All these knowledges are based on personal experience, believe me, it is worth reading=)
I do love improvisation myself but this does not work at all with Feis Ile, guys, believe me! The demand is that high, so first you have any accommodation gone and second ferry tickets disappear at speed of light. So to be sure that you will be present physically (lol) at Festival, here is what you need to think of at first!
Last year I started to prepare my visit too late (beginning of April), and all the accommodation possibilities were already taken. Speaking to hotel administrators and to locals I learned that most of them are fully booked almost half a year in advance for the Festival! Usually frequent visitors book their accommodation for next year immediately, one year in advance!!!! Can you imagine the demand?! 😳😳😳
To be sure you have place to sleep - be accurate and make the decision as early as you can.
A lot of useful info about accommodation on Islay you can find here, here and here.
In any case, you can ether stay in the hotel or guest house, you can rent from locals and you can stay at camping sites.
Advise - take your phone and give a call to those accommodations you have picked up. You can use AirBnb or the websites I gave to choose where your want to stay. The prices are evidently the highest during the year, but this is expected.
As for camping you have 2 campsites on Islay. Be ready to live without electric hooks as their number is very limited and most of them are booked one year in advance, lol=))
Guys, honestly, do not wait till it is too late cause the flow of people going to Islay during Festival days is just incredible.
You have 2 main option to get there:
by plane from Glasgow - yes, there is an airport on Islay, lol! 😁
By ferry - main route starts from Kennacraig, then you have option from Oban and Colonsay too. You can either arrive at Port Askaig or Port Ellen.
Tickets for both transport means are very limited and for the festival they are all sold out usually in April. Last year I managed to get tickets to ferry the 6th of May, but as I learnt afterwords, it was mainly luck than the reality. This year I booked tickets the beginning of April (yes, I am coming) and they were already sold out!!! for the 25th of May (Festival starts the 26th). The same problem for the return - the festival ends the 2nd of June and as you can see here - it is all sold out. It is just a risk to be late and to miss part of the Festival. So remember, there is only one rule to follow, haha: New Year passed - think about your tickets to Feis Ile! 😂😂😂 otherwise your risk to see this:
For the Festival there is only one rule that works in all cases: the first come - the first served.
The event program is very vast, each distillery gives the opportunity to meet its legends both in human (distillery managers and legendary characters of whisky industry) and casks. To be sure you have your place reserved - buy your ticket.
There is no specific date when the ticket sales start, so be sure to visit the distillery sites from at least March. Because once the tickets are online and puff, there will be gone very quickly. You can join the masterclasses and taste rare casks, make a tour around distillery to see the whole process of whisky making or participate in noising event. Everybody finds something for their taste.
These were the secret step to make IN ADVANCE to be sure your Feis Ile experience will be great to live.
I will share lately other tips that you may need to know to make your experience even better, so do not hesitate to keep an eye=)
Next post will share the story how we travelled last year to the festival! This will give you a full idea what you can wait for!
Thanks for reading and Cheers!