Yell, Unst and the North Isles
Two short council-run car ferries – Toft to Ulsta, then Gutcher to Belmont – link Mainland Shetland to Yell and on to Unst, with a third leg to Fetlar; buses are timed to the crossings but only run a day-trip pattern into Lerwick, not out of it.
- Researched
- 29 September 2026
- Reviewed
- not yet
- Ways of moving
- 9, 13 sources
- Not confirmed
- 5
- Fares seen
- 2026
9 ways of moving, each with its rule
We confirmed eight ways of moving to, from or around Yell: three by water, four by road and one of another kind, from 13 sources. One entry is not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. One of them runs only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be. Three need a phone call or a message before you turn up.
The fares were seen in 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. We rate 7 of the 9 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 29 September 2026, and ends with five things we could not confirm.
By water
Toft – Ulsta (Yell Sound)
Toft, Mainland Shetland to Ulsta, Yell
Follow the A968 north from Lerwick to its end at Toft; unmanned terminal with a small waiting room
- When
- Roughly every 30 minutes on weekdays 06:15-16:00 and hourly into the evening; less frequent Saturday and Sunday
- Takes
- 20 min
- Fare 2026
- Return £2.80 adult, £0.80 over-60s/concession, £16.50 car (up to 5.5m, includes driver); undated beyond the 2026/27 fare table which runs 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027
SeasonYear-round, no seasonal closure found; sailings are cancelled individually for weather rather than the route having an off season. BookingPayment is on board only; booking is optional except for the first (0545/0515) and last sailings of the day, which are online-booking-only ('*' on the timetable) and won't sail without a booking. Run byShetland Islands Council Ferry Operations.
Gutcher – Belmont (Bluemull Sound)
Gutcher, Yell to Belmont, Unst
Queue in Lanes 1/2 at Gutcher pier for Unst (Lanes 3/4 are for the Fetlar sailing); unmanned terminal, small waiting room
- When
- Weekdays roughly every 30-45 min from 06:10 to about 22:15, with three late online-booking-only sailings; Sundays from 06:10 with wider gaps and fewer late sailings
- Takes
- 10 min
- Fare 2026
- Included in the through fare paid on the Toft-Ulsta leg if travelling from Mainland the same day; otherwise the same £2.80 adult / £16.50 car return fare applies. Undated beyond the 2026/27 fare table
SeasonYear-round; no confirmed seasonal closure, but this is the route with by far the most weather and mechanical cancellations in the council's own figures. BookingPay on board; late sailings marked '*' (e.g. 2250/2305/2335) are online-booking-only and only run 4 nights out of 6, Monday to Saturday. Run byShetland Islands Council Ferry Operations.
Gutcher – Hamars Ness (Fetlar)
Gutcher, Yell to Hamars Ness, Fetlar, on the same triangular vessel that also serves Belmont
Queue in Lanes 3/4 at Gutcher for Fetlar; some sailings run Gutcher-Fetlar-Belmont or the reverse as one triangle, others run direct
- When
- 5-6 sailings a day on the Fetlar leg, fewer than the Unst leg; times are lettered 'G' or 'B' on the council timetable to mark which triangle pattern applies
- Takes
- 20 min Gutcher-Hamars Ness; the council's own journey-time table gives Fetlar-Unst-Yell (i.e. via Belmont) as 25 min combined
- Fare 2026
- Same fare structure as the Yell/Unst crossings; through ticket from Mainland covers it same day. Undated beyond the 2026/27 table
SeasonYear-round; no separate winter timetable found for this leg specifically. BookingPay on board; check which lettered sailing (G/B pattern) actually calls at Fetlar before turning up, as not every Gutcher departure does. Run byShetland Islands Council Ferry Operations.
By road
Service 24 - Lerwick to Yell (via Toft-Ulsta ferry)
Lerwick Viking Bus Station via Toft, crossing on the ferry, to Ulsta and on to Mid Yell / Gutcher
Board at Viking Bus Station, Lerwick; the bus itself travels on the Yell Sound ferry with its passengers
- When
- One through working weekdays (Monday-Saturday), departing Lerwick early afternoon; timed to a specific ferry sailing rather than running independently
- Takes
- About 2h15m Lerwick to Belmont/Baltasound door to door, including the two ferry legs
- Fare 2026
- Not found in the timetable PDF; ZetTrans fares are not listed on the North Isles timetable itself
SeasonYear-round on a school-term/non-school-term variant; some journeys run only on school days ('Sch') or non-school days ('NSch'). BookingTurn-up-and-go for the scheduled service; no reservation system for the bus itself. Run byZetTrans (Shetland's transport partnership), contracted operator.
Service 28 - Yell to Unst (via Bluemull ferry)
Gutcher to Belmont, Uyeasound, Baltasound, Haroldswick and Saxavord on Unst
Connects with Service 24 at Gutcher; through passengers may stay seated on the bus for the Bluemull Sound crossing
- When
- About four runs a day Monday-Saturday on the full route, with the late-afternoon run being the busiest through-connection from Lerwick
- Takes
- About 25 min Gutcher to Baltasound including the ferry
- Fare 2026
- Not found in the timetable PDF
SeasonYear-round, weekday and reduced Saturday/Sunday patterns. BookingTurn-up-and-go; some early/late journeys are Dial-a-Ride (see separate entry). Run byZetTrans, contracted operator.
Service 29 - Fetlar (foot connection only)
Funzie, Houbie and Hamars Ness on Fetlar, feeding the Gutcher ferry
Fetlar has no vehicle-carrying bus link beyond the island itself; passengers cross to Gutcher as foot passengers and pick up Service 24 there
- When
- A handful of Dial-a-Ride and fixed journeys a day, several marked DAR (bookable) rather than fixed-route
- Takes
- Island-internal legs of 10-25 min between Fetlar villages
- Fare 2026
- Not found in the timetable PDF
SeasonYear-round. BookingDial-a-Ride legs (marked DAR) must be booked by 16:00 the day before travel (16:00 Friday for Monday travel), on 01595 745745. Run byZetTrans, contracted operator (Dial-a-Ride element via the central booking number).
Dial-a-Ride, North Isles
Booked local runs across Yell, Unst and Fetlar shown as 'DAR' on the ZetTrans North Isles timetable
Phone the Dial-a-Ride booking number; routes and stops adjust to whoever has booked
- When
- on demand, within the times shown as DAR on the printed timetable
- Takes
- Varies by booking
- Fare 2026
- Not found
SeasonYear-round. BookingCompulsory, by 16:00 the day before travel (16:00 Friday for Monday journeys), on 01595 745745; block bookings possible on the same number. Run byZetTrans, contracted operator.
Rules, permits and closures
Winter gales suspend the Bluemull and Yell Sound crossings
Toft-Ulsta and Gutcher-Belmont-Hamars Ness
Check the ferry status display at Lerwick harbour, the route Voicebank numbers (Unst & Fetlar 01595 743971, Yell 01595 743972), or Shetland News before setting out in poor weather
- When
- Suspensions are called individually as winds rise, sometimes route by route on the same morning
- Takes
- n/a
- Fare 2026
- n/a
SeasonHeaviest in autumn and winter storms, but cancellations happen year-round; a June 2026 report said 2,845 inter-island sailings were cancelled council-wide in 2024-2025, with Yell the worst route for crewing-related cancellations (404) and Bluemull Sound the worst for weather, breakdown and maintenance combined (271), including an engine replacement on the MV Geira. Run byShetland Islands Council decides suspensions; the harbourmaster/ferry masters call it on the day.
And also
Bobby's Bus Shelter, Baltasound
A working Service 28 stop on the main road at Baltasound, Unst
On the A968 in Baltasound; look for the furnished shelter rather than a sign
- When
- n/a - it is a bus stop, not a service
- Takes
- n/a
- Fare 2026
- n/a
SeasonYear-round, redecorated annually to a different theme. Run byVolunteer-maintained community feature, on a Shetland Islands Council road.
What we could not find out
5 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.
- 01
Neither the ZetTrans North Isles timetable PDF nor the Shetland Islands Council ferry-fares page states bus fares for Services 24, 28 or 29; ask the driver or call 01595 744868.
- 02
The exact 2026/27 Bluemull Sound and Fetlar-leg vehicle fares beyond the general £2.80/£16.50 Yell figures were not separately itemised on the fares page seen; the fares page groups Yell, Unst/Fetlar and Whalsay together under one 'Mainland to Yell' / 'Yell to Unst/Fetlar' return-fare table, so ask at the Ulsta booking office (01595 745804) if a route-specific figure is needed.
- 03
Wikivoyage's claim that the Lerwick-bound through bus (Service 24) leaves Gutcher southbound at 08:40 and that the Lerwick-Unst bus leaves Lerwick at 14:30 does not match the current (17/08/2026) ZetTrans timetable, which shows the Mainland-Yell-Unst-Fetlar through working leaving Viking Bus Station at 14:00 and a separate early southbound working from Baltasound around 07:35-07:55; the brief's 08:40/14:30 times are stale and are corrected here.
- 04
The claim in some tourist guides that Shetland's inter-island fares were still £2.80/£16.50 'until April 2025' (from an old Wikivoyage edit) is outdated; the current published Shetland Islands Council fare table covers 01/04/2026-31/03/2027 at the same headline figures, so the fare has evidently been held rather than risen, but this could not be independently confirmed for the intervening 2025/26 year.
- 05
No separate seasonal (summer/winter) timetable variant was found for the Yell/Unst/Fetlar ferries themselves, only the single 'V22026' table effective 5 October 2026; whether an earlier 2026 table differed was not checked.
What the planner can route today
The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Yell is this.
- N
- Scheduled flightsnearest airport BGO is 348 km away
- Y
- Trains and coachesTransitous carries 3 timetable feeds for this country, 2 with real-time
- Y
- FerriesHamars Ness Ferry Terminal, 11 km; sailings estimated
- Y
- Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
- N
- Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
- N
- Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere
Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known. Nearest place with more: Bergen, 353 km.