Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

My family had a wonderful time touring Scotland on a self-drive itinerary arranged by Absolute Escapes. We stayed in lovely 4* B & B's in Edinburgh, Fort William, Portree (Isle of Skye), Inverness, and Pitlochry during our eight days. We enjoyed visiting these cities/towns as well as viewing the fantastic scenery along the way. We visited several castles, historic locations and distilleries in our travels and thoroughly enjoyed each one in their own right. This trip was a memorable one for my family and we hope to return to Scotland in the near future!

Absolute Escapes did an excellent job in planning our self-drive itinerary. Scott S. was an absolute professional in creating our Scotland adventure and was promptly responsive to any questions I had regarding our trip. He customized our tour by including helpful info on not only travel directions but additional sights and restaurant suggestions for each stop. He even suggested several additional sights once he knew I was an "Outlander" book and TV series fan - I really appreciated that extra customer service for our trip. I would highly recommend Absolute Escapes to anyone thinking of a self-drive itinerary of Scotland - they are the best!

The beginning of the walk was tame towards the end going into the Highlands it became increasingly 'wild' and stunningly beautiful. The weather was very varied and the midgets a plight but still it was very beautiful. The extension of the trip to go to the Isle of Skye was a big plus, it allowed us to indulge into the Scottish landscapes.

Very professional, excellent information packs , good maps and material, good value for money.

Well organized from start to finish and we had a wonderful time seeing places and people that we would not otherwise have encountered.

Well organized and helpful.

Six people from Canada rented two catrs and drove to the Assynt region and to Skye to hike some of Scotland's mountains. Absolute Escapes organized accommodations and travel within Scotland. All went well. We opted for a self- guided tour to allow us to explore northern Scotland and because friends had enjoyed hiking in Skye. It was a fantastic trip where we shared our passions for hiking, great food, beautiful gardens, fine whiskey, good beer, yummy candies, kayaking, castles both in ruins and splendidly preserved, more hiking, waterfalls, beaches, vistas, and warm Scottish hospitality. Thank you James for helping us have a wonderful experience in Scotland. I would be very happy to continue this Scottish adventure another year.

James at Absolute Escapes helped us assemble an itinerary as we searched for more rugged hiking experiences in more remote areas. I loved the Assynt area. We also hiked some beautiful mountains and beaches in Skye. It left us wanting more. It was James quick response to early inquiries and a good review on the web that clinched the deal. He was willing to work with us to design something different. And it worked!

Six people from Canada rented two catrs and drove to the Assynt region and to Skye to hike some of Scotland's mountains. Absolute Escapes organized accommodations and travel within Scotland. All went well. We opted for a self- guided tour to allow us to explore northern Scotland and because friends had enjoyed hiking in Skye. It was a fantastic trip where we shared our passions for hiking, great food, beautiful gardens, fine whiskey, good beer, yummy candies, kayaking, castles both in ruins and splendidly preserved, more hiking, waterfalls, beaches, vistas, and warm Scottish hospitality. Thank you James for helping us have a wonderful experience in Scotland. I would be very happy to continue this Scottish adventure another year.

James at Absolute Escapes helped us assemble an itinerary as we searched for more rugged hiking experiences in more remote areas. I loved the Assynt area. We also hiked some beautiful mountains and beaches in Skye. It left us wanting more. It was James quick response to early inquiries and a good review on the web that clinched the deal. He was willing to work with us to design something different. And it worked!

The 9 days self drive tour organised by Absolute Escapes proved outstanding . It was based upon an outline we had given and every aspect wen very well. The 2 day stays spread with 1 day travel worked out well and 4 hours travelling was just ideal. Meal recommendations and sight seeing recommnations were on the mark. Staying at B&B ( apart from Loch Rannoch) was great with all up to standard ( a couple of rooms at Oban and Islay were very small and the bed at Oban uncomfortable!). The host at Islay was exceptional with the others all very welcoming. Islay was a highlight for us amongst many - Rosslyn ,Chapel,lLoch Rannoch ( our Honeymoon place of 45 yrs ago!),Skye,,Oban and Dumfries were all great to see and visit. One aspect that surprised us was the outstanding quality of the various hotel and restaurant meals we had - well expense by New Zealand standards - presentation , service and the food just outstanding! As for the weather it was a bit like NZ in winter !! However only rain on one day and we were prepared for it! An outstanding trip for us and great wok by Absolute Escapes !

As said above Absolute Escapes from whoe to go could not be faulted they gave outstanding service!

The 9 days self drive tour organised by Absolute Escapes proved outstanding . It was based upon an outline we had given and every aspect wen very well. The 2 day stays spread with 1 day travel worked out well and 4 hours travelling was just ideal. Meal recommendations and sight seeing recommnations were on the mark. Staying at B&B ( apart from Loch Rannoch) was great with all up to standard ( a couple of rooms at Oban and Islay were very small and the bed at Oban uncomfortable!). The host at Islay was exceptional with the others all very welcoming. Islay was a highlight for us amongst many - Rosslyn ,Chapel,lLoch Rannoch ( our Honeymoon place of 45 yrs ago!),Skye,,Oban and Dumfries were all great to see and visit. One aspect that surprised us was the outstanding quality of the various hotel and restaurant meals we had - well expense by New Zealand standards - presentation , service and the food just outstanding! As for the weather it was a bit like NZ in winter !! However only rain on one day and we were prepared for it! An outstanding trip for us and great wok by Absolute Escapes !

As said above Absolute Escapes from whoe to go could not be faulted they gave outstanding service!

We used Absolute Escapes to arrange our walk on the Cleveland Way. We had used them two years ago to book our walk along Offa's Dyke Path so we knew we were safe to use them again and would be well looked after. The mileages were well spaced and transport was prearranged to any accommodation not directly on the Cleveland Way. The accommodation varied from very basic B & Bs to some very luxurious ones. Letting someone else arrange the mileages and accommodation especially a company which clearly has a list of good accommodations in it's catalogue removes the effort and risk of booking individual stopovers yourself.

We first did Offa's Dyke path and now we have completed the Cleveland Way both booked through Absolute Escapes. Both times they did a good job for us with the accommodation, information ad backup available should you need it. We plan to do more long distance footpaths and will have no hesitation in booking through them again.

We were so pleased to be able to hike with no worries about our luggage reaching our destination each night. The accommodations were lovely and we were able to get a hot shower at the end of each day and more food than was possible to manage. Thank you for a wonderful holiday experience. Deb and Tim Graf

We never met the tour operator and that was just the way we liked it. Smile. It was a seamless transition for us each day after meeting our host at our accommodation. The tour operator simply sent us our itinerary previous to our excursion and we were on our way.

The paths were well marked in most areas. The second week not too well seen but had a lot of back tracing to do only to find the Acorn hidden with the gate. The first wk we enjoyed good weather, the second week turned more difficult meaning we had a lot of rain later in the a.m. lasting a few hrs at times. The wind & the coolness gave us more time as it became slippery on the slopes. However, the views were awesome & didn't expect the mountains to be very challenging at times. The B&B's were very presentalbe & folk were very gracious especially the last couple of days when we encountered difficult walks due to an injury of Trudy's. We ended up doing a tour to Landalou which was vry nice.

Our self-directed operator using maps & descriptions were our only source of direction. The difficulty was when we encountered so much rain & cold weather. It was difficult to stay focussed. Still seeing beautiful views when we could see over the misty areas.