5-Day Orkney Islands Tour: Private Itinerary via the North Coast
5-Day Orkney Islands Tour: Private Itinerary via the North Coast
The Cairngorms, Culloden, Dunrobin Castle, Orkney’s 5,000-year-old sites and the far north coast, with your own guide and private vehicle.
- 5 days · 4 nights
- Private guide & vehicle
- Two nights on Orkney
- Start anywhere in Scotland
Five days to the islands of ancient history. This private itinerary crosses the Cairngorms to Culloden and Inverness, follows the coast north past Dunrobin Castle to the ferry, spends a full day among Orkney’s stone circles, chambered cairns and the village of Skara Brae, and comes home by John o’ Groats, Loch Ness and Glencoe.
It’s a sample, not a fixed package. Your own guide and tour coordinator will reshape the route, pace and places to stay around your group.
Your 5-day Orkney itinerary at a glance
Places to stay are rough areas only; we’ll choose your accommodation with you. Tap the map to explore each day’s stops, or open it full screen. The route is flexible, and your guide can adjust the order and stops on the day.
| Day | Route | Where you could stay |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Edinburgh → The Hermitage → Balmoral → Cairngorms → Culloden | Inverness area |
| Day 2 | Glenmorangie → Dunrobin Castle → Camster Cairns → Castle Sinclair → ferry | Orkney: Kirkwall area |
| Day 3 | Kirkwall → Wideford Hill & Cuween cairns → Maeshowe → Stenness → Ring of Brodgar → Skara Brae | Orkney: Kirkwall area |
| Day 4 | Ferry → Dunnet Head → John o’ Groats → Badbea → Big Burn, Golspie | Inverness area |
| Day 5 | Loch Ness cruise → Fort Augustus → Glencoe → Killin → Balquhidder → home | Home |
The 5-day Orkney itinerary, day by day
Day 1Edinburgh to Inverness: Big Tree Country, Balmoral & Culloden
The Hermitage · Glenshee · Balmoral Castle · Cairngorms National Park · Grantown-on-Spey · Culloden
From your pick-up, we head into Perthshire’s “Big Tree Country” for a woodland walk past the Black Linn pools and falls, then up through Glenshee to Balmoral Castle, where you can walk the royal gardens that Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II loved.
We cross the Cairngorms, Scotland’s largest national park, with a riverside walk through native Scots pine at Grantown-on-Spey, then visit Culloden Battlefield before a night in Inverness, the capital of the Highlands.
Day 2Inverness to Orkney: whisky, castles and the ferry
Glenmorangie Distillery · Dunrobin Castle · Grey Cairns of Camster · Castle Sinclair Girnigoe · ferry to Orkney
We head north along the coast to Glenmorangie Distillery, to learn how their whisky is made and why the giraffe is the distillery’s spirit animal, then to fairytale Dunrobin Castle, home of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland.
The Grey Cairns of Camster are burial cairns more than 5,000 years old, and the clifftop ruins of Castle Sinclair look out over the North Sea. Then it’s the ferry, just over an hour, to Orkney and two nights on the island.
Day 3Orkney: cairns, stone circles and Skara Brae
St Magnus Cathedral · Wideford Hill Cairn · Cuween Hill Cairn · Maeshowe · Standing Stones of Stenness · Ring of Brodgar · Skara Brae
The day starts at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, then Neolithic tombs you can go inside: Wideford Hill Cairn, and 5,000-year-old Cuween Cairn, where you crawl into the central chamber. Maeshowe, the finest Neolithic building to survive in northwestern Europe, still carries graffiti left by later invaders.
We see the Standing Stones of Stenness, possibly the oldest henge in Britain, and the Ring of Brodgar, where 36 of the original 60 stones still stand. Last is Skara Brae, a village older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids, before a final evening in Kirkwall.
Day 4The far north coast back to Inverness
Ferry to the mainland · Dunnet Head · John o’ Groats · Badbea clearance village · Big Burn, Golspie
We say goodbye to Orkney from the ferry and head for Dunnet Head, its lighthouse and nature reserve, where seabirds fly overhead and you might spot puffins. Then it’s John o’ Groats at the northeastern tip of mainland Britain.
Heading south, we visit Badbea, an eerie Highland Clearance village on the cliffs, and hear who sent its families there. Our last stop is the tranquil Big Burn woodland walk up the gorge at Golspie, before a night in Inverness.
Day 5Loch Ness, Glencoe and Rob Roy country
Loch Ness cruise · Fort Augustus · Glencoe · Falls of Dochart, Killin · Balquhidder Glen
A cruise on Loch Ness gives views of Urquhart Castle, then we stop at Fort Augustus, where the Caledonian Canal runs through the village. We travel south through Glencoe, hearing about its hidden valleys and the MacDonalds who called it home.
In Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, we see the Falls of Dochart at Killin, then walk to one of the park’s best viewpoints in Balquhidder Glen, and visit the grave of Rob Roy MacGregor, before we drop you off.
Ways to tailor this itinerary
Longer trip
Add the North Coast 500 and the Isle of Skye with our 10-day Orkney & Skye itinerary.
Where you stay
From luxury castles and manor houses to cosy Highland B&Bs. If you’ve already booked your accommodation, we’ll plan around it.
More time on Orkney
Add a day for the Isle of Hoy, the Brough of Birsay or the Italian Chapel.
Pick-up anywhere
Start and finish in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, an airport or anywhere else in Scotland.
What a 5-day private tour costs
Usually included
- Your own expert guide for the whole trip
- A private vehicle, fuel, taxes and associated costs
- Accommodation (unless you’d rather book your own)
- Entry to the places you visit
- Planning, booking and organising by your own tour coordinator
- 24/7 support throughout your trip
Not included
- Food and drink
Typical total for the whole group for trips of 4 to 5 days, based on bespoke private tours booked with us over the last two years. Group size, your choice of accommodation, the season and the experiences you add can change the price a lot, so treat this as a guide and tell us your budget.
What our private guests say
We recently did a private 5-day highland tour using Scotland's Wild. From first contact they were helpful, cheerful, professional and excited we were booking with them. … First, to have a van to ourselves for 5 days was AWESOME! Our itinerary was built just for us and our interests, which was also great. But Matt DELIVERED.
It was an unforgettable trip that me and my friends will cherish forever. Special thanks to our tour guide Jim who filled the tour with smiles, enthusiasm, and great knowledge with sites and landmarks the we visited and saw along the way. I would definitely highly recommend it to anyone who wants a private and flexible tour to have their friends/ family.
Six women traveled through Scotland and Jim was the best! Beforehand we worked with Scotlands Wild on the itinerary, wanting to see more nature and active hikes than castles and distilleries (though we did do a couple of castles). We started in Glasgow, drove north seeing Loch Lomond, Oban, Isle of Skye, Glencoe, Inverness, Loch Ness, Ft William and many other interesting sites along the way. … Ended in Edinburgh and were sad to leave him.
5-day private tour FAQs
Can we change this 5-day itinerary?
Yes. This is a sample to give you ideas, not a fixed package. We’ll change the route, the pace, the number of days and where you stay to suit your group.
Where does the tour start and finish?
Wherever suits you. As it’s a private tour, we pick you up and drop you off anywhere in Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness or the airport.
How much does a 5-day private tour of Scotland cost?
Bespoke private tours of this length (trips of 4 to 5 days) typically cost £6,500–£9,500 in total for the whole group, based on tours booked with us over the last two years. Group size, accommodation, the season and the experiences you choose can change this a lot, so tell us your budget and we’ll plan around it.
What’s included?
Your own guide and private vehicle (with fuel and taxes), planning and booking by your tour coordinator, and 24/7 support. Most bespoke tours also include your accommodation and entry to the places you visit. Food and drink are not included.
How do we get to Orkney?
By ferry from the north coast of mainland Scotland. The crossing takes just over an hour each way, and your guide and vehicle travel with you.
Is this itinerary suitable for a family or a large group?
Yes. Most of our private groups are 2 to 8 people, and we also plan tours for solo travellers and groups of 16 or more. Tell us who’s travelling and we’ll plan the vehicle and accommodation around you.
Plan your 5-day private Orkney tour
Tell us your dates, who’s travelling and what you’d love to see. Your tour coordinator will use it to start shaping a plan around your group.
