Orkney Island Holidays

Orkney Holiday Itineraries

Each Holiday explores a fine blend of interests from birdwatching, wildlife, archaeology, history, to flowers, local people & culture, scenery and weather. The main differences between each Orkney Holiday are the choice of islands visited, the time of year and length of your Holiday. Each itinerary is shown as a guide, and can be altered to make best use of ferry times and special events etc.

Orkney Roamer Holidays

Orkney Island Holidays - Sea Sand Stones & Seaweed These are very popular Holidays, and especially good for your first visit and introduction to Orkney. You will visit four of the most readily accessible islands in the archipelago. The Holiday explores the Orkney Mainland and what are locally known as the Inner Isles using modern ferry cruises to get there. These are day trips, returning to the same base for all six nights of your Holiday.
In addition to Orkney Mainland, we visit Shapinsay, Rousay and Hoy.
So you will see a great variety of unique and peaceful islands.

You will be based throughout at one of our favourite Mainland Orkney Hotels.

The accommodation for each Orkney Roamer Holiday will be clear to you on the Dates & Prices page.

For further information on the islands visited on this Holiday, please see the Island Information page.

Day 1	-	Arrival at your Mainland Orkney Hotel late afternoon to settle in and preview of your week
Day 2	-	Exploring Shapinsay.
Day 3	-	Exploring Rousay.
Day 4	-	Exploring Mainland with an emphasis on wildlife.
Day 5	-	Exploring Hoy through Scapa Flow.
Day 6	-	Exploring Mainland with an emphasis on the major archaeological monuments.
Day 7	-	Departure after breakfast.

Orkney Roamer Highlights.

Wonderful wild flowers including Primula scotica.
Exciting Orkney Birds, RSPB reserves and Seals, plus the unexpected.
Fantastic coastal scenery and walks.
Orkney’s World Heritage sites including Skara Brae Neolithic Village, Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe Chambered Cairn.
Midhowe Tomb and Broch on Rousay.
Scapa Flow, Lyness Naval Museum, Dwarfie Stane and Rackwick in Hoy.
Wetland birds, a special broch and secret places on Shapinsay.
Peace and tranquility, storm & tempest!

“An Orkney Roamer” by Sylvia and Alan Williams, Derby.

In all these isles we’ve had a ball, With our two hosts, Louise and Paul,
Seen nesting birds upon the rocks, Along with seals and cairns and brochs.

Done ferries, islands, heath and shore, Learnt birds we’d never seen before,
Had sun and rain and peace and quiet, And such good food we’ll have to diet!

‘Maths’ with laughter and serious thought To each subject we have brought,
And all of this we managed to get Without going on the Internet!”

Orkney Explorer Holidays

Orkney Island Holidays - Calf Sound, Eday This wonderful and ever popular Holiday visits islands that are more difficult to explore by the average tourist.

All our excursions are day trips, as the Holiday is based at one specially chosen Mainland Orkney Hotel for all six nights. In addition to Orkney Mainland, we visit the Outer Isle of Eday, and the Inner Isles of Shapinsay, Egilsay and Wyre.

This Holiday provides you with a really good insight into numerous aspects of Orkney. For the trips to the various islands we use the inter-island ferry service, which gives a good chance to experience wildlife en-route and discover the layout of the isles.

On arrival at our island destinations we will do short walks to points of interest and absorb the unique atmosphere of the different islands.

For further information on the islands visited on this holiday, please see the Island Information page.

Day 1	-	Arrival at your Mainland Orkney Hotel late afternoon to settle in and preview of your week.
Day 2	-	Exploring Orkney Mainland with an emphasis on wildlife.
Day 3	-	Explore Eday
Day 4	-	Explore Shapinsay.
Day 5	-	Exploring Orkney Mainland with an emphasis on the major archaeological monuments or other interests.
Day 6	-	Explore Egilsay and Wyre.
Day 7	-	Departure after breakfast.

Orkney Explorer Highlights.

Stone of Setter & Vinquoy chambered tomb & moors of Eday.
Egilsay RSPB reserve and its corncrake management.
St Magnus Kirk and his martyrdom site.
Wonderful wild flowers, including orchids.
Exciting Orkney Birds, RSPB reserves, plus the unexpected.
Fantastic coastal & moorland scenery and walks.
Orkney’s World Heritage sites including Skara Brae Neolithic Village, Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe Chambered Cairn, or other less-well known but equally well-preserved sites.
Marine mammals such as porpoise & seals.
Peace and tranquility, storm & tempest!

Orkney Venturer Holidays

Orkney Island Holidays - Yesnaby This very popular Holiday not only explores special sites and areas of Mainland Orkney and the Inner Isle of Shapinsay, but ventures further afield to discover the wonders of two of Orkney’s Outer Isles, both Westray and Sanday

All our excursions are day trips, as the Holiday is based at one specially chosen Mainland Orkney Hotel for all six nights.

This Holiday provides you with a really good insight into numerous aspects of Orkney. We will thoroughly explore Orkney Mainland on two days, and make day trips by Orkney Ferries to explore three other islands in the Orkney archipelago, Shapinsay, Sanday and Westray.

On arrival at our island destinations we will do short walks to points of interest and absorb the unique atmosphere of the different islands.

For further information on the islands visited on this Holiday, please see the Island Information page.

Day 1	-	Arrival at your Mainland Orkney Hotel late afternoon to settle in and preview of the week.
Day 2	-	Exploring Mainland Orkney with an emphasis on wildlife.
Day 3	-	Exploring Sanday.
Day 4	-	Exploring Orkney West Mainland with an emphasis on the major archaeological monuments.
Day 5	-	Exploring Westray
Day 6	-	Exploring Shapinsay
Day 7	-	Departure after breakfast.

Orkney Venturer Highlights.

An exploration of a wide variety of Orkney's islands.
Wonderful wild flowers including Primula scotica, plus seals.
Exciting Orkney Birds & RSPB reserves plus the unexpected.
Fantastic coastal & Moorland scenery and walks.
Orkney's World Heritage sites including Skara Brae Neolithic Village, Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe Chambered Cairn, or other less-well known but equally well-preserved sites.
Quoyness Tomb & other special places on Sanday.
Spectacular sea cliffs, a Z plan castle, gannets, and puffins on Westray.
Wetland birds, a special broch and secret places on Shapinsay.
Peace and tranquility, storm & tempest!

Orkney Autumn Connoisseur Holidays

Thousands of birds are migrating and Orkney is teeming with wildlife in autumn. The archaeological sites are very peaceful and quiet and the seascapes can be spectacular in wild weather. Staying for all six nights at the sumptuous Lynnfield Hotel, with luxurious rooms, log fires and excellent cuisine, we have an unusual and varied Holiday for you at an exciting time of year in Orkney.

Orkney Island Holidays - Seals Pupping The key themes of this Holiday are flexibility, working with the wild and wondrous Orkney weather and responding to Wildlife and Archaeological opportunities. Using two vehicles we can split the group if preferable, to enable individuals to visit sites of choice. We can also do this for those who wish to spend more time with archaeology or wildlife depending on folk’s interests.

The Lynnfield is centrally based for easy access to all of Orkney Mainland and the linked South Isles to South Ronaldsay, and for ferries to the islands. The Hotel is run by our long standing friends Malcolm Stout and partner Lorna, with unfailing high standards, beautiful rooms and great food. They create a warm and friendly informal atmosphere, which is ideal for our Autumn House Party.

Autumn is a fantastic time for bird watching in Orkney. Winter resident birds will be returning from their Arctic breeding grounds, so we will be able to get great views of many birds difficult to see elsewhere in the UK, such as great northern divers, Slavonian grebes, long-tailed ducks and scaup. At this time of year unusual migrant birds turn up, especially during and after easterly winds and we are able to respond to local news of unusual sightings. However, the highlights are often the large flocks of common waders such as curlews, sanderlings and bar-tailed godwits on the fields, mudflats and sands, or flocks of snow buntings and twite over winter stubble fields. Both common and grey seals occur in great numbers and are always easy to see and get up close to on several islands.

If you are visiting Orkney for the first time you will undoubtedly be keen to visit the World Heritage Archaeological sites for which Orkney is so famous. We can take and guide you around these sites, such as Skara Brae, Maes Howe, the Rings of Brodgar and Standing Stones of Stenness etc. If you have been before we can also visit lesser known sites such as Cuween and Unstan Neolithic Chambered Cairns, or the Tomb of the Eagles etc. There are numerous fascinating smaller sites to explore in depth.

For further details on the islands visited on this Holiday, please see the Island Information page.

Day 1	-	Arrival at The Lynnfield Hotel in Kirkwall, Orkney Mainland, late afternoon to settle in and preview week before dinner.
Day 2	-	Exploring the island of Shapinsay for wildlife and archaeology.
Day 3	-	Exploring the east side of Scapa Flow around the Churchill Barriers to South Ronaldsay.
Day 4	-	A day trip by ferry to the northern isle of Sanday.
Day 5	-	Exploring the West Mainland of Orkney.
Day 6	-	A day trip by ferries to visit South Walls and Hoy
Day 7	-	Departure after breakfast.

Orkney Autumn Connoisseur Highlights

A good time for finding exciting and unusual migrant birds.

Greylag geese & Orkney's barnacle and white-fronted goose flocks, plus herds of wintering whooper swans begin to arrive in autumn, sometimes in great numbers.

Huge numbers of curlew, redshank, turnstone, sanderlings, golden plovers, lapwings, purple sandpipers, dunlin, godwits, ringed plovers, knot and other wading birds are easy to see on the arable fields, rocky shores and mudflats. Sea birds abound, such as eiders, long-tailed ducks, red-breasted mergansers, scoters, Slavonian & red-necked grebes, great northern divers, black guillemots & gannets.

Orkney ducks in their best and most spectacular plumage. Autumn is a really good time of year to learn to identify them with ease and certainty.

Good opportunities to see Orkney's spectacular birds of prey such as hen harriers, peregrines, merlins and short-eared owls.

Grey and common seals in remote rocky bays and harbours.

Famous World Heritage sites such as Skara Brae, Rings of Brodgar & Standing Stones of Stenness, Maeshowe Tomb, plus many other lesser known or visited sites.

The Tomb of the Eagles in South Ronaldsay.

Wild waves and dramatic seascapes or tranquil sandy beaches depending on whatever the changeable weather throws at us.

The Italian Chapel, Churchill Barriers, Blockships, Martello Towers, Totem poles.

Scapa Flow and the history of the scuttled German fleet and daring U-boat exploits.

The Maritime & Natural History Museum, Orkney's famous Arctic explorers such as John Rae and the Hudson's Bay Company connection and acclaimed Pier Arts Centre in Stromness.

Visits to a wide variety of Orkney islands.

Fantastic food and accommodation in the luxurious surroundings of the Lynnfield Hotel.