The Puffin Express
Shetland Islands, Scotland
The Puffin Express
Recommended by 94% of travelers
Shetland Islands, Scotland
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
What's Included
Meeting and Pickup
Itinerary
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 35 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Katy_D, Aug 2026
Great narration. Young tour guide/driver that kept us entertained on the trip out and back. We saw Puffins the day went.
Liesbeth_V, Aug 2026
The driver told us so much about lerwick and shetland. We got a lot of information. The driving was on time and quick. We saw hundreds of puffins.
Tasteseekers, Jul 2026
We were so disappointed when our cruise didn't offer any excursions for our port stay in Lerwick that included a chance to see puffins, which was something we have had on our bucket list for quite some time. We knew they were there: how could we see them? We were looking at public transportation schedules around the Shetland Islands trying to figure out how to make it so. Then we found the Puffin Express. Wow! This was the perfect experience. It takes you right to the most easily accessible location to see a large puffin (and other seabirds) colony. Walking along the cliffs, the puffins are literally at your feet. The tour gives you plenty of time to enjoy your stay and take lots of pictures. The bus trip to and from the cliffs is also enjoyable. Our driver/guide provided a cheerful and informative banter the whole way. We highly recommend the Puffin Express.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave such a positive review.
We're delighted you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
Julie_S, Jul 2026
Excellent service, with interesting commentary. We saw lots of puffins and other sea birds. Great views. P.S the driver was absolutely brilliant, a credit to the company. Monday 20 July 26.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Julie,
Thanks for joining us on the Puffin Express. We're delighted you enjoyed your trip and will pass on your kind words to the driver. We agree, he is an asset!
Safe travels,
Robertsons
Muriel_Y, Jul 2026
Worth goin up to the lighthouse excellent views, cup of tea, binoculars available, toilets available and bought some nice books in the shop
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Muriel,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave a positive review.
We're so pleased you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express and visit to Sumburgh Head.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
Nita_N, Jul 2026
If you want to see Puffins (and who doesn't?) this is the tour for you. Our young driver/guide was fantastic. The bird life at Sumburgh Head is brilliant and the Puffins are everywhere and close. Can't recommend highly enough. Thanks for this amazing experience.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Nita,
Thanks for travelling with us and taking the time to leave such a positive review.
We're so pleased you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express. Sumburgh Head is one of the best spots in Shetland for birdlife and we've been very lucky with puffins this year!
All the best
Robertsons
Lazaro_D, Jul 2026
Nice drive through picturesque countryside with cheerful guide who gave as loads of interesting local info. It was great to see the Puffins in their natural habitat. Overall a nice experience in a relatively short time.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave such a kind review.
We're delighted you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express.
Safe travels
Robertsons
Malcolm_A, Jul 2026
Good commentary en route to Sunburg Lighthouse and plenty of time to view a variety of sea birds(including puffins).
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Malcolm,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave such positive feedback. We're delighted you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express.
All the best
Robertsons
Andrew_C, Jun 2026
A great trip at a reasonable price. Commentary throughout from our local driver.
Sumburgh Head was the highlight. Great views of the cliffs and seabirds including many Puffins which are easy to see.
Lighthouse, Visitor Centre, Cafe and Toilets. Short climb to lighthouse.
Great views of the bays and countryside.
Lovely bays viewed on the way back.
Very relaxing tour but could have benefitted from an additional 30 minutes to allow for the slower members.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for joining us on the Puffin Express. We're delighted you enjoyed your trip to Sumburgh Head.
Thank you for the suggestion re the timing, we'll look into extending the tour a little for next summer.
Safe travels,
Robertson's
AlexanderOwen_M, Jun 2026
Picked up at 'long' bus stop on sea front very near town centre. Check onto bus and the rest of the trip is taken care of for you. You are driven to Samburgh Lighthouse over the Samburgh Airport runway. The scenery was excellent, plenty of the famous ponies on the way. The light house stop gives you plenty of time to walk up what looks a formidable and step path but somehow just isn't. There were puffins everywhere. You can get to within a couple of feet of them. I really enjoyed the trip and the bus drivers commentary which had 'proud local' knowledge and humour rather than stern history read from a flip chart. Do this trip if you do nothing else in Lerwick.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hello,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this lovely review.
We're so pleased to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express and appreciated the driver's commentary. We're a flip chart free zone!
Hope the rest of your trip is amazing.
Safe travels,
Robertson's
Robert_I, Jun 2026
A comfortable coach ride with interesting commentary down to Sumburgh and back, with a bit under an hour to look around the Lightouse visitor centre (included in the price, I discovered when I was there!) and watch the birds on the cliffs below.
One thing could be better. When I was there, the weather was nice, and I would really have liked more time at the Head. But I can also see that if the weather was horrid, an hour would be plenty! So maybe start the tour a bit earlier, and say it is "between three and four hours, depending on the weather".
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi Robert,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're pleased to hear you enjoyed the trip and the driver's commentary.
I do agree with you on the time front and on a pleasant day, no time at Sumburgh would be too long. To that end, a more flexible approach to timings could be better, but we've found from experience that a lot of our guests prefer to have a firm idea of when they'll be back to plan their days around.
All the best,
Robertson's
James_P, Jun 2026
It was a very nice experience. Our driver was very nice and drove us to the area where puffins and other birds are seen. We saw many puffins in the various location of the area we visited. WE were very pleased.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi James,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express and were able to see plenty of puffins.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
Lili_G, Jun 2026
The guide/driver was fantastic, very knowledgeable and safe driver even at his young age. We saw some puffins up close on the ledge or top of the cliff. Hike up is steep but very doable. I would receive the tour provider and the tour. The bus was large and the view while driving was obstructed on the opposite side of where seated.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi Lili,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave such a positive review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express and thank you for your kind words about our driver.
Safe travels
Robertsons
dburton, Jun 2026
The bus was beyond full! Every single seat including the jump seat was full. It was way too much. I believe 54 people. Yikes. We experienced audio issues It was a lot. We did see puffins and beautiful Lerwick.
Kim_K, Jun 2026
A fun half-day tour, lots of local sites and info. The puffins were all over the cliffs and grassy nest sites, walking around, flying in and out, just being cute. The closest I have ever been to puffins in the wild, only 20-30 feet away on the other side of the fence. Well worth the price.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi Kim,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave such positive feedback.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express and were able to get up close with the birds.
All the best
Robertsons
Janet_H, Jun 2026
Excellent experience as we saw lots of puffins. Very knowledgeable guide. Very accommodating. Would recommend.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks for travelling with us Janet, we're so happy to hear your enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express.
Safe travels,
Robertson's
PAUL_S, May 2026
A great tour. Our driver was very informative, professional and a safe driver. We arrived at the allotted time (1 hr) and spent 1 hour at the lighthouse area looking for birds and specifically puffins. An overall great experience and would highly recommend if you want too remote areas of the island and learn about the area.
Response from Host, May 2026
Hi Paul,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this positive review.
We're delighted you enjoyed your tour with us and have passed on your kind words to the driver.
Hope the rest of your trip is just as enjoyable.
All the best,
Robertsons
DeAnn_C, May 2026
Really enjoyed our little trip to see the lighthouse and puffins. Puffins were very plentiful and it was a beautiful day. Our driver (10:30 a.m., 5/18) was great. Fun sense of humor and kept us feeling safe on some tiny little one lane roads.
Response from Host, May 2026
Good Evening,
Thank you so much for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this lovely review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Puffin Express and will pass on your kind words to your driver.
Hope the rest of your trip is just as good.
All the best,
Robertson's
deanahlberg, May 2026
There is too little time allowed at the lighthouse. One barely has time to walk up the hill to reach it, stand in line for 20 minutes to use the toilet, then walk back down to catch the bus before it leaves. One hour at the lighthouse needs to be increased to at least 1-1/2 hours and preferably 2 hours.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave a review. The Puffin Express is a brand new product with started just yesterday, so it's really helpful to hear your feedback.
Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Karin_W, Aug 2026
Approx. 3-hour bus tour to Sumburgh Head. The chance of seeing puffins is high. We saw a few and took beautiful photos. Very nice driver and guide. Lots of general information about the Shetlands.
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Lutz_D, May 2026
Nice trip to Sumbourgh Lighthouse. Many bird species and impressive views. The puffins were represented in large numbers. Bring binoculars or use them in the café.
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Response from Host, May 2026
Danke, dass Sie mit uns gereist sind!