Skara Brae, Maeshowe and the Ring of Brodgar: tickets and order

Orkney's Neolithic sites sit close together on the West Mainland, and a good order saves a morning. Reserve the Maeshowe tour first, because it is the only one of the main sites with a fixed time. Build the rest of the day around it: the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar next, since they are a mile or two from Maeshowe, then Skara Brae, which lies about six miles from the Ring according to Historic Environment Scotland. The Orkney travel guide covers the rest of the islands, and the wider Scotland guide shows how Orkney fits into a longer route.

The order matters for two reasons. Maeshowe runs by guided tour only, with a small number of slots, so a missed tour cannot be fixed on the spot. The other sites let you arrive when you like, and the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness are free and open all year. A morning tour, a stones walk before lunch and Skara Brae in the afternoon fits the opening hours, and leaves room for the weather to change your plan.

Maeshowe is a chambered cairn that Historic Environment Scotland describes as one of the finest Neolithic buildings in north-west Europe. Access is by guided tour only, and the agency says that, because capacity is limited, reserving online is strongly recommended. A limited number of extra tickets may be available each day, sold first come, first served and only in person at the visitor center on the day of the tour.

Tours start and finish at the visitor center in Stenness. A shuttle bus takes you to the cairn, then there is a 400 meter walk, a crossing of the perimeter ditch and a low entrance passageway. There is no wheelchair access across the ditch or along the passageway, and filming and photography are not permitted inside the cairn. If low passages are a problem for you, ask the visitor center before you book.

Tour times change by season. From 1 October to 31 March the tours run at 10am, 12 noon and 2pm, and the site is open daily from 10am to 4pm. From 1 April to 30 June and in September the tours run at 10am, 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm. In July and August there are extra tours at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm, and the site stays open until 8pm Monday to Thursday. Last entry is 4.45pm in April to June and September, 7.45pm in July and August and 3pm from October to March. The cairn is closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January.

The agency's Maeshowe page lists the booking steps and the current tour times. For a winter visit it adds one detail worth planning around: for about six weeks in the winter, roughly from the end of November through to the middle of January and depending on the weather, the setting sun aligns with the central chamber, and visitors wishing to see it should book the 2pm tour.

Skara Brae is the most visited of the sites, and its description is accurate. Historic Environment Scotland calls it the best-preserved Neolithic settlement in Western Europe, and says it was a thriving village long before Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids, about 5,000 years ago. Visitors follow a one-way route around the site, looking down on the original houses from a path above, so it is a place to see and not to enter.

The site is about 500 meters from the visitor center along a crushed stone path, with a latch gate, and some sections of the site path are very narrow, about 50 centimeters. There are steps with handrails to some areas. The visitor center has an exhibition, and Skaill House, a historic house, is about 140 meters from it and operated separately. Between 1 April and 31 October the ticket includes entry to Skaill House, and from November to March it covers Skara Brae only at a lower price.

Hours follow the same split. The site is open daily from 9.30am to 5.30pm from 1 April to 30 September, and from 10am to 4pm from 1 October to 31 March, with last entry an hour before closing. It is closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January. If the village is closed in bad weather, a reduced ticket is available for the exhibition and visitor center.

There is no space for large campervans in the main car park, and the agency asks you to phone ahead to check whether the beach car park has room. Dogs are welcome in outdoor areas of most sites, but assistance dogs are the clear rule inside roofed areas.

The Ring of Brodgar is the easiest site to fit in, because it is free, open all year and needs no booking. Historic Environment Scotland says it originally had 60 stones, that 36 survive and that some reach 4.7 meters. The site sits among prehistoric burial mounds and a rock-cut ditch in a landscape of hills and lochs, about 5 miles north east of Stromness on the B9055. Wear strong footwear, follow the one-way system and expect parts of the inner path to close periodically so the grass can recover. There are no toilets at the Ring, and the nearest public ones are at the Maeshowe visitor center.

The Stones of Stenness are about a mile away, free and open all year as well. They pair naturally with the Ring and take less time. If you have a single hour of daylight left at the end of a day, spend it at one of the two and not on a third indoor stop.

Two more sites reward a second day. The Brough of Birsay is a tidal island on the north-west Mainland, free to visit and open year-round, but it can only be reached at low tide on foot across a rocky, slippery causeway. Historic Environment Scotland says to check tide times with the Skara Brae site or the Met Office website, and the Earl's Palace in Birsay lies about a mile away.

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age complex near Evie, open daily from 10am to 4.30pm from 1 April to 30 September with a lunch break from 12.30pm to 1.30pm, and closed from 1 October to 31 March. Adult tickets are £7.50 online and £8.50 in person. The roads around it are not suitable for coaches, and minibuses up to 22 seats can be accommodated. Treat it as an April to September stop, and check the season before you plan a winter trip.

The three paid sites add up to a modest amount. An adult online ticket costs £14 at Skara Brae, £10 at Maeshowe and £7.50 at the Broch of Gurness, which is £31.50 for all three, and the Ring of Brodgar, the Stones of Stenness and the Brough of Birsay cost nothing. Historic Environment Scotland also sells an Explorer Pass that gives free entry to its attractions for 14 consecutive days, and members enter free. Check the pass price on the agency's site against the sites you plan to visit in that window, because three paid sites on one island may not justify it.

If you prefer to travel on your own, Orkney.com says local buses run hail and ride and pass close to the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, though you should plan Maeshowe and Skara Brae around tour and opening times. The guide to getting to Orkney explains the crossings and flights, and Orkney in 4 days shows where these sites fit among the islands.

The first mistake is leaving Maeshowe to chance. The tour is the only way in, and a full slot means no visit. The second is arriving at Skara Brae in the last hour, when last entry is an hour before closing. The third is planning the Brough of Birsay without checking the tide, since the causeway can only be crossed at low tide. The fourth is bringing the wrong shoes. Strong footwear is recommended at the Ring, the Brough and Skara Brae, and the ground can be wet, uneven and slippery.

A fifth mistake is leaving the entry and phone steps to the airport. If you need an ETA, read the UK ETA guide before booking, set up an eSIM for ticket QR codes, and keep travel insurance in mind for delays on the ferry.

If you dislike low passages, Maeshowe is the wrong choice, and the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae still deliver the Neolithic story without it. If you have only a short stop, choose Skara Brae for the village, or the Ring for the setting, and do not try all of them. If you are visiting between October and March, plan around shorter hours and the Broch of Gurness being closed.