Itinerary
Day 1: Edinburgh - Oban - Kilmartin Glen - Islay
Stop At: Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Scotland
Here, you can admire Scotland’s scenic beauty and enjoy some local delicacies.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Oban, Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Victorian harbour town offers excellent seafood and a charming intimacy. You have a couple of hours here, where you can visit the Oban Distillery and sample some local seafood for lunch.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Kilmartin Glen, Kilmartin Scotland
You then venture through the Kilmartin Glen where you see standing stones and strongholds that are over 1,500 years old.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Kennacraig, Tarbert PA29, UK
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.
Duration: 2 minutes
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Bowmore Cottages (Mon & Fri departures) or Lochside Hotel or similar (Wed departures only).
Day 2: Sample Scotland’s peatiest whiskies
Stop At: Bowmore Distillery, School Street, Bowmore PA43 7JS Scotland
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.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Kilchoman Distillery, Rockside Farm, Bruichladdich PA49 7UT Scotland
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.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Bruichladdich Distillery, Bruichladdich PA49 7UN Scotland
On Thursday and Saturday, you visit Bruichladdich, the progressive distillery specialising in unpeated whisky
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Bunnahabhain Distillery, Port Askaig PA46 7RP Scotland
On Tuesday, you taste the unpeated and salty notes of Bunnahabhain in the most remote distillery on Islay.
Duration: 1 hour
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Bowmore Cottages (Mon & Fri departures) or Lochside Hotel or similar (Wed departures only).
Day 3: Today you explore the southern side of the island, home to the smokiest of all whiskies: Laphroaig, Lagavulin & Ardbeg.
Stop At: Ardbeg Distillery, Port Ellen PA42 7EA Scotland
Exclusive tour and tasting included in the tour price (lunch not included).
You first visit Ardbeg for a tour, tasting, and lunch. The restaurant here is a beautiful place to relax and enjoy local produce (lunch at visitors own expense).
*Please note that if your tour departs before 1st May, your lunch today will be at Ardbeg Distillery. However, if your tour departs after 1st May 2024, lunch will be either at an outdoor food truck at Ardbeg (weather dependent) or in Port Ellen.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Laphroaig Distillery, Port Ellen PA42 7DU Scotland
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.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Kildalton Cross, Port Ellen Scotland
On most tours it’s also possible to visit to the ruins of Kildalton church and see its famous 8th Century Celtic cross.
Duration: 20 minutes
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Bowmore Cottages (Mon & Fri departures) or Lochside Hotel or similar (Wed departures only).
Day 4: Get a sense of the old history of Inveraray
Stop At: Inveraray Castle & Gardens, Inveraray PA32 8XF Scotland
Explore the fabulous home town of the Duke of Argyll and the stunning ancestral castle.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Loch Lomond, Stirling Scotland
Enjoy the dramatic splendour of one of Scotland’s most famous lochs and the beautiful national park that surrounds it.
Duration: 30 minutes
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
See Availability.
Bus Station, Edinburgh EH1 3AY, UK
08:30 AM
4 days(approx.)
Returns to original departure point
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Unfortunately we don't carry anyone under 18 years old on this tour
On this tour you will spend 3 nights in the beautiful Bowmore Distillery Cottages (not available on Wednesday departures)**.The cottages have between three and six twin bedrooms, each with private bathrooms. Due to the shared nature of the accommodation, individual bedrooms don't have lockable doors. The kitchen and lounge facilities are shared with other passengers, and basic self-service breakfast ingredients are provided. Full Scottish breakfasts are available at the nearby hotels if you prefer, payable locally.
Monday and Friday departures: only B&B available; Wednesday departures only 3-star Hotel available
Booking three or more people? We can accommodate up to 8 guests in a group, please add each required room to your basket separately
When booking three or more people, efforts will be made to book a combination of suitable rooms (double/twin/family). Preferences should be noted upon booking in the Special Requirements section
Passengers are restricted to 20kg of luggage (44lbs); one medium sized suitcase/bag similar to airline standard carry-on luggage (approximately 55cm x 45cm x 25cm / 22in x 17in x 10in) plus a small bag for onboard personal items.
Monday departures offer the chance to see more whisky production as all the distilleries are in operation on weekdays.
Itinerary and distillery visits are subject to change.
* Please note, If your tour departs before 13th of May , you will depart at 10am ( check in closes at 9:45am)
**Please note that Ardbeg Distillery is observing their Silent Season between 10th June and 8th July 2024. Guests will be offered a more in-depth tasting with a guide from the distillery, who will discuss the history of the distillery and the process.
***Please note that Laphroaig Distillery will be observing their Silent Season from 13th July to 5th August 2024. Guests will be offered a walk around the Laphroaig Museum, and a sensory tasting in the bar with several drams.
****Please note that Bowmore Distillery is observing their Silent Season between 11th July and 12th August 2024. Guests will be offered a digital tour instead, with a cask tasting experience in the warehouse.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers
Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Posted By : Philbac
The tour was first class! Our guide, driver, mentor and leader - Billy knew everything there is to know about whisky and Scotland! Each day was interspersed with jokes, historical information visits to historical sites and whiskies galore! Whether you're a whisky aficionado or a complete novice this tour has something for everyone! This was a great opportunity to taste some rare and exquisite whiskies, to learn more about the traditional methods of production and to have a great time experiencing all that the Isle of Islay has to offer. Billy was attentive to the needs of the group and even amended the itinerary to include our favourite distillery!
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Posted On : 2024-04-16
Posted By : Deborah_B
We had a wonderful time with friends. We learned a lot about Scotch and had plenty of opportunities for tasting (and shopping). Our guide, Andy, was fantastic!
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Posted On : 2023-10-17
Posted By : IcedCoffeelover
We’re converts to the Rabbies way of travel. After 4 days on a 16 seater, we were very pleased with our tour mates, guide and overall experience. While Scotland has midges and crowds in August, our tour showed us the beauty of the inner Hebrides and the generosity of its people. Yes, if you’re curious, this is a very good tour. Yes, if you like Islay whisky, this is the tour for you.
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Posted On : 2023-08-27
Posted By : BrianS5964
Keith - our guide from Rabbie's - made this trip worth every penny. He is truly a whisky connoisseur and is deep with his knowledge of Scottish history. The tour of Islay was magnificent and and insightful. I'd definitely do it again.
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Posted On : 2023-08-12
Posted By : Raphael_S
The tour is well balanced between distilleries and other activities. There's not too much driving. Accommodations were pleasant.
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Posted On : 2023-07-14
Posted By : Artintravel123
Touring the island of Islay with Rabbie’s was the trip of a lifetime! My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Scottish history, viewing the beautiful landscape, and visiting eight whiskey distilleries with a great group of people. I can’t say enough good things about Pete, our guide: knowledgeable, thoughtful, fun, and a good driver. We highly recommend Rabbie's and hope to go on another tour in the future.
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Posted On : 2023-07-11
Posted By : carolbP158NM
We have just finished the four day Islay tour
There was a lack of information from Scottish Routes before the tour and only gave me tips on request that the other travellers in our group did not have (pre booking restaurants etc)
We found Moray quite rude, belittling and obtuse and anti-English!
We did enjoy the tour with great whiskies and accommodation was good too so would recommend if you are not English!
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Posted On : 2023-07-07
Posted By : marymoves
Very relaxing to have someone else manage the driving and know when and where to stop. Our driver Andy was an excellent driver and while he kept a schedule, we were never rushed. He even worked in a special request stop for us. He chose well the distilleries we visited. I had the impression we'd be seeing more than 6 but three a day for days 2 and 3 is it. Days 1 and 4 the tour takes you to other sites. So the 6 we visited were different from each other in age, culture, production, tour experience and more. The pre-arranged tastings were awesome, probably not something one could get on their own. Luckily we only had 12, not 16, in our coach so that was a nice bonus.
Some people in the group were told a few days before the tour that their room had been cancelled and they needed to book their own. I opted from the start to book my own and that worked out great.
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Posted On : 2022-09-20
Posted By : Susie P
I will preface this starting off stating that I went on this tour only for the love of my husband who loves whisky, but I left this tour as someone who now enjoys whisky. We went on this tour 5 -9th of August and had an excellent time. Our tour group consisted of 10 guests total and a fabulous guide (Hi Stewart!). The van was comfy and spacious enough for all of us. The tour heavily focuses on distilleries - tours and tastings. I tagged along initially for the hope of some nice scenic sightseeing, we were mainly just driving through - though we did stop at a few to explore. The distillery tours were informative and the tastings were educational and wonderful to the point where I left every distillery enjoying my tasting experience (and it wasn't just alcohol induced). I definitely recommend booking this tour if you want to visit great distilleries and not worry about any of the coordination/ planning that goes along with it.
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Posted On : 2022-09-04
Posted By : Jennie B
Only words of warning: this tour is really for whisky lovers as you will be spending most of your time at distilleries learning and drinking whisky and most of your free time with other people who love whisky. Everything about this tour was fantastic from the comfortable accommodations, the pace, the fantastic private tours and tastings, and our knowledgeable guide (Adam)! The tour was mostly couples but I would say even if you are considering traveling by yourself, Rabbie's makes it easy and comfortable (just maybe don't bring the kids on this one since there wouldn't be much for them to do). If you love whisky and meeting others who share that love, it is a great tour and I highly recommend it.
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Posted On : 2022-08-21
