AITO: The Association of Independent Tour Operators
Absolute Escapes

Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

Reviews of Absolute Escapes

Overall Company Rating
99%
Excellent 770
Good 21
Average 4
Poor 1
Terrible 0
Reviews Submitted: 796
Reviews Accepted: 796
Reviews Rejected: 0
796 reviews
Sort by:
Absolute Escapes by JDS, 5 Dec 2018
Holiday Rating:

Our wonderful walk on the West Highland Way

Our 7 day walk was an amazing experience. We were thankful for the help and advice provided by Absolute Escapes before and during our walk. It helped us choose the right itinerary and prepare ourselves for what we should bring and what to expect on the way. Their choice of accommodation was excellent: friendly, comfortable and very good value. We only met nice people on the walk, whether local or on vacation. The memories of West Highland Way ...

Our 7 day walk was an amazing experience. We were thankful for the help and advice provided by Absolute Escapes before and during our walk. It helped us choose the right itinerary and prepare ourselves for what we should bring and what to expect on the way. Their choice of accommodation was excellent: friendly, comfortable and very good value. We only met nice people on the walk, whether local or on vacation. The memories of West Highland Way will remain with us for years to come.

Rating for tour operator:

Absolute Escapes are a very professional outfit. Our holiday ran smoothly and they were on hand when we had any questions. I really liked the planning support they provided. I don't think it would have been as enjoyable if we had tried to do this on our own. I recommend them to anyone who is considering the West Highland Way.

Reviewer's images:
Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 06 Dec 2018:

Thank you very much for your comments Jerry, we're glad you had a great time along the West Highland Way. We also really enjoyed your wonderful landscape photos! If we can help plan any future walks, please don't hesitate to get in touch. All the very best, Katia Fernandez Mayo

Absolute Escapes by MatthewM, 4 Dec 2018
Holiday Rating:

Skye Trail

Two friends and my wife and I walked the Skye Trail this past summer. We had a wonderful experience: the trail was beautiful, and the accommodations that Absolute Escapes set up for us were comfortable. When we were not lodged near the trail, Absolute provided us with transportation. We also called the office in Edinburgh a few times to ask questions, and everyone in their office was very friendly and helpful. Skye is crowded, but it's incredibly ...

Two friends and my wife and I walked the Skye Trail this past summer. We had a wonderful experience: the trail was beautiful, and the accommodations that Absolute Escapes set up for us were comfortable. When we were not lodged near the trail, Absolute provided us with transportation. We also called the office in Edinburgh a few times to ask questions, and everyone in their office was very friendly and helpful. Skye is crowded, but it's incredibly beautiful, and walking the trail is a great way to experience the island and avoid the crowds. I will absolutely use Absolute Escapes again if and when I go on a walking holiday in Europe.

Rating for tour operator:

Absolute Escapes is a top-notch company. They are organized, friendly, and extremely helpful. My wife and I should have stopped in to meet them when we were in Edinburgh, but we got busy sightseeing. I give them five stars as a tour company, virtually no criticisms.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 05 Dec 2018:

Thank you for your excellent review, Matthew, we were delighted to hear you and your wife enjoyed your time walking the Skye Trail. It is an excellent way to explore the Isle of Skye. If we can assist in the future please don't hesitate to contact us. Best wishes, Jason Martin

Absolute Escapes by KandD, 11 Nov 2018
Holiday Rating:

Unwelcome and bad surprises once in Scotland

I booked a tour for my mother (age 77) and me for a tour with Absolute Escapes around Scotland. The day before we were to leave on a bus trip, we accidentally learned our baggage allowance is 15kg. ??? I searched all of the travel information, packing instructions, etc. and there was no mention os a 15kg baggage allowance. Turns out the Absolute Escapes had sub-contracted our bus tour to another tour operator and Absolute Escapes had NO ...

I booked a tour for my mother (age 77) and me for a tour with Absolute Escapes around Scotland. The day before we were to leave on a bus trip, we accidentally learned our baggage allowance is 15kg. ??? I searched all of the travel information, packing instructions, etc. and there was no mention os a 15kg baggage allowance. Turns out the Absolute Escapes had sub-contracted our bus tour to another tour operator and Absolute Escapes had NO IDEA that this tour operator had this policy. I spent most of my day trying to figure this out. It was stressful, unnecessary, and a very bad start to our trip. AE did offer to pay for our dinner that evening and they paid a portion of our meal. The other problem was on the Isle of Skye where we were somehow placed in a B&B that was at least 20 minutes walk from any restaurant. After a long day of touring and walking, we go to our B&B in the middle of nowhere (outside Portree) around 6pm and the bus operator was nice enough to come and pick us up. We got to Portree and walked around a long time before finding a tiny table from a nice lady who felt sorry for us. After dinner, we called several taxi companies to take us back to our B&B who said they were already too busy. We finally found a taxi and decided we would not take the chance the next night. On night 2 in Portree, we sat in our room and ate cheese and crackers because we didn't want to risk getting stuck in Portree. It was not a nice experience. Absolute Escapes took no responsibility for this. It was my fault because I had told them my mother didn't need a wheelchair or walker, so they assumed she'd be more than happy to walk in the cold dark Scottish night along a main road filled with traffic.

Rating for tour operator:

IN this case I'm giving this rating of POOR to Absolute Escapes for the two very large mishaps that occurred with our trip. We walked to some others along the way who had booked driving trips with Absolute Escapes and they seemed happy. I would NEVER recommend someone book anything other than driving trips with them. They are inexperienced (or not very smart) when it comes to setting up non-self-driving tours.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 08 Jan 2019:

Thank you for your review and feedback about your holiday to Scotland, although I was very sorry and disappointed to receive your comments. As you know we corresponded with you during your holiday and have done since, and we’re sorry to learn that you don’t feel we have the necessary experience to arrange group guided tours of Scotland. We have been offering these tours for over 15 years now, and have always had excellent feedback. Our team takes great pride in creating memorable travel experiences for our clients, and we're very fortunate to have many repeat clients. Many of these clients have been on group guided tours in the past, and have contributed to over 400 'Excellent' reviews which we've been delighted to receive on the AITO website. The majority of the Absolute Escapes team have also been on group guided tours in the past as part of our constant research to find the best experiences in Scotland, so we have first-hand knowledge of what these tours entail.

As I’ve mentioned in our previous correspondence we accepted responsibility for not providing more detailed instructions with regards to the weight limit for the tour, and I can only apologise once again for this error. We have since improved this information for future clients, and I was just sorry that this caused you undue stress at the time. I hope the contribution towards dinner at The Witchery helped to ease this stress a little.

While accepting that we were at fault for not stating the weight limit for the tour, I'm afraid I wouldn't describe your B&B in Portree as being in 'the middle of nowhere'. We have had two members of our team stay at the same B&B in the past so we know the exact location and excellent quality of the accommodation. For guided tours we specifically choose accommodation that is located close to the centre of the towns and villages where they visit, so this allows clients to either walk to a local restaurant for dinner or take a local bus or taxi. We believe that a 15-20 minute walk to a restaurant is a reasonable distance for a client to walk, unless we are made aware that they have mobility issues, which is when we consider alternatives.

In terms of the issues that you had with finding a suitable place to have dinner for your evenings in Portree, I was really sorry to learn that you had to resort to eating in your room for one of your nights. This was clearly a very unsatisfactory situation for you. I was however, rather disappointed to see that you believed 'Absolute Escapes took no responsibility for this', especially when we clearly stated the following in your personalised itinerary: ‘Portree is an extremely popular destination year round and the restaurants in Portree can become very busy in the evenings. We would strongly suggest booking a table as early as you are able.’

We include this information in order to ensure clients aren't faced with the issues that you had during your stay in Portree. As we have discussed in our separate correspondence you feel that this is insufficient in stating how important it is to book a table in advance of your stay, and I would like to thank you for your alternative suggestions which we will certainly take on board. We are always striving to improve our itineraries, so thank you for this feedback.

While I was very sorry to hear that you were disappointed by your holiday experience, I’d like to thank you once again for your honest assessment and comments. Please be assured that we have taken on board your feedback to improve the areas we have mentioned above. Kind regards, Andy Gabe, Director

Absolute Escapes by Coastal walker from Canada, 21 Oct 2018
Holiday Rating:

Enjoyable, relaxing walk on the Fife Coastal Path

We enjoyed a fantastic 8-day self-guided walking tour along the Fife Coastal Path. As our first introduction to Scotland, this was a wonderful way to slow down and get to know a corner of this beautiful country. The scenery was varied and lovely, and because we were setting the pace, we had lots of opportunity to chat with people we met along the route, and to experience the communities we were travelling through. Each day our luggage was moved ...

We enjoyed a fantastic 8-day self-guided walking tour along the Fife Coastal Path. As our first introduction to Scotland, this was a wonderful way to slow down and get to know a corner of this beautiful country. The scenery was varied and lovely, and because we were setting the pace, we had lots of opportunity to chat with people we met along the route, and to experience the communities we were travelling through. Each day our luggage was moved for us to a different B&B, and each night we were welcomed at our new accommodation. We were extremely happy with all the B&Bs, which always offered a warm welcome, very comfortable room, and full breakfast the next morning to start us off on the next day of walking. This trip left us looking forward to our next self-guided walking tour!

Rating for tour operator:

We chose Absolute Escapes because of their experience offering tours along the Fife Coastal Path, and because the reviews we read were very good, and we were not disappointed! We found them very efficient and easy to deal with. They were quick to respond when we had questions or asked for further details about attractions along our route, and the whole booking and payment process was straightforward and efficient. We were very happy with the range of accommodation booked for us along the route, and found the maps and other information provided to be just what we needed. We would not hesitate to book another holiday with Absolute Escapes, or to recommend them to other travellers.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 24 Oct 2018:

Thank you very much for your lovely feedback Ellen! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed your first trip to Scotland walking the Fife Coastal Path, I agree that it's a great walk to do for an introduction to the area. We look forward to hearing back from you in future with regards to your next walking holiday. Best wishes, Pippa Robson

Absolute Escapes by Bena Bena, 18 Oct 2018
Holiday Rating:

Our Scottish Adventure

We rented a car through our tour company and they arranged all of the lodging, mostly at B&Bs per our request. We are 2 senior ladies who are very particular and wanted to tour on our own so this was perfect for us. We started out visiting a friend who lives on Arran Island and then to Glasgow, Ft. Williams, Inverness, Banchory, Stirling, and then Edinburgh. Our total number of days was 15. We toured the castles and other sights that we were ...

We rented a car through our tour company and they arranged all of the lodging, mostly at B&Bs per our request. We are 2 senior ladies who are very particular and wanted to tour on our own so this was perfect for us. We started out visiting a friend who lives on Arran Island and then to Glasgow, Ft. Williams, Inverness, Banchory, Stirling, and then Edinburgh. Our total number of days was 15. We toured the castles and other sights that we were most interested in. We were thoroughly delighted with everything.

Rating for tour operator:

Charlotte with Absolute Escapes was very helpful and thorough with details. She tailor made our adventure to ensure we did what we wanted.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 19 Oct 2018:

Thank you very much for your kind words, Brenda. I'm delighted that you both enjoyed your time in Scotland and it was a pleasure to plan your holiday. If we can ever be of any assistance for future travels, we'd love for you to get in touch. Best wishes, Charlotte

Absolute Escapes by Eileen F., 16 Oct 2018
Holiday Rating:

Fantastic walk on the Great Glen Way

Four of us from the US traveled to the Scottish Highlands to walk the Great Glen Way in early October. The landscape was absolutely beautiful, the walking was peaceful and invigorating, and we enjoyed the trip immensely. Over seven days of walking we had two with sunshine, even the wind and rain made the trip memorable.

Four of us from the US traveled to the Scottish Highlands to walk the Great Glen Way in early October. The landscape was absolutely beautiful, the walking was peaceful and invigorating, and we enjoyed the trip immensely. Over seven days of walking we had two with sunshine, even the wind and rain made the trip memorable.

Rating for tour operator:

Absolute Espaces provided excellent service in securing accommodations, walking notes/guides and transferring our luggage, and the logistics all went off without the slightest hitch. Fantastic. They were excellent communicators and as someone booking from the US, payment was easy to handle too. We loved them.

Reviewer's images:
Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 18 Oct 2018:

Thank you for your wonderful review, Eileen. We are so pleased to hear that you had such an enjoyable time walking the Great Glen Way. We are delighted you enjoyed your time in Scotland and hope that one day we can welcome you back for another walking adventure. Best wishes, Fern Urquhart

Absolute Escapes by West Highland Way Walking Holiday, 12 Oct 2018
Holiday Rating:

West Highland Way Hiking Holiday

7 day trip, walking the West Highland Way..

7 day trip, walking the West Highland Way..

Rating for tour operator:

Great communication all the way through the booking process. When it appeared I might have a scheduling issue due to a family emergency, they immediately got back to me. All of the logistics of the trip performed as expected. All my luggage was in the right place at the right time for each nights accommodation. Accommodations selections were very good. Absolute Escapes provided a personalized approach to setting up my Holiday and I felt like a valued customer from the beginning to the end.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 12 Oct 2018:

Thank you for your excellent review, Larry. We were delighted to hear you had an excellent time walking the West Highland Way (and for a very worthy cause) and all the arrangements went smoothly. We aim to make all our customers feel valued and we're delighted you felt like this. If we can ever assist you in the future, please don't hesitate to contact us. Best wishes, Jason Martin

Absolute Escapes by Benjhas, 11 Oct 2018
Holiday Rating:

A once in a lifetime experience in the highlands

We spent 6 days hiking along the Great Glen Way in Scotland. From Fort William to Inverness. Three close child hood friends celebrating our fiftieth birthdays. (We have known each other since 1975). It was our first time in Scotland and were amazed by the majestic scenery of the Lochs and Hills. It was without doubt A once in a lifetime experience in the highlands.

We spent 6 days hiking along the Great Glen Way in Scotland. From Fort William to Inverness. Three close child hood friends celebrating our fiftieth birthdays. (We have known each other since 1975). It was our first time in Scotland and were amazed by the majestic scenery of the Lochs and Hills. It was without doubt A once in a lifetime experience in the highlands.

Rating for tour operator:

Tour operator was very helpful in booking the guest houses along the way and supplying information regarding the route and transferring the baggage from one guest house to the other. As the whole trip was well planned and without any problems, I can't say much else

Reviewer's images:
Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 11 Oct 2018:

Thank you for your review, Benjamin, we were delighted to assist you and your friends in celebrating your joint milestones. If we can ever assist in the future please don't hesitate to contact us. Best wishes, Jason Martin

Absolute Escapes by Ally T., 8 Oct 2018
Holiday Rating:

A distillery tour in western Scotland and the Isles

3 senior Canadian women on a road trip through western Scotland. Rental car troubles day 1 and 2, but the wonderful Scottish people we met helped all along. Great unique B&Bs with lovely hosts and enormous breakfasts. Detailed instructions and suggestions for places to go and to eat. Immediate help when ferries were cancelled due to high winds. We always felt that someone was there to help out when needed.

3 senior Canadian women on a road trip through western Scotland. Rental car troubles day 1 and 2, but the wonderful Scottish people we met helped all along. Great unique B&Bs with lovely hosts and enormous breakfasts. Detailed instructions and suggestions for places to go and to eat. Immediate help when ferries were cancelled due to high winds. We always felt that someone was there to help out when needed.

Rating for tour operator:

Pre-planning went smoothly, any changes we wanted were done. During the trip there was always support.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 09 Oct 2018:

Thank you for your kind review, Ally. We are so pleased to hear that you and your friends enjoyed your time in Scotland and hope that one day we can welcome you all back. Best wishes, Caitlin Richmond.

Absolute Escapes by Lee, 6 Oct 2018
Holiday Rating:

Castle to Castle Tour in Scotland

We had an amazing vacation in Scotland! Thank you! It was perfect. What a beautiful country and friendly people. The castles were great, the driving went well, the directions and suggestions regarding activities and restaurants perfect. Absolute Escapes did a great job arranging everything and there we had no problems with any of the arrangements.

We had an amazing vacation in Scotland! Thank you! It was perfect. What a beautiful country and friendly people. The castles were great, the driving went well, the directions and suggestions regarding activities and restaurants perfect. Absolute Escapes did a great job arranging everything and there we had no problems with any of the arrangements.

Rating for tour operator:

They arranged a castle to castle tour with 4-5 star accommodations in castle hotels and then a driving route through Scotland. They provided a detailed itinerary for everyday that gave us our choice of activities from hiking, sightseeing,historical sites, museums etc and provided suggestions for excellent restaurants.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 08 Oct 2018:

Thank you for your wonderful review, Harry. We are so pleased to hear that you had a great time in Scotland and were able to experience our wonderful country and the Scottish hospitality. It was a pleasure planning your trip for you. If we can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us. Best wishes, Fern Urquhart