Not In The Guidebooks Avis 161

Took our puppy on his first holiday to the Secret Garden with Hot Tub in Beccles. Such a wonderful experience and we used the hot tub and fire pit into the early hours. The accommodation was spacious and the surrounding areas where perfect. The host Mary was very welcoming and we just wished we stayed longer. Hope to book another Not in the Guidebooks accommodation soon as very different to what most UK companies offer.

...run by Kate Sparrow, the resident artist. It was a super mix of painting tuition and leisure with a trip to the local market, restaurants and an opportunity to swim in the river! We ate well and the accommodation sufficed, but best of all was the tuition, and a chance to dabble with paint along-side other artist enthusiasts. I would highly recommend this break to progress your artistic skills and meet new people in a beautiful French rural setting.

This was an amazing experience set in rural Italy with no tourists and few locals! My host catered to everything I wanted to do - from adventurous hikes around different sites every morning to painting every afternoon. Meals were included and delicious with lots of fresh vegetables since my host knew I liked that. It was a lovely, stress free experience.

Good service, prompt responses to questions. Very helpful, would recommend.

We liked being able to tweak the advertised itinerary by adding extra nights in some places. 3 nights in each region (with 2 at either end closer to San Jose) suited us perfectly. Very impressed with the logistics which all worked perfectly, as per the personalised app that is supplied, and the host was accessible for questions at all times via WhatsApp. Once we understood on the first few days how the trip was going to work, we relaxed and were super happy with all the hotels, (bar one where AC or a good fan was desperately needed - Roberto is onto it) tours and local guides/drivers. Costa Rica is simply stunning and this NITG tour enabled us to see different parts of the cpuntry, with a perfect mix of feeling adventurous but completely spoilt at the same time. Highly recommended.

Just had an amazing first glamping experience at Wall Eden Farm in Somerset. We stayed in their yurt, which has a huge 4 poster bed, shower room and kitchen. All the staff were extremely friendly and helpful and the facilities on the farm were A1. We would highly recommend it.

Had a great week watercolor painting in Torrox with my daughter. Thanks to Vicky and Paul for arranging a great personal experience with the group including beaches, the lost village, casa Marie, and a fun flamingo show. Also thanks to Dawn for her demonstrations and coordinating a final art show of all participants work. Is something we will always remember. Best, Cheryl and Ann

I was meant to go and stay in a treehouse with my children for a weekend. I had spoke to the people directly a they said everything was ok.
2 days before we were due to leave. They ring and said the holiday had been cancelled as it had not been put through correctly. They did offer another place, this was really not child friendly at all. They also said I could go next year to the treehouse. But this is still not good enough when you have 3 brokenhearted child.

Pheona Kerr was an excellent host and she looked after us really well. Her teaching style was clear and informative. Although the members of the group were working in different mediums and painted in different styles we were each given individual instruction, when needed, making the painting experience enjoyable. The setting of Casa Appennino is stunning with lovely views of the neighbouring hills. The house and villa, surrounded by the gardens Pheona has developed, are delightful. There were also opportunities to photograph the nearby mountains and countryside. All very photogenic for later projects. A thoroughly enjoyable trip

Perfect company to deal with . Regular communication- quick response and went out of their way to help , Highly recommended and would definitely use again

Jo is a fantastic teacher. Lots of patience and expertise. The biggest lesson I learned was draw the light not the line, as I often do the opposite. My paintings will be better as a result. I also learned how best to set the composition so it attracts the eye into the painting. I had the best night’s sleep in ages! I loved the waterbed and the area is so peaceful and calming. I also thought the food was great and Jo was very accommodating with my food preferences and idiosyncrasies. The sauces have to be mentioned because they were outstanding! The trip to the winery was wonderful, I bought 2 cases to ship back because they were so good and were good value for money. I highly recommend this course for all who love watercolor and wine!

Such a wonderful and relaxing stay. The attention to detail of the treehouse was amazing. The total thought to the surroundings and environment was outstanding.

Totally appreciated the maps for the hiking trails and also the adventure day trip and also the gift of the print of the treehouse was the icing on the cake.

Definitely will return.

Portugese Cooking Holiday 19th - 24th April 2024
What a very special place! In a beautiful riverside setting this was the perfect venue for a cooking course. Very comfortable rooms (mine had a view of the infinity pool), well equipped kitchen and charming company. Graham & Cheryl are the perfect hosts with nothing being too much trouble from arrival to departure. We worked our way through many Portuguese and Portuguese influenced dishes, my favourites being the Bacalhau com Natas and the Cataplana – delicious! There was a visit to a small local market and museum and a lunch in a local restaurant. Highly recommended.

Very knowledgeable and personable driver/guide on our tour of the Douro Valley. Being in a small group there was ample opportunity to ask questions and the selection of wineries gave a good overview of the types of wines and methods used in the Douro Valley.
Excellent value for money, will definitely recommend to others!

Beautiful Weekend Away in Shropshire

My partner and I booked the Shepherd's Hut with a Hot Tub in Shropshire, and were blown away with how lovely it truly was. The scenery was stunning, the views were amazing, we were woken up to the sound of birds tweeting and fell asleep to the sound of rain. There were stunning walks throughout the area, and so much nature to experience (including waterfalls)! The hosts were lovely, and the NITGB staff who helped organise this were amazing. We couldn't recommend this company enough!

Fantastic experience. We joined a tour to find Santa in Finland and it was just perfect. The guides (elves!), reindeers, the whole experience was just superb. Obviously our 3 years old daughter was all around the place, but it felt really good for us adults - it spoke to our inner child. Spoiler: we've also found Santa's cabin :). Recommended!

I would recommend visiting Lapland and staying in an Igloo was a real experience but the service provided by NITGB's let us down quite badly.
-Getting details from the company was difficult from the outset, the itinerary was incorrectly stated in the voucher and we had to email and then phone to get this corrected.
-No detailed Itinerary was provided.
-A number of times we asked about transfer times and these were never confirmed so on our last day we were picked up at 8.00am and in the airport by 9.15an for a 1.00pm flight, why?
-With the activities it was a lot more serious, when we went for the Husky trip, warm weather clothing hadn't been arranged and we were left in -15c for 20 mins or so whilst the Husky company arranged for a taxi to pick the warm weather suit up. We were almost too cold to go on the trip.
-With the sauna we weren't told if we needed to bring our swimming kit, fortunately we did and that had been arranged for right after the Husky experience-so no chance to go back to the hotel.
-With the Snowmobile experience the company organising the event couldn't find our details for almost an hour and this was because it was booked in a different tour operators name.
My sense is NITGB had little experience in organising or experiencing these trips and so we were left to work it out ourselves.
Just a little effort on their side would have made all the difference.
By comparison a colleague at work went on a similar trip through a different company and they were asked their clothes sizes etc before they left so all ready for them when they arrived.

We booked a trip to Lapland through Not In The Guidebooks and the help and support from start to finish was exceptional. Would highly recommend for your dream holiday.

Our trip to Iceland using NITG was nothing short of sensational! I booked it for my husbands birthday and we loved it from start to finish! They made everything so easy and straightforward. Amazing trips & activities with the best guides, standout performance from Michal (@holidaytours) who made our day with his wonderful energy, passion and knowledge, not just about the glacier we hiked, but about Iceland as a whole. A trip we’ll remember forever!

This was my first time working with NITGB and I found their service excellent.