AITO: The Association of Independent Tour Operators
Absolute Escapes

Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

Reviews of Absolute Escapes

Overall Company Rating
99%
Excellent 729
Good 20
Average 4
Poor 1
Terrible 0
Reviews Submitted: 754
Reviews Accepted: 754
Reviews Rejected: 0
754 reviews
Sort by:
Absolute Escapes by Mr J L 17, 21 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

Walking the West Highland Way

Great experience to walk in such fabulous surroundings. As expected the weather was changeable but did not diminish the views and vastness of the area. Thoroughly recommended for all those who enjoy a bit of a challenge - although average fitness will suffice - and the satisfaction that a large intake of food and drink is a must.

Great experience to walk in such fabulous surroundings. As expected the weather was changeable but did not diminish the views and vastness of the area. Thoroughly recommended for all those who enjoy a bit of a challenge - although average fitness will suffice - and the satisfaction that a large intake of food and drink is a must.

Rating for tour operator:

Absolute Escapes responded to all aspects of the brief. The accommodation they arranged was v good (sometimes excellent) and their guidance notes, dinner and route recommendations were well worth following.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 22 Jun 2017:

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review John, and it was lovely chatting with you the other day. We're pleased that our information was useful to you, and that you would recommend this walk for each and everyone - I would have to agree! Hope to hear from you again should you decide to take on another challenge. With best wishes, Amanda MacDonald

Absolute Escapes by jeff2351, 18 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

BEAUTIFULL WHW AND GGW

We walked the WEST HIGLAND WAY and the GREAT GLEN WAY from 31 MAY 2017 to 11 JUNE 2017.

We walked the WEST HIGLAND WAY and the GREAT GLEN WAY from 31 MAY 2017 to 11 JUNE 2017.

Rating for tour operator:

Very good organisation.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 19 Jun 2017:

Thank you Jean François, for your feedback. I'm so pleased you enjoyed both walks, and that you were happy with our service. Well done again for completing 2 long distance walks back to back, it is an impressive achievement! With best wishes, Amanda MacDonald

Absolute Escapes by Duart, 14 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

Holiday on the Isle of Mull and the Isle of Skye - Scotland

Before sailing to Mull we enjoyed an overnight stay at the Manor House Hotel in Oban which was perfectly located for access to our ferry crossing the next morning. Both accommodation and food were first class as was the welcoming nature of staff at all levels. A comfortable ferry crossing from Oban to Craignure on Mull was followed by a 20+ mile car journey to the north of the island taking us to our pre-booked destination of Killoran House, ...

Before sailing to Mull we enjoyed an overnight stay at the Manor House Hotel in Oban which was perfectly located for access to our ferry crossing the next morning. Both accommodation and food were first class as was the welcoming nature of staff at all levels. A comfortable ferry crossing from Oban to Craignure on Mull was followed by a 20+ mile car journey to the north of the island taking us to our pre-booked destination of Killoran House, Dervaig, some 7 miles west of tourist filled Tobermory. Killoran House is a high quality guest house in a rural setting with magnificent views back across an attractive landscape to Dervaig village. The guest house is owned and run by a relatively young couple, experiencing their first season at Killoran House, one might say 'learning on the job', but doing so very caringly. Accommodation was very comfortable and the public areas took full advantage of the outstanding views. In addition to breakfast, dinner was available but this was a prescribed 3 course meal, with no choices and whilst this was of good quality,the alternative of eating out at either of two excellent fairly adjacent restaurants could require Killoran House to reconsider their evening meal offerings. Dervaig proved to be a good base from which to explore most of Mull's many and varied attractions, perhaps with the exception a particular desire to visit Iona off the far south coast of Mull. Two memorable days out were a wildlife tour with Discover Mull, operated by very knowledgable Arthur and Pam Brown - www.discovermull.co.uk and a very short ferry crossing to the island of Ulva where the Boathouse Visitor Centre offers a reasonaby priced lobster and other fresh seafood lunch opportunity prior to a return ferry crossing in time to join a pre-booked boat trip out to Staffa from Ulva Ferry to see spectacular Fingal's Cave overflown by hundreds of puffins. After 4 days exploring Mull it was time to move on to Skye, crossing from Tobermory to Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsula then following the beautiful west highland coast route to Mallaig where a ferry would take us to Armadale at the south end of the Isle of Skye. After a further 50+ mile journey leaving the Cuillins in the south to join the interesting peninsulas of the north, we arrived at our base for the next 4 nights - Edinbane Inn, Edinbane - on the road between Portree and Dunvegan. The Edinbane Inn, as the description 'Inn' might suggest, is more of a pub/restaurant with rooms, although our room and its en-suite facility was generous and very comfortable. In the evenings the Inn was clearly very popular, not surprisingly give the extremely high quality of its cuisine and it became obvious that, even as a resident, it was essential to book a dinner table at least one day in advance. The nearest alternative equivalent quality eating places were 14 miles away in Portree and one such, The Granary Restaurant, proved to be a very special experience. Edinbane was an ideal location from which to explore the northern part of Skye and while much of our time was spent travelling round the scenic peninsulas radiating from both Portree and Dunvegan, one stop-off was particularly interesting - that being Skyeskyns at Loch Bay, Waternish - www.skyeskyns.co.uk -a traditional exhibition tannery and home of the luxurious highland hand-combed sheepskin, with a guided tour to see how leather is made combined with a related high quality retail outlet. Finally we returned from Skye over the bridge and completed a 200 mile journey home through wonderful scenery all the way to Strathtay in Perthshire. From beginning to end we were delighted to experience excellent and friendly service every where we stayed or visited.

Rating for tour operator:

I knew nothing about Absolute Escapes before coming across them during a browsing session. From the very first telephone contact I had with them they made me feel that a proper understanding of my requirements was extremely important to them and it was obvious in their subsequent actions that they had listened carefully to the detail of my request. In my dealings with them it was not always the case that I spoke with the same person, which irritatingly can require one to repeat what has been said before, but in their case that was not so since each person seemed to be familiar with the status of my developing request or if not they got someone in the know to phone back very promptly. Their friendly employees were always a pleasure to deal with and the package they put together fully met our requirements as did all the useful supporting information that they provided on a voluntary basis.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 15 Jun 2017:

Dear Mr Orr, Thank you very much for your fantastic review with wonderful detail regarding your time on the West Coast. We are all delighted to hear that you had such a memorable time on Mull and Skye. It was a pleasure discussing and making the arrangements for you. Please do not hesitate to contact us again if we can assist with any more Scottish adventures. Thank you again. Best wishes, Caitlin Richmond.

Absolute Escapes by Mamounette, 12 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

Into the wild of the Highlands

We walked from Milgavie to Fort Williams. Our trek taked us 9 days. We enjoyed very much and we admired the wonderfull lanscapes: flowers, loches, mountains.. It was hard, but also pleasant.WE appreciated the guesthouses :the welcome was very nice! Unforgetable!

We walked from Milgavie to Fort Williams. Our trek taked us 9 days. We enjoyed very much and we admired the wonderfull lanscapes: flowers, loches, mountains.. It was hard, but also pleasant.WE appreciated the guesthouses :the welcome was very nice! Unforgetable!

Rating for tour operator:

Very good organisation!

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 14 Jun 2017:

Thank you very much for your review of your West Highland Way, Nicole. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your walk so much and received a warm welcome each night. It is a real achievement to make it to the end so a huge congratulations to you for completing it! Please do not hesitate to get back in touch with us if you would like our help arranging any future walking adventures. Best wishes, Caitlin.

Absolute Escapes by ec63, 7 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

Our Scottish adventure, from lochs to mountains, castles to coasts.

The Scottish self-drive trip that we did in May 2017 was superb. There was a good mix of sightseeing and also relaxing times in comfotable accommodations. Highlights included looking around picturesque castles especially Doune Castle, Urquhart Castle, Sterling Castle and Blair Castle, all different and unique but highly recommended. We also visited the Isle of Skye which was wonderful and took a boat trip to the Isle Mull & Iona and ...

The Scottish self-drive trip that we did in May 2017 was superb. There was a good mix of sightseeing and also relaxing times in comfotable accommodations. Highlights included looking around picturesque castles especially Doune Castle, Urquhart Castle, Sterling Castle and Blair Castle, all different and unique but highly recommended. We also visited the Isle of Skye which was wonderful and took a boat trip to the Isle Mull & Iona and visited Staff, the Abbey and took some great pictures of the unusual Fingals Cave with the rock formations (the sea cave is formed of hexagonally jointed basalt columns, similar to those that make up the Giant's Causeway in Ireland), which we walked around and also were able to walk on the cliff top to see the puffins close up (they were nesting). Having a tour of Cragganmore Distillery, Deanstone and Talisker are recommended and interesting to see how the whisky is made. We stopped at Nevis Range and took the gondola trip up the mountain which we would recommend for the views and photographic opportunity. A different experience and fresher air at altitude as expected but we enjoyed a coffee/cake in the restaurant, a further walk to a vantage point and watching the cyclists going down the mountain sides. All the B&B accommodation were first class, rooms were spotless, beds were all comfortable with cotton sheets really home-from-home with luxury towels and shampoos, hand creams etc. Also the owners were all friendly and helpful and cooked tsatisfying full breakfasts with plenty to choose from. In fact the breakfasts filled us up so much we didn't alwasy need to have lunch! We were welcomed by the owners who were all so friendly and helpful and suggested places to eat for dinner or sightseeing places. The location of each place were all so good as they were within walking distances of local restaurants/pubs/harbours etc. There are so many things to do in the areas we stated in and it was greate to be able to choose from the lists and descriptions provided by Absolute Escapes. Would recommned to research the places before you go and then you can make a rough plan of what you want to see. We took our English Heritage card with us and this got us into many castles as it also covers Scotland so we saved a lot with this membership. In summary, lovely experience for wildlife, breathtaking scenery, fascinating castles, easy self driving with views that pleasantly change on the way. Scotland really is varied from glacial glens and lochs, on days we flet energetic we did walking in the mountains or in National Parks and even went quad biking in the Cairngorms and visited a reindeer centre also! There's something for everyone and families with all ages. we are now looking forward to planning the next Scottish holiday to explore new places, and all of this in our own country, no passport needed and no jet lag! Wish I had known Scoltand was like this so many years ago, it's as good as an overseas trip!

Rating for tour operator:

Jason Martin at Absolute Escapes was so helpful in personalising our itinerary for Scotland. He spent significant time talking to me to establish what we wanted from the holiday and pulled together the ideal trip for us building in the things we wanted to do. Once the itinerary was finalised after some tweaking he sent thorugha detailed itinerary with timings and details of where our accommodation was along with descriptions of the area, recommended places to eat and of course sightseeing locations nearby each point which we could choose from. He also provided useful links and gave advice about how to build extra excursions ontop such as trips to the Isle of Skye and booked ferries for us. We were also provided with a touring map of Scotland and other brochures prior to thte holiday. I found Jason to be extremley helpful, he was never rushed and genuinely wants to help build the perfect trip and it certainly lived up to our expectations. I would have no hesitation to recommend Jason at Absolute Escapes. If you asked us for areas for improvement we would struggle to find things to say. We are looking forward to booking our next holiday with this company.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 08 Jun 2017:

Thank you very much for such a wonderful review of Scotland, and the recognition of the hard work the whole team at Absolute Escapes put into perfecting our clients experience from beginning to end. We were all thrilled to hear you and your husband had such a great time, you really made the most of your time in every location!
It was a pleasure assisting you in creating your holiday to Scotland, and if you are ever in need of our services again please don't hesitate to get in touch.
All the very best, Jason Martin

Absolute Escapes by Biwi, 6 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

Wonderful Arran Coastal way with stunning views

A wonderful Island and we loved the Coastal way. We are very satisfied with your service. You´ve booked really nice B&B/ Guesthouses/ Hotel, the hosts all were lovely. This was the first walk for more than one day and we enjoyed. Really stunning views, every day we met wonderful people (Where do you come from....?), we saw seals (yeah!), were going over lots of bolders... Great!

A wonderful Island and we loved the Coastal way. We are very satisfied with your service. You´ve booked really nice B&B/ Guesthouses/ Hotel, the hosts all were lovely. This was the first walk for more than one day and we enjoyed. Really stunning views, every day we met wonderful people (Where do you come from....?), we saw seals (yeah!), were going over lots of bolders... Great!

Rating for tour operator:

Well booked accomodations, Lovely hosts, good informations weeks before the Journey startet. We feld well prepared.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 07 Jun 2017:

Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a review, Birgit. We're delighted to hear that you and Dirk enjoyed your walking holiday on the beautiful Isle of Arran. Really pleased that all of the arrangements worked well and we were able to assist with your holiday. We would love to hear from you again in the future! Best wishes, Scott Smyth

Absolute Escapes by Ben, 6 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

Outer Hebrides break

Travelled through Barra,the Uists,Harris and Lewis enjoying fabulous scenery including wonderful beaches in Harris. The accommodation and cuisine encountered were all first class.

Travelled through Barra,the Uists,Harris and Lewis enjoying fabulous scenery including wonderful beaches in Harris. The accommodation and cuisine encountered were all first class.

Rating for tour operator:

First class service from Absolute Escapes throughout with great attention to detail

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 07 Jun 2017:

Thank you very much for your review, Douglas, we were thrilled to hear that you enjoyed exploring the majestic Islands of the Outer Hebrides. Hopefully we can welcome you back in the future and you can experience another great adventure. Best wishes, Sine Nielsen

Absolute Escapes by LMcC, 6 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

Wild, wonderful Scotland

I'd like to thank Absolute Escapes for organising a fantastic walking holiday. The weather was a mixture but each day offered up stunning scenery with the weather creating the mood. The walk was challenging and rewarding in equal measure. Slow holidays like this create space to develop a relationship with the landscape.

I'd like to thank Absolute Escapes for organising a fantastic walking holiday. The weather was a mixture but each day offered up stunning scenery with the weather creating the mood. The walk was challenging and rewarding in equal measure. Slow holidays like this create space to develop a relationship with the landscape.

Rating for tour operator:

Absolute Escapes were efficient and personal in their email contact. They kept us fully informed and provided excellent maps and detailed information for the walk. I was in contact with a few different people in the lead up to our tour and all of them were very professional and approachable, responding quickly to any questions.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 07 Jun 2017:

Thank you so much for your review Linda, it sounds like you had a fantastic experience on this trail, and we're so pleased that it was such a success. We do hope to tempt you back to our wild and wonderful Scotland again in the future! With best wishes, Amanda

Absolute Escapes by Vaughan, 6 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

The planning of Absolute Escapes was excellent The accomodation welcoming and the directions to each B/B accurate and my baggagearrived well on time I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday

I walked the East Highland Way from Fort William to Aviemore a very intertsting route with;lots of historic and interesting places along the route

I walked the East Highland Way from Fort William to Aviemore a very intertsting route with;lots of historic and interesting places along the route

Rating for tour operator:

I have used Absolute Escapes for two self guided walking holidays on long distance routes in Scotland and found them exce;llent in the preparation and the information supplied and the care taken to cover all necessary aspects of the holiday

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 07 Jun 2017:

Many thanks for your review of the East Highland Way Geoff, it's much appreciated.
We're delighted we can do all the hard work and allow you to walk with ease while exploring Scotland. If we can be of assistance again please don't hesitate to contact us. All the very best, Jason Martin

Absolute Escapes by Gaunt, 5 Jun 2017
Holiday Rating:

A memorable one-week walk featuring coast and glen, beautiful views and interesting sights, good food and accommodations, v friendly people, and beautiful weather, all facilitated by Absolute Escapes (except perhaps the weather).

Four retired friends walked part of the Moyle Way and Causeway Coastal Path in NI for a week. Our itinerary designed by Absolute Escapes was just right, including 2 "rest" days for visits to local attractions including Rathlin Island on a simply beautiful day. We enjoyed beautiful weather virtually all week, fine to superior accommodations, and had our backpacks moved each day. It was a memorable experience, much aided by the maps and practical ...

Four retired friends walked part of the Moyle Way and Causeway Coastal Path in NI for a week. Our itinerary designed by Absolute Escapes was just right, including 2 "rest" days for visits to local attractions including Rathlin Island on a simply beautiful day. We enjoyed beautiful weather virtually all week, fine to superior accommodations, and had our backpacks moved each day. It was a memorable experience, much aided by the maps and practical advice we received from Absolute Escapes. After the second rest day came perhaps the best walking day of the trip, from the Giant's Causeway to Portstewart, with early beach walking, Dunluce Castle, White Rocks, Curran Strand (I climbed the dunes to take a peek at Royal Portrush golf course, which will host the Open Championship in 2019), and then walking the perimeter of the Portrush headland around Ramore Head to reach its impossibly quaint harbour before making our way to surprising Portstewart and the finish of the walk. The final treat was staying at a wonderful Portstewart B&B (Cul Erg) for the night, and walking the last 1.5 miles of the Causeway Coastal Walk very early the next day, in the morning mist, before indulging in soda bread French toast for breakfast. Rathlin Island was perhaps our best day, a place apart, with seals by the dozens moving through the water and then flipping and flopping awkwardly on the rocks, oystercatchers scooping up morsels of food from the receding tide line, and (at the Kebble Nature reserve on the western tip of the island) observing hundreds of thousands of seabirds (guillemots, kittiwakes, puffins) whirling above and diving below, crowded on ledges and guarding burrows, viewing aided by RSPB rangers and use of telescopes and binoculars. We walked perhaps 6 miles, mostly on undulating green coastal tracks, and used the island shuttle as well, before sipping a pint as we waited for the last ferry of the day. Ballycastle, Portrush, Portstewart, and Cushendall were all seaside towns and villages of charm without being too tarted up. My cup of tea. A memorable trip from beginning to end.

Rating for tour operator:

From the v beginning, it was a pleasure working with Amanda and her colleagues at Absolute Escapes in setting up a walk which met all our logistical expectations as to maps, reading materials, B&Bs, and movement of our backpacks, all of which facilitated a fun, interesting, stress-free, and in parts even a beautiful walking experience, one which we will remember fondly for years to come. AE provided not only value for money, but consistently friendly, reassuring, and professional service geared to meet our particular needs. The well-designed plan of walking and also some rest days to linger at various sites worked well to allow a more thorough exploration of this stretch of the Northern Ireland coastline. In addition, a personalized itinerary with canny suggestions, including sights along the way and practical advice as to restaurants, availability of shops, banks, trains, buses, and cabs, and even emergency numbers (including their own telephone #) should we need them offered a level of comfort about the trip from beginning to end. Thanks to all at Absolute Escapes.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 06 Jun 2017:

Many, many thanks for your wonderful review John, we really are delighted that you and your friends had such a fantastic trip, and that everything (including the weather) went well for you! We very much hope to assist you in the future and give you another memorable holiday full of adventure. With best wishes, Amanda MacDonald