Shetland Packing List for Women: Wind, Ferries and the Simmer Dim

Photograph: Levenwick, Shetland by Chris Combe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Shetland is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom, an archipelago lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway, about 170 kilometres north of mainland Britain and about 230 kilometres west of Bergen. Only 16 of its roughly 100 islands are inhabited. People come for the sea cliffs and seabirds, for prehistoric sites, for the long light of a northern summer and the fire festival of a northern winter. Packing for Shetland means packing for wind and rain in every month, an overnight sea crossing, and long stretches of coast with nobody else on them.

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The photograph above was taken at Levenwick, a small village on the east side of the South Mainland, about 17 miles south of Lerwick. An old white rowing boat lies half sunk in thick green growth above a deep blue bay, with low green hills and a scatter of houses on the far shore and a sliver of sand at the edge. What the frame cannot show is most of Shetland. There is no Lerwick in it, no sea cliff, no seabird and no otter, none of the prehistoric sites, no ferry, nothing of the winter dark or the fire festival, and no person. It is one quiet bay on one sunny day.

What Is Here: Norse Islands in the North Atlantic

Shetland was settled by the Norse and remained under Norwegian rule until Scotland annexed it in 1472. Almost all of its place names are Norse in origin, and that heritage shows in the Up Helly Aa fire festivals and a strong traditional fiddle style. The largest island is simply called the Mainland, and Lerwick, its port, is the islands' administrative centre and largest settlement.

Farming here is mostly the raising of Shetland sheep, known for their unusually fine wool, and you will see knitwear for sale. But the reason to come is the land and the sea themselves: low rounded hills, long sea inlets, open moor and cliffs.

Prehistory, Cliffs and Wildlife

Shetland's prehistoric sites are one of the main reasons to come. Jarlshof, near Sumburgh at the southern tip of the Mainland, was inhabited from 2500 BC into early modern times, according to a traveller guide. The Broch of Mousa, on an uninhabited island reached by boat, is described as the finest preserved example of an Iron Age broch. St Ninian's Isle is joined to the Mainland by the largest active tombolo in the United Kingdom, a sand bar you can walk across.

Noss, east of Bressay, has been a national nature reserve since 1955, and its seabird cliffs are best seen from a boat. Unst, at the far north, is the most northerly inhabited island in Britain. Otters live along the shore. A traveller guide says they prefer places where a freshwater stream runs into the sea and are best seen early in the morning or late in the evening at low tide, and Levenwick's small sandy beach is one place where they are often spotted. Wait quietly, keep low and keep your distance.

When to Go

Shetland is windy and cloudy all year, and the light changes enormously with the seasons. Lerwick averages about 1,158 hours of sunshine a year. February highs average around 5.8C and August highs around 14.7C, so even midsummer is cool. At the winter solstice there are only 5 hours and 49 minutes of daylight; at the summer solstice there are 18 hours and 55 minutes, and for a stretch of summer the nights never get completely dark. Locals call that half light the simmer dim. Shetland is not inside the Arctic Circle and has no true midnight sun, but it comes close.

A traveller guide warns that you can easily get sunburnt in summer without noticing, because the breeze feels cool, in between getting drenched by showers. Winter brings short, gloomy days and Up Helly Aa in Lerwick, which is held on the last Tuesday in January. Pack layers and a proper waterproof whatever the month.

Getting There and Getting Around

You reach Shetland by an overnight ferry from Aberdeen or a flight. NorthLink Ferries sails from Aberdeen to Lerwick, about 12 hours 30 minutes northbound and 12 hours southbound, and some sailings call at Kirkwall in Orkney, which adds about 2 hours. A traveller guide warns that the crossing can be rough and calls taking seasickness tablets before you sleep a very wise move. Book a cabin or reclining seat and keep a warm layer and your medicines in your cabin bag.

Sumburgh Airport, the main airport, is at the southern tip of the Mainland and is served by Loganair from airports on the Scottish mainland and Orkney. One runway crosses the A970 main road, which is closed with a barrier whenever a flight is landing or taking off.

Once there, a car is the easiest way to see the islands. There are few filling stations outside Lerwick, and buses to the far north run only a few times a day, Monday to Saturday, with none on Sunday. Inter-island ferries link the main islands, but they can be cancelled for days in bad weather, so leave slack in your plans, especially before a flight or the ferry south.

Is Shetland Safe for Women Travelers

Shetland is a very safe place to travel alone, and the real risks are the weather and the coast rather than other people. A traveller guide says you would be very unlucky to be mugged, robbed or threatened, though there is the occasional unpleasant drunk in Lerwick.

The US State Department publishes a United Kingdom advisory and the UK's own FCDO publishes nothing for its own territory, because it advises on travel abroad only. Neither records advised-against areas for ordinary visitors. The named risks are terrorism, which the UK assesses at a national threat level published by MI5 and which is a general rather than a localised concern, and the usual urban property crime in the big cities.

So there is no FCDO travel advice for Shetland: we checked on 8 November 2026, and the FCDO does not publish travel advice for its own country, since it advises British nationals on travel abroad. The advisory links at the end of this guide point to the US State Department advice and the Canadian government advice for the United Kingdom instead.

The United Kingdom publishes its own national terrorism threat level, and Northern Ireland carries a separate one. That is unusual and it is more useful than a generic warning, because it is current and official rather than a guess. The threat level is published on gov.uk and is worth reading there rather than relying on any figure printed in a guide, including this one, since the level changes and a printed figure ages badly. The practical advice attached to it never changes: stay aware in crowded places, note where the exits are, and follow instructions from police and staff without waiting to see what everyone else does.

The same guide names the main hazards plainly: cold and rain, rough seas with strong currents, and many steep, slippery slopes above unfenced cliffs. Keep well back from cliff edges, especially in wind, and never stand at the edge for a photograph. In the breeding season, great skuas will dive at you if you go near their nests. Keep to the paths, and if they swoop, hold a stick or walking pole above your head, because they go for the highest point. The beaches can look tropical, but the water is very cold, and the guide suggests a wetsuit of at least 5mm if you want to swim.

Scotland has a statutory right of responsible access under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which is often called the right to roam and which England and Wales do not have. In practice you may walk, cycle and wild camp on most unenclosed land provided you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code: avoid houses and gardens, take all litter and waste away, keep dogs under control around livestock and ground-nesting birds, and leave no trace of a camp. The right carries the responsibility, and in a few honeypot areas byelaws restrict camping in season, so check locally before relying on it.

The Shetland Packing List

Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the foundation of a Shetland bag. It stays warm when it gets damp, handles the change from a windy clifftop to a warm cafe, and can be worn for days on an island trip without smelling.

Wind and Rain

A packable Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket with a hood is the most important outer layer. Add waterproof hiking pants for coastal walks, where rain blows sideways, and a Columbia Fast Trek II fleece jacket as a mid layer under the shell.

Feet and Head

Waterproof Merrell Moab 3 hiking boots handle wet moor, muddy paths and slippery grass above the cliffs. Pair them with Darn Tough merino hiker socks, which stay warm when wet. A Smartwool merino beanie earns its place in every month, because the wind is constant.

Small Things

Pack seasickness tablets for the ferry, a walking pole if you plan to cross skua territory, binoculars for seabirds and otters, and a downloaded offline map, because mobile coverage is patchy outside Lerwick. Bring a head torch for winter, when daylight is short.

Not linked, and why. We left the head torch and a dry bag unlinked because we had reached our limit of six product links, and the boots and waterproofs matter more here. Our affiliate register has no sunscreen and no sunglasses, and the guide's warning about summer sunburn means both are worth packing.

Recommended Tours and Experiences

Essential Resources for Women in Shetland

Emergency numbers: 999 for police, ambulance, fire and mountain rescue, free from any phone including a locked mobile. 112 also works everywhere in the UK. For a health problem that is not an emergency, NHS 111 gives free advice 24 hours a day and will direct you to the right service, which is the number most visitors actually need.

Coastguard: a traveller guide notes that 999 also reaches the coastguard, which matters on a coast of cliffs and strong currents.

Hospital and medical care: the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick is a rural general hospital and the islands' emergency hospital. In the South Mainland, the Levenwick Health Centre provides medical support for the Dunrossness area. For anything serious, call 999. NHS Scotland is a separate system from NHS England with its own advice service. Emergency treatment in an accident and emergency department is free to everyone regardless of where you live, and non-emergency and follow-up care is chargeable for visitors from outside the UK, so travel insurance still matters. Dial 111 for NHS 24, which is the urgent-but-not-emergency line and will direct you, and 999 for an emergency. A pharmacy handles minor problems without an appointment. In the Highlands and islands, note that the nearest hospital with a full emergency department can be a long drive, and that mountain rescue is provided by volunteer teams coordinated through 999.

Official health authority: NHS inform, the Scottish health information service.

US Embassy: the United States Embassy in London, is in London, a long way south by ferry or flight.

Official tourism authority: VisitScotland, the national tourism body, covers Shetland; check ferry and inter-island schedules directly before you travel, because sailings can be cancelled in bad weather.

US State Department travel advisory: the United Kingdom advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.

UK FCDO travel advice: there is none, and this is not an omission. The FCDO advises British nationals on travel abroad, so it publishes nothing for the United Kingdom itself and both gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-kingdom and /uk return 404. In its place, the Government of Canada advice for the United Kingdom gives an equivalent third-country assessment.

Solo women safety assessment: Shetland is an easy place to travel alone. Crime against visitors is rare, and a woman walking or driving on her own is unremarkable. The real risks are environmental: wind on cliff edges, cold water, nesting skuas, slippery paths and weather that cancels ferries. Tell someone your route before a coastal walk, keep back from edges, carry a warm layer and a charged phone with an offline map, and allow spare days before you need to leave. Emergency number 999.

Takeaways

Pack for wind and rain whatever the month. Bring seasickness tablets for the overnight ferry and leave slack for cancelled sailings. Keep back from cliff edges, keep to paths near nesting skuas, and look for otters at low tide in the early morning or evening.

Reading On

The ferry leaves from Aberdeen, so read the Aberdeen packing list before you sail. For the rest of the Scottish north, read the Inverness packing list, the Isle of Skye packing list and the Fort William packing list, and for the capital, the Edinburgh packing list. Across the North Sea, the Bergen packing list covers the Norwegian city on the far side of the North Sea. The Scotland packing list covers what applies everywhere, the Scotland travel guide for women is the hub, and the UK travel guide for women covers the wider picture. For why one wool layer works on a windy clifftop and a damp ferry deck alike, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women, and every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women. The base layers themselves are in the Roman Trail collection. The islands to the south, with the Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae and Kirkwall, are covered in the Orkney packing list.

If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.