A car is essential for most of what makes Moray worth visiting. The Malt Whisky Trail, the coastal villages, Pluscarden Abbey, Sueno's Stone, and the beaches are all spread across a large rural area with infrequent bus services.
Local buses connect Elgin to Forres, Buckie, Keith, and the larger coastal towns, but schedules are limited and the journey times are long. The Stagecoach network covers most of the main routes.
The Malt Whisky Trail is specifically designed as a self-drive route and is marked with brown tourist signs from Elgin. A leisurely drive of the full trail, with two or three distillery stops, can be done comfortably in a day. Note that many distilleries offer a dram at the end of the tour — if you plan to drink, designate a driver or split the day's visits across multiple days.
Cycling is feasible on the coast road and along the Speyside Way long-distance footpath, which runs from Buckie on the coast to Aviemore in the Cairngorms. The path passes through Craigellachie and Aberlour, where there are rental options.