Martin Randall Travel Traveller Reviews

A fantastic journey: 12 recitals and concerts of Bach's music with 6 lectures held in 12 historic buildings and churches in 7 different towns and cities associated with Bach, his life and work in 5 days.

This was a typical Martin Randall tour -- meticulously planned, organized and executed. No effort was spared to make this a remarkable journey. Everything was of high quality, from the 167-page programme, the excellence of the performances, to the very pleasant and competent Martin Randall staff waiting to guide us from hotel to venue, to event, and back again. And of course the best hotels, food, comfortable buses to take us to the various venues.

Ludwig II was brought alive for us by a guide with a great appreciation of his character and architectural achievements, and those of his immediate ancestors. Hotels were friendly and full of character and the programme very full and comprehensive.

Very efficient, using the minimum of paperwork.

Trip to estate homes, churches/monasteries, Welsh Castles and a Roman Army camp. Very attentive on site tour manager who oversaw the details well and was particularly attentive to the needs of individuals on the tour. The archealogist who was the "expert" was superlative: knowledgeable across the breadth of Welsh History and explained items both on the tour and places we passed. He held 2 orientation lectures in the evening which were both well done.

We like their approach of being education based rather than shopping based tours. On each of our tours, and we have done around 6 of them, the "expert" has been just that, and in all cases, also good at presenting material. We are looking to learn, not just "see", and MRT has been very effective at that - that is why we have done six, have 2 more booked for 2015 and are currently making decisions about 2016. There are at least 3 we would like to do for sure, but scheduling may limit that to 1 or 2 next year.

We had been thinking for some time about a cruise on the Rhine. We were recommended by friends to look at Martin Randall Travel, as an opportunity to combine the river cruise with a classical music theme. The specific itinerary for this festival was well chosen with a pleasing variety of small places, urban centres, and especially the memorable venues for the concerts. The balance of passage making, bus travel and walking was nicely judged.

The tour manager was splendid. It was very useful to receive the Programme booklet in advance by email so as to give a good idea as to what would be happening and when. The early warning also allowed time to organise maps and also to get copies of some of the recommended books in time to read them before the trip. The entire festival ran smoothly, and the undoubted effort that this entailed was nicely kept in the background by the excellent Martin Randall Travel team. Well done!

It was a four-day 'walking and literature' tour of the Lake District. We walked from about 3 to 6 miles each day, except on the last. We also visited homes associated with writers of the Lake District: Wordsworth, Ruskin, and Beatrix Potter, with a little about Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons thrown in as a bonus. The walks were through gorgeous scenery; the visits, carefully set up in advance by the lecturer, were well guided and fascinating; and the evening meals, which we always felt we'd earned, were excellent. I learned an enormous amount from seeing places associated with the Lake poets, and from hearing about them in places that reinforced the information visually.

Everything was unobtrusively efficient and we were well looked after. No one was made to feel physically inadequate on the walking tours or stupid in the literary part of the trip. The choice of hotels and restaurants was good and the lectures were just the right length, breadth, and depth. I'm sure I could never have had such a good time on my own.

A private Music Festival organised in venues along the Rhine and combined with a first class Rhine Cruise on the Amadeus Princess.

MRT excels in providing stimulating holidays to intelligent people, treating them as adults with a reasonable attention span. One can rest assured that the group will be of like-minded people - no "lazing on the beach" but plenty of intellectual stimulation. In our experience, a unique company with whom we will continue to travel regularly.

We floated down the Rhine, entertained every day by outstanding speakers, beautiful concerts given by world class musicians, and in between we went on interesting tours of important places.

The tour operator was exemplified by excellent, speedy and courteous service. Nothing was too much trouble for them and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being Martin Randall customers. We will be back for more of the same!

This holiday was to attend the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, Austria. The performances were all by top quality artists in the beautiful setting of the small village of Schwarzenberg. The concert hall is modern with excellent acoustics. The hotel (Hotel Sonne) we stayed in was in Mellau a small village six miles from Schwarzenberg. The interior was beautifully designed in the boutiques style. The rooms were large, very quiet and comfortable. The meals in the hotel were of a high standard. Indeed all the meals we had a different restaurants (all inclusive in the tour) were excellent. This was a very enjoyable holiday, not only from the music point of view but from the organisation and environment.

I have travelled many times with Martin Randall Travel and the tours are always very well organised, in good quality hotels and with very good cultural programmes. The lectures have always been of high standard. Highly recommend.

This was a brilliant tour enabling a small group to experience selected sections of the the 500 mile French way of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage. We walked through a variety of regions, villages, towns and cities, saw wonderful scenery, historic buildings and magnificent cathedrals. Our tour leader told us about the history, the art, the architecture and the traditions of the Camino. Through his insights and our own experiences we were able to gain a unique understanding of the history and culture of this pilgrimage. Unlike hardier pilgrims we stayed in excellent accommodation and had outstanding meals and local wines. It was such a great tour we were almost disappointed to reach Santiago de Compostela; but it proved to be a fitting culmination.

Martin Randall travel tours are characterised by efficient organisation, attention to detail, excellent lecturers and managers, high quality accommodation and wonderful meals and wines. This tour had all those attributes in abundance.

A walking holiday taking in all aspects of the Camino de Santiago de Compostella with a fantastic guide and and excellent tour manager. we learnt a lot from our very knowledgeable and enthusiastic trou leader Adam Hopkin and we were looked after with great care by our tour manager Gabby. the hotels we stayed in were fantstic and historic for the most part and the picnics, dinners and wine were wonderful. all in all the holiday far exceeded expectations.

It is the first trip I have done with Martin Randall but it will not be the last