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
Yell
Cross Yell in 30 min by car if you're heading to Unst; give it a full day only if you want the east-coast B-road, beaches and the Old Haa Museum.
Yell is one of Shetland's North Isles, about 32 km long and 8 km wide, with roughly 1,000 residents. There is no airport: you arrive by ro-ro ferry from Toft on Mainland Shetland and leave by ferry to Unst or Fetlar. Most travellers cross it in half an hour to catch the onward boat; the slower east-coast road through Burravoe, Otterswick and Cullivoe is the reason to linger.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (short days, wind and rain)
- Stay
- 1 night
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 £40–70 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 · Police non-urgent 101 · NHS non-urgent 111
- 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 |
| Burger or pizza at the Mid Yell diner | £10–16 |
| Groceries for a picnic lunch | £5–8 |
| Campsite pitch per night | £7 tent / £15 caravan |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £6–12 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- LSI · Sumburgh Airport (Mainland Shetland)
- No airport on Yell; fly to Sumburgh then drive about 1 h 15 min north to Toft for the Ulsta ferry.
Typical fares
- Toft → Ulsta ferry, adult
- about £2.80 single, 20 min
- Toft → Ulsta ferry, car
- about £16.50 single
- Gutcher → Belmont (Unst) ferry
- covered by the same ticket if travelled the same day, 10 min
Get around
The A968 runs up the west side from Ulsta to Mid Yell and Gutcher; the B9081/B9082 loop along the east coast via Burravoe and Otterswick and north to Cullivoe. Roads are single-track with passing places in places. Bus 24/24Y runs on weekdays only and is timed around the ferries, so a car or bike is the practical way to see the island.
See and do
Known for
- Old Haa Museum at Burravoe
- Gloup and its 1881 fishing disaster memorial
- West Sandwick and Breckon Sands beaches
- Otters, seals and seabirds on the east coast
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Unst | Bluemull ferry from Gutcher to Belmont, about 10 min | About 30 min from Gutcher pier |
| Fetlar | Bluemull ferry from Gutcher to Hamar's Ness, about 20 min, on the triangle sailings | About 40 min from Gutcher pier |
| Lerwick | Drive the A968 south to Toft, then the ferry to Ulsta and the A970 to Lerwick | About 2 h |
Sleep
- Burravoe
- South-east coast near the Ulsta ferry; Old Haa Museum, a small shop and the caravan site are here.
- West Sandwick
- West coast on the A968; a B&B and one of the island's better beaches.
- Mid Yell
- The largest settlement, roughly central; shop and a seasonal diner.
- Gutcher and Cullivoe
- North end, next to the Unst and Fetlar ferries; basic waiting rooms only.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hellohel-LO |
| Thank you | Thank youTHANK yoo |
| Please | Pleasepleez |
| Where is the ferry pier? | Where is the ferry pier?wair iz thuh FEH-ree peer |
| How much is it? | How much is it?how much iz it |
| Sorry | SorrySOR-ee |
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
- No airport: the only way in or out is the ferry.
- Bus 24 runs weekdays only and cannot support a day trip out from Lerwick.
- Mobile signal is unreliable across the island; download timetables and maps before you sail.
- Single-track roads with passing places and stray sheep: allow extra time.
- Fuel and shops are limited; fill up and buy food on Mainland Shetland before crossing.
A remote rural island with few man-made hazards. The real risks are weather, cliff edges and getting stranded by a missed ferry: dress for wind and rain and keep an eye on the timetable.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Yell yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Old Haa Museum at Burravoe
- Gloup and its 1881 fishing disaster memorial
- West Sandwick and Breckon Sands beaches
- Otters, seals and seabirds on the east coast
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- ZetTrans — public transport: www.zettrans.org.uk/travel/public-transport/bus
- Old Haa Museum: www.oldhaa.com
- Wikivoyage: Yell, revision 5314978 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5314978
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Yell
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies or consulates on Yell; the nearest are in Edinburgh or London. US citizens: the consulate general is in Edinburgh (check).
English is spoken throughout; there is no separate local language to learn.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/yell). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.