Visit to Islay

Haven't been to Islay yet, but I've already invested quite some time in researching all the possibilities.

I strongly advise you to take the following timetable into account and be advised, ferries from the mainland go to both Port Ellen and Port Askaig and have different time tables. And they don't sail when the sea is rough. calmac.co.uk/timetables/…

If you want to visit distilleries near Edinburgh, you won't have much choice. The only real close distillery is Glenkinchie. The distillery and its tour are well worth the visit (if you get the "Friend of Single Malts" passport, you can visit most Diageo distilleries like Glenkinchie, Caol Ila and Lagavulin for free: malts.com/index.php/en_gb/…/login ) You could combine your visit with a trip to the spectacular coast near North Berwick.

If you deceid to visit Glasgow, you could make a trip to Arran, Glengoyne, Auchentosan or Loch Lomond.

You might have more luck checking out the distilleries of Perthshire, one of the most beautifull regions of Scotland with the Tullibardine, Deanston, Aberfeldy, Edradour and Blair Athol distillery or continue your tour up the A9 and head to Inverness and the Spey region.

I know the call of Islay, but in my honest opinion, the isle has o many great distilleries to offer that I personally would prefer to take more time to explore them all. Your trip will be fairly rushed and you'll risk missing your ferry. So it might be a good idea to eliminate the ferry as a risk factor and stay on the mainland, It should be possible to visit a few distilleries in the Perth region or to head up to the Speyside-region.

One more thing I could add to this is that you could use the citylink coach service. You could take a 3-day pass. Which would allow you to visit distilleries like Blair Athol and Edradour and drink as much as you like. citylink:www.citylink.co.uk/routes.php

PS: here is a detailed map of Scotland with all the active and silent distilleries on them: www.maltmadness.com/whisky/map/Scotland/

You can also fly to Islay out of Glasgow. It takes about an hour. I think a ticket is around $100 US. This would give you more time to visit distileries.

@goldfilm We;ve been to Islay a few times and, based on our experience, your schedule is very optimistic.

First you have to find out if the return ferry leaves from Port-Ellen or Port-Askaig. If the 1pm ferry leaves from Port-Askaig, then you'll need to leave from Laphroaig/Ardbeg/Lagavulin (all 3 distilleries are within a mile of each other) at 12:00 at the very latest (personally I'd figure 11:30), as the drive from either of these distilleries to Port-Askaig can take close to an hour (it always takes much longer than one thought to drive around Islay).

I would also not assume that a distillery visit schedule will be exact (allow a +/- 15 minutes at the tail end, particularly if you want to stay around and chat while tasting a sample).

My recommendation would be to go to the Ardbeg visitor center for breakfast (nice restaurant) and then head out to the Laproaig tour, and then take the ferry.

I can't see doing the drive + ferry to Islay on day 2 and returning on the afternoon of day 3 just to quickly visit Laphroaig and Ardbeg in that morning. I'd say that the hurdle of reaching and returning from Islay demands that you go there for a few days or not at all.

Pandemonium suggested Edradour among others. I'll second that. Walk up to the distillery from the village of Pitlochry, through the fields. Awesome.

Or if you do go to Islay, get around with Lamont's taxi service. Great guy. Expensive, maybe, but cheaper than a car hire (?). Certainly way easier and more fun.

Thanks so much for the info. I do understand that it's a long round trip to spend only one morning of whisky visiting only two distilleries... I'm thinking about it, but the whole driving to Islay should be fun too, an interesting way to see probably the less touristic Scotland.

The ferry returns from Port Ellen, much closer to the distilleries. Flights I can't do because we are a family of four and it will be too expensive. The Perthshire sounds also great, but ideally I was considering a more dramatic isolated landscape - like Laphroaig, Highland Park or Talisker, and on top of that I do love those three whiskies.

Thanks for the recommendations, I have to book something asap.

Well, it might be worth considering that you will be in one of the best cities on earth to taste rare and brilliant scotches. If I had a family with me and so few days, I would hit a few great pubs for lunch and dinner on one day. Hit some bottlers' tasting rooms, too. Then the next day drive up to Glengoyne, Auchentoshan, Deanston, Edradour, and Blair Athol, spend the night at a nice B&B (there are some nice ones in the area), and drive back the next morning.

Yeah, Islay they ain't but still, it would be fun and you would undoubtedly come across some interesting bottlings that are rare in at least one or two of those distilleries. But that's me. Islay is a religious experience best not rushed.

I was lucky enough to go to Islay last year, and I stayed for four days. I thought that was barely enough. To be fair, I hate to rush -- I never do it if I can help it. One day I hung around at Ardbeg from about 11 am to 4 pm or so (I took a walk around the area, had a leisurely lunch, then did a long-ish tour with a special tasting at the end).

I should note that I did not take the ferry. I flew in from Glasgow. As someone else said, this is a very short flight (about 40 minutes). However, as with any flight, you have to turn up at the airport a good hour or two early; I saw someone get turned away from the plane back to the mainland because they showed up too late and the plane was overweight. So it might not save you that much time in the end -- though I have no idea how long the ferry ride is.

Be sure and check which distilleries do what kind of tour and when: Ardbeg has a tour called 'Ardbeg through the decades.' On that one, I got to sample vintages from the '70s, a very rare '80s cask, one from the '90s and one from the '00s. On the other hand, I did a Laphroiag tour where you get to go into a warehouse at the end and bottle your own vintage with a vallinch and everything. I still have the bottle (though I figure I should drink it soon, since it's not sealed).

Uh, I guess I'm not really sure what I'm going on about here, other than to say that you'd probably be better off to just pick one distillery to make sure you don't miss the ferry. And yes, it better be the Port Ellen ferry, though that one seemed to be a lot more popular when I was there. If you have to go to Port Askaig you have no chance.

Ardbeg also has an excellent cafe for lunch, and when I was there, you could get a couple of rare bottlings as well (the Alligator and the Blasda were on offer as part of a sampler course).

I'd go there if I were you and worry about Laphroaig next time.

By the way: I am a travel junkie. I've been on three trips in the past year alone (er, not to brag -- that's unusual to be sure), and one of them found me at Islay as I said.

In all my travels it's one of the best things I've ever done. I think about going back all the time.

One evening would be enough to have a few rare vintages in the pub (though the main restaurant/pub in Port Ellen is outrageously expensive). You could also have a great meal if you don't mind going to Port Charlotte (the Port Charlotte Hotel is where I stayed and their food is magnificent).

And hitting a distillery or two in the morning before you leave is certainly doable.

Do you absolutely have to leave on the 1pm ferry? Isn't there a later one? Even an extra hour here or there would be worth it. Every second on that isle is magic.

Okay, clearly I'm rambling again. What I'm trying to say is that knowing what I know now, do I think what you're proposing is worth it?

The answer is yes. I'd go for it and hope for the best. I seriously doubt you'd regret it. Even if you never get a chance to go back, at least you could say you've been there the one time. It's a memory I truly treasure.

Thanks for the great tips. I'm more inclined to the Islay call, but only with the following rearrangement:

• Leaving Edinburgh Saturday early morning
• Arriving Kennacraig by noonish
• Taking the 13:00 ferry to Port Askaig
• Arriving around 15:00 with time to visit Caol Illa and Bowmore in the way south
• Spending the night at a Bowmore B&B or at Port Ellen
• Sunday morning breakfast at Ardbeg (scones, eggs and whisky?)
• Tour at Laphroaig
• Leaving from Port Ellen by 13:00 by ferry
• Arriving Kennacraig around 15:00
• Driving to Loch Lomond around 17:00 to watch the World Cup final and spend the night
• Leaving Loch Lomond early Monday to Edinburgh

The only problem with this plan is that we are a family with a baby, very adaptable, but we travel with another family with another baby that they are slower to move. The good thing is they also love whisky :)

Could somebody tell me what is the children's policy in distilleries? Can they be part of the tour or hang out around? Also, if you don't mind, what would be a one-day plan to see non Islay distilleries if our base is in Edinburgh? There is a suggestion of Glengoyne, Auchentoshan, Deanston, Edradour, and Blair Athol. But I see that Auchentoshan and Edradour are far away... Thanks!

I'd be tempted to leave the family in Edinburgh for a night or two and travel to Islay solo. Fly at the price of just one ticket. Hire Lamont as your DD. Paint Islay red.

@OlJas hahaha, not a bad idea, especially after reading HeartlessNinny's blog. 9 to 5 in one distillery is all I need.

Edradour isn't that far from Edinburgh. The main problem is that the whisky industry in the Lowlands died in the 80's. Aberfeldy and Glenturret may not be the most interesting distilleries to visit, they were designated as a tourist attraction (Glenkinchie as well, but it was much more respectful to the seasoned whisky drinker). Two more tips, you could always visit two new microdistilleries in Perthshire and Fife, like Strathearn (cask your own whisky) and Daftmill (try to score some samples before the rest of the world gets a taste)

@goldfilm You know what, I think that new schedule is very doable. I don't know if you'd be able to get to Coal Ila and Bowmore, since I think they'll be closed to tourists after about 15:00 or so, but I'm not sure about that.

As for travelling with so many people, including infants, well, Islay is really beautiful. If some people elect to stay behind at the hotel or what have you, or just wander around somewhere, I doubt they'd have a bad time of it. That way you can perhaps leave the babies behind during your breakneck whirlwind stops at as many distilleries as possible. All you really need to worry about is booking a room(s) ahead of time and making sure not to miss your ferries.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes when the time comes!

I hope I don't disappoint anybody here (I'm disappointed myself), but apparently we're canceling the Islay trip for an easier family whisky trip :(

And to be honest there is so much I expect from Islay that I'll have to go for a couple of days by myself in another time. We are kind of concern about the ferry time and the few things we could do in such a short amount of time. I agree we can make it work, and I wish everybody in these two families had my spirit and passion about Islay but I also have to consider others in this trip.

Said that, now the options are the Perthshire, a simpler Glenkinchie + Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh + more time to do other things in the city, or to go all the way to Highlands/Speyside (it's like 3 hours driving but you have many distilleries there and you still avoid 4.5 hours of a round trip ferry)

Any recommendations?

In my opinion the Scotch whisky experience was a load of expensive BS for tourists, just take a peek in the shop and buy your bottles somewhere else. If you're still going to rent a car t visit Glenkinchie, maybe visit Rosslyn Chapel( not whisky related). If you decide to do the Perthshire trip, just drive up to Pitlochry, a beautiful small town, pick up some Blair Athol (which is situated in Pitlochry and not in the village of Blair Atholl much further up the road) and Edradour. And visit Dunkeld and the Hermitage waterfall on your way back (not whisky related) As for whisky bars, there are a lot of well stocked bars like the whiskirooms in Old Town, I myself preferred the Dagda bar in Newington near the Uni library and the Meadows. If you really want to see and try some stunning whiskies head over to the Balmoral hotel (don't let the 5-star status scare you of) Best whiskyshop with the best service: Royal Mile Whiskies, cheapest whisky shop: Tesco (larger Tesco stores in Edinburgh strangely enough, usually have a large collection of single malts on their shelves)

@Pandemonium +1 on the Whisky Experience, Edradour was a nice little tour and located above Pitlochry and a nice walk up from town past the falls. Tesco had a nice selection of standard OBs and at a very attractive price. For ex HP 12 was under 25 Pounds when I was there 18 months ago.