Orkney Islands

How to book ferries from Orkney Islands to Scotland

There is currently just the 1 ferry route running between Orkney Islands and Scotland operated by 1 ferry company – Pentland Ferries. The St Margaret's Hope to Gills Bay ferry crossing operates weekly with a scheduled sailing duration from about 1 hour.

Whilst we’ve taken great care to ensure the information on this page is correct, as the frequency and duration of crossings on all routes can vary from time to time we’d advise that you get a live quote for current availability on this Orkney Islands Scotland crossing between St Margaret's Hope and Gills Bay.

Route map

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Ferries from Orkney Islands to Scotland

About Orkney Islands:

The Orkney Islands are a Scottish archipelago approximately ten miles north of the mainland.

They are mysterious islands, the largest of which is simply called ‘Mainland’, due to a millennia-old history embedded into the cultural heritage and landscape.

The archipelago’s name dates back to the 1st Century BC, when the land was settled by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes. Evidence of its past can be seen almost everywhere, with a large number of burial cairns, tombs, brochs and castles scattered across the vast green plains.

The abundant wildlife attracts a great number of visitors, too, with a variety of rare bird and mammal species like puffins, seals and Eurasian otter to be found throughout the islands.

Given the Orkney’s location between the two, the Shetland Islands, to the north, and the Scottish mainland, to the south, are within easy reach by ferry. Mainland has a couple of ports offering regular routes operated by the region’s leading ferry companies.

About Scotland:

Scotland is the Northernmost of the four countries that form the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean to the West and North, the North Sea to the East and across the border to the South you’ll find England.

Scotland is a lively and friendly country, rich in history and heritage dating back thousands of years. People flock here to visit not only the beautiful mountains and valleys, rolling hills, forests and rocky coastlines but also for the experiences that Scotland has to offer.

Whether you’re looking to play a game of golf at the very place it was invented or to visit one of the many distilleries for some whiskey tasting, Scotland has much to offer any visitor.

In terms of arriving by ferry to Scotland, from Northern Ireland there’s a choice of year round services from and to numerous ports with sailings operated by modern and well-equipped ferries.

There are no longer any direct ferries from continental Europe to Scotland however there are numerous crossings to England and Ireland that get you close enough.