We will be in Scotland 5 1/2 days prior to meeting friends in Glasgow. Would like to do a few Speyside distilleries and maybe Mull or Islay. Any ideas? We will have a car. Have done Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling previously, wanted something different. Thanks

I loved Islay. And if you are interested in distilleries, there are plenty there.

We stayed at a wonderful B&B: http://www.glenegedalehouse.co.uk/

My photos from Islay: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...localeid=en_US

My Scotland trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-scotland.cfm

Views differ; I too am a massive Islay fan. Mull is, OTOH, merely OK

Mull is really great -- but if you want distilleries - then Islay is "great-er"

When is your trip?

It is a long way from Speyside to Islay. I'd concentrate on the Islands/west coast and leave Speyside for another trip.

Five and a half days is not very long. If you want to make Speyside, you might have just barely enough time for Mull. I really like Mull, and there is lots to do and see, including boat trips to Iona or Staffa (Fingal's Cave). Tobermory is charming, and Duart Castle a must.

The ferry ride to Islay takes up more than half the day, each way. But if you visit Islay, you should not miss taking the small ferry over to Jura. By far the more scenic of the two islands. I much prefer the whisky distilled on Jura to that of Islay.

We stayed at a B&B 4 miles outside of Port Ellen on Islay, that was very basic but had this most wonderful lighthouse right in front of our bedroom window.

If you choose to go to Islay, you might want to explore the Kintyre peninsula along the way. Campbeltown, at the south end, used to be Scotland's whisky capital, it boasted of no less than 38 distilleries. Only three of them are still in existance, and two give tours.