Sampling whiskies and hiking around Speyside

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
7
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
8
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
7
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
8
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
8
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
75 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
101st/454
Top 30%
continent
Europe
country
UK
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$110 ($200-$400 in 2020 prices)
Time of year visited
July
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Distilleries Hiking Mountains
All Tags
Forests Lakes Local villages
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Speyside sits in the northern part of the Cairngorm Mountains.  The wildest, highest part of the UK and, with its mountain landscapes, crisp fresh air and sub-Arctic climate, quickly detaches you from any feeling of being in the rest of the UK.

Firmly in the highlands of Scotland, you can enjoy the surrounding hikes to the lochs and sample the most famous single malt whiskies in the world.  The old cliché is so true – the taste and enjoyment of the alcohol completely depends on the location and context that you’re experiencing it in.  Sipping Champagne in the rural vineyards of the Champagne region, drinking the menu of wheat beers in an abbey in Belgium, learning about Rum on an island in the Caribbean –  being in a Speyside lodge sampling whiskies with the mountains in the background and a fire nearby is right up there and about as good an alcohol experience as you can get.

 

Top tip #1 – Stay in a lodge ideally just outside of Aviemore and one that offers whisky tasting.  The town of Aviemore itself is nice, but a little touristy.  If you stay outside, you will avoid the (small) crowds and be able to enjoy that mountain view around you that little bit more.  In particular, find one that offers a whisky tasting session (most do) – doing so will allow you to really learn about the different types rather than only those shared by the individual distilleries.  Plus, it allows you to ask a heap of increasingly slurry questions into the evening.

Top tip #2 – visit either the Glenfiddich or Macallan distilleries.  They’re much larger than the others, but they run the experience very well and  have a great sample at the end to try.  Glenfiddich you can just rock up without a booking, Macallan you need to book ahead.

Top tip #3 – you can visit all year round, but need summer for the hiking.  I’ve visited in winter and, although it is bloody freezing and very very dark, its quite atmospheric to be there.  Summer is busier with fellow tourists, but the long days and warmer weather allows you to head off for a day hike up to one of the many lochs that surround Aviemore.

Highlights

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#1 Visiting one of the famous Speyside distilleries to learn all about how they make the world-famous single malts

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#2 Hiking up through the mountains to one of the beautifully serene lochs up and around Aviemore

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#3 Hitting Speyside in winter - it's cold and dark, but wonderfully atmospheric as you look out of the window by the warm fire

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#4 Trying out the various famous single malts, ideally with a guide to explain to you the key differences to be looking for

Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Other great Alcohol Tasting experiences around the World

Champagne region wine tasting
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cycling and drinking craft beers around the Chico Circuit in Bariloche
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wine tasting in the Barossa Valley
⭐⭐

Driving the Alsace Wine Route
⭐⭐

Wine tasting around Pinhao in the Duoro Valley
⭐⭐⭐

Cycling around Kyoto and sampling whiskies in the Suntory Distillery
⭐⭐

Soaking up the views and the rum near the Gros Pitons of St Lucia
⭐⭐

The Trans Pennine Railway Real Ale Trail
⭐⭐

Wine tasting and cycling around the vineyards of Mendoza
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sampling wines in Saint Emilion
⭐⭐⭐

Eger – wine tasting in the Valley of the Beautiful Women
⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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