Why self-guided?

At Macs Adventure, our trips are on a self-guided basis, which we believe is the best way to travel. No hiding behind large groups or tour guides here!

Independent-minded walkers and cyclists will agree that a self-guided walking or cycling tour is the very best way to travel and can't be beaten for value, experience and a sense of achievement. Our self-guided tours come with everything you need to make for an adventure-filled and rewarding holiday; accommodation, baggage transfer where required, and an informative pre-departure pack, turn-by-turn route notes, destination guides and detailed maps which follow carefully planned itineraries on the best routes.

You don't have a guide accompanying you, but a self-guided holiday gives you the flexibility to choose your traveling companions, how far you’d like to walk/cycle each day, and of course travel dates to suit you. You can tailor your itinerary, accommodation and activities to exactly match your requirements and interests. Although you will be traveling independently, our local and/or US teams are there to support you and are only a phone call away in case you need any assistance during your trip.

  • Why Self Guided?

    This Video shows you benefits of taking a self-guided trip with Macs Adventure.  We offer the perfect balance of experiencing the freedom of going where you want and taking the day at your own pace, which having all the logistics of your trip tied up, so you can have a hassle-free time. 

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1. Sense of achievement

The feel-good factor of completing a walk or cycle over several days or even weeks is hard to beat. Armed with easy-to-follow maps and route notes, flex your navigation skills and use your (wits!) and wisdom to follow superb tried-and-tested routes. Return home with an immense sense of achievement, and with plenty of tales to impress your friends and family!

2. Unbeatable value (cheaper than a guided trip)

Self-guided walking and cycling tours offer unbeatable value and are often half the price of guided tours. We can keep the price low because you are not paying for a guide/driver and associated costs.

3. Choose your own travel companions

You can choose to travel alone, with your partner or family, your best friend or even fifteen of your favourite colleagues. And although they may not be (quite!) perfect at least you know who you’re travelling with.

4. Go at your own pace

Most of our routes offer a range of itineraries to suit everyone from the leisurely to the energetic, which means that you can walk or cycle as much or as little as you wish. Go at your own pace; stopping as you please to indulge that passion for wine or whisky, ancient ruins or modern architecture.

5. A more authentic experience

By travelling independently you will naturally interact with more people; whether checking directions with a passing friendly face or chatting with the locals over a coffee or cuppa. OK, you might take a wrong turn occasionally, but you will have your own personal special memories (not just seen through the window of a tour bus or by following the crowd). 

6. Stay independent, but with support if/when you need it

Thankfully, things very rarely go awry but when you do need some help one of our local team is only a phone call away and they can help to resolve any issue that may have arisen. So you can relax and focus on enjoying your holiday to the full.

7. Stay in small, high quality accommodations of character

We can book those fantastic small hotels, inns and B&B's that larger groups simply can't. Staying in authentic small properties gives you a real insight into local life; you may find yourself sitting around the kitchen table tasting the family olive oil or discovering the special secret recipe for Scottish shortbread.

Most Popular Tours

Get in touch if you have any questions, our adventure specialists are here to help you create your perfect adventure, your way.

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  • Anonymous 09/03/2023
    We booked a walking tour through a company, as we wanted to travel to an adventurous and remote destination, with all the accommodation, luggage transfers etc sorted. The accommodation, transfers and walking routes were all excellent. But we really saw the advantage of booking through a company when we hit snags. We hit 3 problems - all related to touring in the winter season - and all of which were quickly and easily solved by the fantastic rep on the ground: 1) one of our proposed accommodations was shut at short notice - another was found; 2) one of our walking routes was truncated by an landslide (!) - an alternative was proposed, with taxi pickup; 3) one of the party slipped - routes with less downhill could be devised. Would definitely book again
  • Mr Charles Dunnagan 12/02/2023
    We've used Mac/s in the past and will use them again, but this trip wasn't the best.
  • Anonymous 12/01/2023
    Thank you. Excellent and well organized trip. Professional and caring staff. Amazing region in France. Very good bikes.
  • Dr. Graham Gauld 22/12/2022
    The holiday was well organised and had good back-up in terms of maps and route guidance. It would be good if details of some routes were updated daily/weekly to take into account walkers feedback and changing local conditions
  • Anonymous 18/12/2022
    I realize it was a busy year but to take days to return emails and phone calls is not acceptable. To also tell us you can book our trip then inform me weeks later that you can book the trip except for the first night and we would have to find our own accommodation that you could not contact any other accommodation. On the trip The Sun Inn in Warkworth , the room was fine except we had no cold running water for the entire two days and no internet in the rooms. The manager kept saying we’ll get to it. The Bluebell Inn in Belford, there was mold in the bathroom, torn wallpaper and little hot water. We were freezing in the dining room for dinner but were told sorry we can’t turn the heat on until the end of September. A very very tired hotel. The app was helpful but not always accurate. The book we were given was quite outdated and definitely not accurate and in some cases misleading.. A detailed map of the hike would have been useful as well as indications that you could get lunch in the route or that you needed to pick up a sandwich before starting. To have luggage ready by 9 is fine but then we had to sit and wait until 9:30 for a taxi was a waste of time. We are going on another hike this year but will use another company.
  • Mr Graham Egan 16/12/2022
    The Best of New Zealand trip was comprehensive and very well organised. It was an excellent way to see New Zealand. Emergency out of hours contact was available.
  • Anonymous 15/12/2022
    Provided excellent service and advice. We have done many self-guided cycling tours and know what makes a great trip. This trip more than met our expectations with excellent accommodation and varied route. The supplied notes and GPS tracks made navigation very easy.
  • Anonymous 15/12/2022
    This was a trip that had been postponed due to COVID. In rescheduling it, I had tried to reschedule early (9 months in advance) but was told too early, then when I tried again, it was a different rep and they did not respond in a timely fashion and as a consequence the accommodations that we requested were not available. The trip was described as moderate hiking. This trip was not moderate hiking. The first day of hiking--we were met by the guide and instead of an orientation type of hike, we immediately got out of the transport and started on a 11 mile hike with a 3,000 foot elevation gain and that doesn't include the time that I spent on a mule because the terrain was steep or my legs just gave out. Our trip did not start out well because we were not met at the airport. We waited over an hour and finally hired a taxi to take us to the Riad. The Riad was OK, it definitely did not seem as if it was an upgrade which had been promised. One person in our group had cockroaches in her room and a shower that kept flooding the room. The final hotel was wonderful and they went out of their way to provide an excellent experience (Kasbah du Toubkal). We had been told that we could only spend one night at this property and have to move to another property (because reservations had been slow to be made as noted earlier). They were able to find us a room so that we did not have to move---this may have been due to they were the ones that forgot to pick us up at the airport. The food throughout the trip was excellent. People in Morocco were welcoming and lovely. The High Atlas Mountains were a beautiful and rugged landscape which helped partially make up for the downsides of this trip.
  • Mr Frank Stevenson 15/12/2022
    Lots of trips to choose from……easy to follow hiking instructions and map app…excellent customer service….great value….we have traveled extensively with B&R and Backroads and now much prefer Macs
  • Mrs Lucy King 15/12/2022
    The Cotopaxi region is magical and our guide, Julio, was superb. He loved the area and was so enthusiastic about showing it to us. He got himself, and us, up very early so that we could be the first of the day to top of the Cotopaxi Snowline...very special. He took us to Pasochoa Peak and we were the first of the day to summit that as well. He was very knowledgable of the birdlife, the wildlife and the area's history. He was absolutely terrific!
  • Mrs Lucy King 15/12/2022
    The guide services were top notch. From arrival at the Quito airport to the Amazon Rainforest to the city tour and back to the airport the guides were A+. They were always at least 15 minutes early and so polite and kind.
  • Anonymous 15/12/2022
    Amazing experience! This was my first Macs adventure and definitely NOT my last!
  • Mr William Ritchie 15/12/2022
    Great variety of active holidays. Walking holidays which range from gentle stroll's to challenging adventures.
  • Anonymous 01/12/2022
    Overall worked well. Turn by turn instructions were sometimes way off but following the GPS blue line worked well. Lodging was decent but not exemplary.
  • Anonymous 27/11/2022
    I understand the challenges due to Covid but it often took multiple phone calls and emails to receive a response to my inquiries about our Queen Charlotte Track trip and then it would take several weeks to get an answer to my question. I ended up going directly to the company you outsourced to (Wilderness Guides) as they would reply within 24 hours. Also, most of the information provided by Mac’s was wrong! Thank goodness for Wilderness Guides. You should tell your prop,e if they don’t know the answer to a question, don’t guess!
  • Mr Iain McIndoe 22/11/2022
    Overall a good holiday - maps/routes and accommodation were great, but you didn't book all the transfers despite repeated chasing from me and in the end I had to arrange one transfer myself and have multiple phone calls to you from Malta to get the others sorted.
  • Anonymous 19/10/2022
    Everything went as planned except for a couple of schedule glitches which were easily remedied through direct calls to providers or your Glasgow office. I had tried to solve two of the schedule issues but was not able to get the issues resolved through the personnel in the Colorado office. I did four trips in Scotland and am pleased that all went beautifully--luggage transfers, accommodations, pre-arranged programs. You deserve the five stars for how smoothly all four programs went.
  • Anonymous 19/10/2022
    Good service, excellent accommodation, good value for money
  • Ms Leslie Shea 19/10/2022
    Excellent choices of lodging. Coordination of baggage and lodging, an impossible task, was great Phone, online availability was very good.
  • Dulcie Charles 19/10/2022
    Yes I would book again and recommend them

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