Scotland's Spectacular Highlands (Orkney & Shetland)

Stand in rooms uncovered by a storm in 1850, older than Stonehenge and remarkably intact, then a few days later go looking for native Shetland ponies on an island ornithologists travel the world to visit – eight nights from Glencoe to Orkney and Shetland.

From£2,699pp

Duration8 days

StyleSelf-guided

Best suited toDrivers who want the road to be the holiday

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An independent Stradora pick. Details from the operator's published information, last checked 28 Oct 2026. Stradora DiscoveryChosen independently by our editors because we think it's worth the drive. We're not partnered with this operator: dates, prices and booking are handled by them, and we last checked their published details on 28 Oct 2026.

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8 nights through United Kingdom

Eight nights from Glencoe to Orkney and Shetland, self-guided, in the guest’s own car, with the ferries and an overnight sailing included.

This is the most remote itinerary the operator runs, and the shape of it is a steady march north: Highlands, then the northern coast, then two archipelagos reached by sea.

The Kingshouse at Glencoe opens it, one of the oldest inns in Scotland, then Gairloch, Lochinver and Bettyhill along the north-west coast. The ferry crosses from Scrabster to Stromness for a day on Orkney, where Skara Brae is the centrepiece: a Neolithic village uncovered by a storm in 1850, older than Stonehenge, with the stone furniture still in the rooms. An overnight sailing from Kirkwall then reaches Lerwick for a day on Shetland, which ornithologists travel a long way for, and where seals, otters, porpoises, whales and the native ponies are all possible, though nothing can be promised. The return is an overnight ferry from Lerwick to Aberdeen.

The hotel nights, all the ferry crossings, a two-berth inside cabin on the overnight sailings, the breakfasts, four dinners including the welcome dinner, a road book with maps, drives and local attractions, a commemorative rally plate and parking at all the hotels are included; cabin upgrades cost extra. Nine days and this many crossings explains the price. May to August is the window, for the weather, the birds and the very long northern daylight, which at midsummer in Shetland barely ends. Nine days is also the only itinerary in the range that puts the car on an overnight sailing, which is worth knowing: the crossings are long, the cabins are compact and the islands at the end of them are quite unlike anywhere else in Britain.

Style

Self-guided

Duration

A week or so (7-10 nights)

Region

Europe

Vehicle provision

Bring your own vehicle

Departures

July

Starts/ends

Glencoe, United Kingdom → Aberdeen, United Kingdom