Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

More than 70 miles of walking in six days plus a trip to Rathlin Island. The Moyle Way and the Causeway Coast Way are relatively easy-walking for the average experienced walker and are well-signposted. Of course, the highlights are the Giant's Causeway World Heritage Site and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

Absolute Escapes provided a first class service from beginning to end - a truly personal service! All the accommodations they selected were excellent and the itinerary, guidebook and maps were perfect.

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As I wrote, our holiday was really fantastic. Everything went well. The places were we stayed were great, clean and with very friendly and helpful hosts . It was also find to see, at the end of the day, that your luggage was already waiting for you. We are so enthousiastic about this kind of holiday and the way it was organised, that we intent to do another walk next year (probably in Scotland - I already had a look at your offers and started dreaming…).

Every contact went smoothly. Our special requests were met. The quality of the information we received before starting was very high (detailed information about the places where we were going to stay, what to see, where to eat).

I travelled by car to Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles over a period of 5 weeks, staying mostly in B&Bs selected by Absolute Escapes who also arranged the car hire (Edinburgh and back to Edinburgh) and all ferries. I generally spent 3 days in most locations, visiting historical sites, points of general interest and some excellent folk museums telling the story of the local history. The whole trip went extremely well, due in no small way to careful planning and great selections by Katia at Absolute Escapes. I appreciated the range of accommodation types that was booked for me and each one worked very well. The sightseeing list provided was very helpful. There were some great hosts who made me feel welcome and provided local information and advice. All accommodation was excellent and facilities all worked well. Every location I visited I found everything I had hoped for and more. There were the usual Scottish rain showers and a couple of windy days but they did not impede my holiday. My favourite place would be between Orkney, Lewis and the Scottish North Coast. There was no part of my holiday that I would have by-passed. There was remarkable variety and each location had its distinctive character. On Orkney, I found the Neolithic sites very interesting, especially when viewed alongside the Ness of Brodgar where archaeological research is in its comparatively early phase with plenty of material still to interpret. It was great to see the Old Man of Hoy from the ferry. The diversity of Orkney was interesting, from the jewellery, the Churchill Barriers on Scapa Flow and the Italian Church, Highland Park distillery to St Magnus Cathedral. Isle of Lewis also had great diversity, from the Neolithic to the blackhouses and an insight of how people lived in comparatively recent times, the Stephenson lighthouse on the Butt of Lewis and the neighbouring beaches and harbour at the Ness of Lewis. Great Bernera had its iron-age house and the folk museum as well as fine beaches. There were some great folk museums providing an insight into the various struggles and challenges in various parts of Scotland. For me, the stand-outs were Strathnaver Museum at Bettyhill, Lochmaddy, Great Bernera, Kildonan on South Uist and Seallam on the west coast of the Isle of Harris. Culloden is very well presented now with the new interpretive Centre. I first saw Culloden in January 1978 when there were only the clan grave headstones poking up through the snow. The issues involved with the Jacobite Uprising were many and complex yet the Centre presents both the Jacobite and Government positions very clearly. Some clans joined the uprising to support displeasure with Westminster. Has much changed? Scotland’s people certainly endured great hardships imposed upon them following the Uprising. The Battle of Bannockburn presentation is extremely well presented with computer technology, explaining the events leading up to 1314 as well as the tactics in the battle itself. It was certainly an important chapter in Scotland’s history and development.

Nothing was any trouble as we built the holiday with a series of emails, based initially on selected parts of their pro forma trips on the website. The selection of accommodation was excellent with a variety of experiences with differing types of accommodation. The 90-page itinerary with details of accommodation address, website, postcode and directions to the property meant stress-free driving. The itinerary also included suggestions for dinner and points of interest on each island. Katia was excellent to work with, providing practical suggestions to ensure that my objectives were met.

We were lucky enough to travel around Scotland for three weeks in September this year. Our first class train travel from London to Edinburgh and this proved to be a wonderful start to our exciting holiday. We were treated to the most magnificent, diverse, stunning landscapes as we drove from Edinburgh, to Loch Lomond, around both the Isle of Mull and Skye, then onto Fort William and Perth. The B&B's we stayed in were well appointed in the towns. They all offered such a delightful range of experiences with hosts that shone with knowledge, character and warmth. The information we received from our tour operator aided the experience. We were given detailed information for each stop of our journey that was concise, accurate and helpful. We had a wonderful time exploring Scotland in all its raining glory knowing that it was a well planned and well supported holiday.

Absolute Escapes presented a wonderful holiday package after consultation with us. Fern was eternally patient with our requests, knowledgeable and helpful with her suggestions. Her responses to our email requests were prompt and a reflection of what was possible but also a respect of what we required. I cannot talk highly enough of Fern and her dealings with us. We had a small car accident whilst away and her quick response along with her expertise in handling this took the pressure from us. A huge thank you to Fern and her team for the perfect holiday experience.

We walked the entire length of the West Highland Way followed by the Great Glen Way in Scotland. It was a fabulous experience due to the scenery, the friendliness of everybody we met and the flawless arrangements made by Absolute Escapes. We certainly hope to do more trekking in Scotland in the future!

We had a wonderful 2-week walking holiday in Scotland. All of the detailed arrangements that were made for us by Absolute Escapes worked perfectly. Our directions were easy to follow, the lodgings were all quite good (some of them truly superb), all of the taxi transfers were right on time and our luggage was always delivered on schedule. Given the demand to accommodate so many travelers on these routes we were really amazed by how well everything worked out.

Stunning trek on the border country between Wales and England. Hike was rewarding with awesome scenery and superb Bed and Breakfast lodging. People we met along the route were so fun to visit with, and everyone we met in the villages we passed through were very accommodating and generally interested in our hike.

Absolute Escapes has organized another amazing hike for us. This is our fourth hike in the UK arranged by Absolute Escapes and I highly recommend their treks! We found ourselves going to Wales with Absolute Escapes when ideally we wanted Italy or France, but we wanted something simple and easy for arrangements, and Absolute Escapes was the perfect fit, thus we chose Wales. Sure glad we did, amazing hike. Absolute Escapes is very prompt to respond to my inquiries. I do not think I have ever waited over 24 hours for a response to my email inquiry. The website is very user friendly and informative. The online payment system is excellent and very user friendly. The information packet we receive by mail is excellent with very accurate daily itinerary descriptions. I especially enjoy the information in the packet about our lodging for each evening, history of the inn, innkeeper information, nearby restaurants, etc. The daily tips are awesome, when to pack a lunch or when we can find something on the hike for lunch. I also greatly appreciate the flexibility with Absolute Escapes. We have hiked the world with many tours companies. The typical is they present the dates and we have to make those dates work. With Absolute Escapes, they are more than willing to accommodate my dates exactly … dependent upon lodging availability … which is not in their control. They are also very flexible on changes to the itinerary for an extra day here or there, a 14 day hike versus their listed 12 day hike, etc. Again, they are incredibly flexible, but lodging availability does dictate some of this being out of their control. Also the way Absolute Escapes presents lodging options for cost savings is awesome. We typically choose the higher option and we have been absolutely enamored with each and every lodge we have stayed at. And the innkeepers become friends overnight. If you want a guaranteed awesome hike … book with Absolute Escapes.

We wanted to go to the Hebrides. When we connected with Absolute Escapes we found the guidance needed. We started at Glasgow and beginning with Iona went north through much of the Hebrides. Lewis was our ultimate destination. We lived the people, the beauty and the history. Very special places will never be forgotten.

From start to finish we had just what we needed. The care for details left us feeling confident and taken care of. The concern for our goals was always upfront. I would HIGHLY recommend Absolute Escspes.

17 nights holiday incorporating bed and breakfast accommodation.. All very good or excellent standard.

All accommodation, ferries hop on buses, Jacobite Train, booked by Absolute Escapes. Excellent Personalised Itinerary produced by Absolute Escapes giving us good directions to our accommodation and great suggestions of places to eat and visit. No problems whatsoever and would book again when coming to Scotland.

A fab itinerary put together by Absolute Escapes, fantastic scenery, flora & fauna , great b&b's and hosts along the way , great weather, just so peaceful and tranquil, would recommend to anyone who has a modicum of fitness, absolutely loved the whole experience, every day was different, amazing holiday

Absolute Escapes tailored a fab itinerary for us giving details of all necessary travel operators to get us to and from the start/ finish too , maps all included , took the stress out of accommodation and gave details of where to get packed lunches, stop overs and evening meals, faultless

My wife and I had a great trek walking the West Highland Way. We booked up with Absolute Escapes who arranged our accommodation and for our baggage transfer between guesthouses so all we had to do was make our way through the breathtaking scenery of the West Highlands from Milngarvie in the suburbs of Glasgow to Fort William on the edge of Glen Nevis. Where ever we went the locals were welcoming, and the guesthouses we stayed in were excellent with great food and really comfortable. We started walking on my 61st birthday, so had my birthday dinner at the Clachan Inn at Drymen, Scotland's oldest registered in, which made it a bit special. We met some interesting characters walking the way, including a retired judge, a NASA engineer who works on the Space Station and of all things, a German girl travelling the West Highland Way with a full pack riding a unicycle!

This is our second booking with Absolute Escapes, we walked the Great Glen Way through them last year, and intend to use them to book our accommodation and baggage transfer next year on Offa's Dyke. The accommodation they book is excellent, the information pack they provide is very comprehensive. Response to communication is prompt and so is the follow up at the end of the holiday. They make us feel valued and yet their fees are very reasonable. They also arrange extra nights at the beginning or end as required for us.