Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

We walked the Arran coastal way with luggage transferred reliably by car and with comfortable, friendly overnight stops at BnBs and one country inn. All arrangements well planned and meticulous. Lovely hosts, beautiful countryside and reliable information pack.

Responsive to our needs; friendly; well informed about the route, accommodation and holiday location.

I signed up for The Way at the suggestion of a former neighbor and good friend. She wondered what I was planning for my 75th birthday and suggested The John Muir Way. I thought, “What better way to make the statement that age does not define one?” The first day of The Way was the most difficult. My elevation app showed that we climbed almost 800 feet, and the road, once out of town, was rockier than I’d anticipated. The views were varied and beautiful. We enjoyed time in Helensburgh having coffee and talking to locals before beginning. A pint at the Tullies provided an opportunity to journal about the day’s events. I appreciated the fact that our first day allowed us to return to the familiar surroundings of Woodvale and our gracious hosts. Day-two, we agreed to stop at the Wayfarer for lunch. Another Milagro occurred when two women stopped us, as we hunted for the Wayfarer, to tell us that it was closed for remodeling. They sent us to Drymen, another two miles up the road for lunch. Once there, we realized that our hotel was across the street from the small café where we were seated. Thank you for your quick response and making the needed adjustments to keep us on track. Your taxi driver was right there in the morning to get us back on our walk. We loved our stay in Strathblane at the Kirkhouse Inn appreciating dinner and the ambiance of the inn. The staff decorated the breakfast table with banners in the morning to celebrate my birthday. From the Kirkhouse, we hiked to the ruins of Antonine Wall and the Roman Garrison getting a little lost at the top. Locals guided us to the Boathouse, another great stay. Our accommodations were lovely and gave us an opportunity for some solitude and a great soak in the bath. Dinner, too, was perfect as we celebrated our accomplishments. Scott, our host, was kind and helpful, allowing us to stay till noon and ordered a taxi to take us directly to the Grange Manor the following afternoon. The desk clerk at the Manor allowed us to check in early after which we enjoyed tea in the lunch room. Later, we took a taxi and had dinner at a small restaurant the driver recommended in Falkirk. The following morning, we took the train and spent the day in Edinburgh lunching at the Devil’s Advocate and a taxi ride to Go Outdoors, Scotland’s fabulous outdoor store. Our taxi driver, Murray, waited for us at the store while we shopped and took us on a brief tour of other neighborhoods in Edinburgh. By evening, we boarded the train at Waverly Station and headed to The Star and Garter in Linlithgow. We walked to the palace and toured the grounds and appreciated a tasty and relaxing dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. From Linlithgow we headed to the Firth of Forth. We stopped in Bo’Ness for a sausage role and continued on. The views were breathtaking and the clouds ever changing on this overcast day. In Queensferry we stayed at the Orocco Pier. At breakfast I had the best French Toast with bacon that I’d ever had! From Queensferry to the end of our trip, we cut our walking time taking a taxi for a few miles to avoid motorways. On July 18, we returned to Edinburgh. The staff, our rooms and the location were perfect at the Bruntsfield Hotel. We walked all over Edinburgh and returned to the Devil’s Advocate for a late lunch and the hotel for a good night’s sleep. In the morning, we took a taxi to Musselburgh breathing in the salt air on our walk along the firth to Port Seton. Gina, at the Anchorage, was welcoming. We found the Thai take-away and sipped a pint at the local pub. In North Berwick the Nether Abbey was a delightful stop with sunset views from our rooms. We took the boat trip, sampled the cafés and a delicious dinner at the hotel. We didn’t want to leave. In Dunbar we took in all the details of the John Muir Center and were delighted by Frances, docent and devoted advocate for Muir’s work. On the 22nd decided to skip breakfast to catch the only direct train at 7 a.m. to Glasgow to avoid transfers and make our connection at the Glasgow airport. This was a trip of a lifetime. Your planning, attention to detail, responsiveness and professionalism are to be applauded. I’m still processing the internal journey that this trip afforded. There is a Nelson Mandela quote that I was reminded of: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” I’m an educator, an artist, writer and lover of nature. I’ve traveled the world, and it has afforded me the opportunity to practice all of my passions. The Way is the most intimate odyssey I’ve taken. Thank you.

Jason and his team are to be applauded for their planning, attention to detail, responsiveness and professionalism. I travel frequently and this ranks as one of the best trips I've ever taken.

We walked round Arran. We had prepared for everything except blazing sunshine, so that took us rather by surprise. I particularly enjoyed the north east quarter between Broddick and Loughranza, but the views were spectacular all the way round. I was surprised how few others we met on our perambulation, and that can only partly be because most were embarked on the anti-clockwise route. Arran deserves to be better known – but perhaps the poor mobile coverage and indifferent wifi militates against family holidays (particularly with teenagers).

The arrangements all went perfectly. The luggage transfer worked very well, and we enjoyed all of our hosts. The B&B accommodation exceeded my expectations, but that may be because I haven’t used many B&Bs recently. We were favoured with sea/ harbour views by most of our hosts, and it was rather a pleasure than otherwise to have two nights in three places – it all made for less moving about and living out of a suitcase. We actually found the one hotel on our route the least appealing of our venues. Having a goal and a certain number of miles to cover was a good discipline. This was the right daily quota for us. We will certainly go back to Absolute Escapes again - we are already talking about next year. The guidance literature was really good and unfailingly accurate.

Once again, Absolute Escapes did a perfect job planning our hike on the Rob Roy Way. Lodging was exactly what I requested, transfers and baggage were always efficiently organized, and the hotel choice in Edinburgh was excellent.

Absolute Escapes does an excellent job always for us. This was our fifth hike using them as our travel planners. They are organized and efficient. Their pricing is very reasonable. They are very very helpful and responsive to email inquiries and questions specific to the trip. We hike all over the world and use a lot of companies, Absolute Escapes shines above them all. Absolute Escapes is also very flexible to tweaks I want to our itinerary, or matching my specific over night accommodations. I highly recommend Absolute Escapes for any travel in the UK, not just hiking. They are excellent.

Where else can you see a three-horned goat, watch a sheepdog herd his flocks across several fields, find a local chef preparing amazing fare in a village pub, come across a lending library in a telephone box, stop for the best chocolates ever while hiking, meet locals who love to tell of their area's history, discover an Iron Age dwelling, share a bench with Robbie Burns, wander quiet back lanes, feast on mind-expanding views taking in lochs and castles, watch fishermen in a tiny lake hidden in the hills, puff and pant up steep climbs, and relish the more relaxing downhills, and luxuriate in welcoming accommodation at the close of a day? This is a holiday with Absolute Escapes in Scotland!

We appreciated the friendly but professional interaction by email with Absolve Escapes. We received excellent maps in good time and it was easy to communicate with Absolute Escapes. Before leaving home we asked for one change which was easily arranged. All was well organized. During the trip we needed to contact our baggage service and that was easy too!

We had  a fantastic time. The itinary was superb and we had no problems at all with the Edinburgh bus tour, Skye ferry, or any of the details that you supplied for our driving tour. We followed all your suggestions and found them interesting and informative. They made every day a surprise.You certainly know the area well and passing on your knowledge made our holiday stress free. All the hotels we stayed at were superb and added to our holiday. There was  quite a few "wow" moments, with the rooms and food and we were looked after by the hotel owners/staff very professionally and as if we were friends. We would not hesitate to stay at any of the 5 hotels if we were in those areas again. We would like to thank you and all at Absolute Escapes for making our anniversary escape very special and relaxed.  Your planning took all the stress out of our holiday.

Absolute Escapes are a professional friendly and knowledgable tour operator who will go out of their way to meet all of your needs. They produced an itinary that made our holiday stressfree and enjoyable every step of the way.

I spent 13 days walking the Offa's Dyke National Trail along the Welsh/English border. Absolute Escapes arranged all of my accommodations, some road transportation and created a guide packet including maps and guide book.

They were highly attentive, worked out all the details for me and provided an excellent packet of maps, etc. I was extremely pleased with the level of quality of my accommodations, with my interactions with Absolute Escapes, and with the whole experience.

This section of the Pennine Way is stunning. I started in Horton-in-Ribblesdale and finished at Greenhead. The weather was lovely and the day or so of low cloud added a certain mystique to the surroundings on the high fells. The scenery was amazing: wind-blown moors, sheep filled pastures, stone walls crisscrossing expansive hills and dales, rushing streams, plunging waterfalls, and more! Trail finding was easy, with maps and guidebook at the ready. Accommodations were spectacular, and dinner options in towns were very good. I slept like a log each night on a comfortable bed in a quiet location. The baggage transfer was spot on - my bag was always waiting for me when I arrived at the night's accommodation. I came looking for solitude, and got that in spades, but did enjoy the company of kind strangers along the way - hosts and hikers alike. A final evening watching the sun cast a golden light on Hadrian's Wall and into the lands beyond was a fitting opportunity to sit and reflect on the adventures just completed.

Absolute Escapes was an exceptional tour operator and performed admirably in planning the important logistics. Over the course of the planning I communicated by email with three different representatives (Jason, James, and Dawn) and all three were very professional and polite. My emails to them were responded to promptly and accurately. They also went the extra mile to arrange a meal for me at my accommodation in Garrigill after I let them know that the pub there had permanently closed. Overall, I was really impressed with their attention to detail, the level of information provided, and the ease of communication. I will happily recommend Absolute Escapes to anyone wishing to plan a tour that they offer. I have been inspired by the landscape and the experience, and so I look forward to the opportunity to hire their services in the future. Again, thank you very much for an amazing holiday!

Our holiday was a tour of North West Scotland. Amazing landscape.

Our tour operator was Absolute Escapes based in Scotland

Hello all you wonderful people at Absolute Escapes! We are just back from a magical 24 days in the Shetlands, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides. It was the trip of a lifetime and a fabulous celebration of our 50 years of marriage. You made it happen with your careful planning, your network of great B & B’s, your thoughtful itinerary package with all its information of what to do and where to eat. Having all our ferries booked and seamlessly arranged made a lot of travel happen easily.We cannot begin to express our gratitude for helping us to have this incredible experience. Of course we can’t begin to list all the special moments, the people and places who gave us an unforgettable time really experiencing the richness and power of your country. We could take this while trip again tomorrow and have more to experience in every place we visited. I wish we could. Douglas and I can’t begin to thank you adequately for making our trip happen. It was a pleasure from my first enquiry to our return to Glasgow.When you say you do personalized trip planning that hardly describes the “pen pal” quality of attention and skill with which you helped us plan. You all should all feel very proud of the work you do to make Absolute Escapes the very best! We’ll spread the word and hope to be back for more as soon as we can. Thank you, thank you. Eleanor and Douglas Cochrane

Andy Gabe and the staff at Absolute Escapes were more like "pen friends" than business acquaintances. Our trip was tailored to our needs and requests in every possible way. The result was a seamless, stress free 24 days of bliss.