Orkney in 4 days: Kirkwall, the stones, Hoy and a north isle

Four days is the right length for a first visit to Orkney. It covers Kirkwall, the Neolithic sites of the West Mainland, one ferry day on Hoy and a flexible fourth day, with a small buffer for weather. The Orkney travel guide covers the places in detail, the guide to getting to Orkney covers the crossing, and this page puts the days in order. The islands also fit into a wider route through Scotland, and the Orkney and Shetland guide shows how to add the northern group.

The logic is to put fixed-time items first. Maeshowe runs by guided tour only, and island ferries run to timetables, so book those before you book anything flexible. Day one is a gentle arrival day in Kirkwall. Day two is the West Mainland, where the main prehistoric sites sit close together. Day three is the ferry day, when the weather matters most. Day four is the flexible day, with three options. If the forecast turns, swap day three with day four and keep the stones for a day when you can stand outside.

Start in Kirkwall, Orkney's main town, which suits an arrival day because the sights are within a short walk. The Kirkwall travel guide covers the town in detail. St Magnus Cathedral is the anchor. The cathedral says entrance is free, that visiting hours from October to March are Monday to Saturday, 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm, and that from April to September they are Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, and Sunday, 1pm to 5pm. It may close for weddings and funerals, and there is usually a service on Sundays at 11:15.

Next to the cathedral are the Bishop's and Earl's Palaces. Historic Environment Scotland lists them as open daily from 10am to 4.30pm from 1 April to 30 September with a lunch break from 12.30pm to 1pm, and closed from 1 October to 31 March. Adult tickets are £7.50 online and £8.50 in person, with the same 25% car-free discount that Historic Environment Scotland applies elsewhere. That means a visit in October or later is a cathedral-and-museum day, so plan the palaces for the summer season only.

If you arrive on the Aberdeen ship, you land late at Hatston, outside Kirkwall, so day one starts with a short, late check-in and a slow morning. If you arrive by air or on the Scrabster ferry, use the afternoon for the harbor, the cathedral and a first dinner. Keep the evening free for the weather forecast, and book the Maeshowe tour for day two while you check the next day's tides and sailings.

Day two is the Neolithic day. The guide to Skara Brae, Maeshowe and the Ring of Brodgar gives the details, and the short version is an order. Start with your Maeshowe tour, which Historic Environment Scotland says is by guided tour only with limited capacity. Walk the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar next, both free and open all year. Finish at Skara Brae, about six miles from the Ring.

The sites are spread over a few miles on the B9055 and nearby roads, and a car makes the day easy. Without one, Orkney.com says local buses pass close to the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, on a hail and ride basis, so a bus can cover the stones while Maeshowe and Skara Brae are best planned around their own timetables.

Add the Brough of Birsay only if the tide allows. Historic Environment Scotland says it is free and open year-round but reached at low tide across a rocky, slippery causeway, and advises checking tide times with Skara Brae or the Met Office. From April to September the Broch of Gurness near Evie is also open, with adult tickets at £7.50 online. Neither belongs in a day that already has Maeshowe and Skara Brae, unless you start early.

Hoy is a different Orkney, with hills, cliffs and moorland. Orkney.com names the Old Man of Hoy and the cliffs at St John's Head among its scenery, and describes Hoy's uninhabited interior as home to white-tailed eagles and mountain hares. It also notes that Hoy is large, so a round trip from Rackwick to the island's only shop involves a 40 mile drive. Treat it as a walking day with a fixed ferry return, not as a drive-around.

Two ferry options reach it. The car and passenger ferry runs from Houton on the Mainland to Lyness on Hoy and on to Flotta, and Orkney.com says not every sailing heads directly to Lyness, so check the timetable. A passenger-only service runs from Stromness to Moaness at the north end of Hoy, calling at Graemsay. Orkney.com also says the regular bus route 2 from Kirkwall and route 5 from Stromness meet ferry departures and arrivals at Houton. Book through Orkney Ferries, which serves 13 communities from four mainland ports, and book as early as possible in summer.

On Hoy itself, the walk through the Rackwick Valley to the Old Man of Hoy is the main reason to go. Orkney.com lists public toilets at Moaness Pier, Rackwick, Lyness Pier and Longhope Pier, and says the Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness has a café that opens when the museum does, so check hours by phone or on its site before you plan lunch around it. The Beneth'ill Café near Moaness Pier is open in summer only.

Weather is the risk. A gale can cancel the crossing, so keep day three flexible, and have a Mainland fallback ready, such as St Magnus Cathedral, which is free and under cover.

Day four is the flexible day, and three options fit it. The first is the Churchill Barriers and the Italian Chapel, which Orkney.com says local buses pass, and which pair naturally with a slow drive through South Ronaldsay and St Margaret's Hope. This is the easiest choice for a wet or windy day because it needs no ferry.

The second is the north-west Mainland: the Brough of Birsay if the tide allows, the Earl's Palace in Birsay and, from April to September, the Broch of Gurness. This is a good day for a drive with short walks, and it uses the same car as day two.

The third is a north isle. Orkney.com says 13 communities are accessible by Orkney Ferries from four mainland ports, and that Loganair inter-isles flights reach six islands from Kirkwall, including the shortest scheduled flight in the world, between Westray and Papa Westray. That makes Westray and Papa Westray the headline option, but ferries and flights are fixed, so book both ways before you commit and keep a spare day in case a gale strands you.

Two bases work better than four. Kirkwall suits the first night and any night before an early flight or ship, because the airport is near and the Aberdeen ship docks at Hatston outside town. Stromness suits the second and third nights, because the Scrabster ferry docks there, the passenger boat to Graemsay and Moaness leaves from the harbor, and the West Mainland sites are on the same side of the Mainland. A simple pattern is one night in Kirkwall, two in Stromness and a final night wherever your departure points. If you arrive by Gills Bay, St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay is a quiet alternative for the first night.

Without a car, base in Kirkwall or Stromness and use the X1 bus between them, which Orkney.com says also links St Margaret's Hope. With a car, Stenness is a handy overnight for the stones and the Maeshowe tour. Rooms fill in summer and during the Orkney festivals, so book the beds as soon as the crossing is fixed, and ask about cancellation terms, since a gale can move a ferry by a day.

Rain changes the order, not the plan. If day one is wet, the cathedral is free and under cover. If day two is wet, take the Maeshowe tour and the Skara Brae exhibition first, and leave the Ring of Brodgar and Stenness for a brighter hour. If day three is wet or windy, swap it with day four and keep Hoy for a clear window. Wind matters more than rain for ferries and flights, and the operators publish service updates that are worth checking each morning.

Build one spare half day into the trip if you can. A cancelled sailing on the way home is the costliest weather risk, because it can push you past a flight or a train. Travel insurance with delay cover helps, and an eSIM keeps updates on your phone when you are on a ferry or a headland with weak signal.

The first mistake is leaving Maeshowe until the day. Reserve the tour as soon as you know your dates. The second is trying Hoy and the West Mainland in one day, because the ferry and the walk need most of the day. The third is planning the palaces or the Broch of Gurness for a winter trip, since both close from October to March. The fourth is leaving the entry and phone steps to the last week. If you need an ETA, read the UK ETA guide before booking, and use the guide to trains, buses and cars for the mainland leg.

If you have only two days, drop Hoy and the flexible day and keep Kirkwall and the stones. If you dislike ferries, replace day three with the Churchill Barriers and the north-west. If you want a hiking trip, Hoy deserves a day of its own with a night on the island, and a base in Stromness suits that better than a Kirkwall loop.