Scottish Routes Ltd — Local services in City of Edinburgh

From the first time I contacted Scottish Routes in early January 2023 until the moment we said goodbye to our amazing Guide Catherine, this experience has been absolutely excellent!

Preparation: We contacted Scottish Routes in early January 2023 to begin planning for our Single Malt journey to Scotland. From the very first contact, email responses were very quick. Catherine was the first person we exchanged emails with and she ended up being our tour guide. She is simply amazing, was very responsive with all our inquiries and proactively suggested tastings, experiences, distillery tours etc.

All we had to do was provide dates, suggested distilleries we wanted to visit and Catherine took care of the rest. Within a matter of days she had put together an amazing itinerary, which included transportation (pickup/drop off at our Edinburgh hotel) and lodging throughout the trip. She also booked all our distillery tours and tasting experiences. She even booked all our dinner reservations.

The process was so smooth, efficient and easy. Once booked all we had to do was wait a few months for the big day to arrive!

The Trip: Our amazing itinerary that Catherine put together, consisted of three days in Islay and two days in Speyside, with some travel in between. We visited the following distilleries: ⁃ Islay: Bowmore, Caol Illa, Ardnahoe, Bruichladdich, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg ⁃ Speyside: Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan, Dalwhinnie (on our way to Speyside, we did a quick visit to Oban, lovely town!)

Catherine arranged tours/tasting experiences at Bowmore, Caol Illa, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Glenlivet and Macallan.

The tours at Bowmore and Caol Illa, were so educational, we learned about the entire process to produce single malts and some really good tastings at the end. Guides were very informational and access around the distilleries is impressive, we saw it all!

The tasting experiences at Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Glenlivet and Macallan are simply amazing, we tasted some of the finest single malts, distillery exclusives and walked away with a deeper understanding of the unique tastes of these amazing single malts.

Catherine setup our itinerary so that our first day on Islay was dedicated to tours, we learned about the production process and from then on we had tasting experiences, it was perfectly arranged. This attention to detail is what really sets Scottish Routes apart, they provide a truly outstanding experience.

All our lodging was excellent and picked by Catherine. The restaurant suggestions were also excellent and all taken care of by Catherine.

Transportation was in a very new sprinter van, the four of us were very comfortable and Catherine is an amazing driver. Throughout our travels, she suggested excellent spots for lunch, scenic roads and informed us of different and important locations in Scotland’s history. Her knowledge and passion for all things Scotland is amazing, we learned a lot.

Conclusion: Scottish Routes and Catherine, were simply amazing. From start to finish, they made our experience in this single malt journey truly outstanding. They took care of all the details, made for a totally stress free planning process and the trip itself was a once in a lifetime experience, that left us with memories we will treasure forever.

If you’re thinking of heading off on your own Single Malt journey, go with Scottish Routes and Catherine, you will not regret it.

Thank you Catherine and Scottish Routes for this amazing experience.

Now off to plan for...

Had a perfect first time, four-day Islay whisky tour with a few friends in late July/early August. The trip significantly exceeded our expectations, mostly because of our exceptional guide, Jamie. All of us have traveled extensively but rarely with a guided tour, preferring the freedom to find our own way. Stopping at multiple distilleries a day seemed like the right time to let someone else handle arrangements and logistics, which is exactly what happened. Jamie took care of everything - all we had to do was show up each morning.

The trip to the ferry, though a few hours, passed quickly. As a guide, Jamie was pleasantly talkative, with no end of interesting facts and trivia about Scotland, its history, and the areas/landmarks we passed. He immediately set everyone at ease with his calm delivery and practiced cadence. He mentioned he had been on this tour for eight years and it showed. Jamie had curated a 6-hour long playlist for the tour (often, but not exclusively Scottish musicians) to add emphasis, break up his stories, or set a specific tone. He also shared the playlist with the group afterward. There were comfortable moments of silence too - the tour wasn't just constant noise.

Our tours were the standard ("core") whiskies at each distillery but the sheer scale (10 stops in all) and wealth of knowledge from distillery employees made the tours worthwhile regardless an individual's the level of familiarity with these whiskies. Jamie kept track of timing to ensure we arrived punctually at each location. We were ushered on at times but never felt rushed. When plans changed, as they did several times through no fault of his or the tour, Jamie adapted. This always worked out to our advantage. We were remarkably lucky with timing, weather, and a responsible group, but Jamie clearly loves this tour. He took any opportunity to show us something extra or enhance the tour, including quickly stopping by an extra distillery, a seaside picnic, and hiking Oa to the American Monument. He took note of guests' interests (birdwatching, photography, hiking) and found ways to incorporate them smoothly along the journey. Probably an overly lengthy way to say we were all tremendously impressed. This was the unforgettable trip of a lifetime. We will be back and now know exactly...

We just finished a fantastic 3 day whisky tour. 5 stars are not enough!

We were planning a trip to honor my husband's retirement. I had initially contacted a local travel agent in my city, and the price she initially quoted was astronomical! No way I could afford it.

That's when I started looking on line. I discovered that Scottish routes offered tours similar to what I was wanting and very good prices. But I couldn't find one to fit my timeline, so I simply emailed and asked if something was possible in my timeline.

After a few emails with Clare, I told her what distilleries I must see, and that after those, I really didn't care, just as many as possible. After she had what I wanted, she was able to quote me EXACTLY what I wanted, in my timeline, at a wonderful price that I could afford! It was a fraction of what the first travel agent quoted.

Clare and Sofia worked with me, and answered all my questions and they took care of everything!

When the day finally arrived, we were met at our hotel by a lovely lady Catherine who was our driver and tour guide. She was phenomenal. She took care of us, she was very knowledgeable, and she made the trip fun. Her lunch and/or supper recommendations were perfect! I would highly recommend her as your guide!

We visited 9 distilleries in 3 days. They took care of all the schedules, the fees etc. All we had to do was show up and enjoy the trip.

They booked us into a fantastic bed and breakfast. Comfortable, clean, big hearty Scottish breakfast! (Or whatever you want)

The whole experience was a trip of a lifetime.

I do recommend you take their tours. If they don't have one listed that fits your need do not hesitate to contact them. They went above and beyond to make our trip fantastic.

I would give them 100 stars if possible!

Thank you all for a...