There are 5 ways to get from Manchester to Orkney Islands by plane, train, ferry, or bus
Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2Rio's travel planner.
Fly from Manchester Airport
best- Fly from Manchester Airport (MAN) to Kirkwall (KOI)plane MAN - KOI
4h 53m£196–489Bus, ferry
cheapest- Take the bus from Shudehill Interchange to Buchanan Bus Stationbus
- Take the bus from Buchanan Bus Stn to Inverness Union Streetbus
- Take the bus from Inverness Union Street to Scrabster Terminal Buildingbus
- Take the ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry Terminalferry Nl1
16h 8m£70–105Train, ferry via Edinburgh
- Take the train from Manchester Piccadilly to Edinburgh Waverleytrain
- Take the train from Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeentrain
- Take the ferry from Aberdeen Ferry Terminal to Kirkwall Orkney Hatston Ferry Terminalferry Nl2
14h 4m£136–287Train, ferry
- Take the train from Deansgate to Prestontrain
- Take the train from Preston to Aberdeentrain
- Take the ferry from Aberdeen Ferry Terminal to Kirkwall Orkney Hatston Ferry Terminalferry Nl2
15h 19m£127–222Train to Birmingham Airport, fly
- Take the train from Manchester Piccadilly to Birmingham Internationaltrain
- Fly from Birmingham Airport (BHX) to Kirkwall (KOI)plane BHX - KOI
6h 39m£255–620
Manchester Airport (MAN) to Kirkwall (KOI) flights
Questions & Answers
The cheapest way to get from Manchester to Orkney Islands is to bus and ferry which costs £65 - £110 and takes 16h 8m.
The fastest way to get from Manchester to Orkney Islands is to fly which takes 4h 53m and costs £190 - £490.
The distance between Manchester and Orkney Islands is 404 miles.
The best way to get from Manchester to Orkney Islands without a car is to train and ferry via Edinburgh which takes 14h 4m and costs £130 - £290.
It takes approximately 4h 53m to get from Manchester to Orkney Islands, including transfers.
There are 230+ hotels available in Orkney Islands.
What companies run services between Manchester, England and Orkney Islands, Scotland?
Loganair and Aer Lingus fly from Manchester Airport (MAN) to Kirkwall (KOI) twice daily.
- Website
- loganair.co.uk
Flights from Manchester Airport to Kirkwall via Aberdeen
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 41m
- When
- Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
- Estimated price
- £300–480
Flights from Manchester Airport to Kirkwall via Inverness
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 55m
- When
- Sunday
- Estimated price
- £300–480
Flights from Birmingham Airport to Kirkwall via Aberdeen
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 32m
- When
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- £220–550
Flights from Birmingham Airport to Kirkwall via Edinburgh
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 51m
- When
- Monday, Thursday, Sunday, and Tuesday
- Estimated price
- £220–550
- Phone
- +44 345 600 1671
- [email protected]
- Website
- tpexpress.co.uk
Train from Manchester Piccadilly to Edinburgh Waverley
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 17m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- £80–140
- Website
- https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/
- Phone
- +44 (0)344 811 0141
- Website
- scotrail.co.uk
Train from Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 29m
- Frequency
- Every 2 hours
- Estimated price
- £55–110
- Website
- https://www.scotrail.co.uk/
- Phone
- +44 (0)3457 225 333
- [email protected]
- Website
- lner.co.uk
Train from Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 32m
- Frequency
- 4 times a day
- Estimated price
- £40–65
- Website
- https://www.lner.co.uk/
- Phone
- +44 3447 369 123
- [email protected]
- Website
- crosscountrytrains.co.uk
Train from Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 30m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- £70–100
- Website
- https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/
Train from Manchester Piccadilly to Birmingham International
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 48m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- £45–70
- Website
- https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/
- Phone
- +44 330 060 0500
- [email protected]
- Website
- sleeper.scot
Train from Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 6m
- Frequency
- 4 times a week
- Estimated price
- £35–65
- Website
- https://www.sleeper.scot/
Train from Preston to Aberdeen
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 51m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- £95–160
- Website
- https://www.sleeper.scot/
- Phone
- +44 800 200 6060
- [email protected]
- Website
- northernrailway.co.uk
Train from Deansgate to Preston
- Ave. Duration
- 49 min
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- £12–22
- Website
- https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/
- Phone
- +44 (0)345 528 0253
- Website
- avantiwestcoast.co.uk
Train from Manchester Piccadilly to Birmingham International
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 53m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- £30–55
- Website
- https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/
Rome2Rio's guide to FlixBus
Contact DetailsContact Details
- Phone
- +49 30 300 137 300
- [email protected]
- Website
- https://www.flixbus.fr
Bus from Shudehill Interchange to Buchanan Bus Station
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 5m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- £24–40
- Website
- https://www.flixbus.co.uk
- Phone
- +44 (0)131 510 4007
- [email protected]
- Website
- ember.to
Bus from Buchanan Bus Stn to Inverness Union Street
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 36m
- Frequency
- Every 3 hours
- Estimated price
- £16–24
- Website
- https://www.ember.to/
Bus from Inverness Union Street to Scrabster Terminal Building
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 28m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- £14–20
- Website
- https://www.ember.to/
- Phone
- +44 845 600 0449
- [email protected]
- Website
- northlinkferries.co.uk
Ferry from Aberdeen Ferry Terminal to Kirkwall Orkney Hatston Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 6h 30m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- £20–36
- Website
- https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/
- Low
- £20–25
- Peak
- £31–36
Ferry from Aberdeen Ferry Terminal to Kirkwall Orkney Hatston Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 6h 30m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- £20–36
- Website
- https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/
- Low
- £20–25
- Peak
- £31–36
Ferry from Scrabster Ferry Terminal to Stromness Orkney Ferry Terminal
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 30m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- £13–19
- Website
- https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/
- Low
- £13–17
- Peak
- £16–19
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