Island Advice

From a logistical point of view it might make sense to group Orkney with Shetland as you can get the ferry from Aberdeen to Orkney, then continue on up to Shetland and then return via ferry to Aberdeen. Might save on car rental costs as you might be able to avoid renting a car until you get to the islands. Both island groups are fantastic and there are ancient sites to discover as well as the natural beauty.

If you group Orkney with Lewis and Harris you will have to work out how to get from Orkney to Lewis (ferry from Ullapool to Lewis is one option) but that would involve quite a drive around the northern coast of Scotland to get to Ullapool. If you want to see Lewis and Harris it might make more sense to look at the Outer Hebrides as a whole. You could plan a wonderful itinerary north to south from Lewis and Harris, down through the Uists to Eriskay and Barra before getting the ferry back across to Oban. Island hopping with Calmac is great fun and there's plenty to see.

Mull, Iona and Staffa would probably stand alone as a more southern island group, and to combine with the others would involve lengthy journeys from either Orkney or Lewis & Harris.

In 2022 we flew directly to Stornoway on the day we arrived at EDI from Seattle, spent three nights in Stornoway, exploring Harris and Lewis, then flew to Shetland (two stop connection through Inverness/Kirkwall) for three days. then flew back to Glasgow where we met friends, driving to Oban where we did the Three Islands boat trip (via Mull, Iona, Lunga, Staffa). That trip from Oban doesn't let you see any of Mull except the view from the bus. A week later, we flew EDI/KOI for three days on Orkney, then back to EDI for a few nights in Edinburgh. Loganair is more expensive than the ferry, but it is a lot faster. The hop-scotching could have been simpler if our friends had joined us earlier. You could do Harris/Lewis to Orkney to Glasgow to Oban for the Three Islands in a fairly efficient trip.

Three nights on any of the islands is not enough for a real thorough visit. We're going back to Orkney for eight days and another eight days on Shetland next year to poke around the island's islands.

I agree with Skyegirl that it makes sense to combine the Orkney and Shetland islands in one trip. Two weeks will give you a week on each, which will enable you to do some island hopping and see a lot. We did that last year and it was one of our favorite trips. We took a self guided tour with McKinley Kidd (the Complete Orkney and Shetland tour) — they made all the arrangements, but we travelled on our own. If this appeals to you, check out their website — they have a lot of options.

You could also follow jjgurley’s advice and focus on the Outer Hebrides. I think it would combine well with the three island tour from Oban. I enjoyed that tour even though you don’t see much of Mull. McKinlay Kidd also has tours of the Hebrides though I have not taken them. It might make sense to look at their tours even if it’s just to get an idea of itineraries that might work for you.

It takes a lot of travel to get to any of the islands, so on a two-week trip, I would not want to spend any more time on travel than I have to. Going from Orkney to the Hebrides is probably going to use up a day of travel even if you do some or all of it by air.

I did a day trip to Lewis and Harris from Skye. I really liked it, but I do think Shetland is nicer, so I would recommend you spend your two weeks in Orkney and Shetland.

I also agree that it is very ambitious to try and do Orkney, Lewis/Harris and possibly Mull, Iona and Staffa in one trip. Getting between the different islands is time consuming. Also there is so much to do/see that it is a shame to rush things.

Shetland is wonderful and is the obvious partner to Orkney. Do try and fit in visits to some of the other islands of the group and not just Mainland. Each are very different.

Thanks all for the advice.
We will miss Oban/Mull and Iona.
To clarify, we don’t just wish to see the islands, but parts of the highlands too.
We’re planning to drive around the highlands and enjoy the sights as we go.
We’ll definitely do Orkney and either Shetland or Harris/Lewis.
If we can only go to either Shetland or Harris/Lewis, which do you recommend?

I'd recommend Shetland over Lewis & Harris. I love both and live much closer to Lewis & Harris, but Shetland has a special feel and I will return as often as I can.

That is a difficult call, but I think I'd decide on Shetland too....

Thank you!