Holiday rentals and lettings on the Orkney Islands

Table of contents

• At a glance: what should you know about renting a holiday let in the Orkney Islands?
• Holiday lets in the Orkney Islands: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring the Orkney Islands: our top recommendations
• Activities: what are the top things to do and see in the Orkney Islands?

• Cottages with sea views: Enjoy traditional stone holiday lets with bright, modern interiors, sleeping 2 to 8, with gardens, terraces and loch or ocean outlooks scattered across the archipelago.
• Where to base yourself: Kirkwall and Stromness suit first-time visitors, whilst South Ronaldsay and Hoy reward those after quiet beaches and dramatic cliff walks.
• Guest-loved stays: Holidaymakers rave about holiday lets in Orkney, praising peaceful settings, warm hosts and easy access to the islands' ancient sites.
• Best time to visit: Late spring and summer bring puffins and long daylight, whilst autumn and winter offer the chance to see the Northern Lights on clear nights.
• Things not to miss: Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, St Magnus Cathedral, diving at Scapa Flow and a dram at Highland Park Distillery in Kirkwall.

The Orkney Islands offer a relaxed mix of self-catering cottages and roomy holiday homes, most built in traditional Orcadian stone with bright, modern interiors. You'll find places sleeping anywhere from 2 to 8 people, making them well suited to couples, families and groups of friends alike. Whichever corner of the islands you choose, the most popular amenities make a self-catering stay easy and comfortable:

• Fast Wi-Fi throughout
• A private garden or terrace
• Barbecues
• Sea and loch views

Pet-friendly cottages are common on the islands, so you don't have to leave your beloved dog at home.

What are the best areas to stay in the Orkney Islands?

The best area depends on your plans, but Kirkwall makes the most central and well-connected base. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Orkney's holiday lets earn consistently warm feedback, with guests returning again and again to the same themes: peaceful, away-from-it-all settings, thoughtful and welcoming hosts, and homes that feel wonderfully cosy after a day in the wind and salt air.

Here are our top-rated holiday lets from the past year:

1. Cottage for 4 people - 10.0: A homely four-person cottage on South Ronaldsay, praised for its quiet setting and easy reach of the island's sandy bays and the Churchill Barriers.
2. Cottage for 4 people, with yard - 10.0: One of the Rockworks Chalets, this four-person cottage with its own yard wins guests over with comfortable, modern interiors and a peaceful island location.
3. Cottage for 6 people, with yard - 10.0: Sherwood Cottage, a traditional two-bedroom stone cottage in Burray village, is loved for its authentic Orcadian character and welcoming feel, sleeping up to six.

Lying just off the northern tip of mainland Scotland, the Orkney Islands are an archipelago of around 70 islands — only about 20 of them inhabited — scattered where the North Sea meets the Atlantic. Many guests pair Orkney with cottages across Scotland or a stop in log cabins in Aviemore on the journey north.

✈️What is the best way to get to the Orkney Islands?

Getting to the Orkney Islands is straightforward, with regular flights and ferries from the Scottish mainland. Here are the most common ways to get to the islands:

• Plane: Loganair operates daily flights to Kirkwall Airport from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Sumburgh in Shetland. It's the quickest option, with the hop from Inverness taking well under an hour. From the airport it's a short drive or taxi into Kirkwall.
• Ferry: NorthLink Ferries sails from Scrabster, near Thurso, to Stromness, whilst Pentland Ferries runs from Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay. There's also a summer passenger service from John o' Groats.
• Car and coach: To reach the ferry ports you'll drive or take a coach up the A9 through the Highlands to Thurso or John o' Groats, roughly three hours north of Inverness. Bringing your own car across on the ferry is the easiest way to explore the islands at your own pace.

🥗Where to eat in the Orkney Islands?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, The Foveran is the best-rated restaurant in the Orkney Islands. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest travellers Rachel and Mark recommend Skerries Bistro in the Orkney Islands: perched on the cliffs of South Ronaldsay, it's their favourite spot for fresh crab and a slice of homemade cake after a bracing coastal walk.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

The best time to visit the Orkney Islands is late spring to early autumn, roughly May to September, when daylight stretches late into the evening, the puffins are nesting and the weather is at its kindest. That said, autumn and winter have a real draw of their own, with long, dark skies offering the best chance of catching the Northern Lights.

Spring (April to June)

• Best for: Birdwatchers and walkers chasing the first puffins of the year.
• Weather: Cool and fresh, with lengthening days and the islands at their greenest.
• Atmosphere: Quiet and relaxed, before the main summer visitors arrive.

Summer (July to August)

• Best for: Families and first-time visitors making the most of long daylight hours.
• Weather: Mild, with the warmest temperatures of the year, though breezy by the coast.
• Atmosphere: The liveliest season, with festivals, busy ferries and full restaurants.

Autumn and winter (September to March)

• Best for: Couples and photographers hoping to catch the Northern Lights.
• Weather: Cooler, windier and darker, with dramatic skies and the occasional storm.
• Atmosphere: Wild and atmospheric, with cosy nights in and very few crowds.

⭐Our hosts' recommendation: Our Orkney Islands local expert, Catherine of Cottage for 6 people, with yard, recommends timing your visit for the St Magnus Festival in midsummer, then spending a slow morning at Skara Brae before the day-trip coaches arrive. You can read more about local tips on Catherine's page.

1. Step back in time at Skara Brae
2. Stand among the Ring of Brodgar
3. Dive the wartime wrecks of Scapa Flow
4. Spot puffins along the cliffs
5. Sample a dram at Highland Park Distillery

1. Step back in time at Skara Brae

   On the southern shore of Skaill Bay, Skara Brae is northern Europe's best-preserved Neolithic settlement. Wander the cluster of stone houses — complete with built-in dressers and hearths — that were lived in some 5,000 years ago, before the Egyptian pyramids were built.

2. Stand among the Ring of Brodgar

   Made up of twenty-seven surviving stones, the Ring of Brodgar is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney and one of the islands' most photographed sights. Walk the 104-metre circle, with some stones rising up to four metres, set on a narrow strip of land between two lochs.

3. Dive the wartime wrecks of Scapa Flow

   Scapa Flow is one of the world's great dive sites, a sheltered natural harbour scattered with the wrecks of the scuttled German High Seas Fleet from 1919. Advanced divers come from across the globe to explore the shipwrecks, whilst the waters also shelter seagrass meadows and rare marine life.

4. Spot puffins along the cliffs

   Between May and August, Orkney's cliffs come alive with puffins — the little black-and-white seabirds known locally as 'tammie norries', with their bright beaks and orange legs. Some of the best places to spot them are Marwick Head, the RSPB reserves and the quieter clifftops around the coast.

5. Sample a dram at Highland Park Distillery

   Founded in the 18th century in Kirkwall, Highland Park Distillery crafts award-winning single malt Scotch whisky, still partly malted on site in the traditional way. A guided tour walks you through the whole process before a tasting of drams carrying notes of heather honey, smoke and dried fruit.