Accessible Shetland
Plan your visit on your own terms.
Accessible Shetland brings practical information about access, facilities and assistance together in one place, helping you decide what works for you. We’re building this with Shetland’s businesses, organisations and community. More information will be added as people get involved.
Find what you need
- Places and businessesCafés, shops, hotels, attractions and more: filter the Directory by what they offer.
- Toilets and facilitiesPublic and Changing Places toilets, plus details businesses share.
- Transport and assistanceFerries, flights, buses and community transport, and how to ask for help.
- Events and activitiesWhat’s on, and regular groups. Organisers can say what to expect.
- Local support and servicesAdvice, council services, health travel and equipment loans.
- Helpful informationBlue Badge rules, bus alternatives and general guides.
How to read this
- Specific facts, not labels. We show things like “step-free entrance” or “hearing loop”, never a single “accessible” badge, because what works depends on you.
- Who said so. Each listing says whether the details come from the owner, an official source, or were independently checked. We have not checked anything unless it says so.
- Missing is not “no”. If something is not listed, it has not been shared. Please ask before you travel; details can change.
Planning a visit
Getting here and getting around. These organisations run the services, so they hold the up-to-date detail on assistance and how much notice they need. We link to them rather than copying.
Travel and assistance
Ferries, flights and getting around. Each operator explains how to ask for help and how much notice they need.
NorthLink Ferries
Accessibility support (opens the NorthLink Ferries website in a new tab)Cabins, boarding help and advance-notice guidance for the Aberdeen, Orkney and Shetland ferries.
NorthLink Ferries
Accessibility policy (opens the NorthLink Ferries website in a new tab)Their formal policy for terminals, vessels and assistance dogs.
Loganair
Accessibility support (opens the Loganair website in a new tab)How to arrange assistance for a flight.
HIAL
Assistance and accessibility at Sumburgh Airport (opens the HIAL website in a new tab)Help at the airport. Assistance is booked through your airline.
Shetland Islands Council
Inter-island ferries: frequently asked questions (opens the Shetland Islands Council website in a new tab)Answers about the council's inter-island ferries.
ZetTrans
Shetland by bus (opens the ZetTrans website in a new tab)Bus travel information from the regional transport partnership.
Royal Voluntary Service
Shetland Community Transport (opens the Royal Voluntary Service website in a new tab)Volunteer transport for people who find public transport difficult.
Visiting Shetland
Guides written for visitors who want to plan around their own needs.
Shetland.org
Accessible Shetland (opens the Shetland.org website in a new tab)Visitor overview, including an accessible accommodation filter and borrowable all-terrain wheelchairs.
Shetland.org
Public toilets in Shetland (opens the Shetland.org website in a new tab)An island-wide list of public toilets, including accessible ones.
Shetland.org
All-terrain wheelchair routes (opens the Shetland.org website in a new tab)A blog post on routes suited to all-terrain wheelchairs.
Shetland Museum and Archives
Accessibility at Shetland Museum and Archives (opens the Shetland Museum and Archives website in a new tab)Access information for the museum.
Euan's Guide
Shetland Islands on Euan's Guide (opens the Euan's Guide website in a new tab)Disabled-access reviews written by visitors.
Changing Places
Changing Places toilet finder (opens the Changing Places website in a new tab)A national map of Changing Places toilets.
Exploring Shetland
Local businesses, events and groups can now share access details here. As they do, you’ll be able to browse and filter them in this section, and see the same details on their own pages. In the meantime the guides above are the best place to start. You can already filter the Directory by facility as details arrive.
Local support and helpful information
Local support and services
Organisations and council services for residents and visitors.
Shetland Islands Council
Apply for a Blue Badge (opens the Shetland Islands Council website in a new tab)How to apply in Shetland.
Shetland Islands Council
Adults and older people (opens the Shetland Islands Council website in a new tab)The council's adult social care services.
Citizens Advice
Shetland Islands Citizens Advice Bureau (opens the Citizens Advice website in a new tab)Free, impartial and confidential advice.
Alzheimer Scotland
Shetland Brain Health and Dementia Resource Centre (opens the Alzheimer Scotland website in a new tab)The local resource centre.
NHS Shetland
Travelling for care (opens the NHS Shetland website in a new tab)Travelling to appointments, including travel help.
Disability Information Scotland
Ability Shetland (opens the Disability Information Scotland website in a new tab)A directory entry for Ability Shetland, which lends equipment such as all-terrain wheelchairs.
Helpful information
National guidance that applies in Shetland.
mygov.scot
How to use a Blue Badge (opens the mygov.scot website in a new tab)The rules for using a badge in Scotland.
mygov.scot
If you cannot get a bus (opens the mygov.scot website in a new tab)Alternatives such as community transport.
VisitBritain
Accessible guide to the Scottish islands (opens the VisitBritain website in a new tab)A general guide to accessible travel to the islands.
These links go to other organisations’ websites. Listing them does not mean they are involved with OneShetland or endorse it. Their information is theirs, and may change.
Help us build it
Run a business, group or event?
Tell people what to expect: steps, parking, toilets, quiet times, how you can help. It’s free, you choose what to say, and you can save a draft. Find it under “Help people plan their visit” in your management area.
Go to my accountSpotted something wrong?
On any listing with access details, choose “Suggest a correction”. A person reads every suggestion before anything changes. Please describe the place, never yourself.
Represent an organisation?
If your organisation helps people with access or assistance in Shetland and would like to be listed, or a link here is out of date, please tell us.
Contact usWe never ask for or show anyone’s health or disability information.