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Outer Hebrides.
The stern of a ferry with its black-tipped funnel, hills rising beyond the water.

Getting to Outer Hebrides and around.

The ferries, the flights and the causeways

By ferry

CalMac sails from Ullapool to Stornoway, from Uig on Skye to Tarbert and Lochmaddy, from Mallaig to Lochboisdale and from Oban to Castlebay.

Book a space for the car well ahead in summer, and check CalMac's service page before you travel.

By air

Loganair flies to Stornoway from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness, and to Benbecula and Barra from Glasgow.

On Barra the plane lands on the beach at Traigh Mhor, so the flights follow the tide.

Getting around

Causeways join the islands from Berneray down to Eriskay, and short car ferries cross the Sound of Harris to Leverburgh and the Sound of Barra to Barra.

The roads are quiet and often single track, and although buses run, a car or a bike is the easiest way to see it all.

Stornoway has the most places to stay and eat, and Tarbert is the base for the beaches of Harris. The Uists are quieter still, and Castlebay on Barra is small, friendly and right by the ferry.

A week lets you travel the length of the islands from Lewis to Barra, using the causeways and the short ferries. With three or four days, choose Lewis and Harris or the southern isles.

On Lewis and Harris many shops, cafés and petrol stations close on Sundays, and some ferries and buses don't run, so plan ahead. Further south, from Benbecula to Barra, more stays open.

The weather comes straight off the Atlantic, so expect wind and quick changes. The islands can be sunny when the mainland is not, and the beaches are at their best on a bright day with the tide out.

Many weavers work from sheds beside their homes and sell from them, and there are shops in Tarbert, Stornoway and across the islands. Look for the Orb mark, which shows the cloth was made by hand in the Outer Hebrides.

Yes. The beaches are wide and often quiet, the Calanais stones and the Gearrannan blackhouses are easy to explore, and the plane landing on the beach at Barra is worth planning a day round.

Photographs by Sela Yair; Nick Kilby, Mark Adams, Lewis Sports Centre, Louise Chambers, Georgi Spasov, david melia, susan murray, Stornoway Distillers Co., Debbie Ashby, Donald MacLeod, Nicola G, Callanish Alpacas, 15 jun02, Mauro De Brasi, Julie Smith, Monika Anna, David Ferguson, Caley Thistle, Nick Evans, john johnston and Iolanda Perich Romero (Lloguer 3.0) via Google

More of Outer Hebrides.

Tall lichen-covered standing stones form a circle on open moorland beneath a pale sky.See and doStanding stones, brochs, blackhouses and a castle in the bayAn aerial view of the blue Crust kiosk standing in a gravel car park beside a loch, cars parked around it and open moorland stretching behind.Eat, drink and shopSeafood, a pizza kiosk and island cafésWhere to stayYacht beached on shore with Kisimul Castle visible on its islet beyondHistory and storiesStanding stones, Norse farms and clan castlesA twin-propeller aircraft comes in to land low over the shore, its tartan tailfin bright against a pale sky and landing gear extended above the sand.ItinerariesDays we have driven, stop by stopA grassy path winds through dunes overlooking the sea at Askernish.What is on in Outer HebridesSomething new from the islands every day