Speyside Whisky Trail

If you want to discover the whisky, water and land of Scotland there is no better way. Taste the complex flavours of the Speyside whiskies as you walk through the changing landscapes from riverside through farm and moorland to rich forests. The perfect trip for both walker and whisky connoisseur.

Slower Adventures | Where walking and cycling meet easy-going exploring, our Slower Adventures are the perfect combination. Most days are filled with picturesque journeys with some free time to dive into the destination and experience the people, local food and culture as you go.

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&Bs, inns, and guesthouses.

Solo Travellers, Families with Teens

The minimum age for this tour is: 12 Years

This is an easy to moderate tour with relatively low daily mileages covering mostly flat, but occassionally rolling terrain. Paths are generally very good and the route follows a mix of forest tracks and paths on compact dirt or gravel.

The Speyside Whisky Trail is a relatively easy walk so if you are a regular walker or lead and active lifestyle you'll enjoy the walk. We offer a range of itineraries so you can choose your preferred daily distance so hopefully you will find an itinerary that suits your preferred level of activity.

One of the highlights of this walking holiday is the high standard of the accommodation you will enjoy. The hotels, inns, guesthouses and B&B’s we use are hand-picked to ensure that you enjoy every minute of your stay. All offer a warm welcome to walkers, traditional hospitality and delicious local food. We do recommend that you book this trip early as the area is always popular and the hotels and inns do fill up early, especially in high season. You will find descriptions, photos and weblinks to a selection of the accommodation below.

Single Rooms

This independent walking holiday is available to solo walkers but as all our holidays are priced per person based on two sharing there is a single supplement payable to cover the additional costs we incur. If you require single rooms within your party we will of course try to accommodate your request subject to availability.

Meals

Breakfast is included each morning while lunch and dinner are not included so you are free to choose from the available options. Your accommodation will be more than happy to provide a packed lunch on request and this can be booked on arrival, alternatively your guidebook also includes details of local shops and convenient lunch stops on the way. Dinner is available either at your accommodation or nearby pubs and restaurants and your info pack will of course have recommendations.

The routes are not always signposted but will access to our easy-to-use Macs Adventure smartphone navigation app, and the trip guidebook with route notes you should have no problem finding your way.

You can begin your Speyside Whisky Trail adventure on any day between April and October. Please note that some of the smaller distilleries may close on certain days, so if you plan to visit these unique, smaller sites, it’s best to check their schedules before booking.

By Air: Aberdeen (3hrs) and Inverness (2hrs) both have airports which are convenient for the Speyside Whisky Trail.

Use one of the following modes of transport listed below to get you to the start and finish of the walk.

By Road:  Craigellachie is approximately 60 miles and a 1.5 hours drive from both Inverness and Aberdeen. From Glasgow and Edinburgh drive time is approximately 4 hours. 

By Rail or Bus:  If travelling by bus from Inverness airport you may change buses at Elgin. The overall journey time is approximately 2 hours. If travelling by bus from Aberdeen airport a combination of a bus to Dyce followed by a train to Elgin and a final bus will take approximately 3 hours in total. You may also travel out from Aberdeen town centre by train to Elgin and a bus onto Craigellachie. This journey will take up to 2.5 hours.

By Private Transfer: Our partners at Scenic Scottish Transfers provide transfers to the start of the Speyside Trail from all entry points across Scotland, including airports in Glasgow and Edinburgh. This is a premium service that ensures reliable, high-quality travel. To request a quote, visit Scottish Scenic Transfers and be sure to mention that you are travelling with Macs Adventure.

Train timetables can be found here Scotrail and the buses are operated by Stagecoach. 

By Bus:  Public transport from Granton-on-Spey is available via a bus to the town of Aviemore (0.5 hrs) where trains run to Inverness (45m) and onward to Aberdeen (4-5hrs total journey). Buses are operated by Stagecoach. Buses operated by Scottish Citylink run directly to Glasgow (3hrs) with an indirect service to Edinburgh (3.5hrs).

By Rail:  There are direct train services to Glasgow (3hrs) from Aviemore and an indirect service to Edinburgh (3.5hrs). The provider for the train is Scotrail. 

By Private Transfer: Our partners at Scenic Scottish Transfers provide onward transfers from the Speyside Trail. This is a premium service that ensures reliable, high-quality travel. To request a quote, visit Scottish Scenic Transfers and be sure to mention that you are travelling with Macs Adventure.

Traveline Scotland is a great website for planning journeys by public transport around the country.

Daily door to door baggage transfer is included in the cost of your holiday. We ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to 20kg per person.

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person.  It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.