Self drive in Kirkwall?

There is so much to see on the main island, none of the ship's excursions hit everything we want to see. Is it easy to rent a car there? Is it feasible to do Skara Brae, the two stone circles, Maes Howe, and the Highland Park distillery , plus the cathedral and walk around town in about 7/1 2 hours?

Is it easy to rent a car there?

 

VisitOrkney website car hire details:

http://www.visitorkney.com/around/index.asp

Thanks, have you used any of these places?

Thanks, have you used any of these places?

No, Just looked it up for you.

We went on this cruise last year. When we arrived in Kirkwall there was a special 'cruise festival' in Stromness with a free bus there. I have a feeling this is a regular occurrence so you might be lucky. The drive from Kirkwall to Stromness goes past some of the attractions. Stromness is definitely worth a visit - very pretty little town. There will also be private taxis at the port who will be happy to take you to places - there's not a whole lot of private self-drives.

We went to Scapa Flow which was fascinating.

Remember, you're near the arctic so it's pretty chilly up there, but when the sun shines it's absolutely wonderful.

Thanks, I've rented a car from one of those sites. It's only $68 for the day, that's less than an excursion!

 

Thanks for the offer, Garmed, but those private tours are too much for our budget.

Is it feasible to do Skara Brae, the two stone circles, Maes Howe, and the Highland Park distillery , plus the cathedral and walk around town in about 7/1 2 hours?

Yes, this is very feasible. If you're planning how to lay out your day, there's a very passable cafe in the visitors centre at Skara Brae, which might save you time foraging for lunch.

 

It would also be worth planning the Highland Park distillery tour in advance. Last Sunday, we were able to get on the 12 noon tour. The 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm tours were booked out for the cruise ship in port that day, and so the general public would have to wait until 4 pm for the next one.

 

The town of Kirkwall isn't particularly interesting, IMHO. I would put that very much bottom of the list of things to do.

Thanks! I did try to email them a month or so ago, but it didn't go through. I'll try again. Our ship does have an excursion that includes it, hopefully we can get in around it.