Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

• Departure was nothing you could control—flight four hours late out of New York. What a pain in the neck. But we arrived in Edinburgh safe and sound, no issues with luggage or customs. • Rented the car, which was too big for us and obviously not the proper vehicle for that drive through Glencoe, so we kept it while we were in Edinburgh, but on Monday night we went back to the airport and got something way sportier (Passat) before heading to Ft. William on Tuesday. • The Murrayfield Hotel was nice. Lovely service and very good food. The staff was very accommodating about changing our original room to something nicer. When we returned at the end of the week, though, we got what I think was the best room in the house—a good send off! • Sunday we visited Rosslyn Chapel (great). The hotel itself is in need of some sprucing, but very pretty. That night we had dinner at Monteith’s on the Royal Mile. Highly recommend that. Food was excellent, service great and wonderful ambiance. • Monday we did a tour of the Scottish Parliament, which was something my husband really wanted to do. It was a great tour—they did a nice job. In the afternoon we visited Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle. Both nice. Enjoyed Elizabeth ll’s wardrobe at Holyrood. I think we had dinner at the hotel. They make the most awesome pannecotta. ;-) • Tuesday we were off and running to the highlands. First stop was Falkirk to see the wheel (interesting). Then Stirling Castle. Stirling was nice, but after Edinburgh Castle, it was a little repetitive. Doune Castle, where Outlander was filmed was next—really fun! Mainly because it was small and sweet. I cannot imagine how Scotland isn’t a separate country by now with all the shenanigans with the English over the last millennium! • Around 4:00 we left Doune and headed to Ft. William. No words to describe that drive through Glencoe…more gorgeous than I could have ever imagined. Fantastic. Arrived in Ft. William at the Crolinnhe Guest House. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in such a lovely B&B. Sophie was the ideal host and everything was just perfect, and I mean perfect. Clean, beautifully decorated and unbelievable service. Sophie brought us tea when we arrived and made dinner reservations at the Crannog for us. I didn’t want to leave. • On Wednesday it was raining, so we did a Crannog cruise of the loch. Fascinating and really fun. Got to see a bit of Ben Nevis when the weather cleared. By 1:00 we were off to Mallaig to catch the ferry. Got there with plenty of time to spare—first car on the ferry. Quick trip over to Skye. • Wednesday was our actual anniversary, so we just checked into Skeabost and quickly left for Three Chimneys. Neither of us were prepared for how gorgeous Skye is. I don’t even know where to begin. Our dinner at Three Chimneys was “kitchen table”, which means we were served a 9-course tasting menu in the kitchen with two other couples (one on their honeymoon, one newly engaged, and us on our silver wedding anniversary—it was the circle of life all at one table! :-)). We had such a great time, and the drive back to Skeabost through the evening twilight on those crazy roads was unforgettable. Thank you for the recommendation of Three Chimneys! • The people at Skeabost were incredibly lovely and helpful. The hotel itself is so cool—loved the drawing room. We had afternoon tea there. The hotel had a small box of chocolates and a Skye candle in our room—so sweet. The only downside was that our room was fairly small and the overall feel of the hotel is shabby elegance. But we loved it. • Thursday we visited the Fairy Glen and Quiraing in the afternoon—so cool and majestic. But we still wanted to visit the Fairy Pools, so we went in the evening. What an experience. Almost no people there, no bugs, just the beautiful evening sky and those gorgeous pools. We didn’t get back to the hotel until 11:00 and the hotel was kind enough to make us sandwiches and a pint—awesome. • Friday I was so sorry to be leaving Skye! And it was tipping down rain almost all the way to Inverness. First stop was the Moray Park Guesthouse. Very nice owners and lovely service. Room was small and nothing special. Gardens were gorgeous. We were there in time to visit Cawdor Castle and Clava Cairns in the afternoon. I had really been looking forward to Cawdor, which was beautiful, but more of the same…but the gardens…unbelievable. The rain had stopped by the time we were outside, which made viewing the gardens wonderful. The cairns were very cool and vaguely creepy. Dinner at the Castle Inn—pleasant, not particularly remarkable. • Saturday we spent touring Culloden Moor and walking around Inverness. Culloden was an awesome experience and the visitor’s center was so well done. So impressed that your heritage was preserved there and proud to say I have visited. Lovely. Inverness itself was ok. The weather was very cool. We had dinner at Waterview (?). Food and service were nice. • Sunday, on our way to Pitlochry, we toured Dalwhinnie Distillery. Neither of us are whisky drinkers, but it was really interesting and a nice thing to do on a cold and rainy day. Arrived in Pitlochry and had lunch at McKay’s. Loved the ambiance and the fish and chips (and the dogs). Finally bought my kilt (black watch plaid—so pretty) at a reasonable price. Our hotel was very nice—modern, clean, ginormous room and really good food. They had a HUGE box of chocolates in our room (big points for that!) That evening we went back to McKay’s for a few pints and live music—so much fun! • Monday was absolutely beautiful—75 and sunny. On our way back to Edinburgh, we stopped in at Falkland, which is the town they used for “1940’s Inverness” in Outlander. It was so quaint and pretty! Took lots of pictures—tons of Outlander fans touring. It was nice to be outside in the sun. Got back to Edinburgh around 1:00 and went to do tourist shopping on the Royal Mile. Purchased several Luckenbooth items—so much nicer than a Claddagh. Last dinner was at the hotel. I have to tell you that I was teary leaving Scotland. It was such a wonderful, wonderful trip, all made possible with your guidance. Everything went off without a hitch. I’m attaching the itinerary I put together to keep us on track and to use as reference. It was particularly helpful to have a couple of ideas in case the weather wasn’t cooperating. For the most part, we were always one step ahead of the weather, so we really couldn’t complain.

Scott Smyth at Absolute Escapes was unbelievably patient and helpful. Loved working with him!

• Departure was nothing you could control—flight four hours late out of New York. What a pain in the neck. But we arrived in Edinburgh safe and sound, no issues with luggage or customs. • Rented the car, which was too big for us and obviously not the proper vehicle for that drive through Glencoe, so we kept it while we were in Edinburgh, but on Monday night we went back to the airport and got something way sportier (Passat) before heading to Ft. William on Tuesday. • The Murrayfield Hotel was nice. Lovely service and very good food. The staff was very accommodating about changing our original room to something nicer. When we returned at the end of the week, though, we got what I think was the best room in the house—a good send off! • Sunday we visited Rosslyn Chapel (great). The hotel itself is in need of some sprucing, but very pretty. That night we had dinner at Monteith’s on the Royal Mile. Highly recommend that. Food was excellent, service great and wonderful ambiance. • Monday we did a tour of the Scottish Parliament, which was something my husband really wanted to do. It was a great tour—they did a nice job. In the afternoon we visited Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle. Both nice. Enjoyed Elizabeth ll’s wardrobe at Holyrood. I think we had dinner at the hotel. They make the most awesome pannecotta. ;-) • Tuesday we were off and running to the highlands. First stop was Falkirk to see the wheel (interesting). Then Stirling Castle. Stirling was nice, but after Edinburgh Castle, it was a little repetitive. Doune Castle, where Outlander was filmed was next—really fun! Mainly because it was small and sweet. I cannot imagine how Scotland isn’t a separate country by now with all the shenanigans with the English over the last millennium! • Around 4:00 we left Doune and headed to Ft. William. No words to describe that drive through Glencoe…more gorgeous than I could have ever imagined. Fantastic. Arrived in Ft. William at the Crolinnhe Guest House. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in such a lovely B&B. Sophie was the ideal host and everything was just perfect, and I mean perfect. Clean, beautifully decorated and unbelievable service. Sophie brought us tea when we arrived and made dinner reservations at the Crannog for us. I didn’t want to leave. • On Wednesday it was raining, so we did a Crannog cruise of the loch. Fascinating and really fun. Got to see a bit of Ben Nevis when the weather cleared. By 1:00 we were off to Mallaig to catch the ferry. Got there with plenty of time to spare—first car on the ferry. Quick trip over to Skye. • Wednesday was our actual anniversary, so we just checked into Skeabost and quickly left for Three Chimneys. Neither of us were prepared for how gorgeous Skye is. I don’t even know where to begin. Our dinner at Three Chimneys was “kitchen table”, which means we were served a 9-course tasting menu in the kitchen with two other couples (one on their honeymoon, one newly engaged, and us on our silver wedding anniversary—it was the circle of life all at one table! :-)). We had such a great time, and the drive back to Skeabost through the evening twilight on those crazy roads was unforgettable. Thank you for the recommendation of Three Chimneys! • The people at Skeabost were incredibly lovely and helpful. The hotel itself is so cool—loved the drawing room. We had afternoon tea there. The hotel had a small box of chocolates and a Skye candle in our room—so sweet. The only downside was that our room was fairly small and the overall feel of the hotel is shabby elegance. But we loved it. • Thursday we visited the Fairy Glen and Quiraing in the afternoon—so cool and majestic. But we still wanted to visit the Fairy Pools, so we went in the evening. What an experience. Almost no people there, no bugs, just the beautiful evening sky and those gorgeous pools. We didn’t get back to the hotel until 11:00 and the hotel was kind enough to make us sandwiches and a pint—awesome. • Friday I was so sorry to be leaving Skye! And it was tipping down rain almost all the way to Inverness. First stop was the Moray Park Guesthouse. Very nice owners and lovely service. Room was small and nothing special. Gardens were gorgeous. We were there in time to visit Cawdor Castle and Clava Cairns in the afternoon. I had really been looking forward to Cawdor, which was beautiful, but more of the same…but the gardens…unbelievable. The rain had stopped by the time we were outside, which made viewing the gardens wonderful. The cairns were very cool and vaguely creepy. Dinner at the Castle Inn—pleasant, not particularly remarkable. • Saturday we spent touring Culloden Moor and walking around Inverness. Culloden was an awesome experience and the visitor’s center was so well done. So impressed that your heritage was preserved there and proud to say I have visited. Lovely. Inverness itself was ok. The weather was very cool. We had dinner at Waterview (?). Food and service were nice. • Sunday, on our way to Pitlochry, we toured Dalwhinnie Distillery. Neither of us are whisky drinkers, but it was really interesting and a nice thing to do on a cold and rainy day. Arrived in Pitlochry and had lunch at McKay’s. Loved the ambiance and the fish and chips (and the dogs). Finally bought my kilt (black watch plaid—so pretty) at a reasonable price. Our hotel was very nice—modern, clean, ginormous room and really good food. They had a HUGE box of chocolates in our room (big points for that!) That evening we went back to McKay’s for a few pints and live music—so much fun! • Monday was absolutely beautiful—75 and sunny. On our way back to Edinburgh, we stopped in at Falkland, which is the town they used for “1940’s Inverness” in Outlander. It was so quaint and pretty! Took lots of pictures—tons of Outlander fans touring. It was nice to be outside in the sun. Got back to Edinburgh around 1:00 and went to do tourist shopping on the Royal Mile. Purchased several Luckenbooth items—so much nicer than a Claddagh. Last dinner was at the hotel. I have to tell you that I was teary leaving Scotland. It was such a wonderful, wonderful trip, all made possible with your guidance. Everything went off without a hitch. I’m attaching the itinerary I put together to keep us on track and to use as reference. It was particularly helpful to have a couple of ideas in case the weather wasn’t cooperating. For the most part, we were always one step ahead of the weather, so we really couldn’t complain.

Scott Smyth was unbelievably patient and helpful. Loved working with him!

Great walk in Cotswold way !!!! The way is really quiet, easy (with some great hills of course, but nothing very complicated), beautiful landscape and green forest. I walked Hadrian's Wall 2 years ago. Compared with Hadrien wall, I must confess that I greatly prefer the wall. It lacks the Cotswold visitor sites. The ballad is wonderful, sure, but lack in my view the point of interest . The wall was also more "spectacular". But no regrets of course (Bath is such a beautifull city to finish this trip) , and be sure I will come back for another trip

First of all , I can only thank the tour operator for the perfect organization of the trip The last time I asked them to improve the instructions to take the luggage the first day . It was perfect this year !! And all the organisation was great. The accomodations was relly nice and the hosts were very friendly. The contact (before and after the trip) are very good and friendly Perfect !

I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday. It was so quiet. When I went to Goring-on-Thames railway station to go home, I could not get over how noisy it was! Although I was wearing walking socks and the walking boots which I always wear, my feet were very sore by the end. I think that this may have been due to walking on a hard surface with flint nodules protruding most days. So I would advise people to put some extra padding into their boots. There are no cash machines in between Avebury and Goring-on-Thames. Even the one in the Red Lion in Avebury was out of order. Apparently that is a regular occurrence. Also once you are out of Avebury there are no facilities at all. Even the villages which you stop in every night do not seem to have any shops. The over night accommodation was good. The people were friendly whilst allowing you your own space. I actually went into a crop circle whilst I was there. The farmer did not mind. He just asked for a donation to go towards a local charity. The weather was perfect.

They were called Absolute Escapes. A very appropriate name. They allowed you to do just that! The route was planned out for you with all of the details. The accommodation was sorted out beforehand. All that you had to do was to turn up.Your luggage was also taken to your next night's stop with no hassle. So you could enjoy your absolute escape whilst the logistics were taken care of for you.

We were looking for a 2 week experience in Scotland that would provide us with a little taste of city, highland and island life. Absolute Escapes provided a wonderful itinerary that ticked all of our boxes. Edinburgh, Callander, Portree, Inverness and Pitlochry were our ports of call. Each place had their own sites to see but also acted as a base to get to the surrounding attractions. The B&B's and their owners were all excellent and the local knowledge provided made sure we didn't miss out on anything. You have to be careful on a 'self drive' holiday, to not spend too much time in the car. Our itinerary had a nice rhythm to it which meant we never felt rushed even though we covered a lot of miles.

Knowing that we'd been planning this trip for years and were coming all the way from Australia, Absolute Escapes went over and above the call of duty to provide a trip with a good balance of travel and downtime. There were lots of emails back and forth before the final itinerary was chosen and every step of the way we knew there was a friendly staff member - if not the owner - waiting to help make suggestions. The B&B's chosen were superb and we included most of their suggested points of interest into our daily activities. They even suggested where to eat, which from a traveler's point of view was very helpful as that can sometimes be a daunting task - especially after a long day's travel. We were also provided with a list of emergency contact numbers, which provided us with a peace of mind in a foreign country with no personal contacts. We would highly recommend Absolute Escapes to anyone wanting a trip in Scotland. Be it a 2 hour hike or a 2 month vacation, they will make any adventure seamless and stress free and that's what everyone wants from a holiday!

My wife and I walked the West Highland Way for the second time in 3 years. We walked the 96 miles from Milngavie to Fort William over 5 days staying in a bed and breakfast each day. It is one of the most demanding but satisfying weeks holidays we have had.The walk is very physical but the sense of achievement when you finish is fantastic and the scenery along the way is breathtaking. I would recommended anyone to do this as it is on our doorstep and is a great way of seeing our beautiful country.

Absolute Escapes are a pleasure to deal with. They are friendly,informative and provide a great service. They took care of everything we needed and made the whole experience very easy. Their prices are excellent and are great value for money.

We walked the St Cuthbert's Way from Melrose in the Scottish Borders to Holy Island over six days. A wonderful holiday that definitely exceeded our expectations, breathtaking scenery, variety of the walk itself, lots of historical interest as well as wildlife, opportunity to meet other walkers, very high standard of accommodation and restaurants.

The operator (Absolute Escapes) was very helpful, gave a personal service providing a tailor-made holiday to our specific requirements and was very efficient. Would definitely recommend them.

We had a great trip even if the weather wasn't all super great. All the places Absolute Escapes chose for us to stay were excellent. I would totally book with them again and have sent other friends their way. My third time in Scotland and I loved it. It worked out well with my husband fishing and me walking the Speyside Way for 40th anniversary!

This is my second time with Absolute Escapes and I couldn't be happier!

The walking holiday was AMAZING. The weather was even about perfect. I got rained on one day the whole trip. If I had any complaint, I would just say I wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of the placed I stayed on my last night in Fort William, but I think that was just a factor of the bunk mates I had there. I have nothing but good feelings about everything else.

The tour operator I had was very courteous and helpful.

It is the third time our group of friends are using Absolute Escapes and it has always been an excellent experience. This time we have chosen a self-drive holiday on the Outer Hebrides. It was really fabulous. Very few tourists, a very natural beauty, rugged terrain and just stunning. All the islands are very different but all just wonderful to experience.

It is the third time we use this tour operator, and we are always very very satisfied. The information pack ist excellent, the price ratio is very good, the accommodation they choose is also excellent, everything runs smooth, and if there is the smallest problem they sort it out.