Orkney: Skara Brae & Italian Chapel Private Tour 5-6 Hours

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Free cancellationTravelers' pickLikely to sell out

1/6

Duration6h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

What's Left Standing in Orkney After 5,000 Years

You get a private driver and vehicle for 5-6 hours covering Orkney's main Neolithic sites, coastal scenery, and wartime history in one loop. Transport, water, and expert commentary are included; you choose the pace within the time frame and can request changes before you book.

Step-by-step itinerary

Orkney main archaeological and coastal sites

Tour Skara Brae
Visit Ring of Brodgar
See Stones of Stenness
Visit Italian Chapel
View Yesnaby cliffs
Drive past Scapa Flow harbour

The Experience

What would you actually see if you had only one afternoon in Orkney? The question matters if you're on a cruise stopover or a tight day trip, because the islands pack more archaeology into a few square miles than most regions manage in centuries. This private tour runs 5-6 hours and takes up to eight passengers through the Heart of Neolithic Orkney—Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness—then swings coastal to the Italian Chapel and the cliffs at Yesnaby, with a stop overlooking Scapa Flow, where the British Navy anchored during both world wars. You're not rushing; you're moving with purpose, and the driver provides commentary on local customs and the landscape as you go.

Skara Brae comes first—a 5,000-year-old settlement so intact you can walk between the stone houses and see where people cooked, slept, and stored things. The Ring of Brodgar is next, a circle of standing stones on a narrow isthmus between two lochs, and then the Stones of Stenness, older still and somehow more austere. After that the tour turns toward the coast. Yesnaby's cliffs drop hard into the sea, and the light changes everything depending on the hour. Then you're at the Italian Chapel, a small stone building painted in bright colors—built by Italian prisoners of war during the Second World War, and it's still there, still vivid, still a bit of a shock in the Orkney landscape.

The last part of the tour is Scapa Flow itself, the natural harbor that made Orkney strategically crucial. You don't land on the water; you view it from the shore, but the driver explains what happened there—the naval history, the wrecks, the reason the islands mattered so much. The whole thing is customizable if you want to linger longer at one site or skip another, and the vehicle includes bottled water for the drive. Groups larger than eight need a separate quote.

What’s included

Your tour includes private vehicle transportation for up to 8 passengers, bottled water throughout the day, and driver commentary on Orkney's archaeology, local traditions, and wartime history.
You'll visit Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Italian Chapel, Yesnaby's coastal cliffs, and Scapa Flow.
The itinerary is customizable—let the operator know if you want to adjust stops or timing before you confirm.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Orkney Travel

Is this one for you?Book this if you're on a cruise or day trip and want to see Orkney's main archaeological sites without arranging separate transport and entry logistics—the fixed 5-6 hour window is what makes it possible to cover the island's highlights in one afternoon.