3 day tour / Shetland

Shetland Isles 3 day  tour via overnight ferry from Aberdeen

Highlights:

• Nature, wildlife, 1700 miles of stunning coastline
• Cliffs, beaches
• Viking history
• Fjords/voes, islands, stunning coastal views
• Nature walks
• Cliffs: Sumburgh/Eshaness/Westerwick and many more
• Over 100 glorious beaches
• Shetland Isles museum  in Lerwick

After picking you up from the Northlink ferry terminal in Lerwick upon your arrival in Shetland,

these will be some of the places you will be visiting:

Highlights of the South mainland:

• St. Ninian’s Isle tombola beach for a beachwalk, but also to enjoy the various fantastic all round coastal views from the Bigton area, incl. some seals.
• There is also Scousbourgh sands, Spiggie loch and more great views ahead.
• Past Old Scatness broch & the Iron age village, across Sumburgh airport runway, and past West Voe beach, you have the option to visit 4700 year old Jarlshof (entrance fee applies)
• As we pass Grutness ferry terminal to Fair Isle we head to Sumburgh head, with its cliffs, the lighthouse with its visitor centre  (inside the visitor centre/lighthouse museum an entrance fee applies) & RSBP nature reserve with a good chance to see puffins from May to July.

Highlights of the Central mainland:

• Scalloway & Trondra view
• Lerwick, its harbour, Bains beach, the Lodberie, the Knab & the Shetland museum
• Whiteness & Weisdale views

Highlights of the West mainland

• Aith & the “Shetland Alps”
• Westerwick cliffs
• Walls

Highlights of the North mainland:

• Eshaness & Ronas Voe
• Hillswick

Highlights of Unst

• Hermaness national nature reserve, seabird cliff top walk, views of Muckle Flugga
• the Unst boathouse

Highlights of Noss

• seabird boat trip

At the end of the day tour we drop you back off again at the Northlink ferryport in Lerwick for your overnight journey back to Aberdeen

also check out our longer multi-day Shetland Isles private tours:

7 day Shetland tour

6 day Shetland tour

5 day Shetland tour

4 day Shetland tour

Tour price for a 3 day tour – for the 8 passenger mini-bus & driver/tour-guide for a private group of up to 8 passengers

Personalised & private small group tours all over Scotland (100+ itineraries: ½ – 7 day tour options & discounted multi-day tours to choose from) – with a set daily tour price for our tour guide driver & 8 passenger seater mini-bus (due to the fixed same overall cost for up to 8 passengers, the cheapest per person price for a private small group tour is if 8, 7, 6 or 5 are travelling together to share the set fixed daily cost, which is the same total cost, no matter if there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 passengers on a private mini-bus tour)

All of these private & personalised, small group tours of Scotland

are available on any available green calendar days for private tours

• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 1/2 day tour on any available green calendar day.
• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 1 day tour on any available green calendar day.
• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 2 day tour on any 2 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 2 day tours will already show a 2.5% discount.
• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 3 day tour on any 3 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 3 day tours will already show a 5% discount.
• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 4 day tour on any 4 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 4 day tours will already include a 7.5% discount.
• Choose any private personalised & tailormade 5 day tour on any 5 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 5 day tours will already include a 10% discount.
• Choose any private personalised & tailormade 6 day tour on any 6 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 6 day tours is discounted by 12.5%.
• Choose any private personalised & tailormade 7 day tour on any 7 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 7 day tour prices already show the 15% discount. 

Additionally from September to May there is a 12.5% student discount, which also applies to seniors over 65 and to children up to 17 travelling as part of a family group.

Extras to pay:

Northlink ferries – Aberdeen to Lerwick/Shetland return

Mini-bus 2024:

Low season: £206 return

Mid-season: £262 return

Peak-season: £278 return

+

Passenger return 2024:

Low season: £51

Mid season: £65

Peak season: £79

+

overnight accommodation

starting from nil, £7 reclining chair, £36 sleeping pod to £204 for a private return cabin

–

2 nights

Accommodation on the Shetland Isles

P.S.:

Please note,

• if your tour on the Shetland Isles is during one of our Shetland Isles based tour dates, where Coast, sea Highlands & Islands – Unicorn Tours, our mini-bus and driver/guide Mike is already based on the Shetland Isles anyway already, there is no need for you to pay the mini-bus return ferry fare, as all your need to do is to travel to the island, meet us there and you can join our tour there.
• In almost all other cases, 95% of the year though I am afraid, our tour operations will regrettably not be based on the Shetland Isles and for that reason, you are most welcome to book this private tour with us and we will only charge you for the actual time on the island, i.e. if due to the ferry timetable the time on the island is sometimes just 2 days and 5 hours, you will only be charged for a 2 days and a 1/2 day tour, but as we need to bring our mini-bus onto the island and back again, you would need to pay for the return ferry fare for the mini-bus from the mainland.

Information about tour options for a private tour in general

Private & personalised tailormade tours to suit your group’s preferences

This is your very own private tour for you and your friends and family members of up to 8 people travelling on this tour together.

Before any private tour, we always discuss with you and check for your must-see stops, interests, hobbies, activities, preferences, priorities and any special requests you might have and we ask you about your preferred pace of travel so to tailor make and personalise the tour to suit your needs.

The route, the stops and the itinerary we give on our website for any private tour are for information and guidance only, as in the end it is you, who decides, what you wish to do, where you wish to stop and what you wish to do and see.

Any private tour itinerary can be shortened, extended or amended, if you wish to do so.

Flexibility on private tours

We also like to keep things flexible as our experience is that there are places, once you arrive and see them, you just fall in love with and wish to spend more time and longer.

whereas some other times we arrive at a place and they are different from what you had expected and you are ok to have a shorter stop and to move on quicker.

Flexibility is also good as on a beautiful gorgeous blue sunny day when all colours in nature and the landscapes are sparkling and you have clear and amazing far distant visibility and the scenery and places are at their best, you probably prefer to spend more time outdoors, while on a stormy, wet, dark, grey and cold day, you are likely to prefer more indoor venues during your stops.

Travelling at your own pace on private tours

Some guests are on a whirlwind tour with little time and wish to pack as much into a short time as possible and are ok with just short photo stops,

whereas other tour guests prefer to travel at a more leisurely pace to be able to explore and discover and soak it all in and leaving the tour with a memorable and lasting experience.

All of this is possible within the constraints of your chosen route, the distances involved

and during the winter season the shorter daylight hours we have.

Lunch breaks on private tours

Some guests put a lot of emphasis on a good quality lunch in a good atmospheric restaurant and we can prebook lunch venues,

whereas other guests are ok to just stop at a supermarket for a sandwich to eat on the go

or just need a short lunch stop for some light snack to eat.

Your tour options on any private tour are unlimited and endless

Same place, same route – but one one private tour, the private tour guests would want to visit the castle, while on another tour at the same place, they want a whisky tour instead and yet again same place on the next tour the private tour guests, want to just go for a walk on the beach there, while another time at the same place, they just want to go shopping, visit the museum or stop at the golf course – so same place, but on each private tour at this very same place, we visit different places and the itinerary, stops and experience is different. 

As this is a private & personalised tour to suit your interests, preferences, hobbies and activities, it is up to you and we can either offer our normal tour itinerary for the location with all the many local highlights and sights and be flexible depending on the season, the weather, the time we have and also be fully flexible during the tour (as some places, you will love and stay longer and at other places you come to, you might wish to just take a photo and then leave, so in the end you might on the day of the tour decide to stay longer or shorter at some of the places we visit or you might still decide to add in some additional stops and places you had not thought about before)  and also partially or fully adjust it to suit your interests and preferences or entirely turn it into a specialist interest tour “a whisky tour”, “a castle, cathedral, historic sights tours”, a “walking tour”, a “nature & wildlife tour”, a “golf tour”, an “activity tour”, etc. depending on what you request (also see our full range of  Activities, special interests & tour themes.)

If it says on the tour itinerary, the tour starts in A and ends in Z and on our journey from A to Z we are travelling and can be stopping at B, C, D, E, F…… X & Y,

it might be the same route on every such private tour, but with every private tour group and individuals, it could still be an entirely & very different tour after all,

as there are so many different special interests & tour themes

so that the main focus of some private tour groups could be

• architecture & charming towns & villages
• castles, history
• child-friendly stops
• churches, abbeys & religious sites
• dining & and having a great lunch eating out
• events based, such as visiting the Highland games while on the tour with us
• family history & genealogy
• gardens, flowers & parks
• golf, football or other sports’ venues
• literature, film or movie fictional based tour, i.e. visiting filming locations of Outlander, Harry Potter, Shetland crime series, Downtown Abbey. etc.
• nature & wildlife, seabirds, puffins or whale
• watching
• the scenery, the coast & beaches
• snow and wintry landscapes
• tourist steam train in conjunction with our tour
• walking
• waterfalls
• whisky distilleries, gin and breweries
• etc.

Pick ups & drop offs anywhere on private tours

As mentioned in the pick up section, on a private tour we can pick up from anywhere and drop off anywhere and offer staggered free pick ups and drop offs, which are dependent on the distance from our Alloa home base near Stirling. Our home base is 30 miles from Edinburgh, Glasgow & Perth in the heart of the Scottish Central belt:

•  for short & half day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 15 miles of our Alloa home base (which includes Stirling, Falkirk, Dunfermline & Gleneagles)
•  for 1 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 35 miles of our Alloa home base (which additionally includes Edinburgh, Glasgow & Perth)
•  for 2, 3 & 4 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 50 miles of our Alloa home base (which additionally includes Dundee, St. Andrews & the entire Scottish Central belt)
• for 5, 6 & 7 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 75 miles of our Alloa home base

Additionally as stated we sometimes offer free pick ups for places on the route to our destination, even though they might exceed the free mileage zone, so for example for a West Coast tour and we need to head westbound anyway for the tour, we could be pick up at locations west free of charge, depending on the exact route and distances involved.

(During a few weeks every year we are also Shetland, Orkney, Hebridean Isles or regionally based

and the free pick ups will then be based from that local area, such as on the Shetland, Orkney or on some of the Hebridean Isles for example.)

Accommodation on multi-day tours is your choice

Some of our guests are budget travellers, whereas others are luxurious travellers, while others chose a mid-range 3* hotel.

We are happy to give you tips, links and info about your accommodation options for the towns and villages we are staying overnight, but in the end it is up to you, where you would like to stay, at which hotel or guesthouse and for which price.

However much or however little you wish to spend for your overnight accommodation is your choice.

On a private tour we will pick you up from any accommodation in the morning and in the evening drop you off at any accommodation of your choice for your overnight tour accommodation and and chosen location.

Shetland Isles 3 full days island tour from Aberdeen via overnight ferry

3 full days on Shetland

free time:

for whatever/whenever you need and want it, for whatever you prefer, there is a super great choice and the full range of things to do and see that you on a private tour choose from anywhere on the Shetland Isles, any type of interest or activity

• from Sumburgh Head and Jarlshof in the South
• to Unst and Hermaness national nature reserve in the North
• and any place on Shetland (South, Central, West & North mainland) and Bressay/Noss, Mousa, Whalsay, Yell and Unst in between
• beaches, cliffs, museums, castles, boat trips, brochs, wildlife, islands and a lot more

Private 3 day tour pick ups & drop offs anywhere throughout Scotland

This tour is for a private small group of up to 8 people.

We will personalise & tailor make this flexible tour itinerary to suit your preferences, interests & requirements.

This tour is available on any green calendar day

except during our Scottish Islands based tour days

for a few weeks each year.

Once you wish to book, we send you an invoice with a payment link and also allowing for a UK & international bank transfer.

Once you have paid, we send you your tour confirmation and will mark this day as “red” unavailable/booked out in our tours availability calendar

We can pick up from anywhere, but for a 3 day tour the free pick up zone is within 50 miles from our Alloa home base (which includes does Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Dundee, St. Andrews & places throughout the entire Scottish Central belt and anywhere in between, such Stirling, Falkirk, Dunfermline & Gleneagles)

Pick ups & drop offs anywhere on private tours

As mentioned in the pick up section, on a private tour we can pick up from anywhere and drop off anywhere and offer staggered free pick ups and drop offs, which are dependent on the distance from our Alloa home base near Stirling. Our home base is 30 miles from Edinburgh, Glasgow & Perth in the heart of the Scottish Central belt:

•  for short & half day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 15 miles of our Alloa home base (which includes Stirling, Falkirk, Dunfermline & Gleneagles)
•  for 1 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 35 miles of our Alloa home base (which additionally includes Edinburgh, Glasgow & Perth)
•  for 2, 3 & 4 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 50 miles of our Alloa home base (which additionally includes Dundee, St. Andrews & the entire Scottish Central belt)
• for 5, 6 & 7 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 75 miles of our Alloa home base

Additionally as stated we sometimes offer free pick ups for places on the route to our destination, even though they might exceed the free mileage zone, so for example for a West Coast tour and we need to head westbound anyway for the tour, we could be pick up at locations west free of charge, depending on the exact route and distances involved.

(During a few weeks every year we are also Shetland, Orkney, Hebridean Isles or regionally based

and the free pick ups will then be based from that local area, such as on the Shetland, Orkney or on some of the Hebridean Isles for example.)

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email  contact@unicorntours.co.uk to discuss further