Itineraries

Food and drink itineraries, 3 to 7 days

These routes are paced for pleasure: one or two tastings a day, time for lunch and a walk, and realistic travel between stops. Each one is built so that nobody has to drive after tasting.

The village of Pinhão on the Douro river, with terraced hills rising behind
Pinhão on the Douro, Portugal · sanjorgepinho · CC BY-SA 4.0

Use them as they are, or as a starting point. Tour times and opening days change every season. Before you book anything else, check each distillery or winery you want to visit, then build the days around those confirmed bookings.

Scotland

Europe

Stone distillery buildings with a pagoda roof beside a burn in RothesItinerary · 3 days · ScotlandSpeyside in 3 days: a slow whisky loopTwo tastings a day, riverside walks and dinners where you can stay put.Port Ellen maltings and warehouse beside the sea on IslayItinerary · 5 days · ScotlandIslay and Campbeltown in 5 daysKintyre's harbour town, then a ferry to the island of smoke.Small white and red farm-style distillery buildings near Pitlochry with a picket fence and rosesItinerary · 7 days · ScotlandScotch whisky in 7 days: Edinburgh to the HighlandsThree regions, castles and lochs in one gentle, week-long loop.The tree-lined Avenue de Champagne in Épernay with a historic brick building and wrought-iron gateItinerary · 5 days · FranceChampagne and Burgundy by train in 5 daysChalk cellars and Côte d'Or villages, linked by train, with no car needed.Traditional rabelo boats on the Douro in front of the colourful Ribeira district of PortoItinerary · 4 days · PortugalPorto and the Douro Valley in 4 daysPort lodges, a riverside railway and two nights among the terraces.

Keep exploring

Whisky casks stacked outside a distillery warehouse with Jura's hills behindGuide · ScotlandHow to book Scotch distillery tours (and not get turned away)Advance booking, weekend and winter closures, silent seasons and age rules, explained.The village of Pinhão on the Douro river, with terraced hills rising behindGuide · Getting aroundHow to taste without driving: drivers, tours and trainsThe non-negotiable rule of tasting trips, and the easy ways to follow it.Freshly picked black grapes being tipped from a crate into a trailer during harvestGuide · Wine countryVisiting wine regions at harvest timeWhen the grapes come in, region by region, and what it means for your visits.