Shetland Seabird Tours

• Welcome aboard! We offer the ultimate Shetland wildlife boat tour experience, with unrivalled wildlife spectacles, close seabird encounters & breath-taking photographic opportunities. Experience one of Europe's finest wildlife spectacles with the longest running, No.1 Noss Boat. Daily wildlife tours with professional naturalist & highly experienced skipper Phil around Noss National Nature Reserve & Bressay. 

Voted “1 of top 10 boat tours in the UK” The Guardian.

“Best Visitor Attraction Experience” FINALISTS Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards 2022.

2022 Winner: “Wildlife Tour Company of the Year – Scotland” Travel & Hospitality Awards

• Join us for a real 'gannet's eye view' with the incredible sight of over 25,000 gannets & thousands of other stunning seabirds around the towering 180m cliffs of Noss NNR. Delight in the beautiful scenic views of Lerwick Harbour, Bressay Lighthouse, the Orkneyman's Cave, Giant's Leg & breathtaking geology around Noss & Bressay. Did somebody shout WHALES? Sightings of Orca are increasing in Shetland waters, they are not guaranteed, but what a bonus when they appear! With our eagle-eyed, expert crew with a passion for cetaceans, you couldn't be on a better boat if whales are in the area. As seasoned professionals, we fully adhere to strict guidelines for marine mammal watching as set out by SNH/Nature Scotland & are fully WiSe accredited.

• We offer a unique, spectacular diving gannet feeding frenzy, our speciality. We supply the fish, we give you the time! We have recently worked with BBC Springwatch, WildShetland & the RSPB, our boat is the boat of choice for amateur & professional photographers, wildlife tour groups, film crews, families, couples & solo travellers from around the world.

The Noss Boat - Ayda Ruby II

• Very comfortable, streamlined, stable wildlife boat (with partial on/off front canopy if needed), 360º panoramic viewing, large decking area, ample room to sit, stand, photograph & enjoy. Our boats low position in the water is perfect for viewing & photographing wildlife & the perfect boat for navigating Shetland Waters. We move around the marine rich environment with a sensitive approach to the local area & it's abundant wildlife. We can also move smoothly, at speed between the main sites to maximise your time at the hot spots!

• Unique benefit of 12 fully upholstered, forward facing padded seats with backrests for the ultimate comfort at sea! It's a great feature of our tours to have the ability to both sit down in comfort & safety whilst out on the water & be able to move around freely on deck. Binoculars are at hand for all passengers, kindly sponsored by Opticron. We have excellent, bird & marine mammal identification charts for all passnegers & SST merchandise which can be purchased at the end of your trip with us.

• We have a TOILET available below deck in our private cabin for piece of mind whilst out on the water. Our tour focus on wildlife sightings to maximise your experience & value for money. We think there are fabulous cafes in Lerwick to enjoy your refreshments pre or post tour (though you are welcome to bring your own onboard!).We have collaborated with The Peerie Shop Cafe for the 2022 season offering a discount to all our passengers in their cafe post trip! We are pleased to support other local businesses & collaborate in this way.

• Our famous Noss Boat trips run from April - October every day (weather depending) from Victoria Pier Slipway, Lerwick Harbour, just opposite the Tourist Office. We run scheduled daily boat trips at 09.45am, 12.45pm & 3.45pm (departure approx 15 mins later, no 3.45pm trips Mon & Sat).

• Being the No.1 photographers boat of choice, we also run scheduled 'Early Bird' sunrise photo tours for the best of Shetland's early morning light at the cliffs of Noss. These tours depart on Mon & Sat at 05.45am during the summer months (minimum 4 persons). We also offer additional photographic tours with Shetland Seabird Tours very own Award Winning Photographer & acclaimed photographic judge Rebecca Nason - please check out the dates online.

• We are the ideal boat to showcase the very best of Shetland's abundant marine wildlife. Whether you are travelling as a single passenger, a couple, family, tour group, photographer or film crew, Shetland Seabird Tours is the professional choice to guide you in comfort, safety & style. Let us show you the best of Shetland aboard the Ayda Ruby II, a boat actually built for wildlife watching. As well as our daily schedules seasonal tours, we are also available for bespoke trips to suit all needs & are regularly used by companies for bird survey work & private charters. Do get in touch to discuss your requirements.

The Noss Boat Crew

Phil Harris is your highly experienced, naturalist skipper & guide on all boat trips & will give you live commentary througohut your tour. Both Phil & Rebecca Nason are professional & passionate ecologists & birders & have been on the wildlife tour guiding scene since 2005. They have worked "out in the field" for many years, honing their field skills, ready to deliver fun, personal, informative & interesting tours to suit all interests & ages. Phil was formally a fulltime firefighter & crew manager at very busy stations in England & worked on rescue boats at sea in Shetland - so safety out on the water is paramount to all our tours.

Phil is the most experienced skipper & guide around Noss & his expert ornithological skills are often put to good use out of season as a leading Shetland bird surveyer, bird ringer & Shetland Bird Club Committee member. Rebecca joins the Noss boat for specialised photographic tours, offering a wealth of photographic knowledge & expertise to assist both amateur & professional photographers. When not out photographing birds or judging competitions, Rebecca is a natural history author, bird surveyor & bird ringer as well as treasurer, membershipship secretary & committee member of the Shetland Bird Club.

Small Groups - World Class Experiences

We take up to 12 passengers per trip. Without doubt, Shetland Seabird Tours offers you the best guides, the best boat, the best wildlife experiences & the best value for money.