Shetland Holidays: 6 days exploring Scotland’s northernmost isles

St Ninian’s Island

Your Shetland holiday begins in the dramatic southern reaches of the archipelago. We’ll pick you up at 9am from the ferry terminal or the airport on the morning of Day One, or your accommodation, if you arrived a day earlier. We’ll then head to Jarlshof for a deep dive into the past; a layered archaeological site showcasing over 4,000 years of human habitation, from Bronze Age dwellings and Norse longhouses to a 16th-century laird’s house. Take in the sweeping views across Sumburgh Head, where puffins nest from spring to late summer. Here, the rocks tell stories of continental collision some 400 million years ago, when Shetland ‘enjoyed’ being close to the equator.    

We’ll depart for a snack lunch at the Hoswick visitor centre. After lunch, we’ll explore the village’s thriving artisan scene. Alternatively, strike out for a peaceful stroll along Hoswick’s pebbled shore.

After the Hoswick visit, we’ll head to St Ninian’s Isle. Connected to the mainland by the UK’s largest active sand tombolo (a sandy isthmus), this sweep of golden beach is the perfect place to stretch your legs and soak up your first glimpse of Shetland’s wild beauty. Optional walk across the tombolo to see the ruins of a 12th-century chapel, where a schoolboy famously discovered glittering Pictish treasure in 1958.

Jarlshof, archaeological site

Accommodation: Alder Lodge Lerwick

Group Dinner: Lerwick restaurant

Today we’ll visit the excellent Scalloway Museum. Here, you’ll hear the powerful story of the Shetland Bus – a secret World War II operation that ferried agents, refugees and supplies between Shetland and Nazi-occupied Norway, often in extreme conditions.  

There’s also time to see the ruins of Scalloway Castle, a tower house with an eventful past. 

The Shetland Bus 

We then return  to Lerwick and visit the home of Akshay Borges, ‘The Shetland Chef’. Akshay invites you into his kitchen where he will demonstrate a few of his favourite dishes using local ingredients and often traditional recipes, which you can sample. Hear about his life in Shetland and leave with recipes to try at home.  

‘Shetland Chef’ Akshay Borges preparing bannocks

• Hotel: Alder Lodge
• Group dinner in Lerwick

Mousa Broch

After a later start today, we’ll set sail for one of Shetland’s finest gems: the atmospheric, uninhabited island of Mousa, where you can spend a couple of hours exploring with your local guide with our pack lunches in our rucksacks.

You can’t miss Mousa Broch standing tall on its shores. The best-preserved broch in Scotland is a 13-metre-tall, 2,000-year-old tower that has stood the test of time so well you can still climb the winding staircase to the top. It’s even mentioned in the old Norse sagas – twice! The views from up here stretch far along the east coast of the South Mainland.

Dolphins on the Shetland Isles

The reddish rocks in the cliffs and used to build the Broch have their own story. They were formed in hot, arid environments with seasonal lakes and rivers millions of years ago – a place very different to the present Shetland climate.

As you eat your picnic lunch, watch for seals hauling themselves out on the shore and (until the end of July) storm petrels darting among the rocks – Mousa is also an RSPB reserve, home to one of Britain’s largest breeding colonies of these remarkable birds.

Returning to Lerwick, we visit the Shetland museum in Lerwick and enjoy a private  ‘highlights’ tour with one of the team at the museum.

Late afternoon we head off to our hotel for the next three nights, with dinner in the hotel each evening.

• Hotel: Busta House or St Magnus Bay Hotel
• Group dinner in the hotel

Calder’s Geo, Eshaness

Set off for Eshaness in the morning for gentle walks and lovely views from the clifftops. We’ll journey west to the brooding headlands and ash-black lava-formed landscapes. It’s said to be the UK’s best example of a section through the flank of a volcano, and one of the best places in Shetland to understand the islands’ deep-time origins – but don’t worry, there’s no danger. The volcano was last active around 400 million years ago!

Our day centres on a gentle, guided 4-mile walk along one of Shetland’s most spectacular coastlines. Expect sheer cliffs, sea stacks, blowholes and Britain’s largest sea cave. If luck is on our side, you might glimpse seals or even whales and dolphins bobbing in the surf below, too.

We’ll pause to admire Eshaness Lighthouse – the last of the lighthouses built in Scotland by the famed Stevenson family – and learn about its vital role in Shetland’s maritime history.

Eshaness

We’ll then visit the Tangwick Haa Museum, a lovingly preserved 19th-century laird’s house, and, if time allows, call in at Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary.

Today will include a visit to the home of Billy, to hear from him how a wild otter turned his life around. And what followed was the making of a film. View the trailer here: ‘Billy and Molly: an Otter love story‘ fame. An amazing true story.

• Hotel: Busta House
• Group dinner

Collaster beach on the west coast of Unst

Today we set off on an island-hopping adventure to Yell and Unst – a duo of islands steeped in fascinating folklore, geology and some of the most beautiful beaches in Shetland. We’re also here for the wildlife, including otters and vast colonies of seabirds.

You’ll hear how the Unst and Yell landscapes and coastlines have been shaped by geological faults – large crustal breaks that shook the earth’s crust sideways. Small earthquakes still occur on these ancient faults, which can be linked back to mainland Scotland and the Great Glen, to the fault zone that hosts Loch Ness. Today, Unst is the UK’s northernmost inhabited island, but the 600 people who live here are just the latest in Shetland’s approximately 6,000-year-long human history. 

Viking long boat replica

Afterwards, we’ll feel fully in the present moment at Unst’s dramatic Hermaness National Nature Reserve, where gannets, puffins and great skuas fill the skies above rugged cliffs.

Tonight’s final group dinner offers a chance to swap memories, raise a glass and celebrate the many wonders seen – and stories made – over the past few days.

• Hotel: Busta House
• Group dinner

Withyburn Croft farm

For your final half day, we head back south.

If you’ve ever wondered what life on a remote croft is really like, this is your chance to find out. Crofter, Stacey, gives us a tour of Withyburn Croft, introducing us to Shetland ponies, ducks, chickens, sheep and friendly goats, while talking us through the history of crofting in Shetland. You can continue to quiz Stacey over a wholesome lunch at the croft. 

Beautiful Shetland landscape – credit to Shetland.org

Then it’s back to Lerwick for a final farewell, with transfers available to Sumburgh Airport in time for afternoon departures or the ferry terminal in Lerwick. The tour ends around 2pm, earlier drop-offs can be arranged. 

We’ll part ways taking with us with unforgettable memories of ancient shores, lava cliffs, and the quiet magic of the Shetland Isles.  

Note: As the accommodation is different for each tour, the order of the days will be different to keep driving times to a minimum. You can expect all the elements to be included and a detailed itinerary for your tour will be sent to you, two to three weeks before departure.

If required for reasons beyond our control, GeoCultura reserves the right to substitute alternative accommodation if required.