Our 2019 meetup location was supposed to be St. Kilda. As pointed out by Els in her blog post, the boat didn't go. I think in the process we gathered some valuable lessons learned and I would like to document them here.

Getting In

First things first: St. Kilda is an island roughly 100km off the coast of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. The only way to get there is by boat. Several operators offer day trips. The trips are subject to cancellation as you are going out into the Atlantic ocean and the weather and the sea can be rough.

Boat trips are offered from the islands of Harris and Uist in the Outer Hebrides and from Skye in the Inner Hebrides. The distance from Skye is significantly longer than from Harris or Uist. Boats from Harris and Uist go from 8:00h to 19:00h with 4,5h to 5h on the islands. The boats from Skye travel from 7:00h to 20:00h with 4h on the island.

There are also some expensive cruises that visit the islands.

Getting There

If you travel by car, Skye is significantly easier as you can take a bridge. It takes less than 6h from Edinburgh to Skye by car. It takes nearly 9h to get to Harris or Uist as you need to take the ferry from Uig on Skye. If you are arriving from the North, the ferry would be in Ullapool. Note: Ferry times are tricky and you need a reservation, especially in high season, if you plan to bring a car.

By public transport, expect to travel a full day. If possible, try to start from Glasgow as there are direct buses to Uig from where the ferries to Uist and Harris depart. Skye may seem easier, but the Stein jetty is on the western coast of the island and not reachable by public transport.

The easiest and fastest option is to fly to Stornoway on Harris. Flights are reasonably well priced (250€) and it saves you a lot of time.

You obviously have to make the travel calculations yourself. However, the easier drive to Skye comes with significant downsides:

1. You spend more time on the sea, less on the island.
2. The boat spends more time on the sea, potentially suffering more in the process and reliability being a larger issue.
3. You are exposed to the elements longer, there is no buffer and the risk of cancellation rises.

So, if you have traveled this far with the explicit intent of visiting St. Kilda, my recommendation would always be to get to the Outer Hebrides and skip past Skye.

When to Go

Our resident Scottish couple, Allan and Lucia, recommended going in early summer (late May, June). Due to the higher temperatures in summer on the mainland the winds are stronger and the risk of cancellation increases. Also, Scotland is fully booked in summer, so hotel prices will be higher. To get a room will require a reservation, so short term plan changes are next to impossible. I would assume in late spring the situation is more relaxed.

In general, you should plan multiple days waiting for the boat. I would not opt for two consecutive days as the risk that the weather is bad the next day, too, would be higher. So plan at least 3 days, arriving the evening before and departing the next day.

Reservations

One of our group managed to get a boat at short notice one day after most of us had left. Unlike Skellig Michael, St. Kilda has not been featured in Star Wars and is not a prime tourist destination. And at least Harris is remote enough that there are very few day-trippers. Still, you should reserve. I would assume a few months ahead should be okay, at least if you are traveling alone or in a small group.

Rating Providers

There are several companies offering their services. Unfortunately, we picked Go to St. Kilda. Based on the interactions we have had with them plus some investigations by 2 senior WH travellers, I cannot recommend their services.

In any case, you should check the following points:

• How much does it cost?
• How long does the trip take? How much time is spent on the island?
• What are the payment terms? We lost a lot of money due to a full prepayment in Pounds and the Pound taking a beating in the FX markets. Prepaying substantial amounts in full also means increased credit risk to a company you do not know.
• What are the cancellation terms? Do they refund in full or deduct an administration expense for a service they did not render?
• How many fallback options do they offer?
• What boats do they operate? Ask for a picture. Better yet, if the website actually shows the boat. It is the boat you will be going way out into the Atlantic ocean with the coast a distant memory.

What you shouldn't go by are the TripAdvisor reviews, at least in the traditional sense. I always assumed that a spotless record would mean a spotless company. How wrong I was. I really learned something new here.

Go to St Kilda is very active in having unfavorable reviews taken down. It took them two times less than 24h to have my review removed. What they seem to do, is that they flag all negative reviews as violating TripAdvisor policy. And TripAdvisor complies.

What remains for Go to St Kilda is an endless stream of "Amazing", "Fantastic" "Lifetime experience" reviews. Indeed, having almost zero unfavorable reviews for a boat ride that does get canceled and where disgruntled customers should exist, should be a warning sign, as we came to learn.

Last but not least, we have several St. Kilda veterans. If you plan a trip to St. Kilda, post a question on the forum or on the WhatsApp group.