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)ABZ - KOI
2h 9m£100–310Train, ferry
cheapest- Take the train from Glasgow Queen Street to Stirling
- Take the train from Stirling to Inverness
- Take the train from Inverness to Wick
- Take the ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry TerminalNl1
13h 50m£44–110Train, ferry via Aberdeen
- Take the train from Glasgow Queen Street to AberdeenGlasgow Queen Street - Aberdeen / ...
- Take the ferry from Aberdeen Ferry Terminal to Kirkwall Orkney Hatston Ferry TerminalNl2
10h 8m£46–122Bus, ferry
- Take the bus from Buchanan Bus Station to Union StreetE8
- Take the bus from Union Street to Ferry TerminalE6
- Take the ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry TerminalNl1
10h 11mFly from Edinburgh Airport
- Fly from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) to Kirkwall (KOI)EDI - KOI
2h 42m£150–390Fly from Inverness Dalcross Airport
- Fly from Inverness Dalcross Airport (INV) to Kirkwall (KOI)INV - KOI
2h 9m£127–269Fly from Glasgow Airport
- Fly from Glasgow Airport (GLA) to Kirkwall (KOI)GLA - KOI
2h 31m£185–505Bus, ferry via Inverness
- Take the bus from Buchanan Bus Station to Bus Station Stance 3M10
- Take the bus from Bus Station Stance 3 to Ferry TerminalX99
- Take the ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry TerminalNl1
10h 49m£57–92
Scotland to Mainland by train, foot, and ferry
Questions & Answers
The cheapest way to get from Scotland to Mainland is to bus and ferry via Inverness which costs £55 - £95 and takes 10h 49m.
The fastest way to get from Scotland to Mainland is to fly which takes 2h 9m 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 via Aberdeen which takes 10h 8m and costs £45 - £130.
It takes approximately 2h 9m to get from Scotland to Mainland, including transfers.
There are 163+ hotels available in Mainland.
What companies run services between Scotland and Mainland, Orkney Islands, Scotland?
Loganair flies from Aberdeen Airport (ABZ) to Kirkwall (KOI) once daily.
- Website
- loganair.co.uk
Flights from Aberdeen Airport to Kirkwall
- Ave. Duration
- 53 min
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- £100–310
Flights from Edinburgh Airport to Kirkwall
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- £140–380
Flights from Edinburgh Airport to Kirkwall via Lerwick
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 15m
- When
- Monday and Tuesday
- Estimated price
- £140–380
Flights from Inverness Dalcross Airport to Kirkwall
- Ave. Duration
- 45 min
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- £120–260
Flights from Glasgow Airport to Kirkwall
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 15m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- £190–500
Flights from Glasgow Airport to Kirkwall via Lerwick
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 40m
- When
- Wednesday
- Estimated price
- £190–500
- 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 Stirling
- Ave. Duration
- 33 min
- Frequency
- Every 20 minutes
- Estimated price
- £11–12
- Website
- https://www.scotrail.co.uk/
Train from Stirling to Inverness
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 59m
- Frequency
- Every 3 hours
- Estimated price
- £23–50
- Website
- https://www.scotrail.co.uk/
Train from Inverness to Wick
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 22m
- Frequency
- 4 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 Stirling to Inverness
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 48m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- £20–28
- Website
- https://www.lner.co.uk/
- Phone
- +44 330 060 0500
- enquiry@sleeper.scot
- Website
- sleeper.scot
Train from Stirling to Inverness
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 35m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- £3–5
- Website
- https://www.sleeper.scot/
- Sleeper Berth Classic
- £2–3
- Sleeper Seat
- £3–5
- Sleeper Berth Club Solo
- £35–41
- 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
- Every 30 minutes
- Website
- https://www.ember.to/
Bus from Union Street to Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 28m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Website
- https://www.ember.to/
- Phone
- 0141 352 4444
- info@citylink.co.uk
- Website
- citylink.co.uk
Bus from Buchanan Bus Station to Bus Station Stance 3
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 40m
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- £24–35
- Website
- https://www.citylink.co.uk/
- Phone
- 0141 352 4444
- enquiries@megabus.com
- Website
- uk.megabus.com
Bus from Buchanan Bus Station to Bus Station Stance 3
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 40m
- Frequency
- 3 times a week
- Estimated price
- £15–21
- Website
- https://uk.megabus.com
- Phone
- 01224591381
- bluebird.enquiries@stagecoachbus.com
- Website
- stagecoachbus.com
Bus from Bus Station Stance 3 to Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 39m
- Frequency
- 5 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
- Twice 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
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- £13–19
- Website
- https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/
- Low
- £13–17
- Peak
- £16–19
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