There are 8 ways to get from Scotland to Mainland by plane, train, ferry, or bus
Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2Rio's travel planner.
Fly from Aberdeen Airport
best- Fly from Aberdeen Airport (ABZ) to Kirkwall (KOI)plane ABZ - KOI
2h 14m£100–310Train, ferry via Inverness
cheapest- Take the train from Glasgow Queen Street to Perthtrain
- Take the train from Perth to Invernesstrain
- Take the train from Inverness to Wicktrain
- Take the ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry Terminalferry Nl1
14h 1m£45–111Train, ferry
- Take the train from Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeentrain Glasgow Queen Street - Aberdeen / ...
- Take the ferry from Aberdeen Ferry Terminal to Kirkwall Orkney Hatston Ferry Terminalferry Nl2
10h 8m£46–122Bus, ferry
- Take the bus from Buchanan Bus Station to Union Streetbus E8
- Take the bus from Union Street to Ferry Terminalbus E6
- Take the ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry Terminalferry Nl1
10h 20mFly from Edinburgh Airport
- Fly from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) to Kirkwall (KOI)plane EDI - KOI
2h 42m£150–400Fly from Inverness Dalcross Airport
- Fly from Inverness Dalcross Airport (INV) to Kirkwall (KOI)plane INV - KOI
2h 14m£137–279Fly from Glasgow Airport
- Fly from Glasgow Airport (GLA) to Kirkwall (KOI)plane GLA - KOI
2h 31m£175–395Bus, ferry via Inverness
- Take the bus from Buchanan Bus Station to Bus Station Stance 3bus
- Take the bus from Bus Station Stance 3 to Ferry Terminalbus X99
- Take the ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry Terminalferry Nl1
11h 4m£50–77
Aberdeen Airport (ABZ) to Kirkwall (KOI) flights
Questions & Answers
The cheapest way to get from Scotland to Mainland is to bus and ferry via Inverness which costs £50 - £80 and takes 11h 4m.
The fastest way to get from Scotland to Mainland is to fly which takes 2h 14m and costs £100 - £310.
The distance between Scotland and Mainland is 132 miles.
The best way to get from Scotland to Mainland without a car is to train and ferry which takes 10h 8m and costs £45 - £130.
It takes approximately 2h 14m to get from Scotland to Mainland, including transfers.
There are 169+ hotels available in Mainland.
What companies run services between Scotland and Mainland, Orkney Islands, Scotland?
Loganair flies from Aberdeen Airport (ABZ) to Kirkwall (KOI) twice daily.
- Website
- loganair.co.uk
Flights from Aberdeen Airport to Kirkwall
- Ave. Duration
- 55 min
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- £100–310
Flights from Aberdeen Airport to Kirkwall via Lerwick
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 20m
- When
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
- Estimated price
- £100–310
Flights from Edinburgh Airport to Kirkwall
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- £140–390
Flights from Edinburgh Airport to Kirkwall via Lerwick
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 30m
- When
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
- Estimated price
- £140–390
Flights from Inverness Dalcross Airport to Kirkwall
- Ave. Duration
- 45 min
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- £130–260
Flights from Glasgow Airport to Kirkwall
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 15m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- £160–380
- Phone
- +44 344 811 0141
- Website
- scotrail.co.uk
Train from Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 28m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- £26–85
- Website
- https://www.scotrail.co.uk/
Train from Glasgow Queen Street to Perth
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 11m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- £13–23
- Website
- https://www.scotrail.co.uk/
Train from Perth to Inverness
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 23m
- Frequency
- Every 3 hours
- Estimated price
- £16–40
- Website
- https://www.scotrail.co.uk/
Train from Inverness to Wick
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 22m
- Frequency
- 3 times a day
- Estimated price
- £17–30
- Website
- https://www.scotrail.co.uk/
- Phone
- +44 345 722 5333
- customers@lner.co.uk
- Website
- lner.co.uk
Train from Perth to Inverness
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 12m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- £13–17
- Website
- https://www.lner.co.uk/
- Phone
- +44 330 060 0500
- enquiry@sleeper.scot
- Website
- sleeper.scot
Train from Perth to Inverness
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 52m
- Frequency
- 6 times a week
- Estimated price
- £2–4
- Website
- https://www.sleeper.scot/
- Sleeper Berth Classic
- £2–3
- Sleeper Seat
- £2–4
- Sleeper Berth Club Solo
- £28–32
- Phone
- +44 (0)131 510 4007
- ride@ember.to
- Website
- ember.to
Bus from Buchanan Bus Station to Union Street
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 22m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Website
- https://www.ember.to/
Bus from Union Street to Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 28m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Website
- https://www.ember.to/
Rome2Rio's guide to FlixBus
Contact Details
- Phone
- +49 30 300 137 300
- service@flixbus.com
- Website
- flixbus.fr
Bus from Buchanan Bus Station to Bus Station Stance 3
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 55m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- £7–19
- Website
- https://www.flixbus.co.uk
- Phone
- 01224591381
- bluebird.enquiries@stagecoachbus.com
- Website
- stagecoachbus.com
Bus from Bus Station Stance 3 to Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 39m
- Frequency
- 3 times a day
- Estimated price
- £29–40
- Website
- https://www.stagecoachbus.com/
- Phone
- +44 845 600 0449
- info@northlinkferries.co.uk
- Website
- northlinkferries.co.uk
Ferry from Aberdeen Ferry Terminal to Kirkwall Orkney Hatston Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 6h 30m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- £20–36
- Website
- https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/
- Low
- £20–25
- Peak
- £31–36
Ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 30m
- Frequency
- 3 times a day
- Estimated price
- £13–19
- Website
- https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/
- Low
- £13–17
- Peak
- £16–19
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