Ferry from Aberdeen to Orkney

At Kirkwall the ferry arrives at Hatston, two miles out of town. As well as taxis a bus, the X10, is waiting to take you into town.

Whether the Scrabster route makes more sense is in the eye of the beholder, you certainly see a lot more that way, and could deviate via John OGroats and Duncansby Head. The Scrabster route lands you at Stromness. I would book somewhere there in Stromness a very historic and interesting town, which gets rather overlooked by many guidebooks.

Also you have the Pentland ferries route from Gills Bay to St Margarets Hope on Orkney, then over the Churchill Barriers to Kirkwall.

The fun and different route, just reopened, which I really want to do, is to fly from Aberdeen to Wick, thence to either ferryport for Orkney.
From Wick Airport to either ferryport is easy by bus, or there is local car hire in Wick.
There is no good reason why you couldn't do the morning train from Aberdeen to Thurso (change Inverness), foot passenger on the Scrabster ferry, then the same connecting X10 bus to Kirkwall.

Don't overlook flying from Aberdeen to Kirkwall. There are several daily flights and prices are reasonable due to the oil industry traffic. Taking a rental car on any of the ferries is comparable to airfare. In Kirkwall, you can get a car at the airport or the next morning in town, depending on your flight time. My wife isn't very keen on a six hour boat trip in the often rough seas. Returning, I don't think Gills Bay or Thurso will have a one-way car rental. You'll have to ferry (or fly) to Aberdeen to get a car for your next chapter, unless you plan on public transit. Renting a car in Aberdeen and making the trip to Thurso or Gills Bay part of the adventure, and taking the car on the ferry there and back might make $$ sense depending on the number of people traveling. Cars are a little more expensive in Orkney.

Loganair has flights between Aberdeen and Kirkwall. I fly Loganair quite often including three times in December.

If you want a taxi at Kirkwall airport, arrange for one ahead of time. They don't hang out at the airport. I found this out the hard way.

I agree with Frank about the taxi situation at the Kirkwall Airport. I've used Craigies 3 times and recommend them. All 3 drivers have been so personable and interesting. They all had me laughing!

https://www.craigiestaxis.co.uk

I'm a terrible sailor so I've flown the times I've gone to Orkney. If you do decide to go with the ferry, and do FB I suggest you follow the Northlink Ferry page. They try to give a heads up if they think there will be service disruption due to weather.

https://www.facebook.com/NorthLinkFerries

Also from Kirkwall airport there is a bus into town, every 30 minutes all day, plus the odd extra on routes other than the dedicated shuttle.

Thanks we appreciate all the good info. Now if you have any suggestions on where to stay on Orkney. We will be there for 5 nights from April 26/26. We comfortable and clean, nothing fancy.

Returning, I don't think Gills Bay or Thurso will have a one-way car rental.

Hertz have an office in Wick between the town centre and the airport, so one way car rental is certainly possible and it is very easy to get there by public transport from either port.

Personally, on Orkney, I prefer to stay in Stromness as opposed to Kirkwall. I find it a more interesting town, especially in terms of the work of the Hudson's Bay Company (relevant both to Canadians and those from the PNW), the town's layout very much being a legacy of that maritime history.
Granted some of that history sits uneasily with us nowadays, looking through modern eyes.
Stromness is as easy for public transport as Kirkwall is, and makes little or no difference if by car. The only difference being that both car rental agencies which used to exist in Stromness I believe have closed. Landing at Kirkwall from Aberdeen at 11pm you may not want to drive 30 minutes across Orkney Mainland- although the X10 bus from Hatston to Stromness also does the journey every night.
The place I always stayed at in Stromness (a lovely old building converted into a B and B) did not survive Covid.

I actually have the same issue in Kirkwall, in that almost anywhere I used there has closed- including a wonderful apartment just close to the inter island ferry dock. It had a huge level of repeat business so was very hard to get into. For a week in December using entirely public transport to reach parts of Orkney and the out isles never mentioned on this forum it was a great cozy hideaway. Looking on Google maps for Kirkwall itself Eastbank House is the only still open place I've used- and I am not 100% convinced that they are really still open- whatever Google maps says.

One trick of the trade is to use the B and B offer on the MV Hamnavoe the night before returning south. You board the previous evening at Stromness when she docks on the last sailing of the night from Scrabster, and sleep on board before her 6.30am departure next morning. I'm up early to see her slip her moorings, then get my breakfast as she rounds the Old Man of Hoy.

We're headed to Orkney for five night in May, and bookings started filling up last summer. We ended up in an AirB&B in Kirkwall since all the hotels and B&Bs were booked or seemed very expensive.. Try Google Maps or Booking.com to search for your dates, and take what you can get. In Google Maps, you get prices from participating places and just little red dots for "others" which will click through to a contact page. I've resorted to "walking" the streets in Google Maps/Street View looking for signs on houses, since some B&B owners resist paying the commissions to be online. Once you get a name, you can usually find an email.

Last year I stayed my first 4 nights at the Ayre Hotel and liked it. I paid for a sea view room which was huge. The included breakfast was pretty non-descript. There is a parking lot at the back of the hotel.

A friend stayed at the Kirkwall Hotel and had an issue as her room was above the entrance to a bar so was noisy at night but it sounded like she had a better breakfast.

I was on a tour both times I visited which stayed at the Sands Hotel on Burray. I love this hotel! Excellent views, really good restaurant and awesome staff. Since you’ll have a car it would be doable but it’s a more difficult location if someone is relying on public transit. They have a large on-site parking lot.

Our tour guides had to stay at a different hotel as we had so many solo travelers we took up all the rooms at the Sands. They stayed in St Margaret’s Hope at the Murray Arms and were pleased. I’ve eaten in their restaurant three times over the years and had delicious food. The parking is at a public lot a block away.

LOL, Stuart! I sure hope that Eastbank House is still open since I just booked a stay there for June! It doesn’t sound like it would be for everyone, but it intrigued me so I will let you know.

I had planned on using the ferry from Aberdeen but in the end opted to fly. For me it was both the cost (I knew I would want a cabin) and time factors.

I'm pleased TTM has managed to book Eastbank House. When I tried to do a dummy booking I couldn't do so via their website, nor find them on booking.com.

When I was looking on booking.com just now I also saw the Stromnabank on Hoy. Not much use for the Orkney mainland but a rather nice hotel if you are exploring Hoy. The only time in my life I've accepted an unsolicited lift. I could easily have walked up there from Longhope ferry terminal (and planned to) but met someone on the ferry who wouldn't take 'no, thank you' for an answer- kind and generous. The next day I was doing a tour on the island scheduled bus- which took me to several places I would never have got into otherwise- someone with a key to every building on Hoy seemingly, and a real passion for the island.

Stuart, I found Eastbank House via Air BnB. Through some reviews, I do think some people call or email to book direct. But it also appeared, at a guess, that going through the platform would likely be better.