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
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Absolute Escapes by Waughy, 21 May 2015
Holiday Rating:

A wonderful five days spent on Arran.

My sister and I walked 50 miles over 3 days of The Arran Coastal Way. From the start to the finish we stayed in excellent accommodation, ate delicious food, saw some spectacular scenery, had some lovely weather and met some wonderful people. The last day we had a pamper at The Auchrannie Hotel and Spa and an overnight stay. From the beginning to the end our holiday was amazing!

My sister and I walked 50 miles over 3 days of The Arran Coastal Way. From the start to the finish we stayed in excellent accommodation, ate delicious food, saw some spectacular scenery, had some lovely weather and met some wonderful people. The last day we had a pamper at The Auchrannie Hotel and Spa and an overnight stay. From the beginning to the end our holiday was amazing!

Rating for tour operator:

This is the second walking holiday I have booked using Absolute Escapes. I have found them ,both times ,to be approachable and as efficient and helpful as you could want. Both times they helped customise our holidays to suit us which was brilliant. The accommodation they booked for us was always faultless and our luggage was always where we wanted it when we wanted it. The information and walking packs given for each holiday were always comprehensive and easy to follow even for novices like ourselves and the restaurant recommendations were always spot on. Using Absolute Escapes to book our holidays was so easy and brilliant value for money. I will certainly use them again.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 24 May 2015:

Thank you for your review and kind comments. We were delighted to hear that you enjoyed the Isle of Arran - it's certainly a fabulous place to spend a walking holiday. We were glad to tailor the holiday to suit your needs and I'm sure Auchrannie made a very comfortable end to your walk. Please don't hesitate to contact us again if we can help with any more walking adventures. Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by Jim P, 15 May 2015
Holiday Rating:

My daughter and I spent 4 nights in Edinburgh and also did the 3-day Speyside Malt Whisky Trail tour.

My daughter and I spent 4 nights in Edinburgh and also did the 3-day Speyside Malt Whisky Trail tour.

Rating for tour operator:

Duncan our tour operator for Rabbies could not have been more accomodating, caring, informative and entertaining. He certainly made our Whisky Trail tour everything that we could have hoped for and then some.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 18 May 2015:

Thank you for your feedback and we will certainly pass your comments onto Duncan at Rabbies. Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by TMaerz, 8 May 2015
Holiday Rating:

Second time we travelled with Absolute Escapes, there will be a third

We already travelled with Absolute Escapes, when we walked the West Highland Way. Now we walked the Great Glen Way. The provided information package was again really useful. We didn't listen just once to the recommendations for the evening and regretted it deeply. So we stuck to our info-sheets (we called them our Lonely Planet :) ) and we weren't disappointed on our walk again. Everything was as described, no bad surprises.

We already travelled with Absolute Escapes, when we walked the West Highland Way. Now we walked the Great Glen Way. The provided information package was again really useful. We didn't listen just once to the recommendations for the evening and regretted it deeply. So we stuck to our info-sheets (we called them our Lonely Planet :) ) and we weren't disappointed on our walk again. Everything was as described, no bad surprises.

Rating for tour operator:

fast responses, always nice

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 12 May 2015:

Thank you very much for your review and we're delighted you enjoyed the Great Glen Way. We're very touched that you referred to the Information Sheets as your Lonely Planet - praise indeed! We'd be delighted to assist with your 3rd walking trip and really pleased to hear that you'd be keen to book again. Many thanks. Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by lornagordon, 6 May 2015
Holiday Rating:

Wonderful Week. Got the bug

We had a fabulous week walking the west highland way. Absolute escapes had arranged everything very well. Accomodation and baggage handling went very smoothly.The stops were fab and the weather was great. We had one extreme to another. Scorching days at the beginning of the week and snow at the end.

We had a fabulous week walking the west highland way. Absolute escapes had arranged everything very well. Accomodation and baggage handling went very smoothly.The stops were fab and the weather was great. We had one extreme to another. Scorching days at the beginning of the week and snow at the end.

Rating for tour operator:

Everything went like clockwork. Accomodation was fabulous.Very professional from the first enquiry through to sending out all the information and itinery. Very informative itinery, had everything that we needed or wanted to know.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 06 May 2015:

Many thanks for your comments and delighted to hear you had a great week on the West Highland Way. Sun and snow all in the same week sounds like a typical walking holiday in Scotland! Really glad you enjoyed the experience. Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by Sue, 29 Apr 2015
Holiday Rating:

West Highland Way

We had an excellent trip with ideal weather. We did hike to the summit of Ben Nevis at the end, which was a fun way to finish. The Way was not very crowded, which was superb, with only about a dozen people walking the route with us on most days. We really enjoyed the B&Bs/lodgings you selected. The rooms were extremely comfortable and the hosts were great. We had an older guide to the route, which provided more information on Munros along ...

We had an excellent trip with ideal weather. We did hike to the summit of Ben Nevis at the end, which was a fun way to finish. The Way was not very crowded, which was superb, with only about a dozen people walking the route with us on most days. We really enjoyed the B&Bs/lodgings you selected. The rooms were extremely comfortable and the hosts were great. We had an older guide to the route, which provided more information on Munros along the way. We had a superb day to go up Ben Lomond, but we hadn’t checked the ferry service times before we left for Scotland and the hotel did not have internet service at the moment, so we were not sure if we’d be able to get transportation to our next destination, if we went to the peak. Therefore, we skipped this summit on an outstanding day. We did hike another Munro near Bridge of Orchy, which we enjoyed. So, I’d include a bit more information about the nearby peaks, if people want to take side trips to summits during their walk. It was nice to alternate between hill walking and the Way. Otherwise, our week was excellent. I haven’t finished downloading my photos, but I’ll forward a few, if they are decent.

Rating for tour operator:

Absolute Escapes picked wonderful places for us to stay and provided plenty of contact information for use during our trip.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 06 May 2015:

Thank you very much for your feedback, and many congrats on climbing some of the Munros along the way (incuding Ben Nevis) - very impressive! We'll certainly look to add some more information on these hills in our Information Packs in the future. Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by THE WISHY WANDERERS, 28 Apr 2015
Holiday Rating:

A parrty of 5 walked the West Hgihland Way, all arranged by Absolute escapes, we had a wonderful adverture

We wlaked 100 miles in 5 days staying at different locations on the way, Milngavie to Fort William via Balmaha, Ineranan, Bridge or Orchy

We wlaked 100 miles in 5 days staying at different locations on the way, Milngavie to Fort William via Balmaha, Ineranan, Bridge or Orchy

Rating for tour operator:

Their attention to detail is the real key to their sucess,every aspect of our holiday was catered for and everything went like clockwork. As we stayed in 6 differnt twons in 6 nights, with luggage transfer, there was alot that could have went wrong. We wouldn't even consider using another company

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 28 Apr 2015:

Thank you very much for your kind comments, Gary - it really is much appreciated by the whole team! We were delighted to hear that all went well with your walk and please don't hesitate to contact us again if we can assist with any future walking adventures. Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by Vallum Aelium, 28 Apr 2015
Holiday Rating:

Fantastic walking holiday along Hadrian's Wall

From the initial organisation through to the actual trip, Absolute Escapes really came up trumps. The Romans did a pretty good job, too! The accommodation en route was perfect - all really good B&Bs, very welcoming, excellent food suggestions. The baggage transfer worked seamlessly. The pace of the walk worked really well with clearly inside knowledge of organising each day in relation to the terrain. The information provided by Absolute Escapes ...

From the initial organisation through to the actual trip, Absolute Escapes really came up trumps. The Romans did a pretty good job, too! The accommodation en route was perfect - all really good B&Bs, very welcoming, excellent food suggestions. The baggage transfer worked seamlessly. The pace of the walk worked really well with clearly inside knowledge of organising each day in relation to the terrain. The information provided by Absolute Escapes was really informative and helped plan each day, as well as providing all the maps and books for the trip. The walking itself was fantastic and we were rewarded with stunning views. To top it all, we were walking mostly for 7 days in sunshine, not a hint of rain or strong winds! Couldn't be better.

Rating for tour operator:

My comments have been included above but essentially their organisation was excellent, good email responses, lots of information provided which was really helpful and nicely condensed into the personal itinerary. Great choice of B&Bs by Absolute Escapes. No complaints at all.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 28 Apr 2015:

Many thanks for your comments after your walk along Hadrian's Wall Path. It sounds like you had a great trip and glad to hear all of the accommodation and arrangements went well. We'll do our best to pass your comments onto the Romans as well! Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by ed, 26 Apr 2015
Holiday Rating:

A great walk walk with my sister Harriet on Lady Anne's Way England.

Excellent information from Absolute Escapes assisted in making this a very enjoyable experience. The walk took us through some beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Dales and the Eden Valley. The accommodation along the way was in B&Bs which were clean friendly and provided good breakfasts. We had great weather almost every day which was a nice surprise considering it was the middle of April.

Excellent information from Absolute Escapes assisted in making this a very enjoyable experience. The walk took us through some beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Dales and the Eden Valley. The accommodation along the way was in B&Bs which were clean friendly and provided good breakfasts. We had great weather almost every day which was a nice surprise considering it was the middle of April.

Rating for tour operator:

Absolute Escapes based in Scotland, provided us with everything we needed including maps an excellent guide of the route and good directions and information on each B&B.Our baggage was transferred each day without a hitch. I would definitely use Absolute Escapes again and would not hesitate in recommending them.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 27 Apr 2015:

Thank you very much for your review. We were delighted to hear you enjoyed your time in Yorkshire, and that you'd consider booking another walking holiday with us. We'll do our best to ensure the sun shines for you next time too! Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by Together, 22 Apr 2015
Holiday Rating:

an exciting and wonderful experience - giving us a great sence of achievement

This was our Trip Of A Lifetime. We, mother and daughter, made it to the very end in 7 days and had a great experience. The first three days we had lovely sunny weather. We loved walking through fairy-tale woods and lovely nature. Our feet felt more and more stronger - as we tackled the road, although in the evenings we were awfully glad to put our feet up. Going over Conic Hill, which was quite a steep climb and walking down to the ...

This was our Trip Of A Lifetime. We, mother and daughter, made it to the very end in 7 days and had a great experience. The first three days we had lovely sunny weather. We loved walking through fairy-tale woods and lovely nature. Our feet felt more and more stronger - as we tackled the road, although in the evenings we were awfully glad to put our feet up. Going over Conic Hill, which was quite a steep climb and walking down to the Rowardennan Hotel was lovely in sunshine. Our third day to Beinglas Farm was quite an experience - high over Lough Lomond with spectacular views, but very rocky and we thought a wee bit dangerous - taking our backsides to get over some very steep rocks. The Beinglas Farm accommodation was wonderful - the food lovely and the fellow walkers quite inspiring. It was good to see them clapping their hands, when we entered. Perhaps they thought we would not be able to make it. But we did. The next three days we had highland weather with sleet, snow, wind, rain and also sun. We were well equipped and the rain did not yet wet the insides of our shoes. The long walk to Kings House Hotel across the Moor was spectacular and somehow for us very special. The hotel was lovely nice and quaint. On top of Devils Staircase - with some sun - we enjoyed the wonderful views of the snowy highlands all around us. This was a real highlight for us. Then the weather changed to scottish weather with strong winds and continuous rain. We felt extremely proud of ourselves for braving the elements and walked on and on and on. When we arrived in Fort William we were soaked to the bone and our feet swimming in our shoes. But we were so very happy that we had arrived at last. We embraced Mr. Sore Foot and the passers by cheered us too, which we thought was wonderful. Before going to our B&B the two of us enjoyed a hot whisky - a wonderful ending to a spectacular walking tour.

Rating for tour operator:

everything went beautifully, the accommodations were perfect and the bar meals in the restaurants which were recommended good and tasty. The documentation we got was informative and very helpful. We were very grateful for all the help given before the tour.

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 25 Apr 2015:

Thank you very much for your review - we were delighted to hear that you enjoyed the West Highland Way so much. Your description has made us want to walk it again ourselves! So glad the Fort William locals applauded you on the last leg to meet Mr Sore Feet! Andy Gabe

Absolute Escapes by Walking Pals, 20 Apr 2015
Holiday Rating:

Beautiful Scotland

We walked the West Highland Way. We had great weather, beautiful scenery and comfortable accommodation with good food

We walked the West Highland Way. We had great weather, beautiful scenery and comfortable accommodation with good food

Rating for tour operator:

We got good information, all arrangements worked very well. On day two we would have liked our breakfast a bit earlier to allow more time for the long day ahead. The accommodation only offered breakfast from 8am. The luggage transport was excellent

Absolute Escapes responded to this review on 20 Apr 2015:

Thank you for your comments and we were delighted to hear you enjoyed walking the West Highland Way. Thank you also for your comments about an early breakfast on Day 2, and we will certainly pass this feedback onto the Guest House. Best wishes, Andy Gabe