Bowmore Distillery – A Tasting and Lunch, All on Foot
A few hours.
The route
Bowmore Distillery stands on the shore of Loch Indaal at the foot of the town, and calls itself Islay's oldest.
Come for a tour or a tasting, then lunch a few streets away at the Bowmore Hotel, home of Lucci's Whisky Bar. If you're staying in Bowmore, nobody has to drive, so everyone can enjoy a dram.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
None of ours is close by: the nearest is The Hollies, 42 miles away. Sleeps 18.
Book a tour or tasting on Bowmore's website before you go, for a morning time from Monday to Saturday so lunch follows it: places are limited, and the distillery shuts on Sundays and from 23 December to 4 January.
Book lunch at the Bowmore Hotel on 01496 810416; it's served every day from noon to 2.30pm.
The day
Bowmore
A tour or a tasting among the casks at the distillery on the shore, then lunch a few streets back up the hill.
About three hours
Bowmore Distillery
An attraction
The distillery is on School Street by the shore, at the foot of Main Street. Bowmore opens Monday to Saturday from 9.30am (10am on Fridays) to 5pm, and shuts on Sundays. Book a tour or tasting on its website, as places are limited: the Crafting Bowmore tour follows the whisky from start to finish and ends with a tasting. The stills are resting until the end of 2026, so no spirit is being made, but every tour still runs. If the tours are full, the whisky bar pours tasting flights from 11am to 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday, with no booking and a view over Loch Indaal; it's up seven steps. Dogs are welcome in the visitor centre, shop and bar, but not on the tour.
About 4 min on foot
Bowmore Hotel
Lunch
Lunch is at the Bowmore Hotel on Jamieson Street, four minutes' walk back up from the distillery. Its kitchen serves lunch every day from noon to 2.30pm, with seafood specials from local fishermen, meat from a local farm, and gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian dishes. Afterwards, look into Lucci's Whisky Bar, which holds more than 1,800 single malts from Islay and Jura. Ring 01496 810416 to book a table. If it's full, the Lochside on Shore Street, by the harbour, serves lunch from 12.30pm every day.
If it rains
All of it is under a roof except the four-minute walk up to the hotel.
Bowmore Hotel, a restaurant in Bowmore.
Peatzeria, a restaurant in Bowmore.