4-Day Islay & Whisky Tour Including Admissions from Edinburgh

Overview

Day by day itinerary

1. 1Edinburgh - Oban - Kilmartin Glen - Islay⌄

   Here, you can admire Scotland’s scenic beauty and enjoy some local delicacies.

   The port town of Oban was once the strategic heartland of powerful, feuding clans. Today, however, it's celebrated as the “Gateway to the Isles” and is renowned for its fresh seafood straight off the boats. For an authentic taste of local flavor, visit the Oban Seafood Hut, located right by the ferry terminal. This local favorite offers affordable seafood platters featuring scallops, langoustines, crab, and lobster, all fresh from the sea.

   You then venture through the Kilmartin Glen where you see standing stones and strongholds that are over 1,500 years old.

   At Kennacraig, you catch the evening ferry to Islay. The sail is around two hours; and if you peek out to the ocean, you may see the Paps of Jura.

   Overnight: Overnight at Bowmore Cottages

2. 2Sample Scotland’s peatiest whiskies⌄

   Tour and tasting at Bowmore Distillery included in the tour price. After you’ve had an ample amount of breakfast, you enjoy a tour of Bowmore, the oldest licenced distillery on the island.

   Next, your driver-guide takes you to *Kilchoman Distillery for a tour and a lunch of local treats. Kilchoman is known as Islay's only Single Farm Single Match Scotch Whisky, reviving traditional farm distilling of barley to bottle, making their whisky 100% Islay.

   Following lunch, we'll travel through Islay's scenic countryside to your third distillery of the day, Bunnahabhain, where you can experience the unpeated, salty notes of whisky in Islay's most remote distillery.

   Overnight: Overnight at Bowmore Cottages

3. 3Today you explore the southern side of the island, home to the smokiest of all whiskies: Laphroaig, Lagavulin & Ardbeg.⌄

   Distillers at Ardbeg Distillery are resilient pioneers with a rocky 200-year history. They've created a whisky, which is out of this world, as they're the first to send this spirit to outer space to mature. Enjoy a Rabbie's exclusive tour and tasting of three drams of their exceptional whisky. Then, savour fine Scottish produce in Ardbeg's beautiful restaurant, offering direct views of the rocky coastline and the Atlantic Ocean. If your tour departs on Friday, your visit to Ardbeg will not include a full tour of the distillery facilities; instead it will include a visit to the still house and a tasting, including five drams of whisky. *Please note that Ardbeg Distillery is closed on weekends during October. Therefore, the Sunday visit to Ardbeg will not operate for departures on 2, 9, 16, and 23 October.

   Exclusive tour and tasting (inc. 2 drams of Whisky) at Laphroaig Distillery included in the tour price. You then visit Laphroaig, and if there’s time you can take a stop for a tasting at Lagavulin. On an island known locally as ‘The Queen of the Hebrides’, there is a regal quality to the distinctly peaty style of its single malt whiskies.

   On most tours it’s also possible to visit to the ruins of Kildalton church and see its famous 8th Century Celtic cross.

   Overnight: Overnight at Bowmore Cottages

4. 4Get a sense of the old history of Inveraray⌄

   Traveling along the coast, we'll reach the picturesque village of Inveraray. With its historic buildings, old boats, and a great whisky shop, this is your lunch stop. You can sample local specialties, explore the town, visit the 18th-century Inveraray Castle (open April–October), or tour the Old Jail

   Enjoy the dramatic splendour of one of Scotland’s most famous lochs and the beautiful national park that surrounds it.