Celtic Routes Land Rover Touring - York

Steve Illingworth

We had a fantastic 5 days touring Scotland, Edinburgh and Aviemore. Celtic Tours planned and booked the whole tour for us - they know Scotland, we did not but we do now! A very proffessional, friendly and detail oriented organisation. The car was fantastic, well equipped and perfect for our trip. The hotels were great, the food even better and the prepared itinerary was perfect. They even gave us great weather. I cannot rcommend them enough, a fantastic trip and we will definitley be back.

Thankyou

Steve and Hongwei

Richard Entwistle

Great road trip and beautiful scenery

We had not been to Scotland before, so we signed up to the Celtic Routes trip as an introduction to the country and its beautiful scenery. It did not disappoint. The road trip is well organised. The vehicles (Disco 4s) are well prepared and well equipped complete with all the mapping and guiding that you would need if you did the trip unguided. The route is one chosen by the Paul the owner who has designed a very thorough and varied itinerary including all the hotels along the way which were all very comfortable, the staff charming and helpful.

We chose to have Paul along as our guide leading a group of three vehicles along the route, taking in the Cromarty Firth, Ullapool, Applecross Loch Assynt, the Isle of Skye, Loch Lomond and much more. For us it worked really well…..others might prefer to do it solo.

The best bit of course was the wonderful scenery. And this time the Scottish weather was kind to us, but even if it hadn’t been, holing up in front of a log fire in a Scottish hunting lodge in the Highlands with a glass of single malt is a pretty good alternative

I would thoroughly recommend this.

The Best Road Trip Ever

In March you take a bit of a risk with the weather (we were lucky!) …..but this is fully outweighed by the fact that the roads are empty. A lot of the time we drove on small, and winding picturesque roads and tracks that we had completely to ourselves. And when we arrived at great castles, beaches, waterfalls, and hilltop views we were the only ones there.

All of this was helped by the fact that Paul had clearly put a lot of time and effort into finding really “off the beaten” tracks, routes, and interesting places to visit.

This included excellent choices of hotels, nicely varied in their style and location. But all offering warmth, comfort, great food, and jolly good food.

Paul’s organisation throughout was excellent. Nothing was too much trouble and his steady supply of historical information about the places we visited was much appreciated…..albeit pretty gruesome! Really good stuff and we wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Keith Davis-Rutter

What an amazing Inca Tracks adventure we’ve just had with Peru Safari. From the moment we met and spoke with Paul at the Telegraph Travel Show through to our first briefing in Lima and until the moment we said our goodbyes we knew we were in good hands. This was our first ‘group adventure’ holiday, and one of ‘being organised’ by someone else. We had a fabulous time! We saw more of ‘real’ Peru than we ever thought possible; and Paul, Percy and Alonso were an exceptional team. All of the administration was faultless so a big thank you to all the Peru Safari back-office team.

We were introduced to our Toyota Hilux’s by our team on the first evening and met the rest of the group (over pisco sours in the bar!). The plan was to get on the road first thing in the morning before the traffic rush. After leaving the Lima suburbs, the scenery became more and more spectacular, changing with every day, and sometimes every few hours. We drove through ‘Middle Eastern’ style desert scenery; Alpine meadows; Andalucian plains; Derbyshire Peak District; Scottish Highlands; Arizona Desert and over Andean mountains! Our peak altitude was 15,842ft; the coca tea helped but don’t drink it after midday or else you won’t sleep that night.

Paul kept informing us of the local history as well as pointing out flora and fauna. We saw alpaca, vicuña, llama, flamingos, hummingbirds, Andean hawks, vizcacha (rabbit/squirrel/rodent -like animals!), condors, and more cows, horses and burros than you could imagine.

The driving was relatively easy – with the guides in front, you were always being given advice about what traffic was ahead. Plenty of off-road driving and mountain passes to excite the keen driver, and nothing to unnerve a less confident driver/passenger. We all had radios for contact, and by the end of the trip the banter between all the group on the radio was one of the highlights! Our trip covered 1700 miles in 2 weeks.

Mid morning tea/coffee and lunch picnic stops were set up by the team in some of the most spectacular settings that you could imagine (including in cloud! Paul assured us the view was spectacular). All the food was great – in particular the home made cakes and tamales! And the trout – what a treat. Accommodation was varied – from small trekking hostels to family run hacienda’s and smart town hotels. Dinners (aside from Lima, Cusco and Ayacucho) were all provided.

We considered ourselves very lucky to have had a group who got along really well, supported by a great team. The opportunity to drive ourselves and have our own space meant we were able to engage with the holiday so much more than, say, a coach tour. Undoubtably, this trip was great value for money for the constant changing landscape and the chance to see and meet the real Peru away from the city. And again, we cant praise the Peru Safari team enough.

Max imi

What an incredible experience this was. An adventure to see the most iconic sights, sounds, and locations Peru has to offer. This amazing 15-day trip takes in the desert, the jungle, the Andes, and Machu Picchu. Explore off the beaten track, away from the crowds. This is the most unforgettable South American experience ever invented! A Big thanks to Paul and Crew !!!

Martin Stibbards

From start to finish, we were so impressed with our experience and holiday with Celtic Routes. Very responsive to our requests and helped us with all our planning, going above and beyond to ensure we saw as much of beautiful Scotland as we could. The holiday itself was amazing, great locations, considerate planning and the hotels we stayed in were first class. Would thoroughly recommend to anyone planning a stress free trip to Scotland and beyond.

Claire Schiff

The NC500 is an amazing drive, the scenery is stunning and the food and people are fantastic. Celtic Routes did a great job setting up our trip! We stayed in great hotels with top of the line rooms and food. The car was easy to pick-up, easy to operate, and very comfortable. We did fishing as an added activity and James Curley's fly fishing day was exceptional; we didn't see another person all day and enjoyed pristine, photo worthy highland scenery. The app was easy to operate and sent helpful reminders, Celtic Routes was available at any time if we had any questions. I would highly recommend this trip to everyone!

Ailie Kofoid

Just returned from a wonderful 10 day tour of Scotland through Celtic Routes. Graham and team arranged for wonderful hotels to stay at, many off the beaten tourist path. The vehicle was wonderful for us to navigate the tricky Scottish single track roads! Communication was great both before the trip and after. The app was fabulous to guide us to hidden gem restaurants for lunch, scenic beaches, and the best routes from one stop to the next. Would highly recommend!

Chris Coakley

A very well organised and enjoyable trip in Scotland. We traveled independently in a very comfortable and well presented Land Rover. The vehicle was perfect for the single track roads and terrain enabling us to travel through and experience the amazing NC500. The hotels were very well chosen with a particular mention for Newton Lodge where the welcome was outstanding. We particularly enjoyed the stunning walk and beaches round Handa island, (even if the seabirds had flown the nest!) and the guided tour around Pool House which was absolutely fascinating. Altogether an amazing and memorable holiday