Shetland Seabird Tours - Daily Wildlife Boat Trips around Noss, Shetland

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Shetland's ONLY Naturalist led - carbon neutral - multi-award winning NOSS BOAT. The "Best Visitor Attraction Experience" WINNER 2022 - Highlands & Islands Tourism Thistle Awards

The ultimate Shetland wildlife & photography boat tour experience.
Come & join us in comfort & style & experience one of Europe’s finest wildlife spectacles with seasoned professionals. Voted 1 of the TOP 10 UK Boat Tours - The Guardian & winner of Best Wildlife & Photography Tour Company of the Year 2023" Global LTG

Local Knowledge - World Class Encounters

Our famous Noss Boat tours offer you the ultimate Shetland wildlife experience, unrivalled wildlife spectacles, close seabird & seal encounters & incredible photographic opportunities with the awe-inspiring Noss 'seabird city' backdrop. We maximise your time at the wildlife hotspots. Our world class tours take you to the breath-taking Noss cliffs & around Bressay, to enjoy shetland's rich, diverse marine environment. See thousands of breeding seabirds, close seal encounters, beautiful scenic views, iconic landmarks & striking local geology, including the legendary Orkneyman’s Cave & striking natural arch of the Giant’s Leg....

Whales & Dolphins

Did somebody shout WHALES? Sightings of various whales & dolphins, including ORCA, are increasing in Shetland waters, they are not guaranteed, but what a bonus when they appear! With an eagle-eyed expert crew with a passion for cetaceans at hand, you couldn't be on a better boat if whales or dolphins are in the area. As seasoned professionals, we fully adhere to the strict guidelines for watching marine mammals as set out by SNH/Nature Scotland and WiSe for which we are an accredited company.

Seabird Spectacular

Join us for a real 'gannet's eye view' with the incredible sight of over 25,000 gannets (solan) and other seabirds including guillemots (longwi), razorbills (sea craa), puffins (tammie norie), black guillemots (tystie), kittiwakes (weeg), fulmars (maalie) & great skuas (bonxie), all around the towering 180 metre weathered sandstone noup of Noss NNR. Shetland is home to millions of seabirds through the summer months, in fact 22 species breed here, 18 of which occur in nationally important numbers. The "seabird city" colony at Noss supports one of the largest & most diverse concentrations of seabirds anywhere in Europe, & is a true seabird spectacular to behold.

Tourism Awards

We are Shetland's No.1 Choice. As Best of the Best, our consistently excellent reviews on TripAdvisor have provided us with annual Excellence & Traveller's Choice Awards since 2016. In November 2022 we won what is regarded as an Oscar in the Tourism Industry, the coveted Highlands and Islands award for " Best Visitor Attraction Experience". This award was the 1st ever given to a boat tour company on the Isles! Other awards include winning "Best Wildlife & Photography Tour Company 2023" Winner -Global LTG "Boat Tour Company of the Year" 2022 in the Innovation & Excellence Awards & "The Best Wildlife & Photography Boat Tour Company" title, by the Scottish Enterprise Awards in 2021. Come & join us and see why!

The No.1 Choice

We are the longest operating Noss Boat & Crew having been in constant business with the same owners, crew & boat since 2016. Our tours are used by the major film crews, including BBC Springwatch, Wild Shetland & Nat Geo TV. We are the boat of choice for single travellers, couples, tour groups, families & photographers.

Rebecca Nason is an OM SYSTEM Ambassador, part of an ever expanding global brand. Please get in touch with questions, private 121 online workshops & NEW field (sea!) based OM SYSTEM Shetland workshops available in 2023.

Diving Gannets

We offer a unique, spectacular gannet feeding & diving experience, right alongside the boat. We supply the fish - a large bucket of locally caught mackerel - and give you time! We have a wildlife friendly, gentle pace & make sure you have as much time in the hot spots as we can during your tour. Our gannet feeding frenzy, encapsulating what fishing boats entering the busy northern harbour have done for centuries, is our speciality & the highlight for many. We do not rush our visit to Noss cliffs or time with diving gannets to make sure you get the most of this very special wildlife experience. Have your cameras at the ready!

FILM - SUPER GANNETS

SUPER GANNETS - Filmed from our Noss Boat in collaboration with Maramedia, working with Richard Shucksmith. Narrated by Ewan McGregor.

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The Noss Boat

The Best Wildlife Boat

We have a very comfortable, streamlined, stable wildlife boat with a partial on/off canopy if needed, 360º panoramic viewing, 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 Shetland waters with a sensitive approach to the local area & it's abundant wildlife. We can also move at a good speed between the main sites to maximise your time at the hot spots!

Toilet Onboard & Free Top Cafe Discount Card

We have a TOILET on board for piece of mind whilst out on the water. We have a small private room below deck at the front of the boat for passengers to use our toilet. Out of season this room turns into a twin-bedded mini cabin! Our tours focus on wildlife sightings to maximise your time & value for money. We think there are fabulous cafes in Lerwick to enjoy your refreshments post tour, though you are welcome to bring your own onboard! We have also collaborated with The 'Peerie Shop Cafe' since the 2022 season, offering every passenger a discount card for post trip refreshments! We are pleased to support other local businesses & collaborate in this original way.

Upholstered, Comfortable Seats with Backrests for All (Massive Bonus out on the Sea!)

Unique benefit of 12 fully upholstered, brand new, forward facing seats with backrests for the ultimate comfort at sea. It’s a great feature on our tours to have the ability to both sit down in comfort & safety whilst on the water & to be able to move around comfortably on deck. We also have a canvas roof canopy we can take on & off depending on weather. If the weather is mixed, we can keep you warm and dry out of the elements (still keeping the fully exposed large decking area free for photo shoots & panoramic viewing). Every passenger wears lightweight, slim style lifejackets during our tours, with Phil's strong firefighting past, we are very safety conscious! Safety always comes first!

Daily 'Famous' Wildlife Boat Tours with Local Experts

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 (No 3.45pm tour Mon or Sat). Departures are approx 15 mins later. All our tours last for 2-2.5 hrs.

Binoculars & ID Guides for All, Free Eco Packs for Kids & On board Shop!

We have yet again been sponsored by OPTICRON, & have 12 brand new binoculars at hand for all passengers to use, - a wonderful asset for the 2023 season. We also have (bespoke!) seabird & cetacean identification charts behind every seat & free little seabird eco-activity packs for young children (worth over £6 each). We also have the original NOSS BOAT online & onboard shop with a growing, eco-friendly, high quality selection of merchandise for sale.

Original 'Early Bird' Photo Tours

Being the photographers boat of choice, we also run our original scheduled 'Early Bird' sunrise tours for the best of Shetland's early morning light at the cliffs of Noss. These tours depart on Mon & Sat at 05.45am. with prior booking only (minimum 4 persons).

Small Groups

Best of the Best

We can take up to 12 passengers per trip & are the perfect choice for tour groups, single travellers, couples, families & photographers visiting Shetland. We have just been awarded the title of: Highlands & Islands "Best Visitor Attraction Experience"......

Our tour prices are kept as low as possible to be as inclusive as possible, we feel the price is incredible value for money at £50 for adults & £25 for under 16’s. Our price for under 16's hasn't changed since we started our business in 2016! We are without doubt the best boat, offer the best wildlife experience & the best value for money. Come & join Shetland's premier boat tour company & experience what is often hailed THE holiday highlight!

We are have consistently excellent TripAdvisor ratings & come highly recommended. Please do leave us a review after your tour with us to share your genuine experiences aboard The Noss Boat.

The Noss Boat Crew

Phil Harris is your highly experienced skipper, birder, naturalist & guide on all tours. Rebecca is a professional wildlife photographer, global wildlife photo judge & natural history author who joins some of our more bespoke photo tours.

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. SST has a responsible, sensitive approach to Shetland's rich marine natural environment & tourism.

Phil was formally a fire fighter & worked on rescue boats at sea, so safety out on the water is paramount to all our tours. All our passengers wear our slimline lifejackets upon embarkation as a standard health & safety procedure, for the duration of all our tours.

Conservation & environmental education is fundamental to SST companies ethos. We literally live for birds & wildlife & have been on Shetland ‘living the dream’ for nearly 20 years. We yet again have our Carbon Neutral status for 2023 (2020-23) another step in the right direction.

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Booking your tour with The Noss Boat is easy using our Checkfront online booking system where you can smoothly pay using credit card or PayPal & will receive an invoice receipt along with terms & conditions. Or please contact us directly.

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You can also book through the Lerwick Tourist Office.

We are very busy, so please do book well ahead to avoid disappointment.

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