In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.
Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Wick
Inbhir Ùige
Give Wick one night as a base for the far north coast and Orkney ferries; two nights only if you want Whaligoe and the Camster cairns too.
Wick is a working harbour town on Scotland's far northeast coast, 4 h 20 min by train from Inverness and 30 min from Thurso. It is not a sightseeing town in itself: you come for the cliff castles, Iron Age brochs and chambered cairns strung along the A99 and A9, and as a stopover before the Orkney ferries at Scrabster or Gills Bay. Most travellers need one night, or two if they want to walk the Whaligoe steps and reach the Grey Cairns of Camster without rushing.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Local name
- Inbhir Ùige
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (short days, wind and rain); midge season Jul–Aug inland
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £45–70 excl. bed · Mid £70–120 excl. bed · High £120+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance, coastguard 999 · EU emergency number 112 · NHS non-urgent 111 · Police non-urgent 101
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea in a café | £3–4.50 |
| Pub main course | £12–20 |
| Fish and chips | £10–15 |
| Hotel restaurant main | £10–25 |
| Draught beer, pint | £4.50–6 |
| Taxi across town | £5–8 |
| Train Wick → Inverness | about £20–30 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £8–15 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- WIC · Wick John o'Groats Airport
- Eastern Airways from Aberdeen, about 40 min, Sun–Fri; 1.5 miles north of town on the A99, Bus 82 stops on the road
Typical fares
- Train Wick → Thurso
- about 30 min
- Train Wick → Inverness
- about 4 h 20 min, four trains Mon–Sat, one Sunday
- Bus 77 Wick → John o'Groats
- about 30 min, three times Mon–Fri
- Bus 82 Wick → Thurso
- about 55 min, hourly Mon–Fri
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The town centre is small enough to walk. Bus 77 runs to John o'Groats three times Mon–Fri (about 30 min); Bus 82 links Wick, Halkirk and Thurso hourly Mon–Fri, every two hours Saturday, four on Sunday; Bus 75 heads south to Lybster, Dunbeath and Berriedale every couple of hours Mon–Fri. Trains run to Thurso in 30 min and Inverness in about 4 h 20 min. Taxis: Jimmy's and Miller Cabs. Hertz hires cars at the airport, which is the practical way to reach the cliff castles and cairns.
See and do
Known for
- Castle of Old Wick
- Castle Sinclair Girnigoe at Noss Head
- Old Pulteney distillery
- Whaligoe steps and harbour
- Grey Cairns of Camster
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| John o'Groats | Bus 77 from Wick, about 30 min, three times Mon–Fri | About 45 min |
| Thurso | Train or Bus 82, about 30 min | About 45 min |
| Whaligoe steps and Cairn o'Get | Drive south on the A99 about 6 miles, then walk | About 30 min |
| Grey Cairns of Camster | Drive the narrow lane between Watten and Lybster | About 45 min |
| Helmsdale | Train south from Wick, or drive the A9 | About 1 h 15 min by train |
| Orkney Islands | Drive or bus to Scrabster or Gills Bay, then ferry | 3–4 h to Stromness |
Sleep
- Town centre, north bank (High St and Bridge St)
- Walkable to the harbour, museum, distillery and railway station; most eating places are here.
- South bank around Riverside and Louisburgh St
- Quieter, still 5–10 min on foot from the centre; the riverside campsite is here.
- Thurso (30 min by train or Bus 82)
- Use Thurso instead if your priority is the Scrabster–Stromness ferry rather than Wick's own sights.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Tapadh leatTAH-pah let |
| Good morning | Madainn mhathMA-ting vah |
| Please | Mas e do thoil emas eh do hull eh |
| Where is the toilet? | Càite a bheil an taigh-beag?KAH-tcheh a vayl an ty vek |
| How much is it? | Dè a' phrìs a th' ann?djeh a PREEZ a hown |
| Cheers | SlàinteSLAHN-tcheh |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Rural buses are sparse, especially on Sundays: check times before you commit to a car-free day out.
- Cliff-edge sites such as Old Keiss Castle and Whaligoe have no barriers: stay back from the edge in wind.
- Mobile coverage is patchy: 4G from EE and a basic Vodafone signal, little or nothing from O2 or Three, and no 5G.
- The Castle of Old Wick interior is unsafe to enter; view it from outside.
- Book accommodation ahead in summer: the town is small and fills with North Coast 500 traffic.
Wick is a small, low-crime town and feels safe at night. The real risks are coastal: unguarded cliff edges at Whaligoe, Old Keiss and Noss Head, fast-changing weather, and long, empty single-track roads where help is far away.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Wick yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Castle of Old Wick
- Castle Sinclair Girnigoe at Noss Head
- Old Pulteney distillery
- Whaligoe steps and harbour
- Grey Cairns of Camster
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- VisitScotland — Caithness: www.visitscotland.com/places-to-go/highlands-islands/caithness
- Wick Heritage Museum: www.wickheritage.org/
- Historic Environment Scotland — Castle of Old Wick: www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/castle-of-old-wick/
- Historic Environment Scotland — Grey Cairns of Camster: www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/grey-cairns-of-camster/
- ScotRail: www.scotrail.co.uk/
- Stagecoach Highlands: www.stagecoachbus.com/
- Wick John o'Groats Airport: www.hial.co.uk/wick-john-o-groats-airport/
- Wikivoyage: Wick (Scotland), revision 5192175 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5192175
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
WickInbhir Ùige
Don seòladh seo, mas e do thoil e
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies or consulates in Wick; for consular help go to Edinburgh or London. US citizens: the US Consulate General is in Edinburgh (check the address and hours).
Scottish Gaelic is a heritage language here and English is what everyone speaks; the phrases above are a courtesy, not a necessity.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/wick-scotland). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.