Heti - thanks for checking in here and for your always kind thoughts! Mr. Gruezi said last night he's fine to visit a distillery but absolutely not planning the trip around it. Wishing you a very happy anniversary - Brittany sounds wonderful - I love coastal areas the world over. Hope the hospital visits are only routine.

Why JFK?

I'm recalling direct flights from EWR to Edinburgh, not from JFK.

Hey Russ - whichever one has direct flights. I assumed JFK.

Hi Gruezi, what a great choice for your trip! I did a Scottish highlands tour on a day trip from Greenock while on a cruise. It was a lovely tour, that included Luss, Inverary & Inverary Castle, Lock Awe and Kilchurn Castle. I have no idea if this area fits in your plans, but wanted to throw it out there that these places were really nice. Have a great trip!

<<I assumed JFK.>>

Check on that. The airline once known as Continental had straight shots to EDI and to Glasgow from EWR. AA, BA, Delta, et al. don't go straight to Scotland from JFK.

Thanks hpeabody.

Russ - flights are my husband's area. He probably already knows the exact price and is checking daily. He says JFK now has direct to Edinburgh.

gruezi... in the Lounge I recommended Martin Clunes series on islands in Scotland. However, upon reading your wish list I think the places he visited would be a little to wild and
wooly 4 u -:)

Haven't read all the responses -- What is missing is much whisky and any golf.

Skye has, well Talisker, whereas Islay is the promise land for whisky w/ 9 or 10 active distilleries.

Machrihanish is one of the top 100 links courses in the world - amazing setting.

Mull has amazing sea/beach scenery, the foot ferry to Iona, boat trip to Staffa/Fingall's cave and MUCH more:

Fingalls cave http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/ima...st-of-mull.jpg

Calgary Bay https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/me...5c/amazing.jpg

Duart Castle http://www.scotland-flavour.co.uk/pi...tland_7101.jpg

Iona https://www.visitscotland.com/wsimgs...1706587634.jpg[ToFit1200x800]

Tobermory http://www.tobermorygolfclub.com/images/tobgolf.jpg

etc etc.

Oh -- don't get me wrong -- I do LOVE Skye -- but I just think Mull/Islay/Machrihanish would be a very memorable trip w/ world famous golf, Islay single malts, great scenery, castles, Iona and even puffins :)

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-ge...-Mull-5277.jpg

If you do make it to Skye and want to splurge on accommodations, take a look at Kinloch Lodge. We stayed here with friends when we couldn't find anything less expensive and although the price made us all gulp, we unanimously decided it had been more than worth it when we figured in the value of the absolutely amazing dinner and breakfast we had there. Everybody thought the food was better than Three Chimneys, which we also visited.

I would go back tomorrow.

I agree with all the above re Islay. Given your timing and priorities I think it ticks as many boxes as possible, save the one for golf. To cover that priority, my suggestion would be to use Glasgow as your point of entry, not Edinburgh. There's nonstop service to GLA from Newark (United) Philly (American) or JFK (Delta) or one-stop service through many other airports.

The drive from GLA to the Islay ferry is scenic but quite long, and it's on busy and/or narrow/mountainous/twisty roads unsuited for the jet-lagged.

However, there's air service on Flybe (a major UK carrier) through its affiliate Loganair (which has been flying around the Highlands and Islands forever) to both Islay and Campbeltown down by the Mull of Kintyre (hello, Paul.)

Return airfare from Glasgow to Campbeltown is around £85; to Islay it's around £140 - £150. There are car rentals available in both, at rates that aren't very different from those at GLA, maybe even cheaper.

I'd fly to Campbeltown and spend a day getting over jetlag, then get a car and drive around an hour north to the Islay ferry at Kennacraig. Cross over to Islay and spend a few days touring around - distilleries, beaches, walks, etc...

Then return to Campbeltown and play a round of golf at the famous Machrihanish Dunes course - http://machrihanishdunes.com/ - and spend a couple of days touring around Kintyre - fabulous landscapes, villages, even a couple more distilleries (producing whisky notably different in "nose" than the peaty Islay ones.)

You could spend the whole time in Kintyre and Islay, or fly back to Glasgow and spend a couple of days in the area (maybe head down to Ayrshire for more golf or the Burns Heritage Trail, or up past Loch Lomond to Glen Coe, or the Trossachs, etc.)

This would be something of an off-the-beaten path itinerary, but a very rewarding one.

I know nothing about golf, but when we stayed on Islay we saw lots of people who had come to play at the Machrie Golf Links across the street from our bed and breakfast and next to the airport.

Gruezi tell your husband to forget the golf. Go for walks. He can stop every two hundred yards, swing his arms and swear. It's the same thing but cheaper.

Unless of course you enjoy the hours he is away?

I loved Mull over Skye. However, to be fair we had glorious weather on Mull and it bucketed rain most of the time we were on Skye. I was traveling with two nephews (11 and 14) so obviously did not check out whisky or golf, but had lots of hikes and loved our time in the countryside.

Janisj has given a list of things to do on Mull so I won't repeat her websites. But will say that we enjoyed our time on Iona where we walked around and visited the abbey where Macbeth and other early Scottish kings are buried. Our day out to Staffa was one of those clear sparkling days and we hiked to the end of the island and just watched puffins. We explored parts of Mull on foot.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Puffins are unlikely in September:
https://owlcation.com/stem/Where-To-See-Puffins

Oh -- I didn't notice the date . . . Sorry. Lots of other birds/sea life though.

Wow - thanks for all these great additions to the thread. My sense is we can't go too wrong (at least for me) on the areas discussed so far. I'll enjoy looking at all the links posted here and the various recommendations.

Thanks very much - this is very helpful.

oh - it looks like one of my links doesn't work - this will be better

http://www.duartcastle.com

gruezi..Clunes does visit Islay in the series. I think it's toward the end of Series 2.

In a strange twist of fate Mr. Gruezi has decided to try a cruise and put Scotland on hold.

I'm secretly relieved because I don't think this is his kind of trip. He was miserable in Ireland and we came home early.

I, however, am very, very grateful for the advice here as I'm just as anxious to get back to Scotland as ever and hopefully can get there 'ere long.

Thank you all a million times!

(We will cruise the coast of France, Spain and Portugal. Lots of interesting ports on the itinerary. It's our first cruise in over 20 years.)