When I think back to our trip to the Isle of Islay, I can still hear the murmuring of waves on a soft sandy beach and the joyful song of sea birds; I can still feel the warmth of the sun on my arms and the gentle heat of the sand under my toes and I can still smell the sharp air with a hint of alcohol.
Is it always sunny on Islay? Probably not, but on our spring campervan trip to this Scottish west-coast island we had sunshine and blue skies every day, so I could be forgiven for thinking this was normal! Seduced by the delightful weather we took every opportunity to kick off our shoes along deserted bays and scramble around the craggy coast of Islay. On an island seemingly powered by whisky, we did visit some distilleries too!
We had four days on the island. This was dictated by ferry availability, but it was about the right amount of time for us.
Walks on Islay
All the walks we followed were found on the must-have Walk Highlands app. Their website is free to use and the app is only a small cost. On the app you can download walks to navigate off-line and I can’t praise this tool enough. Here are links to the walks we enjoyed.
The Distilleries Coast Walk from Port Ellen, 6.25km (one-way). If you only do one walk, then this is the one. It passes three historical distilleries, finishing at Ardbeg which has a great cafe and bar. You can walk back or catch the bus back from Ardbeg to Port Ellen.
Port Ellen Standing Stones Loop, from Port Ellen, 5km. A short walk mostly on inland lanes that buzzed with insects when we were there.
Carraig Fhada and Singing Sands from near Port Ellen, 4.5km. An unusual lighthouse, a fine sandy beach and, in May, rocks festooned with pink thrift, what more do you need!
Laggan Point Circuit from Bowmore, 14km. After you have left the industrial buildings behind and reached the beach, this is a fantastic walk for bird watching and beach combing. We walked around stranded sea stacks and had our picnic lunch watching seabirds on a deserted stretch of coast.
Saligo Bay beach and arches from Saligo, 5.25km. A scenic and geologically interesting, stretch of beach with craggy rocks festooned with thrift and yellow bird’s-foot trefoil. This westerly coast is breezier than the sheltered parts of Islay.
RSPB Reserves
The Oa Nature Reserve is reached on a narrow and bumpy road where even 20mph felt too fast! There was plenty of parking on our evening visit. We walked up to the American memorial that remembers the dead from two ships that sank in World War One. Here the coastal cliffs are impressive and across the sea we could see Northern Ireland. We saw wild goats, a hare and a hen harrier, its wings and underbody catching the evening sunlight.
Loch Gruinart Nature Reserve is a contrast to The Oa. There are two marked trails, one through the woodland, with hides looking over the loch and marshes and another that climbs over the moorland, with views out to further islands. On our visit we encountered hordes of butterflies and various birds.
Other Sights
Kildalton Cross, an 8th century carved Celtic cross with early Christian images, is arresting for its intricacy and age. The drive there is along around 12km of quiet road that becomes narrower and bumpier as you get nearer to the cross and church. It was fine for our 5m long campervan and when you arrive, like us, you will be surprised how much parking there is, particularly as we had it all to ourselves.
The Round Church in Bowmore is intriguing and, as you will probably find yourself in Bowmore for shopping or a cafe stop during your trip, worth taking the time to see. There isn’t loads of parking in Bowmore but there are small car parks off School Lane and towards the harbour. We parked in a viewpoint parking area off the A846 towards Bridgend about 10 minutes walk from the main shopping street. The Round Church looks over the main street and you can’t miss it.
Distilleries – There are lots of these and most of them offer tours. The tours for the big Islay names, like Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg and Bowmore fill up quickly, so if you want to visit a particular favourite distillery book early! We visited Kilchoman Distillery, a fairly new farm distillery that also grows barley for their distillery. The tour had all the smells and colour of every distillery tour and was delivered by a knowledgeable and engaging guide. As we were driving we went away with two small bottles of different whiskies and souvenir whisky glasses.
Bottlenose dolphins. We were lucky to see a small pod of dolphins from the Port Charlotte campsite. Walking on the shore looking across Loch Indaal sea loch, we watched common terns, shelducks and greylags. As we walked back we spotted a dark shape in the water and hoped. Then it leapt out of the water and we knew it was a bottlenose dolphin! Soon, we were watching a small group of dolphins and most of the campsite had joined us to enjoy their antics.
The Ferry
We tried to book our ferry in February for our trip in May. This wasn’t early enough and we struggled to find a crossing that had space for even our small campervan. This should be easier when the larger boat is working this route, but I would still suggest booking as soon as timetables are available in December or January.
The crossing from Kennacraig on Kintyre to Port Askaig takes around two hours. The route to Port Ellen is about 20 minutes longer. On a good day, the views of Jura and the Paps of Jura are mesmerising.
Campsites
In 2026 there should be two campsites on Islay. We stayed at:
Port Mòr Campsite near Port Charlotte – this coastal site has a limited number of electric hook-up pitches that are soon booked by organised holidaymakers and many more grassy and unspecified non-electric pitches. There are facilities in the building and a cafe. It is open March till the end of November and has a great view over Loch Indaal.
Port Ellen Motorhome Parking in Port Ellen is a new facility that opens in 2026. We had a look at the almost finished site and it seems it will be a tidy small site in a lovely position close to the beach, shops and eateries of Port Ellen. The site has EHU pitches and toilets and showers.
In addition, an unofficial but very lovely place to park a campervan or motorhome is at the head of Loch Indaal on the north side between Bridgend and Bruichladdich.
Back on the road again 