5 Day Orkney Islands Tour

8 Ratings

Edinburgh

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Discover Scotland’s Highlands and Orkney Islands in a 5-day small group tour. Explore historic sites, scenic routes, and enjoy whisky tasting.

Duration: 5 days

Cancellation: 6 days

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Highlights

Highlands of Scotland, Kings Estate and Culloden Battlefield

Balmoral Castle - Tour the Highland estate privately owned by King Charles, originally purchased by Queen Victoria.
Cairngorms National Park - Explore Cairngorms National Park, the largest and one of the most stunning National Parks in the country, perfect for a delightful woodland…

Highlands of Scotland, Kings Estate and Culloden Battlefield

Balmoral Castle - Tour the Highland estate privately owned by King Charles, originally purchased by Queen Victoria.

Cairngorms National Park - Explore Cairngorms National Park, the largest and one of the most stunning National Parks in the country, perfect for a delightful woodland walk.

Culloden Battlefield - Delve into the history of Culloden Battlefield and uncover the dramatic past of the Jacobite Uprising, Civil War, and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Inverness - Spend some leisure time in the charming town of Inverness.

North Coast 500 to Orkney Islands

Dunrobin Castle and Gardens - Discover one of Scotland’s most beautiful castles. Dunrobin Castle has been the home of the Sutherland Clan for centuries.

Glenmorangie Distillery - Savor Scotch Whisky at Glenmorangie Distillery, one of Scotland’s most iconic distilleries. Join a tour and tasting to experience this exquisite “Water of Life.”

North Coast 500 - Journey north from Inverness along a breathtaking section of the North Coast 500, visiting picturesque locations along the way.

Orkney Islands Adventure

Kirkwall - Explore the ancient Viking town of Kirkwall and visit St Magnus Cathedral in the heart of the town.

Maeshowe Chambered Cairn - Visit this ancient monument dating back 5000 years, guided by an expert.

Standing Stones of Stenness - Feel like Claire from Outlander as you visit some of the tallest standing stones in the country, dating back over 5000 years. Also, explore the nearby ancient building foundations and learn about the lives of our stone age ancestors.

Ring of Brodgar - Visit one of the largest stone circles in the country at the Ring of Brodgar.

Skara Brae - Walk in the footsteps of ancient ancestors at Skara Brae, where you can see the beds, shelves, and homes they built over 5000 years ago, perfectly preserved.

Orkney Islands, NC500 to Inverness

Dunnet Head - Enjoy a scenic walk with stunning coastal views and look back across to the Orkney Islands at this nature reserve.

John O’Groats - Stroll around the quaint village of John O’Groats and take a photo with the famous finger post at Scotland’s northernmost mainland settlement.

Inverness - Return to the Inverness area for an evening stay.

Loch Ness Cruise, Glencoe and the Highlands of Scotland

Loch Ness - Visit the legendary Loch Ness and try to spot Nessie on a cruise of these beautiful waters.

Glencoe - Discover one of Scotland’s most scenic and dramatic locations in the valley of Glencoe.

Rannoch Moor - Experience one of Scotland’s last true wilderness areas. Pause to appreciate the stunning and remote landscape.

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park - Visit Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, one of Scotland’s most picturesque areas. Enjoy the beauty and learn about the wildlife, culture, and history of the region.

Scottish Highlands - Travel through the breathtaking Scottish Highlands, stopping at lovely locations along the way.

What's Included

Guided short walks in the Highlands of Scotland and the Orkney Islands
Ferry to the Orkney Islands
Visit to 5000 Year Old Standing Stones of Stenness
Visit to the Ring of Brodgar
Ferry to the Mainland from the Orkney Islands

What's Not Included

Meals and Snacks
Entry to Balmoral Castle - Approx £16
Entry to Culloden Moor Visitor Center - Approx £15 (You can visit the Battlefield with out paying)
Visit to Dunrobin Castle - Approx £15
Fees to Whisky Distillery - Approx £22
Entry Fees to Maeshowe Chambered Cairn - Approx £11
Entry Fees to Skara Brae - Approx £13
Loch Ness Cruise - Approx £15

Additional Information

Experience an extra small group tour of up to only 8 Clients
Explore some of the most gorgeous and historic locations in the Highlands of Scotland and the Orkney Islands over 5 wonderful days.
Visit the Kings estate of Balmoral, walk in beautiful Woodlands, travel through the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond National Park and visit Culloden Battlefield and…

Location

256-260 Morrison St

Morrison Street

Meet us outside the Jolly Botanist. Check in 15 minutes before tour start time. Our van will have the Experience Scotland's Wild logo on it. If you're running late please call us.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 6 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel between 2 and 6 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a 50% refund.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings

5.0

(8 Ratings)

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Melodyh1234

Oct 13, 2024

Phenomenal tour!! - If you’re doing research for which tour company to book in Scotland, the search is over. Use this company. My husband and I have been to Scotland multiple times and our experience with Scotland Wild far surpassed any other tours we’ve been on. They have a variety of tours that can fit anyone’s interest. The tours are a relaxed pace so you don’t feel rushed through the site seeing. The groups are small so you’re not spending 20 minutes at each stop getting on and off a bus. You’ll also get to know everyone on your tour, which is a fun experience in itself. They also break up the driving with some beautiful nature walks. It’s a great balance of experiencing the historical and natural side of Scotland. Our guide, John, was so incredibly knowledgeable and personable. He knew the answer to every question our group threw at him. We ran into some bad weather and he was easily able to pivot and find us a great alternative so that we didn’t feel like we missed out on our other attraction. The tour was absolutely fantastic. I would definitely recommend this group to any friends and family going to Scotland.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Chilispice_girl

Aug 3, 2024

Brilliant Orkney Islands Tour - A brilliant tour with ridiculously fabulous weather! I can't promise the same weather we enjoyed on our tour, but I can promise you'll have an incredible time with Experience Scotland's Wild small tours. Cal and James were excellent tour guides and made a great team for our group. Their expansive knowledge of Scotland, its history, and its landscapes was only rivaled by their witty Scottish banter. Both guides were friendly and welcoming and encouraged cohesiveness within our small group. We enjoyed music, laughter, and the most beautiful scenery! Each day we were dropped at our hotels and helped with our luggage and given helpful tips on where to eat or shop, etc. WhatsApp helped us to stay in touch and communicate group plans promptly. I highly recommend the Orkney tour and I plan to use Experience Scotland's Wild for my next multi-day tour. Do yourself a favor and book with this tour company ASAP - you won't regret it!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Sflocalnm

Jul 13, 2024

Wonderful introduction to Scotland's north ! - An absolutely wonderful experience from start to finish. HIGHLY recommended ! ! The tour operator - Scotland's Wild - did a superjob in every detail. We greatly appreciated both the planned itinerary and the opportunities to make changes as needed. Some of the off-itinerary stops based on our guides local knowledge, were among the most memorable! The guides - Calum and Karen - were great company and really enhanced the trip with their knowledge of Scottish geography, history and lore. I particularly valued the many stops at ancient archaeological sites, especially on Orkney, and every stop on every day added a lot to the overall enjoyment of the trip.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Erich_p

Jul 6, 2024

Wonderful introduction to Scotland ! - An absolutely wonderful experience from start to finish. The tour operator - Scotland's Wild - did a great job in every detail. We greatly appreciated both the planned itinerary and the opportunities to make changes as needed. The guides - Calum and Karen - were great company and really enhanced the trip with their knowledge of Scottish geography, history and lore. I particularly valued the many stops at ancient archaeological sites, especially on Orkney, and every stop on every day added a lot to the overall enjoyment of the trip.

Review provided by Viator

Flyer52173342445

Jul 4, 2024

Great trip! - We had an amazing adventure on the 5 day Orkney Islands trip. We lucked out an had two tour guides for our trip - Calum and Karen who were both incredible. They both have a great knowledge of Scottish history and very diverse music playlists which enabled them to appeal to our whole group! We enjoyed all our stops along the way and liked the mix of outdoor activities and history. Being with a small group tour gave us a chance to visit out of the way places that the big tour buses couldn't go and let us get a chance to know our tour guides and fellow tour mates better. We had Scotland Wilds reserve our accommodations for all 4 nights and they were all lovely.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

C4051bgninad

Jun 2, 2024

Unforgettable experience! - In 5 days I fell even more in love with Scotland. With a small group of people, and our fantastic guide Cal, the 5 days flew by. It was a good combination of traveling (with views and fun), visiting locations such as Culloden, Brochs and castles, and enough time for yourself in the evening. With both short and longer walks, plenty of time for photos, but also plenty of places where other tours don't go. Cal was also very helpful and gave tips for the evenings in Inverness and Kirkwall. This leaves me wanting more and now I want to explore Scotland further, also with Scotland's Wild.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Traceyrb1

May 9, 2024

Surpassed our expectations! - Our tour consisted of our group of 4 (2 couples) 2 more people, and 2 guides for the 5 Day Orkney Isles, Loch Ness and North Coast 500 Tour from Edinburgh. This was an amazing tour. Our guides, Cal and Lauren were fantastic and made the trip fun and memorable. We saw so much during this tour which included short walks, much longer walks, picture opportunities, historical and cultural information for the sites we visited. We were able to see sites that other tours don’t visit. We would highly recommend and have recommended this tour to others.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Geraldinelaine

May 9, 2024

An unforgettable experience - Fantastic tour, perfect balance between historical discoveries, walks, visits. Our guide Owen, so kind an knowledgable made of this tour an unforgettable experience. I really recommend.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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up to 8 guests

1 Adult