Testimonials

My sister and I recently enjoyed a week-long tour of beautiful Cornwall and Devon with Select Southwest Tours. James knows this area of southwest England like the back of his hand and shared many fascinating stories about the history and character of the places we visited. In addition to well-known sites such as St. Ives, Penzance, and Plymouth, James introduced us to places we never could have found on our own. He took us to harbors and villages found at the end of narrow, winding roads, and pubs tucked into little hamlets off the beaten track.

A few of the many highlights of the trip include our visit to Cadgwith, a tiny fishing village on the Lizard Peninsular; the afternoon we spent at Dartmoor where we saw wild ponies and sheep that graze unhindered by fences; and our visit to the Botallack Mine where we saw the mine ruins and learned about the lives of the people who worked there. James was always good natured and helpful, even making dinner reservations for us when we were in Plymouth and he certainly knows where to get a good pub or farm café lunch. We had never booked a private tour before and I can say without reservation that this is the best way to see new places. If you are planning to visit Cornwall or Devon and want to really learn about the area, I encourage you to book with Select Southwest Tours.

James Coulton bietet aussergewöhnlich professionellen Service an – wir wollten eine komplizierte Tagestour machen – James war super vorbereitet. Er kennt die Region extrem gut und hat uns zusätzlich Besonderheiten gezeigt. Wir lassen uns oft herumfahren – James war bislang der beste Guide.

James was amazing. He made our ancestry trip to Cornwall more than I could have ever imagined. He is friendly, informative, prompt, thorough and considerate of all abilities. By the end of our three day tour, we felt as if we had made a new friend. We looked forward to each new day and new adventure. He was not only patient, but helpful when we were searching for ancestors tombstones. We must have went to at least 6 churchyards and found exactly what we were searching for. The cafes and other coffee and lunch stops were spot on. We never felt rushed and in fact, spent longer with us than we would have thought. There is no cutting corners in this operation. You get more than what u pay for. Thank you James for making Cornwall a cherished piece of our ancestry puzzle ️

Select Southwest Tours is a winner in many ways. The day following our tour, they were honored once again winning a prestigious travel award. Now we understand why they are the premier tour company to hire. Our experience was beyond our expectations. We were a group of 3, 71 year old women who went to High School together and live in various parts of the USA.

James met us at Heathrow with a huge comforting smile melting away all our travel concerns. On the way to Cornwall, we stopped in Avebury, which we had requested.

On the following 2 days of our private Cornwall tour, James tailored it to our individual needs and wants. We were taken to spectacular sights, many unknown to others, and he enlivened them with his historical stories told with the care of a master storyteller. Every place we were taken was just perfect, including fishing villages, tin mines, Port Issac, St. Kew, megalithic sites, pubs, and of course a place to eat a proper scone.

We felt we were the winners as it wasn’t about just what we saw, which was a lot, but we won having Select Southwest Tours. Thank you James. Great job

We have taken many private tours and our day with Tim from Select South West Tours was one of the best yet. Tim met us at our rental house and took our family (including 4 little girls) on a fantastic tour of the North Cornwall Coast included Bedruthen Steps, Boscastle, Port Issac and Bodmin Moor/Minions stone circles. Tim’s enthusiasm and knowledge of the area made our day most enjoyable.

With little children in mind, Tim made sure to incorporate regular stops with fun activities, including ice cream at the cafe at Bedruthen Steps. As for the adults, we particularly enjoyed learning about the history of Cornwall and we appreciated Tim booking a table at Boscastle Farm Shop where we enjoyed a lovely lunch. We will definitely book another tour with Tim at Select South West Tours next time we visit the area.

Our wonderful trip with James Coulton of Select Southwest Tours
We just completed a fabulous eight-day private tour of Devon and Cornwall with James Coulton, the owner of Select Southwest Tours. It was one of our best trips ever! The weather was perfect, and the countryside was gorgeous, from the rocky tors in Dartmoor National Park where we looked across the beautiful patchwork of green farms bordered by hedges filled with a profusion of wildflowers to the dramatic cliffs of Cornwall plunging down into sandy white beaches and secluded coves. James was the perfect tour guide.

Besides being charming, witty, and fun he’s incredibly knowledgeable about Southwest England and he’s an amazing driver, holding an advanced professional driving certificate. Every day was a fascinating history lesson as we visited sites that date back to the Bronze Age 4,000 years ago right up to modern day sites and culture. James not only knew about it all, but he also wove in interesting stories about everything we saw and did. The stories were sometimes enhanced by fun folk music which he played as he drove us through the beautiful countryside. When we got the hang of the choruses, we all had a blast singing along. Over the course of eight days James made us feel like his best friends. We even had a lovely dinner with he and his wife and were able to get acquainted with one of his daughters who owns a nationally acclaimed dance studio.

We visited sites where many of our ancestors had been and James shared stories about his ancestors who worked in the world-famous Cornish tin mines and farms and fisheries of Southwest England. It was a wonderful trip. We highly recommend Select Southwest Tours.

I have experienced many guides on my family travels, however, I would like to tell you that I had a wonderful experience with Mark. He was very professional and always went the extra mile to make me and my family feel confortable and enjoy our experience in Cornwall, which we did very much! We were traveling with an 82-year-old person with less mobility than the rest of the us and Mark was an amazing help to make her experience interesting and enjoyable. He also customised his explanations according to our interests and culture. It was a pleasure to use your services and I will highly recommend asking for Mark to anyone that wishes to visit Cornwall and hire Select South West Tours.