Islay and tour overview
Islay is a beautiful Hebridean island off the west coast of
Scotland, and one of five official Whisky regions of Scotland (the others are
Highland, Lowland, Speyside and Campbeltown). Just over 600 square kilometres
in size, it is nevertheless home to 8 working distilleries - Ardbeg, Laphroaig,
Lagavulin, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Bruichladdich, Kilchoman and Bunnahabhain.
Construction starts this year on Gartbreck, Islay’s newest distillery. Bowmore (1779)
is Islay’s oldest distillery. Ardbeg and Laphroaig both celebrate their
bi-centenaries in 2015. The island has a rich history, diverse landscapes, and a
friendly population of about 3000 residents, augmented by some 60,000 annual
visitors. There are no big highways and no malls; road trips are often slowed
down by sheep. It is a wonderful, marvellous place that all whisky lovers
should visit. It will touch your heart.
Our 2015 Islay tour will include wonderful tastings and experiences
at each of the distilleries, including a trip to the neighbouring island of
Jura to visit that distillery. Jura, larger geographically than Islay, is home
to about 200 people and 7000 deer! Time and weather permitting, we will also visit
a number of important sites, including the 8th century Kildalton
Cross, Finlaggan – an important meeting
place for the Lords of the Isles, the pristine beaches of Machir Bay, and the
Mull of Oa for a beautiful walk, and cliffs that fall 200 metres to the sea.
We’ll stay in a fine establishment, enjoy some of Islay’s best food, and meet
some wonderful, iconic whisky people. In late August, we can expect highs and
lows of 15C and 10C.
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Our home for the week will be in the town of Bowmore, Islay’s centrally
located capital. With a population of around 900, it’s home to Bowmore
Distillery, a number of restaurants, pubs and cafés, the island swimming pool,
and some great little shops and historic sites. We will stay at The Bowmore
House, where we will enjoy comfortable accommodations, great breakfasts and
Islay hospitality.
Itinerary
Sunday 23rd August 2015
The 8 day, small group tour will start in Glasgow. There are
various routings from Ottawa to Glasgow, and starting the tour there allows
participants to join from anywhere. From Canada, you can recover from jet lag,
or explore other parts of Scotland, elsewhere in the UK, or the rest of Europe,
before or after the Islay Tour. The Edinburgh Festival takes place in August
and some might wish to take in a few events.
In Glasgow we will board our mini coach for the week around
9am to enjoy the journey to Kennacraig, where we’ll catch the 1pm ferry to Port
Askaig in the North East of Islay. The 2hr ferry crossing offers wonderful
views of the Paps of Jura and Caol Ila Distillery. From Port Askaig, we head
south west across the island to centrally located Bowmore, the capital of Islay,
where we’ll be based for the week. We’ll arrive around 4pm, leaving you time to
settle in or explore the town, before a group dinner in Bowmore.
Accommodation will be at The Bowmore House, where we’ll
enjoy comfortable rooms, wonderful breakfasts and great hospitality. The
Bowmore House is the #1 guest house on Trip Advisor.
Monday24th August 2015
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Bruichladdich Distillery – We’ll
start our whisky week with a custom tour and warehouse tasting
Lunch at Kilchoman Café
Kilchoman - custom Manager’s tour
with a range of Kilchoman drams
Visit beautiful Machir Bay on
the west coast of Islay
Return to Bowmore
Free evening
Tuesday25th August 2015
Bunnahabhain Distillery – a custom tour with Distillery Manager Andrew
Brown, and a number of exceptional Bunnahabhain drams
Ferry and bus to Jura Distillery,
Craighouse
Lunch (not included) available
at The Antlers or The Jura Hotel Restaurant, both beside the Distillery. (Ferry
schedules might necessitate a packed lunch)
Jura Distillery – for a custom
tour and tasting of Jura’s wide range of whiskies
Return to Islay, Dinner at The
Bridgend Hotel
Wednesday26th August 2015
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Bowmore Distillery –the very
special Craftsman’s Tour
Lunch (not included) in Bowmore
Visit to Gartbreck Distillery,
possibly in production by 8/15
Visit to the beautiful Mull of
Oa, and 1 ½ hr hike
Return to Bowmore
Free evening
Thursday27th August 2015
Caol Ila – Custom tasting and
whisky and chocolate pairing
Lunch (not included) in Port
Askaig
Visit to Finlaggan
Return to Bowmore
Dinner at Yan’s in Port
Charlotte
Friday28th August 2015
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Lagavulin – Warehouse and
tasting experience
Mini bus or walk (optional) to
Port Ellen
Lunch (not included) in Port
Ellen
Port Ellen Malting Works and/or
visit Kildalton Cross
Dinner at Islay Hotel in Port
Ellen
Saturday29th August 2015
Laphroaig Distillery - in depth
tour, warehouse & cask tasting, bottle from your favourite cask
Lunch at The Old Kiln Café at Ardbeg Distillery
Ardbeg Distillery – a special
experience with rare dram tastings from several decades
A very special evening at The
Bowmore House with dinner, and whisky pairings by Martine Nouet, one of the world’s leading
authorities on food and whisky.
Sunday 30th August 2015
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Our final day. Breakfast, mini coach to Port Ellen for the 1pm
ferry back to Kennacraig, and onwards to Glasgow.
From the southern ferry, and weather permitting, spectacular
views of Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig can be seen.
Tour Price (Canadian Dollars)
Based on double occupancy, $4200 per person
Single supplement $600
The tour price includes
- Accommodations for 7 nights at The Bowmore House, rated #1 on Trip Advisor.
- 5 dinners (3 courses, 2 glasses of wine) in some of Islay’s best restaurants, to which some special guests will be invited.
- 7 wonderful Scottish breakfasts at our home for the week.
- 2 lunches at both of Islay’s famous distillery cafés – Kilchoman and Ardbeg.
- Exceptional customized distillery and whisky experiences at 9 distilleries.
- Cultural/walking outings to Kildalton, Mull of Oa, Finlaggan, Machir Bay, and more as time permits.
- All ground transportation, in a comfortable mini coach, with a professional, local Islay driver, from and to Glasgow, and on the island for the organized part of the tour, i.e. most of the week. On the 2 free evenings, there are many dining establishments in Bowmore and numerous taxi companies, should you wish to travel to one of several other towns for dinner.
- All ferry costs to and from Islay.
- All taxes and gratuities.
- Travel agency fee.
- Carol, born and raised in Scotland, Ottawa based independent whisky ambassador and Islay lover, accompanying the group to guide, translate, facilitate, talk whisky and extol the virtues of Islay.
Not included in the price
- Air fare
- Transfers pre and post tour
- Travel insurance, cancellation and medical insurance
Reservations, cancellations and refunds
- GrapeScot is pleased to be partnering with TravelOnly, an exceptional Canadian travel agency, which will manage all sales, registrations and payments, and assist participants with any other trip related travel requirements. Mary Lynn Villeneuve, ACC, Travel Consultant, will be happy to assist you with all your travel needs. +1.613.924.1404 mvilleneuve@travelonly.com TICO #4316071
- Please feel free to contact Carol at GrapeScot with any questions about the itinerary.
- A deposit of $500 per person is required to reserve a place on the tour.
- Final payment of the remaining balance is due by 75 days before departure.
- Cancellations made before final payment is due are liable to a forfeit of the entire deposit of $500 per person
- Cancellations made between 75 days and 45 days before departure are liable to a further charge of $1500 per person.
- Refunds cannot be made to any passenger who cancels after 45 days before departure or to any passenger who does not complete the tour for any reason.
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The above itinerary is as planned, however we
reserve the right to make adjustments depending upon weather, distillery
schedule changes, ferry time changes, and other constraints.
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GrapeScot articles on Islay and the distilleries
Islay Bowmore Lagavulin Ardbeg Bruichladdich Caol Ila Laphroaig Bunnahabhain Kilchoman Jura Feis Ile 2014 Ardbeg at Feis Ile Laphroaig at Feis Ile Bunnahabhain at Feis Ile Lagavulin at Feis Ile Caol Ila at Feis Ile Bruichladdich at Feis Ile
Coming soon – Gartbreck Distillery and the Kentucky Bourbon Festival on the blog
