NorthLink Ferries to Orkney and Shetland: A Scottish Islands Guide

Two nights of this Scottish island-hopping route are spent not in a hotel but at sea, aboard a NorthLink ferry crossing some of the more exposed waters of the North Atlantic. For travellers used to planning around flights and coach transfers, an overnight ferry can feel like the one unpredictable link in an otherwise carefully staged itinerary. On Odyssey Traveller’s Scottish Islands and Shetland tour, these NorthLink crossings between Orkney, Shetland and Aberdeen aren’t a logistical afterthought — they’re part of how the islands have always been reached, and understanding them in advance makes the whole experience far more comfortable.

Why the NorthLink Ferry Matters to This Itinerary

NorthLink Ferries operates the lifeline services connecting Orkney and Shetland to mainland Scotland, and has done so since these routes were opened to commercial competition in 2002. For islanders, the ferries carry freight, mail and daily commuters; for travellers on a Scottish islands itinerary, they solve a practical problem — there is no bridge or tunnel linking Shetland to the rest of Britain, and reaching it by any means other than ferry or aircraft simply isn’t possible. Two legs of this journey fall on our complete Scottish island-hopping guide: the passage from Kirkwall to Lerwick, and later the longer run from Shetland down to Aberdeen.

Travelling this way rather than flying keeps the itinerary grounded in how island communities have moved between each other for generations, and it adds a genuinely different kind of evening to a tour otherwise built around hotels, castles and standing stones.

The Two NorthLink Routes on This Tour

The first overnight crossing departs Kirkwall on the evening of Day 15, after a morning spent touring the town’s St Magnus Cathedral and the neighbouring Bishop’s and Earl’s Palaces. This sailing carries the group north-east across the Fair Isle Channel to Lerwick, Shetland’s capital, arriving in time for breakfast and a full day’s touring on Orkney’s near neighbour to the north.

The second crossing comes at the close of the Shetland leg, on Day 18, running from Lerwick south to Aberdeen — a longer passage that returns travellers to mainland Scotland ahead of the final days in Edinburgh. Both sailings are timed so a full day of activity bookends the crossing rather than being lost to it: dinner ashore before boarding, breakfast aboard the following morning.

Cabins Versus Sleeping Pods

NorthLink’s overnight vessels are built along the lines of a small cruise ferry, with a restaurant, bar and lounge areas rather than rows of airline-style seating. Most travellers are berthed in a cabin — typically twin-share, with an en-suite bathroom and a porthole if the layout allows it. Where cabin availability is tight, particularly on busier summer sailings, the alternative is a sleeping pod: a private, reclining berth in a shared quiet cabin, more akin to a premium airport lounge than a full room, but perfectly serviceable for a single night’s crossing.

It’s worth setting realistic expectations here rather than assuming a like-for-like hotel substitute. Cabin allocation on NorthLink sailings depends on the vessel deployed and how far in advance bookings are confirmed, and single travellers should note that where only twin cabins remain, sharing may be required — solo travellers booking this tour are looked after in the group’s planning, but going in with flexible expectations about cabin versus pod makes for a smoother crossing regardless.

What the Crossing Is Actually Like

Both NorthLink sailings on this itinerary include dinner at a local restaurant before boarding, so the evening aboard is generally unhurried — most travellers make use of the lounge or bar for an hour before turning in. Breakfast the following morning is served aboard as part of the tour, in a restaurant setting rather than a packed continental spread, and by mid-morning the ferry has usually already docked and the day’s touring is underway.

The crossing itself is a chance to watch the Scottish coastline recede in a way that a coach transfer never quite matches. On a clear evening, the sailing out of Kirkwall gives good views back toward Orkney’s low, green coastline before open water takes over; the longer run south to Aberdeen crosses more exposed water, and travellers prone to seasickness may wish to keep this in mind, though the vessels are large and stabilised for North Sea conditions.

Arrival itself has its own quiet drama — the Lerwick terminal often comes into view in the low light of early morning, the town’s harbour lights still on as the ferry docks and the day’s touring begins.

Planning Around Ferry Schedules

One point worth being upfront about: ferry routes and schedules are subject to change, and this is simply a feature of travelling by sea in northern Scotland rather than a shortcoming of any particular operator. Weather, tides and vessel maintenance can all shift departure times or, occasionally, the order in which elements of the tour are run. Odyssey Traveller builds every element of both crossings into the itinerary, but travellers should expect timing to be confirmed closer to departure rather than fixed months in advance.

This is also a Level 2 (Moderate) itinerary throughout, and the ferry days are no exception — travellers should be comfortable managing stairs and carrying their own luggage aboard, since porterage on the vessels themselves isn’t guaranteed. Beyond that, no special preparation is needed: pack as you would for any overnight stay, keep essentials accessible rather than buried in checked luggage, and treat the crossing as a genuinely different kind of evening on an itinerary that otherwise moves between hotels each night.

For travellers wanting to understand what waits at either end of these crossings, our guide to Jarlshof and Shetland’s ponies and wildlife cover the Shetland leg in depth, while Mousa Broch is reached by a short local ferry once you’ve already arrived in Shetland via NorthLink.

Arriving Ready for the Next Leg

Understood properly, the NorthLink crossings are less an obstacle to plan around and more a continuation of the same island-hopping logic that runs through the entire tour — coach, ferry, coach, ferry, all the way from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Travelling this way, rather than flying between islands, keeps the journey tied to how these communities have always been connected to one another and to the mainland. It’s a small but genuine part of what makes an escorted small group crossing of Orkney and Shetland feel different from simply visiting each island in isolation — and it’s covered, cabin or pod, dinner to breakfast, as part of the Scottish Isles tour itself.