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Orkney Islands by Car and Ferry: Route Guide

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Ring of Brodgar Orkney — Orkney
Photo: Stevekeiretsu · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

A green archipelago where the Stone Age is casually underfoot: Skara Brae's 5,000-year-old village, the Ring of Brodgar at midsummer, and wartime Scapa Flow with its Italian Chapel built by POWs from two Nissen huts. Kirkwall's red sandstone cathedral is the finest Norse building in Britain. Distances are tiny; millennia are not.

Orkney Islands by Car and Ferry covers 50 km by road, plus ferry crossings with your car. It works best as a 4-day trip; the plan below is the 4-day version for June, built from 54 verified places, with planned transit times, opening hours and daylight checked.

4
days
50km
road distance
5
Stops
54
curated stops

View ready-made plans 4-day plan · best time to go

The route

Scrabster ferry terminal→Stromness & Neolithic Orkney→ 25 kmKirkwall→ 25 kmSt Margaret's Hope→Gills Bay ferry terminal
The red sandstone west facade and three arched doors of St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall

Kirkwall · Day 2

St Magnus Cathedral

Marvel at the impressive Romanesque architecture of this 300-year project.

4-day plan →

Photo: Stevekeiretsu · CC BY-SA 3.0

What you'll see

Stromness Museum
Discover Orkney's natural history, maritime exploits, and wartime stories.
Stromness & Neolithic Orkney
Grain Earth House
Enter an Iron Age chamber via a 5-m underground passage.
Kirkwall
Italian Chapel
Admire the ornate decor of this chapel built by Italian prisoners of war from Nissen huts.
St Margaret's Hope
Ness Battery
See the remnants of a 1915 artillery post guarding Scapa Flow's entrance.
Stromness & Neolithic Orkney
Scapa Distillery
Tour the distillery producing slightly peaty single malts since 1885.
Kirkwall
Orkney Fossil and Heritage Centre
Explore an extensive collection of fossils and learn about Orkney's history and the Churchill Barriers.
St Margaret's Hope

Choose your length

4-day plan11 stops · 8.7 h transit2.8 stops/day · 2.2 h transit/daySee the full plan →

When to go

Best months: April, May, June, July, August, September, October

Reserve space for your car on the NorthLink ferry from Scrabster to Stromness and the Pentland ferry from St Margaret’s Hope to Gills Bay. Check the sailings, weather and island roads for your travel dates.

See the month-by-month breakdown →

Similar journeys

View ready-made plans