3 Interesting Small Scottish Ships from St Hilda Sea Adventures

3 Interesting Small Scottish Ships from St Hilda Sea Adventures

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3 Small Scottish Ships

Looking for a vacation with some personality?

St Hilda Sea Adventures is a family-run business that has offered wonderful off-beat Scottish island cruises for more than 15 years.

Carrying just 6 to 11 passengers, each of their three vessels has a story to tell, providing a fascinating backdrop to the spectacular ancient landscape of the Scottish Isles.

Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago

Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago. * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures

The 5- to 10-night cruises along Scotland’s western waters include visits to beautiful places such as the St Kilda archipelago, the Small Isles, the Isle of Mull, Skye, Jura, Islay, Staffa, Iona and the wonderful Shiants.

Alfresco dining in port.

Alfresco dining in port. * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures

Marvel at the spectacular landscape of the Scottish Isles and the wildlife along the way, from seals to humpback whales, dolphins, guillemots, sea eagles, puffins and more.

puffins on a small Scottish cruise

Puffins are among the wildlife you’re likely to see on a small-ship Scottish cruise. * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures

Special Offer: Enjoy 10% off of all St Hilda Sea Adventures cruises in 2023, when you mention code QuirkyStHilda23.

 

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Meet St Hilda Sea Adventures’ 3 Small Scottish Ships

St Hilda is a traditional, wooden ex-tall ship carrying 6 passengers that had been a sail training vessel that raced across the North Sea on a number of occasions with merchant navy cadet officers being trained under highly experienced Master Mariners.

 St. Hilda is one 3 Small Scottish Ships

The 8-pax St. Hilda. * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures

The Gemini Explorer, carrying up to 8 passengers, is an ex-cruising lifeboat that formerly spent days at sea in the Western Approaches (the area of the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Great Britain and Ireland).

8-pax Gemini Explorer is a trip of small Scottish ships

The 8-pax Gemini Explorer. * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures

Carrying a max of 11 passengers, the Seahorse II is an ex-Norwegian ferry that once plied the rough North Sea and the fjords of Norway.

11-pax Seahorse in Tobermory

The 11-pax Seahorse in Tobermory. * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures

All three ships have been converted to cruise the western islands of Scotland in comfort and style.

And where possible, the traditional “look” and interiors have been retained to reflect the roles they once played.

dining table of the Seahorse small Scottish ship

The dining table of the Seahorse. * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures

Many of the cabins are finished in their original hardwood and the berths have been kept as they originally were to keep passengers safe and comfortable when sleeping at night. The bathrooms and heating systems have also of course been updated.

double twin en-suite cabin on the Seahorse II

A new double twin en-suite cabin on the Seahorse II. * Photo: St. Hilda Sea Adventures

Rates for St Hilda Sea Adventures’ 3 Small Scottish Ships

Fares range from £190 to £350 per person a night, including meals prepared by a skilled chef, wine and lager at dinner, and daily port calls. (Note, each vessel has the choice of both en-suite accommodation and cabins with shared bathrooms.)

Full charters of St Hilda’s 3 small Scottish ships are also available — for 5-night cruises, charters start at £7,500 for the 6-pax St. Hilda; £12,600 for the 8-pax Gemini Explorer; and £18,250 for the 11-pax Seahorse II.

Family aboard St Hilda for a small scottish cruise

A family enjoying their private charter of the 6-pax St. Hilda. * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures




Special Offer: Enjoy 10% off of all St Hilda Sea Adventures cruises in 2023, when you mention code QuirkyStHilda23. Cruises operate from April through October, and depart from a marina near Oban.

Click here for the 2023 cruising schedule and rates of the 3 Small Scottish Ships of St Hilda Sea Adventures.

St Hilda Sea Adventures Rates Include:

  • All meals (plus fruit, coffee break, afternoon tea, pre-dinner aperitif and wine with dinner).
  • House wine and continental lager with dinner. (Guests can also bring their favourite tipple on board and each ship has a fine, if limited, selection of single malts for purchase in the honesty bar.)
  • Services of the crew (Seahorse II and Gemini Explorer have a crew of three, the Captain, Chef and Deckhand; the smaller St Hilda has a crew of two, the Captain and Chef)
  • Guidance on shore excursions. (Every day the Captain will discuss the plan for the next day with guests and he’s very happy to assist guests with organizing their time ashore, perhaps with the booking of a distillery’s tour for example. Each vessel also has a folder of things to do and places of interest to visit at every stop, plus there are useful books with walks and maps to help guests plan. The crew know the area well and will be able to recommend walks of various difficulty and length at every stop.)
  • Theme cruises (on scheduled theme cruises there may be a wildlife guide, photography tutor, art instruction or complimentary whiskey tours)
A Highland Coo on a St Hilda Sea Adventures

A Highland Coo! * Photo: St Hilda Sea Adventures




 

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About The Author

QuirkyCruise

Ted & Heidi are long-time travel writers with a penchant for small ship cruising. Between them they've traveled all over the world aboard hundreds and hundreds of small cruise ships of all kinds, from river boats to expedition vessels and sailing ships.

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Heidi and Ted HEIDI SARNA

I'm up to 78 countries and 110+ cruises worldwide, and it's the small ship journeys that I love writing about most. And so QuirkyCruise.com was born, an excellent research tool for planning your own unforgettable small ship trip.

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I have traveled between all continents by sea and cruised along three dozen rivers. Ships and travel are in my blood, and so is writing. My journeys have translated into many books and many hundreds of articles.

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