Day trips in Orkney mostly mean ferry hops to the smaller islands — Hoy, Rousay, Westray, Sanday, Papa Westray, Shapinsay, Eday — each of which is at least a half-day trip in its own right.
From Mainland, a long day can take in Skara Brae, Marwick Head, the Brough of Birsay, and Yesnaby cliffs in a single coastal loop. The South Isles via the Churchill Barriers — Italian Chapel, St Margaret's Hope, and the Tomb of the Eagles — make another. Hoy's east coast is best reached by the Houton car ferry; the west coast (Old Man, Rackwick, Dwarfie Stane) is best from the Stromness passenger ferry to Moaness.