Meet the Shetland Chef and discover what awaits on our Shetland tours.
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Why we keep returning to Shetland
Shetland ponies grazing
Hello,
This weekend, we’re heading back to Shetland. Not for a tour this time, but for another research trip.
We never need much of an excuse to return. Shetland has a way of getting under your skin. It’s the wild open skies. The impossibly tropical-seeming beaches. The millennia bristling beneath every footstep you take.
It’s also the people. We don’t believe in just passing through remarkable places. We believe in getting to know them well, building relationships with the people who shape them. It's all part of crafting tours that reveal far more than the view.
That’s why, while we’re in Lerwick, we’ll be catching up with Akshay, better known as the Shetland Chef. On our 2026 Shetland tours, he’ll spend some time sharing not only his exceptional food with our guests but also the stories behind each ingredient. After moving to Shetland on the toss of a coin 15 years ago, Akshay discovered that the quickest way to get to know a place is through its food – and he’s going to share everything he’s learned with you.
Read our interview with the Shetland Chef to find out more about Akshay’s extraordinary story and what you can expect from your time with him.
Our Shetland tours depart in May, June, July and September. If Shetland has been calling to you, we’d love to show you why we keep going back.
Yours,
Rob
PS: If you’re already thinking about getting to Shetland, it pays to plan ahead. Loganair‘s Tartan Sale currently offers 17% off flights from 1 May, if booked before 31 March. We can also help you arrange a cabin on the Northlink ferry. Just get in touch.
Rob Knipe
Chairman, Emeritus Professor and Tour Guide
Featured tours
Spend 6 days getting to know this remote Scottish archipelago, with wildlife, delicious food and scenery to take your breath away.
📅 May, Jun, Jul, Sep 2026
🚨 May: reduced single supplement
From the misty Highlands and the white-sand beaches of the Outer Hebrides to Edinburgh’s volcanic hills and the Cairngorms' royal roots, our Scotland tours blend science, story and scenery. Choose from 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 day tours.
📅 Throughout 2026
Before he went to Galápagos, Charles Darwin honed his skills in North Wales. Spend 5 nights walking the paths and seeing the sights that made him, with our expert guide.
📅 Apr/May, Sep 2026
🚨 No single supplement
New: Tours of Orkney
After Shetland, we'll be spending time in Orkney, where we have more exciting plans. Register your interest for our new 6-day tours to these North Sea isles in May – September this year.
Stories to inspire your next journey
The Shetland Chef on food, life and cooking with love
Who better than Akshay Borges – a.k.a. the Shetland Chef – to tell us how food can be the most direct route to the soul of a place and its people? After all, he’s done exactly that, after moving to and falling in love with Shetland more than 15 years ago.
Here, he tells us more about island life, the Shetland food he loves and what you can expect when you meet him on one of our small-group tours in Shetland this year.
3 curious things for inquisitive travellers
🚏 The Shetland Bus
Not actually a bus, but a boat, The Shetland Bus was a small but vital secret wartime operation that ran between Norway and the Shetland Isles of Scotland. It's a deeply moving story of lives risked to help others, told here by Scalloway Museum volunteer Bill Moore, whose father was involved in the maintenance of the boats from 1942.
🏝️ Life at the edge: the most beautiful islands around the UK and Ireland
When you need a new perspective, head to an island, we say! We've talked about the Shetland islands a lot, but there are plenty of other islands around the UK and Ireland mainlands, each one a world of its own. If you're curious about how landscapes shape lives – and vice versa – these seven islands are a revelation.
🤔 The best time to visit Scotland: a month-by-month guide
Deciding when to visit Scotland is a tough job – spring's freshness or autumn's glow, the long days of summer or the quiet stillness of winter? – but this guide will help. Each month brings its own character, and the best time for you will depend on how you would like to experience this fascinating country.
A word from our guests
“Mandy was an absolutely excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable and friendly and we got on very well. She did a huge amount of work to rearrange the days as needed (e.g when the boat trip needed to be rearranged because of the weather), and to cater for our interests."
– Shetland holidays | Kathryn and David S, Sept 2025
Why travel with GeoCultura?
We take you beyond the landscape. Uncover the stories behind the view on our expert-led, small-group tours. We do private and bespoke tours, too.
💬 Ready to chat? Get in touch.
