On 13 October the council's status board read 'NORMAL VIDLIN': the Whalsay boats were sailing from the bad-weather terminal rather than Laxo. That switch, made on roughly one day in every three or four, is part of the routine on a crossing whose timetable runs from five in the morning to past midnight.
Shetland Islands Council timetable effective from Monday 5 October 2026, read on 13 October 2026 and checked departure by departure against ZetTrans journey data for dates in October and November 2026. A separate festive timetable applies from 24 December 2026 to 2 January 2027. Shetland Islands Council — inter-island ferry timetable, Whalsay · 2026-10-13
Shetland's island ferries took their present shape in the 1970s and 1980s, built around short roll-on, roll-off crossings, long operating days and low fares. Whalsay, with 966 residents at the 2022 census the most populous island on that network, is where the model shows most clearly. MV Hendra, the day boat, has been on the run since 1982 and is now the oldest ship in the council fleet; MV Linga, the larger shift boat, works an eighteen-hour day around her.
The pattern they keep is dense. From Monday to Friday there are departures from Symbister from 06:15 to 21:15 and from Laxo from 07:00 to 22:00, roughly every 45 minutes in the daytime, with booked-only sailings stretching the day from 05:00 to midnight, and a little beyond it late on Fridays and Saturdays. Sundays have Linga alone.
Saturdays have their own history. Cuts in 2013 took Hendra off the Saturday roster, and the council's 2022 business case for Whalsay named the weekend deck shortage as a real problem; a second ship has since been restored for most of Saturday, leaving only a midday gap.
Payment happens once, on the outbound leg from Mainland Shetland, and covers the return; nothing is collected on the trip back from Whalsay. An adult pays £2.80 and a vehicle no longer than 5.5 m £16.50 with its driver included, so a couple taking their car over and back pay £19.30 in total.
The crew collect fares during the crossing and take cash, contactless and chip-and-pin cards (not American Express), cheques or a multi-journey ticket. Bicycles go free.
| Adult | £ 2.80 |
| Over 60 with SIC Pass | £ 0.80 |
| Disabled concessionary SIC Pass holder | Free |
| Adult 10-journey ticket | £ 28 |
| Vehicle up to 5.5 m | £ 16.50 |
| Car and driver on production of card | £ 10.60 |
| Motorcycle | £ 13 |
| Motorhome 5.5–9 m | £ 23.50 |
| Motorhome 9–12 m | £ 27.50 |
| Vehicle up to 5.5 m, 10-journey ticket | £ 106 |
Shetland Islands Council fare table 2026/2027, valid 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, read on 13 October 2026 Shetland Islands Council — domestic ferry fares 2026/2027 · 2026-10-13
Whalsay lies off the east side of Mainland Shetland, and the council classes the whole route as open sea. From Laxo the line to Symbister runs about eight kilometres east, and it is exposed whenever the wind blows from anywhere between east and south. Vidlin, a few kilometres to the north, is the council's answer on those days, and although it is slightly nearer Symbister as the crow flies, the council's own figure is that the crossing from there takes 10 to 15 minutes longer.
Laxo is the normal mainland landfall, just off the B9071. Like every council terminal it is unstaffed: drive into the booked or unbooked lane and wait for the crew, who start loading five minutes before departure. Electronic boards at the entrance say whether the boat is using Laxo or Vidlin, and the waiting room is one of the network's small prefabricated buildings from the 1970s.
Vidlin, the alternative, is about five minutes' drive further along the same road. Its newer waiting room has toilets, and a shop is five minutes' walk away.
Symbister is Whalsay's harbour and village, and the home berth of both Whalsay ferries and the Skerries boat MV Filla. The council describes it as a crowded, mixed-use harbour shared with the pelagic fleet and leisure craft, with a narrow entrance and a strong cross-current that limit how big a ferry can use it. A shop is five minutes' walk from the terminal.
The 05:00 and 05:30 starts and the late-evening boats sail only if someone has booked, on 01595 745804 or online at ferry.shetland.gov.uk, by 18:00.
If the boards at the Laxo entrance say Vidlin, drive on; it is about five minutes more. The Whalsay voicebank, 01595 743973, gives the same information around the clock.
Linga is listed for 18 cars and Hendra for 12, but the council says neither can routinely take that many today's larger cars. The morning commuter sailings towards Laxo are the busiest.
The No.19 runs three return trips between Lerwick and Vidlin from Monday to Saturday and only two call at Laxo; there is none on Sunday.
Hendra's lounge is below the car deck with no step-free route; Linga is the more accessible ship and has baby changing. Flash your hazard lights while loading if you need help.
What happens next is undecided. The 2022 outline business case recommended replacing Hendra and left the door open for a fixed link, and the council's current inter-island transport study is weighing those options; in public consultation, moving the Whalsay terminal to North Voe outscored the alternatives by 83 to 31. Meanwhile the ships are getting dearer to keep: vessel maintenance on the route cost £1,571,810 in 2024/25, more than double the 2015/16 figure, and in 2024 they still carried 156,197 passengers and 81,936 cars.
The same council ferries cross Yell Sound and Bluemull Sound to Yell and Unst, with the same return-fare table, and the council's timetable sheet also carries the bookings-only boat between Walls and Foula, which BK Marine operates.
Because the Laxo crossing is exposed to winds from the east round to the south. In those conditions the council moves the service to Vidlin, about five minutes' drive further, where the crossing takes 10 to 15 minutes longer. It happens on roughly one day in three or four, more often in winter.
Check the council's ferry status page, the electronic boards at the Laxo entrance and the Whalsay terminals, or the voicebank on 01595 743973.
06:15 from Symbister, seven days a week. A 05:00 also runs, but only if it has been booked by 18:00 the day before.
No. Whalsay fares are return fares collected on the outward trip from Mainland Shetland: £2.80 for an adult, £16.50 for a car with its driver.
Daytime sailings take unbooked vehicles in a separate lane, but booking guarantees space, which matters on the commuter sailings. Booked cars must be in the lane when loading starts, five minutes before departure.
Yes. Christmas Eve and Hogmanay end early, and on 25–26 December and 1–2 January a reduced timetable runs for booked passengers only. The council's festive sheet has the times.