Sanday to Kirkwall ferry times and today's sailings

Orkney Ferries · 1 h 25 min · 1 sailing today · 31.3 km

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Next departure · Tomorrow

09:15

Scheduled

Orkney Ferries

Tomorrow’s sailings

Updated 20:08

Today’s sailings

Updated 20:08

First sailing: 09:15; usual time
Last sailing: 16:55; usual time
Crossing time: 1 h 25 min; 1 h 25 min to 1 h 45 min
Sailings a week: 14
Distance: 31.3 km; 16.9 nmi

Map

0 ships at sea

Punctuality: 7 sailings measured so far, 50 needed. How we measure

Operators on this route

Operator	Sailings in the next 7 days	Crossing time
Orkney Ferries	14	1 h 25 min – 1 h 45 min

Timetable

Next 7 days · local time in Sanday

Sun 25 Oct	17:55
Mon 26 Oct, Thu 29 Oct – Fri 30 Oct	09:1516:55
Tue 27 Oct	09:3516:55
Wed 28 Oct	09:1512:5016:55
Sat 31 Oct	09:3517:55

Timetable published from 22 Oct 2026 to 7 Dec 2027.

Weather at sea

Place	TodaySun 25 Oct	TomorrowMon 26 Oct
Sanday
Sanday	Wind from NW 42–44 knBeaufort 9 · strong galegusts 58 knwaves 4.8–5.0 m11 °Cprecipitation up to 0.9 mm/hvisibility down to 3.7 km	Wind from W 16–44 knBeaufort 4–9 · strong galegusts 57 knwaves 1.5–4.7 m10–13 °Cprecipitation up to 2.5 mm/hvisibility down to 2.3 km
Mid-crossing
Mid-crossing	Wind from NW 39–42 knBeaufort 8–9 · strong galegusts 46 knwaves 2.1–2.4 m10 °Cprecipitation up to 1.0 mm/hvisibility down to 4.0 km	Wind from W 17–44 knBeaufort 5–9 · strong galegusts 46 knwaves 0.4–2.4 m10–13 °Cprecipitation up to 2.7 mm/hvisibility down to 2.4 km
Kirkwall
Kirkwall	Wind from NW 30–33 knBeaufort 7 · near galegusts 36 knwaves 1.7–1.8 m9 °Cprecipitation up to 1.2 mm/hvisibility down to 4.4 km	Wind from W 12–30 knBeaufort 4–7 · near galegusts 36 knwaves 0.4–2.0 m9–12 °Cprecipitation up to 3.8 mm/hvisibility down to 2.0 km

Forecast issued 25 Oct, 12:09. It doesn’t tell whether a sailing will run: that is up to the operator.

Data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Wind converted from m/s to knots and the Beaufort scale. Waves come from the nearest sea point of MET’s ocean model, which covers north-west Europe only; gusts only where MET forecasts them (the Nordic area).Weather data by Open-Meteo.com. Licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Models ECMWF IFS and ECMWF WAM (© ECMWF, CC BY 4.0), 9 km grid: wind in knots converted to the Beaufort scale, temperature at sea level, precipitation (rain, showers and snow) as the hourly total shown for the hour it falls in, waves and mean wave period from the model’s nearest sea point, visibility shown only below 5 km; nearby places in the same grid cell share the same figures.Daily lows and highs, and the hour with the most precipitation, worked out by ferrywhere. Each figure comes from MET Norway where MET forecasts it, otherwise from Open-Meteo.

Questions about this route

How many ferries are there from Sanday to Kirkwall today?

There is 1 sailing today from Sanday to Kirkwall, at 17:55.

How long is the ferry from Sanday to Kirkwall?

The crossing takes 1 h 25 min, between 1 h 25 min and 1 h 45 min depending on the sailing.

Which ferry companies sail from Sanday to Kirkwall?

The route is operated by Orkney Ferries.

What time is the first and last ferry from Sanday to Kirkwall?

The first ferry usually leaves at 09:15 and the last at 16:55, local time in Sanday.

How often does the ferry from Sanday to Kirkwall run?

14 sailings are scheduled in the next 7 days.

About this route

Orkney Ferries currently sails from Sanday to Kirkwall every day, 1 to 3 times a day. The first departure is usually at 09:15 and the last at 16:55.

The crossing covers 31.3 km (16.9 nmi) and takes 1 h 25 min; some sailings take up to 1 h 45 min. Some sailings call at Eday on the way.

Earl Thorfinn, Earl Sigurd and Varagen have sailed this route in the last 30 days. Kirkwall can also be reached by ferry from Shapinsay, Rapness, Stronsay and 2 more. The return crossing from Kirkwall to Sanday has the same number of sailings a week.

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