Orkney Islands

A hire car is by far the most practical way to explore Orkney with a family. The Mainland (the main island) is roughly 30km north to south, roads are quiet and well-surfaced, and all four UNESCO sites are accessible by car without any off-road driving. Car hire is available at Kirkwall Airport (KOI) and in Kirkwall town — book well ahead for summer visits, as fleet sizes are limited. Driving on the left applies; speed limits are standard UK, with many rural roads being single-track with passing places.

Orkney has an excellent network of inter-island ferries operated by Orkney Ferries, connecting the Mainland to Hoy, Rousay, Shapinsay, Egilsay, Wyre, and the more distant North Isles. Car spaces on some routes require advance booking, especially in summer. For day trips to Hoy (Old Man of Hoy walk) or Rousay (Neolithic sites), foot-passenger tickets are sufficient and no booking is needed.

Stagecoach Orkney operates a limited network of buses across the Mainland, connecting Kirkwall and Stromness with some rural areas. Services are infrequent — typically hourly on main routes and far less on minor ones — and don't reach Skara Brae directly, making buses impractical as the primary way to visit the UNESCO sites with a family. Useful for town-to-town travel if you're not driving.

The Mainland is flat enough in most areas for comfortable cycling, and Orkney has a growing network of quiet lanes well-suited to families on bikes. Bike hire is available in Kirkwall and Stromness. Cycling between the Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness is genuinely pleasant on a calm day, and the lack of traffic on rural roads makes it much safer than cycling near mainland UK cities. I'd only recommend this for families with confident cyclists — Orcadian winds can make even short distances hard work.

Orkney is excellent walking territory. The monuments at Brodgar and Stenness are within easy walking distance of each other across the isthmus, and Kirkwall and Stromness are both compact and walkable towns. The cliff-path walk to Marwick Head is a rewarding half-day route. That said, the distances between major sites (Skara Brae to Kirkwall is around 25km) make walking the full island impractical for a family itinerary without a car.

I recommend a minimum of four full days to cover the four UNESCO World Heritage sites properly, plus the Italian Chapel, a day-trip to Hoy, and time to explore Kirkwall and Stromness. Five or six days is ideal for families who want to add wildlife watching, Scapa Flow history, or outer island ferry trips without feeling rushed. Orkney rewards a slower pace — the light and landscape change dramatically hour by hour, and the best moments often happen when you're not rushing to the next site.

In my experience, yes — and it often surprises parents who expect eye-rolls. Skara Brae in particular tends to land very differently from sites like Stonehenge: you are peering into actual Stone Age rooms with furniture still in place, which makes the 5,000-year time gap feel suddenly real rather than abstract. I find it helps to visit the Orkney Museum in Kirkwall first, so teenagers arrive at the stones with some context. The guided tour at Maes Howe adds storytelling that makes the chambered cairn much more resonant than it would be to wander alone.

A hire car makes the visit significantly more practical for a family, but it isn't strictly essential. Stagecoach Orkney runs a bus service between Kirkwall and Stromness, and there are organised coach tours from both towns that visit the main Neolithic sites — these can work well if you prefer not to drive. Skara Brae is not walkable from town; a car or organised tour is the realistic way to reach it. Car hire is available at Kirkwall Airport and in town, but stock is limited in peak summer — book well ahead.

Orkney weather is famously changeable. Even in July, temperatures rarely exceed 18°C, and the wind is almost constant. Pack waterproof jackets and waterproof trousers for everyone, walking boots or sturdy trainers for the site visits and cliff paths, and warm mid-layers even for summer. Sun cream is worth packing too — the long summer days and reflective water mean UV exposure can be higher than the air temperature suggests. The flip side is that Orkney's dramatic skies and fast-moving light produce extraordinary photographs regardless of the conditions.

The quickest route is to fly via Edinburgh, Glasgow, or Inverness, connecting to Loganair's service into Kirkwall Airport. Total journey time is typically three to four hours. Families who want more of an adventure sometimes drive to Aberdeen and take the overnight NorthLink ferry to Stromness — arriving by sea with a cabin breakfast is a memorable way to start a Orkney holiday, and avoids the hassle of five flight seats at peak prices. Booking both ferries and flights well in advance is essential for family travel in July and August.

The Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness are open moorland with no barriers — easy to walk around with young children in wellies, with no entry fee. Skara Brae has a well-maintained path around the excavated village, suitable for pushchairs on the main route (some areas are stepped). Maes Howe is guided-tour only and involves entering a low passage into the chamber — not suitable for children who dislike enclosed spaces, but many children love the cave-like experience. Overall, the sites are very accessible and there are no steep climbs or difficult terrain on the main UNESCO circuit.

Compared to London or the more marketed Scottish tourist destinations, Orkney is good value. Many of the best sites (Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness, Italian Chapel) are free. Self-catering accommodation — which makes more sense than a hotel for a family of five anyway — is widely available at reasonable rates. Food costs are moderate: local seafood, produce from farm shops, and cafe lunches give excellent quality without high-end restaurant prices. The main costs to budget carefully are return flights or ferries (multiply by five), and car hire. A mid-range family week in summer typically runs ~£200–300 per person per day all-in, less if you self-cater most meals.

The fastest and most practical option from London is to fly to Kirkwall Airport (KOI), Orkney's main airport. There are no direct flights from London; the standard routing connects via Edinburgh (EDI), Glasgow (GLA), or Inverness (INV), with Loganair operating the final leg to Kirkwall. Total journey time from London is typically 3–4 hours including the connection. Return fares from London including the internal leg run roughly ~£150–£350 per person depending on season and booking lead time — summer school holiday dates push prices higher, so booking early pays off for families of five. Kirkwall Airport is tiny and friendly; car hire desks are at the terminal.

NorthLink Ferries sails overnight from Aberdeen to Stromness (around 6 hours), with the option of a daytime sailing in summer. This is genuinely worth considering for families: the crossing is comfortable on modern ferries with cabins, restaurants, and lounge areas, and arriving by sea gives Orkney a proper sense of arrival. The drive from London to Aberdeen is around 9 hours, so most families combine this with a few days in the Scottish Highlands. Ferries also operate between Scrabster (near Thurso) and Stromness — a shorter crossing of about 90 minutes, accessed via the A9 north through Scotland.

There is no bridge or tunnel to Orkney, so road access ends at the ferry port. However, families driving from England can take the Caledonian Sleeper train from London Euston to Inverness overnight, then hire a car and drive to Scrabster for the short Stromness crossing — an adventurous and sustainable alternative to flying that older teens often find more memorable than the airport route.