Travel

Travel Note

Travel itinerary overview

Travelling to Fair Isle requires a couple of hops, the first hop is a ferry to mainland Shetland followed by the short hop from Shetland to Fair Isle. We have planned a travel itinerary below which we think is the best balance of cost, comfort and reliability and because travel to Fair Isle is very changeable with the weather we have prepared two travel options for the Shetland -> Fair Isle leg. (Note the travel itinerary will be similar whether you are beginning your travel on the Tuesday or the Wednesday) LEG 1: TRAVEL TO SHETLAND Firstly guests will need get to Aberdeen (we'll leave planning your travel to Aberdeen up to you) and then... Ferry to Shetland: Northlink ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick (Shetland), ~12 hours overnight arriving in Lerwick at 07:30, ~£100pp LEG 2: TRAVEL TO FAIR ISLE Transfer to Tingwall airport: Taxi bus from Lerwick ferry terminal OR Viking bus station to Tingwall airport, ~15 minutes, ~£3pp + Flight to Fair Isle: AirTask flight from Tingwall airport to Fair Isle, ~25 minutes, ~£60pp one way OR Ferry to Fair Isle: Good Shepherd IV ferry from Lerwick to Fair Isle, ~4.5 hours, ~£19pp one way More information for individual travel routes can be found below. If you wish to make your own arrangements please see footnote.

Travel Note

Getting to Shetland

Getting to Shetland is fairly straightforward by ferry. We have pre-booked cabins on the Northlink ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick for sailings on Tuesday the 22nd and Wednesday the 23rd (arriving in Lerwick on mornings of Wednesday the 23rd and Thursday the 24th respectively). We will be in contact with you to confirm your sailing date/time. Please arrive at Aberdeen ferry terminal 1 hour before departure. Approximate cost is £100pp which includes your ticket and your cabin (price may vary depending on size of the cabin and occupancy)

Flight

Flying to Fair Isle

After arriving into mainland Shetland guests will (ideally) fly to Fair Isle from Tingwall airport. However, this flight is often affected by weather and so guests may instead be asked to take the ferry from Grutness at short notice (see below) Flying from Tingwall: There are at least 2 flights per day from Tingwall airport to Fair Isle (weather permitting), the flight is approximately 25 minutes long and costs ~£60 one way. A taxi bus will be arranged to transfer guests to Tingwall airport from either Lerwick ferry terminal OR the Viking bus station (in Lerwick) depending on the flight departure time. For the early flight you will be picked up at the ferry terminal, if your flight is later or delayed you can wander into Lerwick town centre before getting the taxi bus from the Viking bus station. The taxi bus costs £2 per person. We will let you know your flight times in advance but please be aware that flights are very changeable depending on weather and so you may need to be flexible on the day.

Travel Note

Ferry to Fair Isle

Should flights from Tingwall to Fair Isle be cancelled (or delayed such that there is a risk you will miss the wedding) we may ask guests to get the ferry to Fair Isle at short notice. The ferry to Fair Isle sails from Lerwick (though a different ferry terminal to the Northlink) and takes ~4.5 hours and costs ~£19 one way. This can be a pretty rough sailing and guests are advised to take travel sickness tablets. The Fair Isle ferry terminal is a short walk from the Northlink ferry terminal Please be aware that we may need to ask you to take this route at short notice due to changeable weather conditions. If you would prefer to get the ferry rather than the flight from Tingwall regardless of weather conditions please let us know in advance.

Travel Note

Alternative arrangements

COST CONSIDERATIONS We understand that travelling to Fair Isle can be expensive and while we recommend the above itinerary there are the following opportunities to reduce cost. Instead of cabins guests can book "sleeping pods" or reclining seats for the overnight ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick at £18pp and £3.50pp respectively (+ the £43 ticket cost). Additionally, instead of flying to Fair Isle guests can choose to take the small ferry from Grutness (details above). ARRANGING YOUR OWN TRAVEL Guests are welcome to arrange their own travel if they prefer. Please just let us know in advance so we can cancel your pre-booked arrangements. If you wish to explore Orkney and Shetland as part of your trip we recommend doing this AFTER the wedding. This way if you are stuck on Fair Isle due to bad weather you only reduce the number of days exploring without missing / rearranging your onward travel back to Aberdeen or otherwise. FLYING TO SHETLAND If preferred guests can elect to fly to Shetland with flights to Sumbrugh airport available from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester. However, we do not recommend this route for two reasons. 1) It is very costly and 2) flights are more likely to be disrupted by adverse weather. Again, please let us know if you elect to fly so that we can arrange your transfer to Tingwall airport or Grutness ferry terminal for your onward travel to Fair Isle.

Travel Note

Return travel

Just do the same thing but backwards. Just joking, we will be in contact with you to arrange return travel. We understand that many of you will have work or other commitments you need to get back for but we are limited by the number of seats available on the flights and ferries from Fair Isle back to Shetland and must also consider island residents needs and other tourists. We will make best efforts to get you off the island when you need to but some flexibility may be required. If you have a concern about return travel or an urgent need to leave the island soon after the wedding please let us know. Similarly, if you can afford to be flexible please let us know.