Coming to Shetland by plane

[Ghostrider]

have you ever been say in wales when the natives suddernly switch from english to welsh. you just know they are saying stuff that they don't want you to understand. it maybe totally innocent but the ones excluded won't know that.

 

I had a first cousin once removed who was married to a Welshman, I never knew one word that man said because of his accent, so it didn't really matter what language he used. His wife had to act as interpreter for most of her relatives here, at least she spoke Shetland, and understood enough Welsh to get by.

[Njugle]

Topic!

[Ghostrider]

^^ Aye, Aye, Cap'n!

 

Flying to Shetland is fine enough, however the landing sometimes can be "interesting". Have a look on YouTube for "Sumburgh" "Runway 33".

[Malcolm]

A tip for you, for when you arrive. Böd, in Shetland, is pronounced like "boad", or like "toad".

 

Depends where abouts in Shetland

 

Do you pronounce crö "crow"?

 

Noo den, Dat wid laekli stik in da craw!

[Orsa]

That said there are places the buses do not reach and a car would allow more time to explore your chosen places.

 

i am thinking about this suggestion in these days. i think a car would take me to places that my legs wouldn't be able to go to. but:

i'm pretty afraid about driving alone on the left side;

i drive all the year long to reach my job place, and i'm pretty bored of that.

 

do you think renting a car would be really necessary?

[Orsa]

 

Hi, you find all the info you need about bods Here Most of them can be reached by bus with a bit of careful planning. Most dont have the bus stopping right outside but are not much more then 10 minute walk from where the bus stop is.

 

Also check out the Wigwams in Eshaness this has you based near some of the most spectacular coastal walks in Shetland. Not sure how easy it is to reach by bus but at worst you get a bus to hillswick and walk the rest fo the way about an hours hike ( big guess on my part never walked it )

 

In short it is possible to get arround by bus but for most places you are limited by only 3 times a day in the early morning 07:00 - 09:00) lunchtime ( 12:00 - 13:00 ) and evening ( 17:00 - 18:00 )

 

Shetland is fairly friendly when it comes to hitch hikers as in people will stop and offer a lift but not everyone does but there is no denying that hireing a car is by far the easiest option but of course most expensive.

 

If you plan carefully 20 days should be enough, places to make a point of going.. In my opinion would be

 

Unst - ( most northerly part of the UK ) also takes you through Yell enroute.. I personally wouldnt spend time in yell as you see most of it as you travel through it to get to Unst. Im sure some others here might disagree with me.

 

Eshaness - as mentioned before, some of the most spectacular coastal walks.

 

Scalloway - Old capital of shetland

 

Lerwick - few things to keep you occupied on a rainy day and various pubs and resturants

 

St Ninians - Europes longest/biggest tumbola

 

Sumburgh head - Good for spottign puffins if in the right season. ( also where the airport is )

 

Westside - Walls/Sandness just very differnt places compared to the north and south part of the mainland.

 

and a pile of places inbetween.

 

Hope that helps rather than baffles

 

i haven't read this post, i'm reading it now.

thanks very much for your suggestions, twerto.

in the next days i'll plan in details and let you know.

[Orsa]

i think 20 days wouldn't be enough and i'll have to come back

 

Ciao Orsa

sei giorni sull'isola di Fetlar e sto comprando una casa... se tutto va bene probabilmente mi trasferisco da Monaco a Fetlar prossimo anno

 

what a pity that you suffer from seasickness. When I was up last October I flew from Munich to Amsterdam and from there to Aberdeen and took the ferry to Lerwick, which was the cheapest way. I tend to seasickness too but if it get's too rough you can always lie down and then usually you feel better.

Apart from KLM's (the Dutch airline) bad service it was a pleasant journey.

I can only recommend to hire a car not to be dependant on bus timetables.

You will see more great places and driving is much more relaxed (and slower!) than in Italy.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

hey, are you italian? if not, you speak a good italian

driving in italy is orrible, that's the reason why i would prefer not to hire a car.

i'm tired of cars.

i love walking, so i think i'll walk and use public services like busses.

i think i'll love shetland, i feel it!

[Orsa]

several decades?? that why i cant figure out who you are I thought you were in your third decade ;oP

 

do you all know each-other in shetland?

[Orsa]

^^ Aye, Aye, Cap'n!

 

Flying to Shetland is fine enough, however the landing sometimes can be "interesting". Have a look on YouTube for "Sumburgh" "Runway 33".

 

watched it!

[GT]

Daily tours

http://www.shetlandgeology.com/day-tours.shtml

[mhutch]

several decades?? that why i cant figure out who you are I thought you were in your third decade ;oP

 

do you all know each-other in shetland?

 

no , but word travels quick

[MJ]

May I suggest that you don't rule hiring a car out as an option. Have a look at a resonable map of shetland. Look at the scale, shetland is not small, then look at bus timetables and see how little you can access, also note that if going out of town many areas would require an overnight stay. Smaller bus routes may no longer exist, so always check before you try to catch a bus in the middle of nowhere

Unless you are a keen cyclist don't be fooled. Those hills may not be high but they are steep.

[JustMe]

If having to drive on what to you is the "wrong" side of the road is a problem for you then you will still be able to get to lots of different parts of Shetland from the top of Unst to Sumburgh. And with the money saved by not hiring a car you could use a taxi for some of the more awkward to get to places.

 

And I must admit that it can be scary driving on the wrong side of the road and even dangerous as a recent accident reported in the Times has shown. So if you feel uncomfortable about the thought of driving here then plan not to.

[paulb]

yes I do. however for a first timer driving some of shetland's roads say the east side road on yell you will not be bored. as most of the country roads are single track you won't be driving on either side.

 

The roads are very quite apart from a 20-30 minutes spell for lerwicks rush hour. Just make sure you use the passing places and you will find some very intresting places. Maybe folks could suggest intresting(terrifying) roads for a tourist. Another good one is the nestings road.

[owdwife]

Dont rule out Yell. The main road from Ulsta to unst is almost the equvalent of a motorway which only takes you from A to B. There are beautiful and interesting places off the main road eg Breckon beach West Sandwick beach, the Old Haa museum with homebakes to die for (but closed on Mondays and Fridays), walks eg to Ladies Hole to see the puffins and loads more.Not forgetting the Aywick shop (aka Harrods of the North)