On all of my trips, I keep track meticulously of how much things cost. I tally up every meal, every beer – everything I spend money on. My trip to Orkney was no different! I planned my trip to be a budget trip – I wild camped for the vast majority of it, which was free, and most of my spending on food was on groceries that I was cooking myself. Here’s my budget guide to help you plan a budget trip to Orkney.

My Trip to Orkney

I left for my trip on 1 June and returned 13 June. That gives a total of 13 calendar days, and 12 nights on the road. I had 9 days total that were in Orkney itself, with a few days spent on the way up north from where I live in York, and one day spent driving back. I had one night staying with a friend, and three nights accommodation booked. For the other 8 nights, I wild camped – which is legal in Scotland, provided you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. My aim was to make this trip as low-cost as possible, while also not skimping out on bucket-list experiences.

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I already own my outdoor/camping gear, and I was strategic with my packing so I brought everything I needed with me. I did this trip solo, which increased the costs exponentially. If I had had someone to split transportation or accommodation costs with, I would have spent even less! That being said, I had a wonderful time traveling solo to Orkney and regret nothing.

By far, the most expensive part of my trip to Orkney was the cost of transportation. My car is diesel and gets fantastic gas mileage – about 450-500 miles to the tank. However, the cost of gas is extremely, painfully, high in the UK (at the time of writing). Prices went up by 10p/liter from when I left for my trip, to when I came back. When I left, I was paying £1.80/liter for diesel. By the time I was driving back, the cost had risen across the board to £1.90/liter. A solid third (33%) of my entire budget for this Orkney trip was spent on gas. If I had had someone to split just this cost with, I would have saved a lot of money.

My three nights in accommodation were very affordable. My private hostel rooms were £33 and £35 respectively. The overnight cabin on the ferry was £42.50, which was a twin cabin so it could have been shared with someone else and then split the costs. That being said, it was an absolute luxury after wild camping to have a nice bed, a shower, a TV, and my own space!

My food/drink expenses look slightly higher than they should be, as I bought some whisky, wine, and beers that I wasn’t drinking on the trip but brought home with me. The majority of my food budget was spent on groceries, and I cooked a lot of my own meals.

Everyone has different priorities, and some people will never have a fun trip camping or cooking their own food – and that’s okay! My trip to Orkney was a dream, but it might not look like your dream Orkney trip. There’s nothing wrong with that, everyone has different travel styles and budgets. As a solo budget traveler, I tried to minimize spending across the board where I could. But I also splurged on experiences when I wanted.

A lot of attractions and sightseeing in Orkney is free. For example, the Ring of Brodgar has no entry fee and is free to visit. The bulk of my sightseeing budget was spent on tours, like visiting the Holm of Papay and the sunset puffin trip on Westray. My number one budget tip for visiting Orkney is to invest in a Historic Scotland (or English Heritage) membership. The majority of all paid historic attractions in Orkney are operated by Historic Scotland – if you’re a member, you get free entry. They have a reciprocal arrangement with English Heritage, so having been an English Heritage Member for more than one year, I got free entry to all of the Historic Scotland sites.

Membership isn’t too expensive – for one adult, an annual membership with Historic Scotland is less than £45. If you are visiting one or two other Historic Scotland sites in the year (such as Edinburgh Castle or Stirling Castle), you will make your money back. If you’re interested in joining English Heritage, an annual adult membership costs £66. You only get access to Historic Scotland after one year of membership, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind when planning your trip.

Category Breakdown

Accommodation (3 nights): £110.50

Food/Drink: £147.50

Miscellaneous: £11 (souvenirs)

Sightseeing: £55

Transportation: £496.50

(Within transportation, gas: £274)

As you can see, transportation was 60% of my entire budget. Had I been able to split the costs for this, I could have saved a lot of money. Of course I love traveling solo and have no regrets, but long road trips in a country with extortionate gas prices might be best to do with another person.

Some of my transportation costs were paid for in advance. I traveled on Northlink Ferries from Scrabster to Stromness. For one passenger with a car, this cost £158.70. The overnight cabin on my journey back was £42.50, bringing my total for the ferry journeys to £201.20.

I had three flights with Loganair on my trip to Orkney: Kirkwall to Papa Westray, Papa Westray to Westray, and Westray to Kirkwall. I actually had a travel credit from my canceled 2020 trip, that the airline kindly honored (even though apparently it had expired last year). These flights in total cost £72 – after my £42 voucher, I only had to pay £30. These are the more expensive fares for this ticket, so I recommend booking your flights far in advance, if it’s possible. But I’m so glad I got to take the shortest commercial flight in the world!

Orkney Daily Costs

Wondering what my daily costs were like on my Orkney trip? Here’s how much I spend each day of the trip. As you can see, the most expensive days were at the beginning and end of the trip, when I was filling up my tank with gas.

1 June: £91 (groceries and gas before setting off)

2 June: £52

3 June: £42

4 June: £5

5 June: £6.90

6 June: £8

7 June: £22.45

8 June: £42.95 (including hostel)

9 June: £87.45 (including hostel, bike rental, boat tour, puffin tour)

10 June: £22.30

11 June: £59

12 June: £30.10

13 June: £121 (gas)

How much did my trip to Orkney cost?!

GRAND TOTAL: £820.50 // $1001

The Takeaway

All in all, I’m very pleased with how I managed to do this Orkney trip on a budget. I had just over one full week on the Orkney Islands, and truly had the time of my life. I also loved getting to visit new places on my way up north. The biggest way I could have cut costs was to go with another person, to share transportation costs. But this was one solo trip I knew I wanted and needed to do on my own, and the sheer freedom I experienced was – to me – well worth it.

If you look at my total cost of the trip divided over 13 days, I had a daily cost of £63.10 per day.

Excluding accommodation and pre-booked transportation, I spent £521.30 – divided over 13 days, this gives a daily cost of £40.10.

For nearly two weeks in Scotland, I felt like my overall spending was very good – I never skimped out on experiences or tours that really mattered to me, and camping saved me loads of money. It is definitely possible to visit Orkney for 1 week on a budget. If you’re planning a budget trip to Orkney, I hope this budget travel guide helps!

Have you traveled to Orkney before? What was your budget like?

You might also like my posts:

The Complete Orkney Guide: An 8-Day Itinerary for the Orkney Islands

Orkney: What You Need to Know Before You Go

What to Pack For a Trip to Orkney, Scotland

A Travel Guide to Papa Westray, Orkney

What to See and Do on Westray, Orkney

Hoy, Orkney: Visiting the Old Man of Hoy and Rackwick Bay

Where to See Puffins on Orkney

The World’s Shortest Commercial Flight: Papa Westray to Westray With Loganair

The Budget Travel Bible: 101 Tips for Cheap Travel

All of my Scotland posts!

All of my budgeting & money posts!

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