Shetland Pony Express
Recommended by 90% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Shetland Islands, Scotland
- 1 to 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
·
Overview
A visit to the Shetland Islands is incomplete without spotting the islands' adorable native ponies, but getting close to the privately owned animals can be tricky. This tour from Lerwick takes you around Shetland's Central Mainland to Scalloway to meet a herd of Shetland ponies, as well as their owner who can provide insights into the breed and their role in Shetlandic culture.
- Option to spend time exploring Scalloway independently
- Get great photo opportunities with the Shetland ponies
- Enjoy a scenic drive through the Tingwall Valley on the return to Lerwick
- This compact tour is perfect for travelers short on time in Shetland
What's Included
- Carol's Ponies
- Fuel surcharge
- GST (Goods and Services Tax)
- Parking Fees
- Gratuities
- Lunch
- Snacks
- Entrance to Scalloway Museum
Meeting and Pickup
Itinerary
1
Scalloway
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
2
Scalloway
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Tingwall (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 33 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
We really enjoyed our trip to the ponies. Our driver “Warren” was very helpful and friendly. We didn’t visit Scallowaybut everyone else did. We had Carol and the ponies to ourselves for about twenty minutes. Carol was great to talk with and very knowledgeable. It’s worth the visit but it may not be what you think going by previous comments. It’s not a ranch it’s a field. You get up close with the ponies for photos and can touch. We really enjoyed it.
Reviews
4.6
based on 78 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
This was a great tour with a knowledgeable tour guide/driver. We saw some gorgeous countryside and the ponies we came to see. The tour is short, but outside the ponies and the beautiful countryside, there is little left to see. Bus was small (max hold of 28 I think they said) but not full. Comfortable ride. Highly recommend especially since the price is very fair.
Nice excursion. The horses were friendly and wanted to be patted. The owner was talkative and receptive to questions. Friendly.
We enjoyed seeing the ponies and Scalloway It was also nice to learn about the Shetland Islands from our guide. Carol shared the history of the Shetland Ponies. I never knew each one has its own passport.
The ponies for cute, the driver was great. We looked at the ponies for about 15 minutes and heard a nice explanation from the owner
The tour out to the event was excellent and we saw beautiful views and learned so much from our driver
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Ellen,
Thank you for joining us on the Pony Express and leaving such a kind review.
We're pleased to hear you enjoyed your trip and the commentary along the way.
Hope the rest of your trip was fantastic.
All the best
Robertsons
Very informative bus tour to the ponies . Loved seeing the ponies and hearing about them then the driver took us back to Lerwick chatting about sites. Definitely recommend
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hello,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to review your experience.
We're so pleased to hear you enjoyed your visit to Carol's.
Safe travels,
Robertson's
This was a nice quick trip to visit Carol’s ponies. It lasted just over an hour and we had a nice drive through the countryside. The bus driver acted as a tour guide and gave us good information along the way. We did a quick stop to see Scalloway Castle on the way to the ponies. Carol gave us a great talk about her ponies and Shetland ponies in general. As we were leaving the ponies, our small group of 4 saw a large bus load of Holland America tour passengers arriving.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Peter,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave such a complimentary review.
We're delighted you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and hope the rest of your trip is fantastic.
All the best,
Robertson's
Nice easy trip with narration by the driver. Can chose to have extra time in Scalloway if you wish. Nice visit with Shetland ponies at farm where owner gave nice talk about Shetland ponies
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi Anne,
Thanks for travelling with us and taking the time to leave such positive feedback.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and hope the rest of your visit was just as good.
All the best,
Robertson's
Tour guide pointed out places as we traveled. Very knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor. Very enjoyable tour. Owners of Shetland ponies very knowledgeable and friendly.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi Judi,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and will pass on your kind words to the driver.
I hope the rest of your trip is amazing.
All the best,
Robertson's
Nice little trip but very short. It was advertised as 1 to 2 hours but was actually only 55 minutes.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi Angela,
Thank you for travelling with us. We're glad to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express.
To clarify re timings, it's a one hour loop with the option to stop in Scalloway for an hour (making it two hours). As per the description on Viator, the stop in Scalloway isn't possible on the last tour of the day.
All the best,
Robertsons
Harry was a great driver and guide. He gave us lots of interesting and sometimes very entertaining info plus historical facts about the town of Lerwick and the lovely countryside. The Shetland ponies were cute too. But I think it might have been nicer to have seen them at least sometimes walking around. Perhaps one or two of them could have been briefly led around on a head halter. Instead they were all just standing there in a little roadside enclosure where they would have briefly put so people could see them.
Response from Host, May 2026
Good Afternoon,
Thank you so much for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this lovely review.
We're delighted that you enjoyed your trip and have shared your kind words with Harry.
I hope the rest of your trip is fantastic.
Safe travels
Robertsons
Very nice busdriver, had good information about the city.
I would have enjoyed if bus tour would go a little further, it was a bit short.
there is also a cheap public bus transfer, check this out as an alternativ
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to review your experience of the Pony Express.
We're so pleased to hear you enjoyed the tour. This is designed to be a short tour, and is the shortest one we offer. If you make it back to Shetland, we have plenty of longer trips on offer which showcase even more of the island.
For the information of future guests, a public bus is indeed available to Scalloway. However there is no bus service to Carol's Ponies who are not open to the public, only pre-booked bus tours.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
We really enjoyed our trip to the ponies. Our driver “Warren” was very helpful and friendly. We didn’t visit Scallowaybut everyone else did. We had Carol and the ponies to ourselves for about twenty minutes. Carol was great to talk with and very knowledgeable. It’s worth the visit but it may not be what you think going by previous comments. It’s not a ranch it’s a field. You get up close with the ponies for photos and can touch. We really enjoyed it.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Hi Stephen,
Thank you so much for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted to year you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and got Carol & her ponies all to yourself.
All the best,
Robertsons
Beautiful! Wonderful experience! I would highly recommend it. The tour was the right amount of time from port.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express.
Hope the rest of your cruise was amazing.
All the best,
Robertsons
Enjoyed the Standing Stones of Stennes, Shetland Ponies and the tour guides information. Nice way to see the area and get a bit of shopping in!!!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Hi William,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express.
Just for the advice of future travellers- this tour does not include the Standing Stones of Stenness which are in Orkney.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
Stop in Scalloway was not necessary. While the town is lovely it is very small not many ships or cafes and the only castle there is under renovation, closed. The Scalloway .museum was very interesting. Ponies were awesome and so was the information given by Carol.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to rebiew your experience.
We're delighted you enjoyed your time at Carol's and Scalloway Museum.
I think the stop in Scalloway is very much down to personal preference- some guests love it, others rather skip it, hence why it's an optional stop.
I hope the rest of your trip was amazing.
All the best,
Robertsons
Friendly guide with lots of information. Carol, the Shetland pony lady, was welcoming and full of chat about her ponies and Shetlands in general. We got to meet about 10 of them and pet them. The rest of the tour took in sights around the middle part of the island. It was a 1 hour trip, so did not include a lot of extras.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Hi Jane,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to review your experience.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip and were provided with plenty of information about Shetland.
Hope the rest of your trip was amazing.
All the best,
Robertsons
Great driver. Excellent narrative. Good tour. Overachieved from what we expected. Very informative trip.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Hi Dave,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and we were able to exceed your expectations.
Hope the rest of your trip was amazing.
All the best,
Robertsons
A great experience and wonderful to get so close to the ponies. Excellent tour guide on the bus and very informative and interesting presentation from the host at the pony property.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Brian,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking this time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and hope the rest of your trip was just as good.
All the best,
Robertsons
Nice bus ride and local commentary through the countryside to see Carole’s ponies. Easy and inexpensive to pick up as a cruise port stop. Carole was lovely and knowledgable. Glad we did it!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Kari,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
It's great to hear that you enjoyed your time in Shetland and trip on the Pony Express.
I hope the rest of your cruise is amazing.
All the best,
Robertsons
Saw ponies. Nice background explanation about Shetland ponies and why they were valued. Nice scenery on the way.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this positive review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and found Carol's wealth of information valuable.
All the best
Robertsons
The busdriver/guide was full of interesting facts and fun comments. The ponies and Carol were very friendly and nice. We enjoyed every bit of the tour except for the midges!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Britt,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this lovely review.
We're very pleased to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express.
Totally agree on the midges! It's been an awful year for them.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
Carol knows everything there is to know about the ponies. Nice to interact with some of them and fun names for the ponies. One was only 11 weeks old.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Jill,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and got to meet Thor, Carol's youngest foal.
Hope the rest of your trip was amazing.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
The Shetland ponies were cute- even if they didn't do much but stand there. The bus tour around town was insightful. We weren't able to get off at the one stop in town as the buses were full that day and they couldn't guarantee when they'd be able to pick us back up. That was a bit of a bummer.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Ashley,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind feedback.
We're pleased to hear you enjoyed seeing the ponies and were provided with some insightful information from the driver.
Sorry you weren't able to get off in Scalloway- the last trip of the day doesn't allow for a stop there although if you were on an earlier departure, you should have been guaranteed a space on the next bus. I apologise if this wasn't the case.
Hope the rest of your trip was amazing.
All the best,
Robertsons
The same tour that my cruise line used but for a fraction of the cost. The cellular service was down near the port and we could not download the meeting point to our phone, but luckily a local guide was able to point us to the meeting points just 50' away. The bus was running 30 minutes late so we weren't able to stop in the old town like earlier tours.
The tour guide, Sam was amazing and funny. He drove us around his island, told us the history, waved to his ex step-father who was walking Sam's dog. And we had extra time to pet the Shetland ponies.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Michael,
Many thanks for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this lovely review.
It's great to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and we'll be sure to pass your kind words on to Sam.
I hope the rest of your cruise was amazing.
All the best,
Robertsons
What a wonderful experience in the Shetland isles. The driver of the bus was also the guide and described many of the sights in town and along the way to Scalloway. Had plenty of time at Carrol's ponies to interact with the Shetland ponies. The circular route was very picturesque as well.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Allen,
Thank you so much for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and got the chance to see a little bit of Shetland.
I hope the rest of your trip is excellent.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
Our driver was amazing! Informative, funny and helpful. 10 stars to him!
The route passes through some beautiful areas.
The ponies I regretted in the end. Their ears were back, looking very stressed, probably from having to stand all day long, every day, with thousands passing by. Worst though was the young boy working there who would pat and force the ponies to stand up when they laid down out of exhaustion. Even the 10 week old fawn was being pushed to stand up. So it is unfortunate to see that the ponies are forced for amusement. I regret my visit for that reason.
The bus driver was an awesome (Alec) he gave interesting facts about Lerwick. Carols ponies was very interesting - learned a lot about the Shetland ponies. Scenery along the way was beautiful. Scalloway was a nice little town but not too much to do there.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Glenn,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this kind review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip with Alex and found Carol's Ponies to be interesting.
I hope the rest of your trip was great.
All the best,
Robertsons
Good value and just the right amount of time.
Lovely to see the ponies and could stop off for an hour if you wanted to.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Hi Janet,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time for this kind review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Shetland Pony Express and hope the rest of your visit was excellent.
Safe travels,
Robertsons
We had the best time ... the driver Sam was full of interesting information, was funny and friendly. He dropped us at Scalloway as a bonus walk around mid trip, then picked us up later and took us to see to see the wonderful Shetland ponies up close. Amazing value!
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Hi Peter,
Thank you for travelling with us and taking the time to leave this lovely review.
We're delighted to hear you enjoyed your trip on the Pony Express and have shared your kind words with Sam.
Hope the rest of your trip was amazing.
All the best,
Robertsons
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per personWas $34.01(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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