i
Photo by Stevekeiretsu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Orkney
United Kingdom · Europe
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Orkney
Tap a month for its page
- JanJOrkney in January: avoid
- FebFOrkney in February: avoid
- MarMOrkney in March: ok
- AprAOrkney in April: sweet spot
- MayMOrkney in May: sweet spot
- JunJOrkney in June: sweet spot, busy
- JulJOrkney in July: ok, busy
- AugAOrkney in August: sweet spot, busy
- SepSOrkney in September: ok
- OctOOrkney in October: avoid
- NovNOrkney in November: avoid
- DecDOrkney in December: avoid
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Plan this trip
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too.
Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Flights from
Flights
Your city is a guess from your time zone. Choose your city
Where are you flying from? Choose your city for its flights and fares.
Book with the airline
Where to stay
Book direct
Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
Rent direct
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Things to do in Orkney
- Ring of Brodgar Neolithic henge and stone circle on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland
- Maes Howe Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney, Scotland
- St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland
- Stones of Stenness Henge in Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK
- Ness of Brodgar Archaeological site
- Italian Chapel Chapel in the Orkney islands built by Italian prisoners of war
- Hoy Island in the Orkney Islands group, Scotland, UK
Tours and tickets in Orkney
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7° | 14d | 80% | 2.6h | avoid | 7C max, 14 rainy days |
| Feb | 7° | 13d | 79% | 4.6h | avoid | 7C max, 13 rainy days |
| Mar | 8° | 13d | 79% | 6.6h | ok | 8C max, 13 rainy days |
| Apr | 9° | 10d | 78% | 9.5h | sweet spot | 9C max, 10 rainy days |
| May | 12° | 10d | 81% | 9.9h | sweet spot | 12C max, 10 rainy days |
| Jun | 14° | 12d | 83% | 10.8h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Jul | 16° | 14d | 85% | 9.6h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Aug | 16° | 13d | 84% | 9.2h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Sep | 14° | 14d | 83% | 7.2h | ok | 14C max, 14 rainy days |
| Oct | 12° | 17d | 81% | 4.5h | avoid | 12C max, 17 rainy days |
| Nov | 9° | 14d | 81% | 3.1h | avoid | 9C max, 14 rainy days |
| Dec | 8° | 14d | 81% | 2.1h | avoid | 8C max, 14 rainy days |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at Kirkwall: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Orkney's June days now average 14.4°C, 3.3°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 8 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 6.4° | 6.1° | 6.4° | 7.2° | 9.2° | 11.1° | 12.9° | 13.4° | 12.3° | 10.8° | 8.6° | 7.4° |
| 2017–26 | 6.6° | 7.0° | 7.9° | 9.3° | 11.9° | 14.4° | 15.5° | 15.6° | 14.2° | 11.6° | 9.1° | 7.6° |
| Change | +0.2° | +0.9° | +1.5° | +2.1° | +2.7° | +3.3° | +2.6° | +2.2° | +1.9° | +0.8° | +0.5° | +0.2° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
How far Orkney is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Dublin
- from London
- from Amsterdam
- from Copenhagen
- from Brussels
- from Paris
- from Stockholm
- from Frankfurt
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Orkney, flying or not.
Before you go
Type G plugs at 230 V. Drives on the left. The currency is the Pound sterling. Everything for United Kingdom: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Contactless cards and phones work almost everywhere, and some places no longer take cash. Small shops and pubs may set a card minimum of about £5.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — 10 to 15% in restaurants for good service, unless a service charge is already on the bill. Rounding up a taxi fare is usual but not expected.
Getting around Orkney
- Apps — Rides: Bolt, FreeNow, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp.
Loganair flights link Kirkwall and the northern islands of Eday, North Ronaldsay, Sanday, Stronsay, Westray and Papa Westray. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Orkney Islands, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — 999 or 112 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (48)
- gov.uk/guidance/999-and-112-the-uks-national-emergency-numbers
- tfl.gov.uk/fares/ways-to-pay/pay-as-you-go
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
- bolt.eu/en/cities/london
- free-now.com/cities
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- lothianbuses.com/contactless
- lothianbuses.com/fares-and-tickets
- lothianbuses.com/our-services/airport-buses
- lothianbuses.com
- edinburghtrams.com/tap-tap
- edinburghtrams.com/tickets/ticket-options
- manchesterairport.co.uk/getting-to-and-from/by-tram
- visitmanchester.com/visitor-information/travel-information/getting-around
- visitliverpool.com/visitor-information/travel-information/travel-in-liverpool
- visitliverpool.com/visitor-information/travel-information/travel-to-liverpool
- liverpoolchamber.org.uk/news/2026/03/racegoers-encouraged-to-follow-travel-tips-ahead-of-this-years-grand-national-festival
- liverpoolchamber.org.uk/news/2025/12/tap-go-statement-phase-2-contactless-payment-devices-and-cards
- liverpoolchamber.org.uk/news/2025/08/faster-smarter-simpler-mayor-launches-tap-and-go-travel-on-the-merseyrail-network
- hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/manchester/news/bus-single-cap-two-pound-concessionary
- bus-news.com/greater-manchesters-bee-network-set-to-introduce-simpler-fares
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Manchester
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Liverpool
- spt.co.uk/tickets/subway-tickets
- spt.co.uk/about-us/news/subway-goes-contactless
- firstbus.co.uk/greater-glasgow/tickets/ps2-fare-cap
- firstbus.co.uk/greater-glasgow/tickets/tap-tap
- firstbus.co.uk/greater-glasgow/routes-and-maps/glasgow-airport-express
- transportforcornwall.co.uk/tap-cap
- transportforcornwall.co.uk/adult-fares
- transportforcornwall.co.uk/ride-cornwall
- gwr.com/your-tickets/choosing-your-ticket/rangers-and-rovers
- visitcornwall.com/things-to-do/travel/st-ives-bay-line
- cornwallairportnewquay.com/transport-and-directions/public-transport
- translink.co.uk/tickets/ways-to-pay/contactless-payment
- translink.co.uk/tickets/Ways-to-Pay
- translink.co.uk/using-translink/accessibility/accessible-goldliner-bus-stop-check/service-300
- translink.co.uk/tickets/travelcards/belfast-visitor-pass
- translink.co.uk/using-translink/airport-services
- visitbelfast.com/plan/getting-to-belfast-travel-options
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Belfast
- firstbus.co.uk/bristol-bath-and-west/tickets/tap-tap
- firstbus.co.uk/bristol-bath-and-west/your-services/airport-flyer-services
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- nipl.com/uploads/Towards_Greater_Digital_Public_Good_NPCI_International_Q3_Newsletter_2025_7304ea22c0.pdf
- nipl.com/uploads/NPCI_Press_Release_India_s_NPCI_International_signs_Pay_Xpert_as_UK_s_first_acquirer_for_UPI_and_Ru_Pay_5b4922d4c2.pdf
Orkney in pictures
i
Virtual-Pano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
i
Virtual-Pano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
i
MichaelMaggs, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
i
Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
i
Stevekeiretsu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Orkney is like
The Orkney Islands are an archipelago of over 70 islands some 10 miles (16 km) off the north tip of mainland Scotland. They've been settled since the Neolithic period and have a remarkable collection of standing stones, early settlements and burial cairns, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Prehistoric Orkney: these islands have an amazing collection of well-preserved prehistoric remains. The finest and most extensive are Neolithic or New Stone Age, dating to around 3000 BC. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Check the tides: several sights are on tidal islets, with an access causeway flooded at high tide - best known is Brough of Birsay. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Kirkwall Airport (KOI IATA) (5 miles southeast of town). Loganair fly to Kirkwall from Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen and Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Orkney Islands, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Orkney
Also in United Kingdom
- Bath best May, Jun, Jul
- Belfast best May, Jul, Sep
- Bournemouth best May, Jul, Sep
- Brighton best Apr, Jun, Jul
- Bristol best Apr, May, Jun
- Cambridge best Apr, May, Jun
- Cardiff best Apr, May, Jun
- Cornwall best Apr, May, Jul
- Cotswolds best May, Jun, Jul
- Derry best Apr, May, Jul
- Edinburgh best Apr, May, Jun
- Glasgow best Apr, May, Jun
- Isle of Wight best Jun, Jul, Sep
- Liverpool best Apr, May, Jun
- London best May, Jun, Aug
- Manchester best Apr, May, Jun
- Newcastle upon Tyne best Apr, May, Jun
- Oxford best Apr, Jun, Aug
- Scottish Highlands best Apr, May, Jun
- Shetland best Apr, May, Aug
- York best Apr, May, Jun
Nearby
- The Faroe Islands Faroe Islands · 396 km
- Bergen Norway · 490 km
- Isle of Man Isle of Man · 545 km
- Dublin Ireland · 650 km
Kind of place
Orkney is in United Kingdom, Europe. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
Check your inbox. A confirmation is on its way: open the link in it, press Confirm, and you are subscribed.
That did not go through. Check the address, or try again in a minute.
Already sent. A confirmation went to that address in the last day: look for it, spam folder included. Its link works for three days.
You are not on the list until you confirm from your inbox. The list lives with our email provider, Resend; the privacy page says the rest.
Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book through one, at no extra cost to you. That does not affect the scores on this page, which are computed from climate and fare data before any link is built.