Info

Local Attractions, tourist information etc

Lonely Planet has named Shetland in its top ten of places in the world for people looking for unspoilt destinations.

The official website for tourism in Shetland is https://www.shetland.org/ It has a huge amount of information for visitors on a wide variety of topics and is a probably the best starting point for planning any visit to Shetland.

The Lerwick Tourist Centre is located at the Market Cross in Lerwick’s town centre. This is currently undergoing a change in ownership and should hopefully be open again in spring 2025.

There is a Shetland Visitor magazine, which has a lot of information and is available here free https://shop.shetlandtimes.co.uk/products/shetland-2021-visitor-guide you only pay postage and packing. And, yes the 2021 link does go to 2025!

There is a digital version here: https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=796f3e5e-ca49-4f66-a429-0d0cd0290997

Northlink ferries provide a guide here: https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/your-holiday/guide-to-shetland/

The Shetland Times bookshop stocks a large range of Shetland books and Ordnance Survey maps. https://shop.shetlandtimes.co.uk/

Mareel https://www.shetlandarts.org/venues/mareel is a music, cinema and arts centre, with a café and bar, next door to the museum in Lerwick. It hosts regular musical gigs.

Shetland is well provided for with sport and leisure facilities. Details can be found here: https://www.shetland.gov.uk/sport-leisure

Ability Shetland can provide help for people with mobility issues: https://www.abilityshetland.com/

Live webcams are here: https://www.shetlandwebcams.com/

Food and drink

The majority of restaurants, cafés and pubs are located in Lerwick but you will find good eateries dotted all around the isles.

Besides delicious local seafood, excellent lamb, beef and seasonal veg there are Indian, Chinese, Nepali, Bangladeshi and more restaurants to choose from.

Frankie’s, the chip shop in Brae has won awards for being the best in Britain and was recently given an accolade by Time Out magazine.

https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2025/02/01/time-crowns-brae-chippy-one/

During spring and summer you can indulge in a great Shetland institution; the various Sunday Teas at the local village halls. You will find excellent homebakes with tea / coffee. There is a one off entry charge with the proceeds usually going to a good cause. Dates and venues can be found in the Shetland Times.

At various places in Shetland you may come across a Cake Fridge – an old fridge or pantry box with homebakes, veg or more.

There will be no one there. These are honesty boxes. Just choose your homebake and leave money in the box. Cash only.

Local Food Shops

There is a shop at the head of the pier in Hamnavoe just a few minutes’ walk down from Da Crö. It has almost all essentials.

Local food shops can be found in almost all villages and are usually open from 9am to 5pm.

There are two large supermarkets in Lerwick – Tesco (open 7am to 11pm) and Co-op (open 6am to 10pm).

Nature

Shetland is globally renowned for its wildlife and the skies and cliffs abound with seabirds especially at Hermaness and Noss.

Visitors travel from all corners of the world to see the wildlife here. Going around the coast you might see: seals, otters, porpoises, dolphins also killer, humpback and minke whales.

In the skies and on the cliffs are thousands of seabirds and out walking in the hills you may see Red Throated Divers, Snipe, Redshank; and Shetland is probably the best place in the UK to see Whimbrel.

There is almost 1,700 miles of coastline to walk around with some really fantastic coastal scenery. https://www.shetland.org/visit/do/outdoors/walk

Recently the “Shetland” TV series has attracted fans from all over the world to see featured locations. Check out some of them here https://www.shetland.org/blog/iconic-locations-from-bbc-crime-drama-shetland

and here

https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/shetland-blog/20-places-from-the-shetland-tv-series/

There are a series of books “Walking the coastline of Shetland” available at the Shetland Times bookshop. These are like having your own personal tour guide in your backpack. https://shop.shetlandtimes.co.uk/collections/nature/products/walking-the-coastline-of-shetland-no-4-northmavine

The geology of Shetland has earned itself a listing as a UNESCO Global Geopark. https://www.shetland.org/geopark

This website https://www.facebook.com/shetlandwildlife/?locale=en_GB usually has up to date sightings of whales and other wildlife.

There is an Orca spotting Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/groups/shetlandorcasightings

The Orca can sometimes come very close as you can see here https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2024/11/29/killer-whales-close-encounter-mareel-shetland/

The Shetland Pony Experience is based in Burra

https://www.facebook.com/ShetlandPonyExperience/

You can watch birds almost anywhere in Shetland. The main seabird colonies are at Hermaness in Unst, the island of Noss, which needs a boat trip out from Lerwick to get to and Sumburgh Head, which is a favourite place to see puffins. The website here has a lot of information. https://www.the-soc.org.uk/bird-recording/local-recorders-network/areas/birding-advice/77where-to-watch-birds-in-shetland

Nature Shetland is here https://www.nature-shetland.co.uk/

The cliffs on the Island of Noss are a must see for any bird spotter. You will see thousand’s of seabirds. One of the best ways to see them is by taking a boat trip from Lerwick. https://seabirds-and-seals.com/

We have seen otters walking up the road just outside Da Crö. But don't let them inside or this could happen.....https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cdjymg2pjg4o

Heritage and history

The museum in Lerwick is one of the best sources of past history. https://www.shetlandmuseumandarchives.org.uk/

The Shetland Amenity Trust aims to “safeguard Shetland's heritage” https://www.shetlandamenity.org/

Some of the archaeological sites such as Jarlshof and Mousa are recognised internationally as being important heritage sites.

This website https://www.shetland-heritage.co.uk/ lists many of the cultural and natural heritage attractions in Shetland.

also look here https://www.facebook.com/ShetlandHeritageAssociation

For Shetland family history there are a couple of websites that are very helpful

Shetland Family History Society https://www.shetland-fhs.org.uk/

North Isles Family History https://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/

Shetland has a particular dialect and you will find a lot of info on that here https://www.shetlanddialect.org.uk/

Shetland Arts has a “What’s on” of local music, cinema, drama etc. https://www.shetlandarts.org/

Shetland Arts and Crafts are here https://shetlandartsandcrafts.co.uk/

Music

Shetland is world renown for having some amazingly talented musicians. Besides excelling in traditional fiddle and accordion music there is a very diverse musical scene in Shetland.

There are some tremendous rock bands, country music, folk singers, classical and a whole lot more! Check out these links https://www.shetland.org/blog/why-shetland-music-is-special

https://www.shetland.org/blog/shetland-music-events-in-2025

and the events calendar below.

Events in Shetland in 2025

There are many festivals and events during the year, some of which are found here:

https://www.shetland.org/visit/events

and here: https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/shetland-blog/festivals-in-shetland/

Shetland has a strong musical tradition and local music can be found at various venues all year round.

During the summer, usually at weekends, there are sailing regattas for dinghies and the local “maid” class of Shetland boats. There are also rowing regattas held during the summer all round the isles.

27th January Up Helly Aa Food and Drink Market

28th January Lerwick Up Helly Aa – The world famous Viking festival. While Lerwick is the largest fire festival there are 11 fire festivals held throughout Shetland between January and March. http://www.uphellyaa.org/

10th – 13th March Shetland County Drama Festival https://www.shetland.org/visit/events/shetland-county-drama-festival

1st - 4th May Shetland Folk Festival. This festival draws artists from all over the world. It is centered in Lerwick but there are concerts at various local halls. https://www.shetlandfolkfestival.com/

During spring and summer there are various Sunday Teas at the local village halls. You will find excellent homebakes with tea / coffee. There is a one off entry charge with the proceeds usually going to a good cause. Details can be found in the Shetland Times.

11th - 17th May Shetland Song writing Festival https://www.facebook.com/shetlandsongwritingfestival/

18th – 22nd June Bergen to Lerwick yacht race. The race starts in Bergen on 18th June. The first yachts are expected in Lerwick on 19th June and will leave again to race back to Bergen on 22nd June.

19th – 22nd June Simmer Dim Motorbike Rally https://www.facebook.com/groups/67399420024/?locale=en_GB

7th – 13th July Unst Fest. A week of fun events in Unst.

4th – 8th August Shetland Fiddle Week https://shetlandfiddleweek.com/join-us-1

28th Sept – 4th Oct Shetland Wool Week https://www.shetlandwoolweek.com/

19th – 12th Oct Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival https://www.shetlandaccordionandfiddle.com/festival/info

Tour Operators:

There are quite a number of local tour operators conducting tours on and around Shetland. The best place to start is probably here: https://www.shetland.org/visit/do/trips

Transport on Shetland:

If you are not taking your own vehicle to Shetland there are a number of alternative options for getting around.

A network of buses and ro-ro ferries link up the various villages and islands. Timetables can be found here: https://www.zettrans.org.uk/

Car hire is available at Bolts Car hire https://www.boltscarhire.co.uk/ and Jim's Garage Ford Rental https://rental.jimsgarageford.co.uk/

Bicycle hire is available at The Shetland Community Bike Project, in the North mainland and on Unst: https://www.shetland.org/blog/cycle-hire-in-shetland

Taxis are also readily available.

News, information and weather

The online Shetland News https://www.shetnews.co.uk/ and the weekly newspaper The Shetland Times https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/ provide local news, information and weather.

BBC Radio Shetland https://www.facebook.com/bbcradioshetland/?locale=en_GB is broadcast at 17.30 each evening from Monday to Friday on FM 92.7 MHz for local news, information and weather. The daily weather forecast follows the news at around 17.35.

Shetland Islands Broadcasting Company (SIBC) broadcast on FM 96.2MHz. This is an independent local commercial radio station. Most of the air time is music with news, weather and local information every hour, on the hour. http://www.sibc.co.uk/

Real time weather for Scalloway can be found here: https://weatherfile.com/location?loc_id=GBR00130

There are 4 Shetland Islands Council weather stations with real time weather here: https://www.shetland.gov.uk/homepage/79/roads-weather-stations