Shetland Islands - advice for holiday makers

[StopFeckingFaffing]

We are booked to visit in May, coming via ferry from Aberdeen in Motorhome

Adult couple who enjoy walking and cycling, we will make sure we come equipped with clothing for all weather conditions

Just wondering if anyone who knows the Islands well has any particular recommendations on places to visit, boat trips, historic sites, lovely walks, wildlife spotting etc

I have bought an old map and guidebook from eBay but always good to get personal recommendations too

The best cakes in the world if not the entire universe can be had at the cafe at Sumburgh point lighthouse. You will thank me for this information. There are also lots of puffins to see.

Take a boat trip out to see the wild bird colonies,also seals and porpoises. Highlight of our trip( after the cakes)

Thanks @Hedjwitch I'll make a note of that!

Cakes, lighthouse, puffins - sounds fabulous 😊

Jarsholf, Old Scatness and Mousa Broch are some of the big history sites to hit. Sumburgh head is great for sea birds and there are often rangers up there that can tell you what you are looking at.

A lot of the smaller islands have interconnecting ferries that are reasonably priced so it might be nice to venture up to Unst to see the most northerly parts of the island.

Definitely take a trip to St Ninians Ilse beach, but check the tide times first so you can walk all the way over to St Ninian's island. I would also suggest a trip to Noss if you want to see more sea birds, and its is a good size to walk all the way round.

The Museum in Lerwick is really well done and there is a tourist office in Lerwick too that can recommend other places you might like to go.

Cake fridges are big on the island, have a look on Facebook for ones near where where you are staying. I would also try and get along to a Sunday tea. These are held in church halls across the island and sell some really tasty homebakes and have a lovely friendly atmosphere.

Shetland has some truly fantastic beaches so make sure you visit as many as you can!

It will be a lovey light time of year, will keep my fingers crossed you get some good weather!

Thank you so much @Runningonjammiedodgers for taking the time to reply

Some great suggestions!

They are amazing. Bring layers, clothes suitable for cool, wet and windy, hopefully it will be good weather for you but good means circa 14 degrees and it's usually windy!

We went to the far north on unst and saw the new spaceport being built and the distillery. On the main island st ninians beach isn't to be missed, its gorgeous, we swam with wild seals (or sealions, I'm not great on wildlife identification ) but I do recommend wetsuits, I didn't and it was cold! No.88 kitchen and bar in Lerwick is a great spot for food but call ahead, it gets busy. Sumburgh head is good for the puffins plus we saw orcas. Do stock up on essentials, if self catering, in Lerwick though the coop in brae is ok and the fish and chip shop in brae is excellent!

Finally there's cake fridges, I'm not kidding, cakes on the side of the street with honesty boxes! And the museum in Lerwick is worth a trip, plus do check out the music scene, amazing local musicians, mostly folk but saw a rock band too

Get your campsites booked asap if you haven’t already done so!

Haven't booked any sites yet @emmathedilemma as DH very keen on being able to be flexible and carefree

Are the sites not likely to have last minute availability in May?

I would prefer to have at least a couple of nights booked on sites in advance so might have to overrule him!

I fear you can’t really be flexible and carefree in such a small place and don’t even think about “wild camping”!

If you’re going to Unst you might want to take a brief look at Bobby‘s Bus Shelter. It’s a fully furnished bus shelter. With a TV.

Take travel sickness pills before you get on that ferry 🤮 Shetland is amazing. So beautiful, and you’ll have lovely long evenings.

Think Unst will definitely be on the itinerary as seems to be lots of suggestions for things to see there😊

I'd better get on it booking up some campsites!

Oh yes, a black out eye mask unless you have very good blinds and need dark to sleep!

I live in Shetland

St Ninians is definitely worth going too. There are 2 good sandy beaches in Burra too - Minn and Meal. A cake fridge near the Minn beach too!

This website has lots of walk suggestions - you can filter the area and the difficulty of walk you're after. www.shetland.org/visit/do/outdoors/walk

Eshaness cliffs is worth a look - especially on a rough day. The waves and sea from there is amazing!

The storm petrel trip in Mousa is also amazing. I did it last year. I think it's May the trip begins. You go to a small island via boat at night and watch all the storm petrels coming back in for the night, they live in the broch on the island. Google it for more info.

Thanks @Helenma

I'll definitely be keeping an eye open for the fridges and will need to make sure carrying plenty of cash!

My favourite day in Shetland was visiting Muckle Flugga (well, viewing it from across the water). When you go to Unst, make sure you do the walk to see the lighthouse. It was quite an adventure from Mainland. Another two ferries, a bit more driving and a couple of miles walk. It felt properly remote!

And yes, Bobby’s bus shelter is interesting. The theme changes every year I think.

Definitely a boat trip to see the birds and cliffs. You’ll love it!

Do book ahead for meals . We found limited availability last May .

If you are taking the overnight ferry, dont book the sleeping pods. Really uncomfortable. Head straight for the bar and snag the long bench seats. You can sleep quite well on these.

We have a cabin booked on the ferry @Hedjwitch

I need my sleep!

Hermaness!!!! Absolutely incredible if you get a nice day.

Thanks @bravotango

That is defo on our list
Get very excited about our trip now after reading everyone's great suggestions

Funnily enough @emmathedilemma it looks like we should be fine without getting all our campsites booked in advance as several of them don't take advance bookings

I've made a reservation for our first night via email (they didn't want to take a deposit even) and was told plenty of availability at present if we decide to extend our stay on that site. It looks like several of the official sites are at harbours and the hardstanding spots work on a first come first served basis so hopefully we should be ok