Away from the Crowds

Reviews

We couldn’t fault your company and it’s probably the best one we’ve ever been with!

Thank you very much for your letter and you can rest assured that we enjoyed every aspect of our holiday. The cooler weather was fine for cycling and we managed to avoid the thunderstorms!

The route was really interesting and we loved the centre of Mallorca, having only been to the Tramuntana in the past.

The bike hire was excellent and Victor couldn’t have been more helpful.

We couldn’t fault your company and it’s probably the best one we’ve ever been with! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to friends and I hope we’ll be coming back too.

Terry and Nola McGaul, Macclesfield, UK

Thank you so much for your kind words! Come back soon! Aftc

Bikes were great, the best we have had!

This is the third time we have used this company, and always very happy with the standard of service.

Excellent communication and organisation.

Bikes were great, the best we have had!

All the hotels were good and our luggage always arrived at the hotel before we did, and would be waiting in our room. The extra nights in the hotels worked well for us, as we don’t like packing up and moving on every 2nd day. We liked the hotel in Caimari very much. Pollensa was a bit touristy for us, and Algaida was very quiet with only a couple of restaurants open. All the hotels were excellent, although the hotel in Pollensa felt a little bit rundown, considering it was the most expensive. Meals at the hotel in Campos were good, and the Nepalese meal in the Caimari hotel was excellent!

The GPS routes are a great addition, but the Road Book has helpful additional information. Thank you again!

Claire and Allan Scott

Muchas gracias, Claire and Allan, always a pleasure to host you!

Gaynor, Aftc

We hardly saw any other tourists once we left Palma Airport , only other cyclists - more cyclists than car drivers!

Thank you so much for our holiday in Mallorca. Despite the heat, we enjoyed it tremendously.

The organisation was smooth, communication with you was always prompt, friendly and helpful.

The bikes were great - we had no trouble with them at all and they were a delight to ride.

The hotels were lovely, each very different: the old town doctor’s house, run by his granddaughters; the (little hotel in )Algaida, which was exceptional: beautiful and tasteful decor with attention to every detail, a lovely room and bathroom, a great swimming pool and truly wonderful breakfasts. (In)Caimari the hotel also had a small swimming pool and we enjoyed the meal cooked by Batan, the Nepalese girl who worked there. The staff at the hotel in Pollensa were very friendly and it was in a good central position in the town.

The routes were beautiful, especially towards the north. We hardly saw any other tourists once we left Palma Airport , only other cyclists - more cyclists than car drivers!

We took one day off and walked in the woods and we also shortened one route because of the heat (and our age!!) We had considered hiring electric bikes but we managed fine with normal ones.

All in all, we were very happy with our holiday and would recommend Away from the Crowds to others as well as considering another holiday with you in the future.

Muchísimas gracias. Un abrazo, Barbara Lamplugh (& John Tozer)

Thanks again for choosing to travel for the first time with us. We're delighted that you enjoyed seeing the side of this beautiful island that most tourists don't see! We'll look forward to taking you 'Away from the Crowds' again in the future!

Aftc

It was truly a trip that we will remember with great joy and tell family and friends about.

Now we are back home after a fantastic trip. Wow!

It was truly a trip that we will remember with great joy and tell family and friends about.

From the time we met Toni at the airport until he dropped us off at probably the same place a week later, everything just went smoothly.

Victor brought the best electric bikes we have ever rented - 5 stars.

The route was laid out along some beautiful quiet bike paths with fantastic views, where we passed beautiful towns, where there was time for a coffee break or lunch. And past some wineries to taste the local wine!

The hotels chosen were just - wow - beautiful with a quiet location!

Your arrangement has far exceeded our expectations for the trip. We will give you 5 stars with an upward arrow!!

Best regards from Jette and Torben Jansen, Bagsvard Denmark

¡Muchísimas gracias, Jette and Torben! You obviously understand exactly what 'Away from the Crowds' tours are all about and appreciate what we value in a cycling holiday! It really was a pleasure to host your trip and we do hope that you'll come back and travel with us!

Gaynor, Aftc

All the hotels exceeded our expectations and were a delight to stay in.

We had another great holiday with AFTC!

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the tour. The organisation by you and your team was again superb. The planning process, communication, information delivery (both accuracy and timeliness), and attention to detail were excellent as usual. Vanesa & Sylvia are so responsive and fantastic to deal with!

All the hotels exceeded our expectations and were a delight to stay in. The food was excellent and all staff were extremely helpful.

You were very kind to facilitate complimentary dinners for our two nights in Campos because of the hotel switch. Our hotel was historic and beautiful and our hosts looked after us extremely well.

We really liked the two-night stopovers on this tour, it allows a little more engagement in the locations and more ease of packing up etc! We’ll definitely add this to our planning for future tours.

Gerard and Susan Daly, Dublin, Ireland (Travelling with Johnny Cassidy and Rhys and Anne Edwards)

Thanks Ger and Sue! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed your trip and we look forward to you and the team coming back next year.

Gaynor, Aftc

A most enjoyable and memorable cycle

Many thanks for having organised a wonderful cycling holiday for us in Mallorca. We have just returned to Dublin having spent the past week cycling from the south to north coast.

The accommodation which you had selected for us was exactly what we needed, small hotels with character.

I had a small problem with my tripometer on day one but the bicycle people sorted it out as soon as possible. A most enjoyable and memorable cycle.

Michael Griffin, Ireland.

Great cycling holiday

Great cycling holiday on a beautiful island, Mallorca Coast to Coast.

We really were "away from the crowds".

Catherine Roantree, Ireland

the hotels were wonderful

We enjoyed this tour very much. The hotels were wonderful, the scenery spectacular. Sometimes the directions were not so obvious but what a nice place to get lost and find yourself again!

Mallorca is a treasure for all.

Marie Daoust-Foukal, Canada.

Thanks Marie. We have reviewed the roadbooks instrucions since you came in late July and found a couple of ambiguities which we have not corrected. We aim to keep everyone on track!

Jaime, AFTC.

we used all the swimmingpools

We have had some marvellous days in Mallorca with your firm.

Everything was succesful, nice and good bicycles, good and straightforwardly maps and informations, very nice hotels with exelent service and food.

Yes we do take a swim in the ocean (port Pollenca and sea in Campos) and we used all the swimmingpools.

We have nothing at all to complain.

We hope to join your tours another time.

Marit and Tom, Norway.

We would definitely recommend you

We had the most fantastic time; from the accommodation, the whole route which was well planned, the bikes were fine. We had a replacement from Andrea who was so helpful and pleasant.

Must mention Tony who collected us at the airport, he was wonderful and helped me find a pharmacy for tablets I had left at home. The staff everywhere were helpful and did not mind helping us to torturing the Spanish language.

Maps, routes book was good no feedback on them.

We loved seeing the countryside, especially the windmills and the dry stone walls very similar to where I used to live in England. We just loved the whole cycle trip as we have not been out on a cycle holiday due to different things in our life.

We would definitely recommend you which we do constantly and look forward to do another trip next year if we can. So a big, big thank you to you all.

Jane Hatherall, UK.

Many thanks Jane. So glad you enjoyed your time in Mallorca.

Jaime, AFTC.

Keep doing what you do so well, with the communication spot on!

As you will read we did enjoy this ride and thank you to you and your company for organising this tour, which we enjoyed immensely.

Keep doing what you do so well, with the communication spot on!

The ride we found much easier than last years, The Green Coast which we were pleased that we hired ebikes. This year we could have easily ridden regular bikes but what we did was to cycle unassisted mostly. It was nice to be able to turn the power on when we needed it, which wasn't often. The ride itself was fabulous .....see my FB comments.

There 2 points we would like to feed back to you re room for improvement-

The Garmin GPS device we hired was outdated and we had trouble seeing the screen and had trouble with the device staying powered on despite changing the batteries twice. If you missed a direction then you couldn't find your way as the route loaded on the GPS was only shown......couldn't expand out to see where you were. We resorted to using the trip daily notes and maps.

Accommodation and breakfasts were mostly fantastic , however with the exception of one Can Calco in Moscari. The accommodation and the breakfasts were great at the hotel but the owners were off site and so when we arrived there was no one to greet us and give us information about the village.

We hope to do another ride next year, so will be in touch.

Susan Harvey, Australia.

Thanks Susan for the feedback. We now use a fantastic navigation app and we no longer use Hotel Can Calco. We have changed to a much better hotel near Moscari. Thanks for helping us improve!

Jaime, AFTC.

The hotels were just fantastic!

Hello! :)

Thank you for a fantastic holiday! We absolutely loved it! It was perfectly planned and organized. The route was very "friendly" with very little hills. And the distance was very manageable too. We loved the country lanes and the big roads were practically empty during the mid day too, which was very positive for me, because I don't feel comfortable cycling amongst cars.

I loved that the last day we could spend in the town with the shops. As much as I loved spending whole week away from the people and shops, I thought I will have to buy gifts for my children in airport. :D It just shows your attention to detail planning this trip. :)

The hotels were just fantastic! Every hotel had their wow factor. They were so different, but absolutely beautiful, full of character! It was so lovely to come back from days cycling and arrive to such a beautiful place!

Every person in your company (and hotels too) we spoke to or met were very friendly and supportive. :)

When we were looking for our holidays, we wanted to be away from the crowds and traditional tourist places and, ideally, go cycling. When I found your company online, I saw that as a sign. :D I didn't look much further, because you offered everything we wanted!

The only two things for consideration - the weather can considerably affect the enjoyability of the trip. I think we were very lucky because the temperatures didn't go much above 30 degrees. Just one day was hotter, which made cycling very hard, and no amount of water would help, because it was so warm I could make tea in it. :D

The other thing - be careful where you stop on the road sides. We had punctures three times because of the thorns stuck in the tires. The second puncture was because we didn't realize that thorns can be stuck inside the tire too, not just outside. But everything was alright, my husband repaired both tires (in the middle of a beautiful hotel room :D ) easily.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Mallorca! It was all about nature, countryside and cycling during the day with a touch of luxury in the evenings! :)

Thank you sooo much!!!

Best wishes,

Inese and Gundars, UK.

Hi Inese and Gundars. So glad to see you enjoyed the tour and to see you enjoy the same things we do. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.

Jaime, AFTC.

Our cycling holiday showed us a different side of life on Mallorca

Our cycling holiday showed us a different side of life on Mallorca, although never far from a town, we were quickly into a different rural world.

Our driver to and from the airport, Antonio, was a lovely introduction to the holiday, a very friendly and helpful man.

We really enjoyed the hotel in Campos, a beautiful oasis with a fabulous breakfast which we could enjoy outside in their lovely gardens.

Selva too was a great location and a super hotel, great breakfasts again and we loved the whole ethos of the way the hotel is run with the art and local products plus the wonderful ‘honesty shop’ which meant we could enjoy a drink or snack at the hotel. The town square was a great place to enjoy an apero and watch the world go by.

The routes were easy to follow and we enjoyed the towns we visited and passed through. Alcudia was bustling with tourists but lots to see and do there and it made a nice contrast to the smaller places we visited. It was also very nice to see the sea on the costal ride.

Eric & Julie Capewell, Trélex, Switzerland

Thanks Eric and Julie, it was a pleasure to host your holiday again! We hope to see you again soon.

Aftc

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