Testimonials | Halal Getaways

Here's what people from across the globe have to say about their experience with us

“

Salam.

Just returned from Andalucian Routes.

My travel experience and services provided by the guide, Tariq, was excellent and exceeded our expectations.

There were many personal highs during the visit – we were blessed with the daily interaction with the spanish muslim communities. We recognise that with personal visits we would not be able to even know where these communities existed let alone reach them.

Tariq provided a rich learning experience with daily reviews of the relevant historical site we were visiting that day and himself affording ALL ground transportation. Its so much easier therefore, for us to focus on the learning experience. The choice of hotels were clean and comfortable.

I would certainly recommend this tour as an essential experience for all Muslims and would quote that “without history we have no roots.”

Regards, Mohammed

Mohammed Abdullah

“

Hope everything is well with you. I couldn’t find a way to post my review so I thought I would email it to you.

Andalucian tour was unique, memorable, and inspirational for many reasons:

Typical tours provide only a sightseeing tour with some important facts and interesting stories. However, Br. Tariq is able to bring alive the period of Muslim Spain through his passionate discussion of history, visiting important historical sites, and interacting with current native Spanish Muslims succeeding in reviving Islam in Europe.

I highly recommend this tour for adults and teenagers as they will come to know about the positive influence of Muslims in Europe and other parts of the world during the Andalucian period.

Shahnaz Mukarram and Shahab Shakoor

“

I have recently been on an Islamic tour to Andalucia, and was asked to give feed back.

I had an amazing experience. The Tour was extremely well organised, well paced, informative and really exhilarating! I feel proud of my Islamic heritage and would strongly recommend this tour to Muslims and non Muslims alike. I would like to give special recognition to our tour guide Tariq, who was incredibly patient, knowledgeable and very friendly. I feel we had a unique experience, being able to meet Muslims indigenous to the region.

Thank you for a wonderful experience, may Allah reward you for all your efforts

Nazma Noor

Experiences of a lifetime

“
Salamu Allicom Brother Tariq,

I hope you and the family are doing well. I sincerely apologize for the late response. Here is my review of the tour (I have also attached a photo of myself because if I remember correctly, you had asked us to send one along with the reviews):

This tour has definitely been the most educational and incredible experience of my life so far. I had an absolutely amazing time and learned so much. The tour was so incredibly organized and professional. They took excellent care of us and arranged for wonderful accommodations in Spain and in Morocco. I truly enjoyed every single moment of this tour, from the informative presentations to the historical sights, to the wonderful people that I was able to meet. The way we were able to study and experience our Islamic heritage was unbelievable. I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of this amazing journey. Brother Tariq was a wonderful tour guide, and was honestly the most patient man I have ever met. He was able to guide us throughout both countries with ease and answer any questions we had. I wholeheartedly recommend this tour to everyone! It is an amazing journey that everyone should experience.

Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help. Jazak Allah Khair.

Nada Rustom
“
Assalamualaikum,

I am writing in an attempt at expressing how extraordinary the past week has been for me. Honestly, my expectations were not high nor were my emotions prepared for what was to come. The structure of the ‘tour’ was well thought through and perfect for allowing the history and ideology to become ingrained in our mids and souls. I say ‘tour’ with inverted commas because I don’t like to call it simply a ‘tour’ as I feel it weakens the value of this heart wrenching and nourishing experience, it is much more than simply a sight seeing tour, you bring the history to life and Allah has graced you with a passion that cannot be missed. Not only did you do this to the highest extent, but you also allowed us the freedom to explore our sentiments and our subconscious affiliation with Al-andalus in a way that has allowed me, personally, to begin to see things in a striking new light. It has increased my yearning to improve my Deen and work towards my goals for the future for the sake of Allah and the Muslim Ummah. There is so much more that I am able to say, but for now all I will say is that it has been a truly life changing week and has been a trigger in not only wanting to learn about our heritage as muslims, but also a start in getting to know who I am.

I am not used to writing so sentimentally, but your kindness was truly heartening and I am incredibly excited to work with you in the future if any opportunities arise InshaAllah. Please forgive me if I have done you any wrong on this trip or caused any annoyance at all.
Ramadan Kareem and I hope you find this month blessed.

JazakAllahu Kahairan,

Shaheeb Khateeb
“
I had such an amazing experience in Spain and Morocco. I was introduced to this tour by taking the Western Sunrise class taught by Sheikh Abdullah Hakim Quick through Al Maghrib Institute. When he’d first mentioned it, it sounded like a nice escape; being able to see new things, all revolving around my own Muslim heritage. When we reached our first location, it was at that point that I’d realized the class felt incomplete. Incomplete without being able to actually see the very subjects Sheikh Hakim spoke of. Studying our background history with bits of fun planted at each turn ended up changing my first thought of the Trip. The ‘believe it when you see it’ phrase should be able to describe my feelings towards seeing the wonderful cities and islamic landmarks that depicted our history.

Even after returning home, I still can’t fully describe how it felt to simply look at a building and wonder about the Brothers and Sisters I have never met from those ages. Alhamdulilah I’ve left this trip with a larger outlook on the actual muslim ummah of our past generations. Suffice it to say, the entire trip made for what could arguably be the most enriching experience in my life.

Also, I want to say thank you again to our tour guide Br Tariq who was absolutely amazing. He had made sure we were all safe and comfortable; but what made his actions heart-warming was that he sincerely wanted us all to enjoy the trip to its fullest extent. He wanted to make sure we wouldn’t worry about being away from family in an unknown territory. His intention was duly noted and highly appreciated. I would suppose that could be considered the ‘Icing on the Cake’ for the entire experience.

I highly recommend this tour for anyone interested in broadening their Islamic horizon, and inshallah I hope Allah (SWT) allows me to enjoy this experience again in the near future.

Jazakullah Khair

Muna Canada

Discover the art of travel

“
Start to finish, the Heritage Tour and Moroccan tour were incredible experiences that I’d recommend to anyone. In Spain, Islamic history was brought to life by excellent teachers and guides who were able to expand our knowledge, broaden our vision and touch our hearts with their narratives. We were shown many aspects of Spain’s history, including proud moments that inspired us and painful moments that humbled and cautioned us. We heard stories about the day to day lives of Muslims in Islamic Spain, from the very rich to the poor, and about what happened to their descendants; the stories strengthened our faith in the vitality of Islam and also reminded us to be grateful for the blessing of Islam. Andalucian Routes was able to offer this experience to us through their knowledge of Islamic history, familiarity with Islamic heritage sites and deep connections to Spanish Muslims. Hard to believe that any other tour company could offer the same experience, by the Grace of God.

In Morocco, we were shown Islamic heritage sites and taken through famous cities and markets. as well as to the Atlas mountains, which were stunning – not to be missed. Feels like we were given a true taste of Morocco with this tour. We thoroughly enjoyed it!

The entire trip was smooth and seamless; Andalucian Routes ensured that we had amazing hotels, food and transport. Fellow travellers and I were astounded at the way in which it was organized and presented. Andalucian Routes knows the art of travel!

Asma Maryam Ali
“
Salam Alaikum to everyone,

It was a wonderful experience in Al Andalusia with Tariq Brother. Amazing place and highly recommended to everyone, who is interested (Regardless religion and ethnicity) to know about height and decline of a civilization should visit there.
Islamic Spain is a lesson which effectively changed my previous understanding with Islam. I have promised myself to visit this place once more in near future Insha Allah. This place have spirituality which makes you feel like home. I would strongly recommend to Muslim parents to send their kids in youth leadership program.
At the end thanks to Tariq brother and his team to put their efforts in this great cause.

Many wishes from Germany

Umair Rana
“
This tour has definitely been the most educational and incredible experience of my life so far. I had an absolutely amazing time and learned so much. The tour was so incredibly organized and professional. They took excellent care of us and arranged for wonderful accommodations in Spain and in Morocco. I truly enjoyed every single moment of this tour, from the informative presentations to the historical sights, to the wonderful people that I was able to meet. The way we were able to study and experience our Islamic heritage was unbelievable. I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of this amazing journey. Brother Tariq was a wonderful tour guide, and was honestly the most patient man I have ever met. He was able to guide us throughout both countries with ease and answer any questions we had. I wholeheartedly recommend this tour to everyone! It is an amazing journey that everyone should experience.

Nadia Farooq
Customer

Over 18 years dedicated experience

I have, Alhamdulilah, been on so many different journeys & tours, but I honestly say this with all sincerity that really this has been the best journey of mine. A very emotional and overwhelming experience. In terms of morals & lessons from history, this one week has been mind blowing for ME!

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Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi

World Renowned Muslim Scholar

I have had the biggest blessing of being on this trip. It has been such a remarkable experience, I can’t even find the words yet I am a poet and a writer so that is very rare! I feel like I have been asleep for the past 22 years and I have just woken up! I feel an immense responsibility to tell the world, why do we not know about this?

“

Amal Ahmed Albaz

Poet, Writer & Speaker

A Global Reach

Traveling with Andalucian Routes was such a wonderful experience. I came in with very little knowledge of what to expect and was pleasantly surprised with all of the activities planned out for us. I enjoyed learning about Islamic history from the locals and exploring all of the beautiful and diverse landscapes of Andalucia.

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Saima Akhtar
Me and my sister went for the September tour, as our first holiday in Europe. Got to say it was memorable. We went to many beautiful places and we met wonderful people on the tour group which was amazing. We also met the Muslim community of the towns we visited which was awesome. Our tour guide was very kind and showed us around to all the cool places as well, even when we were not doing the tour and went to hang out afterwards. I would recommend this organisation to everyone, it was not regrettable!

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Rehana Shafique
Very well arranged ! Our guide and driver was very efficient and punctual. He was very accommodating to our needs and a safe and excellent driver. His planning covered everything we wanted to see. He made our trip very enjoyable and comfortable. He also added a personal touch by taking us to a friend’s farm where we had delicious home cooked food and warm hospitality.

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Noor Ahmed

Life Changing Experiences

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I was a bit hesitant to book this tour at first but I am so glad I did. I had the pleasure of being part of
Tariq Mahmood’s tour group and had one of the most amazing experiences. Along with the usual,
extremely beautiful tourist hunts, we also got to experience the local Muslim culture and had the
opportunity to dine with a local Muslim family. Everyone we met that was associated with this company
was extremely kind and open. This was definitely an unforgettable experience and I highly recommend
booking a tour through Halal Getaway’s, you definitely won’t regret it!

Usman Farooq
”
Probably one of the best ways to explore Andalucia, san a private tour! Qaaym was attentive while booking the tour; he was a great help with prompt suggestions and kind feedback. Our guide Mohammad Abdullah was incredible. He was friendly, helpful, kind, and very lovely. My mother and I joined the trip, and at one point we faced some health issues. Abdullah was very helpful; he helped us explore our options, and spoke on the phone in Spanish whenever we couldn’t find someone who spoke English. He made sure to check up on us and see that everything is settled. The driver was competent and lovely himself. The tour itself was well-organized, informative and entertaining. Hotels and transportation were excellent. Overall, great value for the trip and I have already recommended Andalucian Routes to family and friends.

Shebaaz Iqbal