Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

After walking the West Highland Way with a group 3 years ago, I was bitten by the walking-in-Scotland bug, and I decided to do a solo journey of the newly-official John Muir Way. I've found this form of travel to be a great way to really experience a country, as you're generally away from the major tourist destinations and out amongst the hills, woods, coastlines, and waterways in places most people don't see.

I planned my John Muir Way solo walk with the assistance of Absolute Escapes. I loved that I could make payments gradually (and easily!) over time, instead of one fell swoop. The lodgings that were arranged for me were top-notch for my budget level, and the service I received at them was fantastic. Luggage transfers along my journey went off without a hitch - my large duffel bag appeared magically and was waiting for me at my day's destination every time. I will definitely look to Absolute Escapes first when planning my next trip!

Lovely walking in completely new country, well signed.

Overall accommodation was excellent with very good luggage transfer. Everything worked to plan.

My boyfriend and I went to Scotland to hike The Great Glen Way. It was in the end of March so we were not expecting the best weather, but we were prepared. Luckly it only rained the day before we began our hiking trip, but bad weather shouldn't stop us so we made it to the top of Ben Nevis anyway. The next day we began our 5 day hike from Fort Williams to Inverness. We had never been hiking before and as the days went by our bodies felt more and more sore. That didn't matter because the weather was great and the hiking even better. We took the high routes and got some incrediable views from the top. The lochs were so unbelieveable beautiful and because we weren't hiking in the summer season we had all this beautiful nature to ourselves. The big hills made you feel very small and it became very clear how amazing Mother nature is. When we in the evening finally came to our B&B or hostels it was so nice and the people we met were outstanding. They all made us feel at home and were very helpful. It was just OUTSTANDING. It has truly been one of the best holidays ever and the service has been so great! Everything was just spot on - THANK YOU!

Absolute escape has definitly played a great part in our trip being a succes. From the day we arrived everything was perfect. The luggade transfer were on time and we didn't have to worry about anything. All the places that they had booked for us to stay were OUTSTANDING. The people were so caring. All the maps and route descibtions that we had got helped us to make our trip even better than we would have thought. Having completely faith in Absolute Escape made us relax even more and just put us in the right state to make the hike OUTSTANDING!

Very beautiful landscapes, nice B&B's, lovely people,

Excellent

My husband and I were in the process of planning our trip, our son is studying in London for his third year of University, and we thought it an opportune time to plan a holiday. We were flying into and out of London, had our plane tickets purchased and thought we could plan a week or so of sightseeing in Scotland by ourselves.

We were soon overwhelmed with the possibilities, and after an Internet search we discovered Absolute Escapes. It could not have been more enjoyable oe easier in the planning. Andy, James and the rest of the team took into account some places we wanted to see, and planned our intinerary for us. They arranged the car hire, ferry tickets and all of our lodging. We had a great time and there truly was no bad view, picture taking was constant, we enjoyed speaking with our hosts, the breakfasts were homemade and plentiful, and delicious. We truly want to visit again in the future and would definitely book through Absolute Escapes again, as well as recommend them to everyone.

The walks were great, the landscapes breathtaking, the transport of the luggage went smoothly!

The organisation and the contact with the tour operator were great! They seem very friendly and helpful. Even if a problem occured, they managed to solve it immediately and did match our expectations!

We started in Edinburgh, stayed for two nights at 14 Hart Street, a lovely bed and breakfast. Our hosts were wonderful and suggested two wonderful restaurants for dinner. Accommodations were superb and the food excellent. Absolute Escapes had arranged for a City of Edinburgh Sightseeing Tour, which we took advantage of and enjoyed visiting Edinburgh Castle. Then off to Pitlochry for one night at Roseburn B & B, and again our host was wonderful as was our room and food. We loved this area of Scotland and wished we had planned for another night here. There were some lovely hiking trails and we took advantage of the sunny weather. We spent two nights in Inverness at Avalon Guest House with a side trip to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. Once again, our host suggested two fantastic restaurants for our dinner, our room was perfect and breakfast excellent. Then off to Isle of Skye for three nights. We really connected with our hosts at Ben Tianaviag. They were so warm, friendly, and helpful. They arranged a day long tour of Skye for us with a lovely man who runs a small group tour bus. We learned a lot from him not only about Skye but Scottish history as well. Here, too, we felt like we could settle and live comfortable. We were able to take some nice hikes in the area and enjoyed exploring the town. Our hosts in Fort William at Torlinnhe were very helpful and accommodating and arranged for a trip to Ben Nevis range for us. Here, too, our room was comfortable and our breakfast perfect. Our last night was in Glasgow at Grasshoppers Hotel. This was perhaps our least favorite lodging, but it was comfortable and while not a small intimate bed and breakfast, it had an extensive self-serve breakfast. The room was a bit noisy and definitely not as comfortable as our B&B experiences. We really enjoyed meeting the Scottish people. Everywhere we went we were welcomed like friends. Strangers on the streets and hiking trails always had a smile and time for a wee chat. My husband and I both felt very at home and stated more than once we could easily live in Scotland. The scenery both in the towns we visited and during our train rides was beautiful and at times breathtaking. Our only regret was that we didn't have more time to spend exploring this wonderful country.

Absolute Escapes was fantastic in making our arrangements, finding fabulous bed and breakfast lodgings for us, acquiring our Freedom of Scotland rail pass, and preparing an itinerary that offered lots of options in each of the cities we visited. Even before we confirmed a booking, the staff was prompt with their responses to our questions and proved helpful over and over as we finalized our choices. We were not in the market for a group tour and the staff understood our needs and made suggestions to help us get the experience we wanted. We had just the right amount of help without the restrictions of a guided group tour.

My husband and I traveled to Scotland for our honeymoon in October 2015. We started in Edinburgh and then spent the rest of our trip traveling through the Highlands.

Absolute Escapes planned a fantastic trip for us. From mapping out our driving itinerary, to a reserving a variety of beautiful accommodations, to suggesting bars, restaurants and sightseeing activities -- everything was wonderful, well researched and personalized to what we had requested.

The coast to coast was the highlight of two months in Great Britain. The accommodation that had been organised for us was excellent and the company who carried our luggage from place to place was outstanding doing this without any problems.Then we come to the walk,while the Lake District was challenging the scenery made up for it.After the first three days the walking became easier and we were able to enjoy the surroundings and the local people we met.We choose to have rest days in Grasmere,Kirkby Stephen and Richmond to explore the local areas and most fellow walkers we met thought that was a great idea to ease the stress of the walk.

BRILLIANT. From the Initial contact with them nothing was a problem and the itinerary they organised foe us was exactly as we wanted which made our walk so much easier.Have recommended them to several of our friends.

We were a party of four and started the coastal walk at Cresswell and finished at Berwick on Tweed. We all loved the walk (favourite spot Budle Bay). We added a couple of extra days so we could visit the Farne Islands and Lindisfarne. Had a lovely day exploring Lindisfarne, but didn't get to the Farne Islands as it was too windy for the boats to go out that day - so we have a very good reason to return to Northumberland sometime.

The information provided by Absolute Escapes was very good and everything was well organised. The bag transfers were seamless and the majority of the accommodation was very good to excellent