much! We were lucky even to get to go near skara brae and take a peek even though we couldn’t enter.
Dukey was an awesome guide. Very knowledgeable and gave us a great history of the Neolithic people that once occupied Orkney.
It was a great tour. Guide Rachel, looked after all of us and she had the knowledge to make this very informative.
Had a fantastic day trip overall taking in the sights in Orkney. I thought I had booked a private van for my family so was a little taken back when we arrived and there was a group. The A/C in the van didn't work so it was a bit stuffy, although it was during a heat wave so probably not an issue typically. The guide was informative and entertaining, although probably could have shared less about his personal life.
Well coordinated with the ferry arrival/ departure- very smooth. Rebecca was our guide and she was so welcoming, kind, and clearly loved her job and sharing the wonderful sites. She had a wonderful depth and breadth of knowledge. Would have enjoyed more time learning from her.
We arrived in Kirkwall but discovered this tour started in Stromness. So learn from our mistake. Because we were at the cruise terminal with two ships there were no taxis. We walked to the local bus station and met the tour in Skara brae with 30 minutes to spare before the tour moved on. Our tour guide went out of his way to show us as much as possible and was very accommodating of our logistical mishap. We really enjoyed the orkney islands and can't wait to go back. Bring snacks and water, most of the tour is in the countryside.
Great tour, very interesting and informative. Our tour guide Iain was very knowledgeable and made the tour interesting.
Dougie went above and beyond by picking us up at our cruise ship when we realized we wouldn’t make it to the meeting point. He is a great historian and we loved the cairns, Neolithic villages, amazing Italian chapel and huge stones. Don’t miss this tour when you go to Orkney!!
We had a very good day with our guide, Dougie. Lots of information in a day. Only thing that would have made it better was if the weather had been a bit less windy.
Our driver was great. He was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the islands history. We also enjoyed the smaller van groups.
First, there were only 4 of us in the van and Doogie was our driver/guide. He is so knowledgeable and responds to all questions quickly. He really took care of us on the tour.
Wonderful small group tour with a very good guide who imparted a wealth of knowledge into a single day
This was an amazing tour! Garry was so knowledgable about the Orkney Islands, and he took me to some amazing sites, like Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar, and Stones of Stennes, and he gave me some free time in Kirkwall to explore and have lunch. Plus, we went to a few other lesser known sites that were just as spectacular. I was the only one on the tour, and I was pleased that Garry ran the tour with only one person. Most other tour operators would have cancelled. He is very professional and customer focused. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who is visiting Orkney!
Wonderful day tour in Orkney. Got lucky with great weather and a small group. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and I enjoyed learning about the history of each of the places.
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