We will be in Kirkwall and the Orkney area in July. There are 6 of us who would like to see the area.
Please advise.
If there are 6 of you there for one day (I could say, really one day, but if that's all your itinerary has time for so be it)- it will really pay you to use a tour company like-
https://orkney-tailor-made-tours.co.uk/
(but there are lots of others). -
https://www.orkney.com/plan/tours
You are wanting to see the UNESCO world heritage sites like Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness, to see the very historical town of Stromness (and it's Hudson's Bay Company history), but also the Vikings in Kirkwall (St Magnus Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace) etc, also the wartime history- the Churchill Barriers, Scapa Flow and the Italian Chapel.
Many layers of history to explore here.
Talk to such a company, explain your interests and priorities, and see what they can put together for a day trip for you.
This will be far more time efficient than you renting a car. And all of you can sit back and enjoy the scenery.
PS- you do know this is in the Ireland forum, rather than in the Scotland forum, do you? A very easy thing to do.