Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

From the initial outreach to Absolute Escapes, through the entire planning process (which involved a lot of changes and what ifs on my end), through a fender bender after a bus hit my rental car while I was parked waiting to drive onto the ferry at Mallaig, the entire Absolute Escapes team was stellar in their communications and planning. Having never been to Scotland before, they were able to set me and my 83-year-old mother up with an itinerary where we could both enjoy the majesty of the Scottish Highlands. The accommodations were top notch, and well tailored to what we wanted (Inverlochy Castle is a must!). I will definitely be recommending others who are traveling to Scotland to reach out to Absolute Escapes, and I am a definite future customer for any upcoming travels to Scotland. My only wish was that we could have spent more time in the Highlands, particularly on the Isle of Skye, which was so stunning that I found myself saying "Wow" at almost every twist and turn in the road.

Absolute Escapes, especially Andy Gabe and Fern Urquhart, were stellar. Great communications. Great planning. Great assistance when I got into a minor traffic accident. Their trip planner itinerary document was amazing and really helped my mom envision the trip as we were going. This was a 5* experience, and Absolute Escapes provides 5* service.

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This was our first long walk and working with Absolute Escapes meant that we could concentrate on the views because everything else was taken care of. Our lodgings were perfect. It was so nice to arrive each day and have our baggage waiting so we could shower and change and then head to one of the recommended evening options. The map and the flip book they provided were invaluable as was their detailed itinerary.

Our tour operator was friendly and answered all of our questions promptly. We compared notes about other tour operators with fellow walkers on the trail and found that the information provided by Absolute Escapes was extraordinarily complete.

We did a circle driving tour of Scotland and the Lake District of England beginning and ending in Edinburgh. We enjoyed being in Edinburgh but it was hectic due to the Fringe festival. Loved seeing Loch Lomond, The Nevis Range, especially loved Glen Coe, the Rannish mood and the Isle of Skye. We saw fabulous castles and other historic sites. The inns chosen had wonderful innkeepers who were both friendly and helpful. They were conveniently located. Wished we had more time there.

Absolute Escapes staff listened to our wishes and created the trip of our dreams. Very responsive and efficient.

We had a wonderful time. We are used to quite long walks and the possibility of hiking without heavy luggage has been an asset. The Arran Coastal Way is a very nice route and the landscape impressive. All the sections of the route are enjoyable and the island offers lot of things to see (both natural and cultural – please note that we have been travelling to Scotland several times). The information pack and guide books delivered to us are good-quality and describe in detail the way and its characteristics. We also enjoyed the friendly people and excellent food. In a nutshell: top!

It is the first time we have been using a company for organising our travel. We booked with Absolute Escapes and everything was perfect. All the places where we lodged during our stay are very good, well-managed, run by friendly and helpful people; all of them are exactly the kind of places we like and we couldn't haven chosen better ourselves. Luggage was always on time - despite the flooding of part of Arran during our stay! Transport by Arran motor taxis was very efficient and we enjoyed the conversation with our driver. Communications with the tour operator staff has been fast and clear. It was worth the money indeed.

We spent six days hiking the Great Glen Way in Scotland with some sightseeing mixed in. It was a beautiful trip, a quiet trail, and included diverse but equally beautiful landscapes!

Absolute Escapes provided exceptional service from planning through implementation. The reasonable deposit amount allowed us to confirm our plans early, accommodations and luggage transfer were terrific, and the information about each town and eating options were invaluable. We would travel with them again in a heartbeat!

Tailor made trip around Scotland including Isle of Skye utilising rail, ferry and bus services with B&B accommodation arranged by Absolute Escapes

Pippa and the team were excellent, very friendly with prompt responses and follow up. Everything went plan as arranged.

I really enjoyed the Cateran Trail. The landscape is wonderful. It offers a bit of everything, fields, forests, hills, lochs, heather, sheep, lovely villages and small towns and great hospitality. As I hoped it was a very quiet walk. Which is escpecially nice in August since the sights are very busy in Scotland.

Everything went perfectly. The accomodations were excellent. I usually organise everything by myself but now I can see the many advantages of choosing a tour operator.

We walked the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Fort William in 5 days as suggested on their website by Absolute Escapes and added an extra day at the end to climb Ben Nevis. It was a challenging but doable walk. We enjoyed the scenery of the Highlands and every evening we arrived at our destination a bit exhausted but happy and enjoyed the excellent food and friendly pub atmosphere along the way.

We booked the tour through Absolute Escapes. They organized luggage transport and accommodations for us and we received a detailed description about daily distances, lunch and dinner options and special sights on the way. Everything was organized perfectly, the luggage transport went smoothly and with only one exception (The Drovers Inn), accommodation was very clean, comfortable, usually in a scenic location and some we would even rate as exceptional.

Myself, my daughter and granddaughter did a self-drive holiday starting in Edinburgh onto Inverness and into the Highlands, all the way to Portree on Isle of Skye and back via Fort William and Callender and everything in between. We experienced scenery that leaves you somewhat emotional with the beauty of it and were transported back in time to Highland history in various castles and battle sites that we explored. It was an absolutely amazing experience for us, almost surreal....as Scotland had been a bucket list item for years.

Fern Urquhart from Absolute Escapes was amazing from day one when we started planning our trip. She was super helpful, always answered questions immediately and made really good suggestions with regard to guesthouses, sightseeing and other helpful information. Our holiday went exactly as planned because of our tour operator and our sincere thanks go out to Fern and everyone else at Absolute Escapes that was involved!

When you get to a certain age, you want the best value, and more importantly, comfort on a vacation. My friend and I decided to walk the West Highland Way in Scotland, but did not wish to wild camp or lug our belongings. Yet, we have a limited income. Absolute Escapes was the first website we came across, and the one we chose after some research and comparing. Booking with them was easy-breezy, and that basically explains the entire trip...worry free...organized...and perfect accommodations/breakfasts for our price point. We flew from Toronto Canada, and communication was via email (again, easy, hassle free). I would, and have recommended Absolute Escapes already! Well done!

We did not have one specifically, as all our bookings were done via email. However, excellent service, and all questions were answered in a timely manner.