Name: Islay & the Whisky Coast 2024
Brand: DHTour
SKU: 1
Price: 1,450 pp
Availability: InStock

Islay & the Whisky Coast: 3 nts Bowmore

Contact DHTour at 1-888-597-3519 or 905-639-9954 or dhtour@dhtour.ca to book.

You may know a thing or two about whisky.

Like how taxes forced distillers to produce whisky at night, or how the Scots once called it the ‘water of life’.

But even if you’re knowledgeable about whisky, you’re going to learn a lot more on this four day whisky tour.

You discover the smoky flavours of Islay’s single malt whiskies, explore the historic sights of Islay, and spend your time trading notes with fellow whisky lovers.

So join this tour, explore distilleries without having to drive, and enhance your knowledge of whisky, Scotland, and Islay, ‘Queen of the Hebrides’.

4 DAYS / 3 NIGHTS / MAX 16 GUESTS

Tour Details

Places you explore

Oban – This Victorian harbour town offers excellent seafood and a charming intimacy.

Kilmartin Glen – Return to the past at one of the richest areas in the UK for Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in Scotland.

Bowmore – Journey to the home of Islay’s oldest distillery, this charming place lies on the shores of the picturesque Loch Indaal.

The Islay Single Malt Whiskies – There is a regal quality to the distinctly peaty style of single malt whiskies on this island known as ‘The Queen of the Hebrides’

Sandy beaches of Islay – Stroll some of the most beautiful and rugged beaches in the UK along Islay’s West Atlantic coast.

Inveraray – Explore the fabulous home town of the Duke of Argyll and the stunning ancestral castle.

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

Pick Up Location & TIme

Edinburgh (Google Map)
Check-in closes at 8:15am (tour departs at 8:30am) – Gate J and Gate K, Edinburgh Bus Station, St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH1 3DQ

Drop off Location & Time

Edinburgh
8:00pm

Price Includes

3 night Bed 'n Breakfast accommodation or hotel accommodation
Transport in a 16 seat Mercedes mini-coach
Air conditioning as standard
Daily full Scottish breakfasts
The stories and services of an English-speaking driver-guide
Tour and tasting at Ardbeg Distillery
Tasting at Ardnahoe Distillery
Tour and tasting at Bowmore Distillery
Tour and tasting at Laphroaig Distillery

Meals

3 breakfast
0 lunches
0 dinners
0 teas

Price Excludes

Entry fees to visitor attraction
Airfare
Transfers
Pre / Post hotel nights
Driver / Tour Leader gratuity is at your discretion
Travel Insurance

What to Expect

Explore in 16 seat mini-coaches, always taking the scenic route, you have great views through large windows, and you’re free to sample the local tipple without worrying about driving. Our driver-guides are world famous for their knowledge, facts, quirky stories, history, and fairy-tales. They truly take you beyond the guidebooks and into your adventure. You make your trip your own. We provide the timetable; and you can choose where you want to eat and which attractions you pay to see. So, if you want to skip a castle and read your book by a mountain view, you can.

On the tour departing on Monday and Friday, we reserve rooms in the beautiful Bowmore Distillery Cottages.

The cottages have between three and six twin bedrooms. 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.

Itinerary

Day 1Edinburgh - Bowmore

You escape the city of Edinburgh and head straight for the Highlands. Your first stop of the day is in the Trossachs national park. Here, you can admire Scotland’s scenic beauty and enjoy some local delicacies.

Your driver-guide may regale you with tales from Scottish folklore as you travel through the mountainous landscapes of the Western Highlands to Oban.

This port town was once the strategic heartland of great feuding clans. But today, Oban is famous for seafood sourced fresh off the boats. It also boasts its own distillery where you can sample whisky that’s been perfected for 200 years. Here, you will have time to enjoy a dram and indulge in delicious local seafood for lunch.

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. These mountains mark the way to Islay, Queen of the Hebrides.

Once you’ve arrived on the island, you settle into your accommodation in Bowmore.

On this tour we have pre-booked a number of rooms in the beautiful Bowmore Distillery Cottages. These are self-catering cottages in the grounds of the distillery itself and offer a unique accommodation experience. The cottages have between 3 and 6 bedrooms and these are all en-suite but are NOT serviced during your stay. The kitchen and lounge facilities are shared and self-service continental breakfast ingredients will be provided. PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE SHAREDNATURE OF THE ACCOMMODATIONINDIVIDUAL BEDROOMS DO NOT HAVE LOCKABLE DOORS.
When these rooms are full we will use nearby B&Bs.

Day 2Bowmore

We know whisky tasting can be hard work, so you begin the day with a little sleep in.

After you’ve had an ample amount of breakfast, you enjoy a tour of Bowmore, the oldest licenced distillery on the island. You have time for a tour and a whisky tasting here before you continue exploring 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.

After trying local larder, you travel through the beautiful countryside to the third distillery of the day. On Friday and Saturday, you visit Bruichladdich, the progressive distillery specialising in unpeated whisky. On Tuesday, you taste the unpeated and salty notes of Bunnahabhain in the most remote distillery on Islay.

You head back to Bowmore where you can either stumble back to your room for the night or relax and explore the village. (B)

Day 3Bowmore

Today you explore the southern side of the island, home to a few of the most famous whiskies in all of Scotland: Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg.

After you’ve made it out of bed and eaten your breakfast, you visit Ardbeg. You stay here for a tour and tasting. After the tasting, lunch will be either at an outdoor food truck at Ardbeg (weather dependent) or in Port Ellen.

You then visit Laphroaig. This 200-year-old whisky distiller is a favourite with the British royal family and bears the seal of the Prince of Wales to prove it.

Throughout the day, your driver-guide takes you to historical spots such as the ruins of Kildalton church and Dunyvaig Castle. And you can also stop at Lagavulin for some intensively flavoured, rich and smoky whisky.

You return to Bowmore for your last evening of the trip. (B)

Day 4Bowmore - Edinburgh

This morning, you take the ferry back to the mainland and replace the intoxicating fumes of whisky with the replenishing fresh air of Scotland’s West Highlands.

You travel through coastal scenery to the beautiful village of Inveraray on the banks of Loch Fyne. The town is adorned with historic buildings, old boats, and a great whisky shop.

Your trip continues to Loch Lomond where you have a chance to admire Great Britain’s largest body of water by surface area.

You arrive in Edinburgh in the early evening. (B)

Dates and Prices - Bowmore Distillery Cottages

Departure Date	Double/Twin (pp)	Single Rate
2024: April to May – Mondays and Fridays (Except May 22, 24, 29, 31)	$1,450	$1,790
2024: June to September – Mondays and Fridays	$1,520	$1,860
2024: October – Mondays and Fridays	$1,450	$1,790
2025: March – Mondays	$1,450	$1,790

Please note:

The cottages have between three and six twin bedrooms. 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.

Dates and Prices - Hotel accommodation

Departure Date	Double/Twin (pp)	Single Rate
2024: April to May – Wednesdays (Except May 22, 24, 29, 31)	$1,550	$2,040
2024: June to September – Wednesdays	$1,620	$2,110
2024: October -Wednesdays	$1,550	$2,040
2025: March -Wednesdays	$1,550	$2,040

All guaranteed departures.

Pricing

Pricing is per person (pp) based on twin/ double occupancy.
Rates are in $ CAD.

Contact DHTour at 1-888-597-3519 or 905-639-9954 or dhtour@dhtour.ca to book.

Ask us for the best available pricing for your dates & choice of airline.

Notes
Mobility: All of our tours involve walking and require our guests to board and disembark our vehicles several times a day making this tour unsuitable for those with reduced mobility.

Luggage: You’re restricted to 14kg (31lbs) of luggage per person. This should be one piece of luggage similar to an airline carry-on bag (approximately 55cm x 45cm x 25cm / 22in x 17in x 10in) and a small bag for onboard personal items.

Map

Photos

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Islay & the Whisky Coast 2024

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