Madeira Holiday Leamington

Hello Chris


Thanks for your letter. We had a great holiday in Madeira. What a tropical paradise! We loved the weather, plants, gardens, food and culture. Everyone was so friendly. The Meteor meet and greet car parking at Birmingham Airport was so much easier than the Long Stay car parks. We had good flights with Thomson-interesting airport at Funchal! Transfers were good. the Quinta Bela Sao Tiago was excellant-a nice mix of the old and new and not too large. There were only a few Brits at the hotel, most of the guests were from Germany. We had a lovely room with a great view over Funchal (including a Fireworks display on Saturday). The staff at the hotel were very friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them. We were able to walk to lots of restaurants and enjoyed a friendly banter with the waiters as they invite you to dine at their place, Portugal winning their Euro 2012 games when we were there was a good talking point and Funchal was partying when they got through to the Quarter Finals.

Felicity had a nice Reflexology session at the hotel and we were getting used to afternoon tea with cake or cold drinks by the pool! We were able to do what we wanted to do,ie sight seeing in the mornings, relaxing by the pool in the afternoon and having a meal out and a stroll in the evening. We went on the cable Car to Monte (first time in a cable car). we did a Blandy's eastern tour of the Island,taking in Pico do Arieiro,Santana and Machico.

We went to a service at the English church and received a very friendly welcome from them. After the service it was time for a coffee or a glass of Madeira wine in the garden. It was a lovely setting.

We would certainly recommend Madeira and the Quinta Bela Sao Tiago and hope to go again. We will send off the questionnaire to Classic Collections and will put something on trip Advisor. Let us know if you want anything for your website.

Thanks for such a wonderful holiday.

Best wishes



Bill and Felicity Fleming

Chris at Leamington

Everything about Newfoundland and Labrador is different and it seems like a separate country – not part of Canada. It feels vast, but we covered the distances with ease, thanks to our excellent Ambassatour driver through 1st Class Holidays. We travelled through, and stayed in, the small communities dotted along the coast (livings are, in the main, made from the sea) only linked by road in the 1950’s. The people are so friendly and we were fascinated by their unique accent and turn of phrase! The weather was, as expected cold, wet, windy and… hot, all in the 12days, but there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes and the layers, fleeces and windproofs did their job.


We saw icebergs making their way down iceberg alley, moose disappearing into the trees, whales following our boat, bald eagles nesting, puffin in abundance, tiny alpine flowers on the limestone barrens, stunted trees bent by the wind, snow on the mountains, spectacular sunsets, lighthouses on bleak, but beautiful headlands, huge lakes, rushing rivers, painted timber houses…..all while learning so much about the country and its settlers.

It was a fabulous adventure, not just a holiday and our thanks go to Chris, for sorting it all out. We will be back!

Helen - Coventry

Dear Helen,




Just had our 4 day break in Cala D'or and wanted to send you a note to say thank you for all your help and recommendations, we had a really good time.



The Hotel Club Marthas was fantastic, the local resort and amenities were also great (all be it a little quite) and Cala D'or was quaint.



We did hire a car and ventured out to Magaluf (a real eye opener or we are all just getting too old now) also saw a bit of the island..



Thanks for all your assistance.



Kind Regards,



Nayan and the lads.

Spain and France – May / June 2012



Well here we are – ready to go – arrived in Bilbao and making our way towards San Sabastian right up near the border of Northern Spain and France. Weather fantastic and can’t wait to get going! Stayed at the Mercure Monto Igueldo – fantastic views of San Sabastian and a little funicular going down to the town.



Day 2/3 through Pamplona and then travelling through the Pyrenees – spectacular scenery, very bendy roads and some lovely villages to stop for coffee and lunches. We stayed at Jaca at the Real hotel, good value and lovely little town and then on to the Paradores La Seu D’Urgell – very nice shame we only arrived at 7pm and left at 8 the following morning!


More fantastic scenery on our way down towards Barcleona. Decided to stay just outside at the small resort of Mataro at a new hotel on the Marina the Atenea Port – got the train into Barcelona for the day and a couple of days on the beach – resting my behind!


On the way back home now up through France – weather getting slightly cooler. Stopped at Gruissan at the Best Western Du Casino Le Phoebus – very basic but only a short walk away from a little port with lots of nice restaurants so served a purpose! Rode over the Millau Viaduct – the highest bridge in the World apparently.


Then on to Vichy, very civilised although the receptionist at the hotel Midland was having none of my school days French! Rambouillet was our next stop and finally on to Le Touquet – got a good rate at the Mercure Grand Hotel for the last night of our holiday boo hoo!



Something I had never done before and I actually am looking forward to the next trip – think we would do the long ferry crossing both ways next time and just stay in Spain – there is still so much more to explore!



For anyone interested some of the best biking roads were:-



N 260 Pyrenees to North East Coast of Spain – two especially good bits coast road Colera to San Cyprien and Jaca to La Seu d’Urgell and on to Ripoll



Mataro to Palamos



Coast road just before San Sabastian



D 940 Northern France – Le Touquet to Calais


Tina and Donald Nason – 25th May to 5th June 2012

Email tinanason@carricktravel.com for more info

Sue-Nice, France

To: Carrick Travel- for the attention of Dawn and Sue. My wife and which to thank you for the assistance you gave in organizing the holiday break to Nice. It all went very well and we enjoyed our stay. The hotel accommodation and service was fine, and we had two enjoyable evening meals in the small restaurant next door which has a very French atmosphere. Nice has such a variety of different experiences with the old town and the newer area which we enjoyed very much, but we are about two inches shorter now with all the walking we did. The weather was fine, plenty of sun shine with just a cool breeze of the sea at times. We took the local bus to Monaco one day at 1 Euro ( as I think you mentioned Sue ). The beach is very stoney but it did not seem to bother the sunbathers very much. All in all a very enjoyable experience. We will be sure to recommend Carrick Travels excellent service to all we speak to and especially you ladies for all your help. Best regards Tom and Carole Constant