Orkney & Shetland Explorer

DAY 1

Journey from your home station to Aberdeen and, on arrival, we will make our way to the Malmaison Hotel, our base for the next two nights. We enjoy free time to explore our new surroundings before meeting for our first evening meal together.

DAY 2

After a leisurely breakfast, we depart for our orientation of Aberdeen taking in the spectacular scenery at Dunnottar Castle followed by a panoramic tour visiting the highlights of the city including the fishing village of Footdee, Union Terrace Gardens, and Duthie Park. We will discover the historic Old Town, the castellated Citadel at The Castlegate, and the striking University Quarter before returning to the hotel in time for our evening meal.

DAY 3

Today, we enjoy free time in Aberdeen before travelling by road to meet and board our NorthLink ship for our overnight journey to Lerwick. We enjoy our evening meal on board before retiring to our en-suite cabins.

DAY 4

After breakfast this morning, we disembark and step into an entrancing mixture of history with amazing flora and fauna on our guided tour of Shetland. More Scandinavian than Scottish in many ways, the Viking heritage is still strong in this world of magnificent wild beauty, steeped with internationally renowned archaeological sites. We visit the remarkable Jarlshof, the historic town of Scalloway, the capital Lerwick, fantastic seabird colonies, and the famous Shetland ponies. This evening, we enjoy our meal back on-board our ship as we sail to Orkney arriving late evening where check-in to our hotel for the next two nights, The Kirkwall Hotel.

DAY 5

Today, we enjoy a guided tour of Orkney including a visit to the mystical ancient settlement of Skara Brae, uncovered by a storm in 1850 and older than Stonehenge. We will visit Skaill House, the finest mansion on the island, the awe-inspiring Ring of Brodgar stone circle, and the Churchill Barriers before heading to the Italian Chapel which was built by Italian prisoners during WWII. After a day of exploring this region of natural beauty, we return to the hotel in time for our evening meal.

DAY 6

After breakfast, we start the day with a cruise to Scrabster sailing past the impressive red stone sea-stack of the Old Man of Hoy, at 450ft, one of the UK's tallest sea stacks. We continue our journey by coach to the most northerly point of the mainland, John O'Groats, before travelling along the lovely coastal route through Caithness and Sutherland, skirting the Firths of Beauly and Cromarty, to Inverness. On arrival, we check-in to the Palace & Spa Hotel*, our base for the next two nights, and enjoy our evening meal together.

*In September, our hotel will be the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness.

DAY 7

Today, we spend the day at leisure to relax at the hotel or discover Inverness at your own pace. You may wish to make use of the hotel's spa facilities, explore the iconic castles of Inverness, visit the magnificent cathedral church, or take an excursion to spot the Loch Ness Monster. This evening, we reconvene at the hotel for our final evening meal together.

DAY 8

After breakfast, we bid farewell to Inverness and make our way to the station for our homeward journeys.

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner