If you have ever filled up on a Scottish island and felt the pain at the pump, you are not imagining it. Fuel prices on Scotland's remote islands are among the highest in the entire UK, and the reasons go well beyond simple greed from local retailers.
Live prices today put Skerries Co-operative Society in Shetland and Steisean Connaidh Chrosabol on the Isle of Tiree at the top of the table, both charging around 220p per litre for diesel. That puts them among the most expensive diesel stations in the UK. Here is why.
The numbers (diesel)
- 1Skerries, Shetland£2.200
- 2Isle of Tiree£2.196
- 3Isle of Skye, Portree£2.189
- 4Isle of Barra£2.080
- 5Isle of Mull, Craignure£1.999
For unleaded the picture is similar but more variable: Tiree pushes past 204p, Portree on Skye sits around 200p, while a handful of Hebridean stations come in closer to mainland prices in the mid 160s. Compare that to the big four supermarket average of 184p for diesel and 155p for unleaded. Drivers on Tiree are paying roughly 35p per litre more for diesel than someone filling up at a Morrisons on the mainland.
Why is it so much more expensive?
The core reason is the supply chain. Fuel destined for Scottish islands does not arrive by pipeline or tanker lorry like it does for mainland stations. It has to be transported by ferry, which adds significant cost at every step.
A tanker delivers fuel to a mainland depot. That fuel is then loaded onto a ferry (often CalMac) and transported to the island. The ferry crossing itself is expensive, the scheduling is limited, and bad weather can delay or cancel sailings entirely. On smaller islands with just one or two fuel stations, there is no economy of scale. A single station on Tiree cannot order the same volume as a Tesco in Glasgow, so it pays a higher per-litre cost from the distributor before it even opens its doors.
Storage is another factor. Island stations often hold smaller fuel volumes due to limited tank capacity, meaning they order more frequently and in smaller batches, both of which push costs up.
No competition
On the Isle of Tiree there is effectively one fuel station serving the whole island. On Barra there is one. On the Skerries in Shetland there is one. When you are the only game in town and your customers have no alternative, market forces simply do not apply in the same way they do on the mainland. Drivers either pay the price or they do not drive.
This is not unique to Scotland. Remote island communities across the world face the same problem. The cost of logistics in low-density, geographically isolated areas always ends up reflected in the price of goods including fuel.
Is anything being done about it?
The UK Government operates the Rural Fuel Duty Relief scheme, which provides a rebate of 5p per litre on fuel duty for stations in eligible remote areas. This scheme covers many island communities including the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, and parts of the Scottish Highlands. Without this relief, prices would be even higher.
There have been calls to extend and increase the relief, particularly as fuel costs have risen. Island communities have argued that high fuel prices are not just an inconvenience but a barrier to economic activity and a significant burden on households that have no public transport alternatives.
The bottom line
Island fuel prices are high because getting fuel to remote locations is genuinely expensive, there is no competitive pressure to keep prices down, and storage and logistics constraints mean smaller orders at higher unit costs. The 35p per litre premium on Tiree over a mainland supermarket is not profiteering, it is the real cost of island supply chains.
If you are visiting a Scottish island, fill up before you go. If you live there, you already know.
Prices reflect live data on Finding Fuel as of 15 May 2026.