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★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Bulgaria
Trekking the Ridges & Summits of Bulgaria
We all fell in love with Bulgaria and its beautiful and spectacular Rila and Pirin mountain ranges. The hiking was varied and awesome everyday and sometimes with tough sections. What made this trip truly special and memorable was our mountain guide Maya. She was so friendly and enthusiastic and really supportive. Nothing was too much trouble for her. She was super organised and very knowledgeable about the geography, flora and fauna, and the history and culture of Bulgaria. It was a joy and a p leasure spending the week with Maya. A big thank you from us all - Poppy, Tilly, Barney and Dave
By David from London | 28 June 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Magnificent experience
One Week Mount Toubkal Trek
My partner and I were the sole trekkers on the week long Toukbal trek, we were greeted by our young guide Houbs. We then headed for the High Atlas, throughout the trek Houbs and his colleagues (cook and muleteer) were exemplary, Houbs was particularly knowledgeable, supportive and funny. This helped make our experience a very memorable one. The trek itself was tough but much as we expected. My partner suffered with altitude sickness but still managed to reach the summit. Just one change I wou ld suggest is to try and reduce the final trekking day, we spent around 6 hours climbing and descending Toubkal then after lunch we walked for over 6 hours to Imlil which in my opinion was slightly excessive. But the overall experience was first class, the scenery is amazing and the people very warm and friendly.
By Colin from Newcastle | 27 June 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Lovely week of cycling, eating and wine
Self-Guided Cycling in Italy - The Prosecco Tour
This was a lovely week of cycling in the Italian countryside, we really enjoyed riding through the pretty rural landscapes with the backdrop of the Tyrolean foothills, eating lots of delicious Italian food and sampling the local wines. We changed the days around a little from the itinerary as described, to factor in the weather forecast and also the limited opening times of Villa Emo (entry included - totally worth the visit!). This worked really well, it was great to have the flexibility to do this. The only day of cycling that was set was the day when we were transferred with our bikes to Valdobbiane for the ride from the Prosecco Hills. We were thankful for having upgraded to e-bikes for the couple of climbs on this day! We found a great winery very close to the route on the Piave River day - the family-run Anna Spinato Winery (www.spinato.it) - here we were welcomed by Anna and had a great time sampling some of her produce! Our panniers were a little heavier with a couple of bottles of their excellent Prosecco after this visit... we didn't book in advance, but it would be worth checking out their opening times online to time your visit (we found that many places shut around lunchtime so didn't manage many other winery visits over the week). The hotel Relais Monaco was lovely, staff were friendly and welcoming, and we enjoyed the included tasting of the wines from their own vineyard! We also opted to enjoy the hotel spa one evening for a spot of relaxation.
By Mei from Windermere | 20 June 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
A “Winter” Ascent of Mont Blanc … in June!
Climb Mont Blanc
What an epic and hugely rewarding trip this turned out to be! Our (simply brilliant) main guide, Etienne, had made a number of previous ascents of Mont Blanc, as you’d expect, but he believed he’d never known it so cold as on our summit-attempt day, even on the winter ascents of the mountain he’d made in the past. Closed “uplifts” / “down-lifts” that necessitated some very long days with large amounts of additional ascent and descent compared to the itinerary; almost unpreceden ted amounts of snow for the time of the year with a snow line much lower than normal; unrelenting high winds and very low temperatures on summit day - all these things conspired to turn our venture into, what Etienne described as, “a full winter mountaineering ascent of Mont Blanc” (due to the conditions) … by what he termed “fair means” (due to the closed uplifts / down-lifts and resultant very significant additional amounts of ascent and descent). All I know is that these things turned an already tough trip into a gruelling but immensely rewarding epic that I will never forget! Apparently, only twenty percent of attempts on the summit succeeded on the day we made our summit attempt: we were lucky enough to get three out of the five of us successfully on the summit, and I was lucky enough to be one of the successful ones. I’ve undertaken some very tough challenges over the years, but I think the weather, the conditions, and the significant additional ascent and descent all made this, very likely, the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life - and simply BRILLIANT for it (in hindsight … after I’d started to recover a little bit!) Our guides were top-notch. Our main guide (Etienne) was our sole guide during the acclimatisation part of the trip - always vigilant for our safety, but fabulous at motivating us in the face of the significant challenges, and a great fella to boot. Etienne was joined by two other guides for the summit attempt - Bruno and Didier, giving the group a ratio of at least one guide to every two of us. Bruno and Didier were clearly hugely experienced and great guys to be with. The huts were surprisingly good, although dormitories are dormitories - expect a lot of snoring (ear plugs are essential) and not the greatest of nights’ sleep. However, food at the huts was just fantastic - and they all catered well for vegetarians. And the hotel used in Chamonix (La Faucigny) is a great little hotel with character, charm, a superb central location and the most amazing breakfasts. The acclimatisation programme seemed to work very well. For this, we crossed glaciers and a high col over into Switzerland where we spent the night at a hut that had just that day reopened (late, due to the large amounts of snow), then returned back over the high col into France the next day. The additional amounts of ascent and descent at the beginning and end of this due to the closed uplifts / down-lifts possibly made this acclimatisation even more effective. If you’re genuinely open to being flexible in relation to itinerary changes due to weather, conditions, etc, then this is an absolutely fabulous trip to go for. And the ability to eat amazing cakes and drink fabulous coffee in Chamonix at the end of your endeavours is fantastic too! A fabulous, fabulous adventure!
By Adrian from Leeds | 13 June 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
A unique experience not to be missed
Lake Khuvsgul Dog Sled Adventure
Circumnavigating Lake Khuvsgul with Joel and team and those wonderful Huskies, was incredible. When I first arrived at the Lake with us all, I thought Kim what are you doing and within an hour sledding on the lake I thought this is amazing. Joel was so supportive in teaching us how to use the sleds and work with the dogs, his team were brilliant and felt part of the team, but not as hard working of course. Heading north towards the mountains on the border was inspiring each day getting closer. I enjoyed when the sledding was at times a bit technical with the effect of the wind and the lakes surface changes, we were lucky the weather which was perfect, as long as I dressed well the cold was fine. Actually at night in the tents we were well looked after with one of the team stoking the fire. After a great day sledding, I was surprised to be able to go for a walk each day enjoying the lakeside landscape which varied a lot. Of course the team had set up the tent before we arrived, or our ger was waiting. It was all action and fascinating to experience the arrival each day of a new camp site, first priority was the dogs, and then wood to be cut, fires started and cooking. Each evening was social, with stories from Joel and aperitif before dinner, we were well fed and everything was taken into consideration. Heading south along the lakes east shore the border mountains were slowly getting further away. We arrived to base with memories of an unforgettable experience. I believe most people could do this trip as along as you have the right gear, and what an experience.
By Kim from Scotland | 06 June 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Victoria Falls to Cape Town Bike Epic
Victoria Falls to Cape Town
This trip has a varied itinerary with enough cycling to satisfy the need for activity. Some of the gravel cycling was tough with corrugation, rockiness and sand, at times all at once. Overall, the hilly sections of the trip were comfortable to do with a good fitness level. The guides were flexible with each day's cycling details in order to accommodate everyone. I had a flat tire three days in a row. The guides were very good at fixing problems, especially the effects of the sand/dust. Arriving a day early allowed for a better experience of Vic Falls (still with high water in May) and enjoy the beautiful pool at Shearwater campground. Some of the Botswana scenery became a bit monotonous, but there were wildlife sightings that compensated for this (including a herd of 6 ostriches racing beside and across the road). The safaris were great (as good or better than a Masai Mara safari week that I had done in the past). An elephant crossing the Chobe river was truly memorable. After a switchback downhill on day 9, the scenery with late day light was magical. Taking the time to stop for photos was very worthwhile. (If you bring a camera, have a backup: the sand caused my camera to seize up mid-way through the trip). We drove to Dune 45 on Day 11 for the sunrise and some of us cycled back the 60 km in a headwind (challenging but I thought it was worthwhile). None of us cycled from camp to the Fish River canyon viewpoint on Day 14, with no regrets when we saw the condition of the road on driving there. The optional 50km ride and the canoeing both on day 16 are to be highly recommended. The day 18 petroglyphs and nearby rock caves were fabulous (we skipped the Maltese Cross hike). The camping was in very large tents, and the food was amazing (great cooking by the guides). Baboons got into our tents at Ai-Ais: a small lock would be advisable for the tent zippers. The final cycling day via Chapman's Peak was amazing! We only had a bit of rain on one day. The highest temperature was 35 degrees (heat exhaustion for me on day 12 and I gave up by 1 pm after 3 hours of nausea). Electrolyte tabs with magnesium are a very good idea for the hot conditions. Our small group all stayed an extra day in Cape Town to climb Lion's Head (there were ladders, chains and scrambling only near the top, but this section was not for this chicken), then Table Mountain (Platteklip Gorge route--steep but no exposure), very recommended. This trip can be a challenge at times, but it's worth it.
By Johanne from Canada | 04 June 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Everest Base Camp/ Marathon
Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon

First class organisation,all the staff who were controlled by Raj were first class.Everything was great,the trek up ,acclimatisation was spot on,the whole experience was great and then the Marathon was superb and very well organised

By Philip from Wales | 01 June 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Always well organised and as described in notes
Self-Guided Cycling in Puglia

Excellent well planned holiday. Hotels of a good standard and bike service excellent. Variety of scenery and quiet roads

By Cara from Chester | 22 May 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
A company I trust
Self-Guided Greece: The Menalon Trail

Second time I have travelled with KE and I have found it just as good and well organised as the first. Certainly a company I trust. Highlights incude: Discovering new places, reasonably challenging, unspoiled villages and nature.

By Chris from Keighley | 22 May 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
A Rewarding Spiritual Experience
Self-Guided Camino: The Portuguese Way
Unlike KE trekking adventures of grade level 7 and above which have plenty of physical and mental challenges, this long-distance pilgrimage walk is a spiritual and religious experience that offers something unique and complementary. People from all walks of life, fit and not-that-fit, slim and not-that-slim, old and young, dedicated a good chunk of their lives to this classic pilgrim’s route for the common goal of reaching Santiago by walking day after day rain or shine, one step at a time. We had several rainy days in a row, typical in this coastal region of Portugal and Spain, which made the walk somewhat harder.

The provided GPS track was definitely a plus, even though the Camino signs along the way were clear and frequent most of the time. The program’s variety of accommodations gave us a good dose of the exposures of Portugal and Spain alike. We liked the Portugal’s section better as the people there were friendlier and excellent foods were better/cheaper in general.

Planning wise, a worthy addition would be to spend an extra day in Porto prior to the self-guided walk and another day in Santiago after.

Room for improvements: (1) Some of the provided info was out of date, e.g. Stage 3’s lunch stop recommendation no longer had restaurants open and we had to keep walking, and Stage 3’s overnight accommodation stopped serving dinner after the lodge’s owner change. (2) It would be more convenient and useful if the end-to-end GPS track (a gpx file) is divided into 12 separate GPS tracks, one for each of the 12 stages.
By Jin from Lisle | 20 May 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Fabulous Lycian Way!
The Lycian Way
What a fabulous trip! The Lycian Way ticked all the boxes, sunshine, great scenery, swimming in the sea, great food and really good accommodation. Turkey is a beautiful country, the people are friendly, the coastline is simply stunning, and the food is great with plenty of fresh colourful salads and mezze dishes for vegetarians and vegans (don't worry, there was plenty of fresh fish for the meat eaters). I was surprised at how good the accommodation was, especially the two nights we spent at Cir ali and Ucagiz. The scenery and terrain was very varied each day and swimming in the sea at the end of a walk is a must. The only slight disappointment for me was that we didn't get to spend much time looking round the ancient site at Olympus. In the trip notes it suggests there is time to explore the site and to wander between the hidden ruins, but we only really had time to take a few photos while we walked through to the start of the trail. Thank you KE - this really was a fabulous walking holiday!
By Julia from Chesterfield | 14 May 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Beautiful trails, majestic mountains and great food
Self-Guided Greece: The Menalon Trail
This was such a great self-guided trip. Just excellent!

Firstly, the trip has a fundamental (for me, at least) feature: it’s point to point to point. That is, you walk from your accommodation each morning to your next evening’s accommodation, with no transfers at the end or beginning of each day’s walk. In my experience, this makes the trip far, far more enjoyable and satisfying, as you feel like you are walking a trail for the entire trip, rather than it feeling like a series of day walks that you are ferried to / from each day. Having done both kinds of self-guided walking trips, this makes a huge difference to the enjoyability of the trip.

The landscape of the Peloponnese region that the Menalon Trail runs through is simply stunning. The scale of the landscape, the mountains, the valleys, the forests and the “big sky” are amazing. If your idea of Greece is the Greek Islands, well it is nothing like that - the Peloponnese has a beauty all of its own.

And it is so quiet! Maybe we were lucky; maybe it was the time of the year we did the trip (5th May to 12th May), but the Menalon Trail was amazingly quiet. On the first day, from Stemnitsa to Demitsana, we did see a few people around the two monasteries visited en-route, as they are a bit of a tourist attraction, and perhaps most relevantly, it was Orthodox Easter Bank Holiday Monday. But on the remaining five days of walking we saw nobody else on the trail … all day … not a soul!

The trail itself is incredibly well maintained. There was the odd little section that was very slightly overgrown, but to be honest, that’s being picky, and the vast, vast majority (“99.5%”) was just perfect. And well way-marked too. In fact, on the odd occasion where the GPS guidance went a bit “sketchy”, we could always rely upon the way-marking.

Talking of GPS, I thought the local agent-provided navigation app (ActiveNav) was not great, to be honest. Instead, we used the GPX files KE provided, and just loaded them into OutdoorActive, and that worked just great. I can’t comment on the quality of the route notes, as we never used / needed them: the combination of OutdoorActive with KE-provided GPX files and the trail way-marking worked perfectly well.

The KE website mentions encountering dogs on some parts of the trail, and the fact that an (electronic) dog deterrent device is provided for the trip by the Menalon Trail administrators. Please, please do not let this put you off the trip. We had no problems with dogs whatsoever - absolutely none (and in fact we’ve had more in the way of problems with dogs in Spain and Turkey on self-guided walking trips). I suspect it’s just the Menalon Trail administrators who are so keen to ensure the quality of the trail and a great experience completing it, that they’re perhaps exhibiting an over-abundance of caution.

At the time of the year we did the trip (5th May to 12th May), the wild flowers were simply stunning, and almost a constant companion on the trail. The variety of landscape passed through was fabulous - rugged mountains, deep gorges, beautiful (and huge) forests, alpine-like meadows. Just fantastic, and all without seeing a single (human) soul all day!

The accommodation on the trip was fabulous. Every night’s accommodation was fantastic - and the breakfasts were just incredible (you could very easily come away from this walking holiday having put on weight!). A couple of tips here:

- The trip notes say that there is only one place to eat in Elati. This isn’t actually correct (and the suggested tavern looked pretty awful and gets very “meh” reviews on TripAdvisor). There is in fact an absolutely superb little cafe-cum-restaurant-cum-bistro right slap-bang in the middle of Elati, right on the bend opposite the church - you can’t miss it. They do lovely freshly made pizza margarita, and waffles with chocolate and ice cream, the setting is lovely, the owner is super-friendly (and they have the most beautiful dog!). They only stay open until about 7pm, but you will be there well, well before that. Also, not mentioned in the trip notes, but that night’s accommodation in Elati (the fantastic Elati Chalet) has what they call a “coffee bar” (which is lovely) and they’ll make you a fresh pizza if you ask them, as late as 10pm!

- At Nymfasia, there is only one tavern, and it’s about 1.5 miles away from the accommodation (the excellent Agropolis Xenonas) … and the tavern in question looks pretty ropey and doesn’t get the best of reviews. Agropolis Xenonas will give you a lift to / from the tavern if you need one, but the better option (not mentioned in the trip notes) is to phone ahead first thing in the morning and ask Agropolis Xenonas if they will cook you an evening meal! We did this, and had the most lovely, hearty home-cooked meal, including a Greek salad that was the best I’ve ever had! (You will need cash though - and you will need to phone them that morning to give them some notice).

In terms of food, we had some simply stunning meals on this trip. And, although I’m not vegetarian, I think you could easily eat vegetarian all trip and still eat fantastically (we in fact ate vegetarian a number of nights).

Not important to many people, but important to us: I have to admit, the coffee en-route was pretty awful. It wasn’t until we got to Valtesiniko at the end of the penultimate day of walking that we found good coffee, at the fabulous and cute Valtesiniko Cafe (which does flat whites and also does fantastic chocolate soufflé puddings with ice cream - I ate two of them!). Coffee on the trip was universally expensive (surprisingly, even though food and meals were cheap) - expect to pay circa €4 a cup (which is painful when it’s also pretty awful).

Weather-wise, be prepared for anything. We had wall-to-wall sunshine some days, a couple of cloudier days, and even a finish of one day’s walk in the rain. Early May, it was quite cool at night, particularly in the higher villages, and it got down to low single digits Celsius - which meant the warm, cosy accommodation (a number of them with wood-burning stoves or open fireplaces in the rooms, with lots of wood and kindling) was so enjoyable.

By the way, luggage transfers every day worked like clockwork. For peace of mind, perhaps just confirm with the accommodation when you arrive that your luggage will be picked up the next day and where it’s going to - but just about every time, the accommodation beat me to that question upon checking-in.

It’s a simply brilliant trip. I’ve done a number of self-guided walking trips, and they’ve been great, but this one is the first one where I felt like I could come back and do the exact same trip again - in fact, maybe I will!
By Adrian from Leeds | 13 May 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Great Experience
Annapurna Sanctuary and Poon Hill Trek
You are warned, and it's true. there are lots of steps - so get practicing on those stairs at home :-) The trekking was great and the scenery is out of this world. Amazing to see these majestic mountains rising up into the sky even when you are already standing at 4,000m. We had a super guide in Sujan, always with a smile and very proud and knowledgeable about his home country of Nepal. Our Lodges were basic (as you would expect) but the food was always good and if you peek into their kitchens - they are immaculate. If you get the chance to have a cappuccino at Himalaya - go for it - it is amazing. Our flight back to Kathmandu was cancelled due to poor visibility and we had a most 'entertaining' 10hr trip by road - taken with the right attitude - it's an experience for all your senses!
By Frances from Switzerland | 08 May 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
😊
Annapurna Sanctuary and Poon Hill Trek

Amazing

By Nicholas from Market Drayton | 07 May 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Family Egypt Adventure Holiday
Family Egypt Adventure Holiday
I wanted to write to say a huge thank you for once again providing an amazing experience to my family and I. We all had a fabulous time, met some lovely new friends and were thoroughly impressed by our knowledgeable and kind - guide Ahmed. From the majesty of the pyramids to ballooning over the temple of Hatshepsut. From the joy and excitement on the streets at the end of Ramadan to the calm peace of canoeing by the Aswan dam, and from being hosted for fabulous meals by families on Elephan tine Island and again in Luxor to snorkelling in the clear waters of the red sea - we could not have asked for more. We can’t wait for the next adventure…
By Michael from Wirral, UK | 07 May 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Excellent week in the Atlas Mountains
Mount Toubkal in Winter
This was our second trip with KE, having previously completed EBC in 2022. As expected the logistics and communication with KE was excellent, with smooth airport pick up and hotel process. We opted to spend an extra couple of nights in Marakech, which is an "interesting" place to say the least - certainly a big difference to the Atlas Mountains! Our guide: Lahcen, was excellent and he was one of the stand out points of the trip. The hiking in the Atlas Mountains was incredible, with beautiful s cenery and some acclimatization hikes, which were quite strenuous. The food and hospitality was excellent throughout the trip. The trek to Toubkal itself was challenging, and hiking poles are a definite must, but the views at the top are stunning and there were minimal people at the summit. Just a heads up, that KE merged our trip with a French tour company, so we were placed in a group of 7 French people, which we weren't expecting. This did create a different vibe in the down time/ evenings, compared with our previous trip to Nepal. The group was very friendly, and we did practice our limited French skills. We weren't aware of this possibility when we booked, so wanted to make other people aware that this can happen. Thank you again KE for another incredible adventure, where to next....
By Charlotte from United Kingdom | 28 April 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
A varied and beautiful trek - with a fantastic guide
Gosainkund and Langtang Trek
This was our first trek in Nepal, and will certainly not be our last! The route was very varied, with the first part climbing through terraces and forests towards the ever-present mountains south of Langtang. Thanks to the well-planned route and steady ascent, there were no problems with altitude going over the Laurebina La - and the long descent into the more Tibetan region of the Lantang valley gives fantastic views. The climb up by the Langtang Kola is different again, and the upper valley ar ound Tianjin Gompa is stunning. Do try to climb up Tserko Ri if the weather and fitness permit - the views are stunning! The trek was made especially enjoyable because of the fantastic leadership of our guide Raja - knowledgeable, incredibly helpful but also just great company - and the team of porters and assistant guides. Overall an excellent introduction to trekking in Nepal, and a lot quieter than some of the more famous routes (from what we understand).
By Keith from London | 20 April 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Great 12 day trek close to Kathmandu
Gosainkund and Langtang Trek
A varied and interesting 12 day trek, which was very well organised, with a friendly and supportive group of 10 trekkers. Raj is an award winning guide, who lived up to his reputation as a capable, well-informed and considerate leader, ably supported by assistants Singhi and Bhupal, and the amazing team of six porters. The optional ascent of Tsergo Ri was a highlight for me, with stunning panoramic views at the summit, and my first time using crampons, needed due to the ice and snow underfoot in the higher sections. But there were plenty of other moments of awe and wonder in this highly engaging mountain environment. The food on the trek was vegetarian, tasty and plentiful - this would also be a good trek, food wise, for vegans. Some of the tea houses are basic, as described, so be prepared to go without hot water for a few days at a time, and to share squat toilets with the rest of the group - good for the leg muscles, but not always the nose. The hotel in Kathmandu was very comfortable, especially so at the end of the trek. There’s not a lot of spare time in Kathmandu unless you add on days at the beginning or end. Most of us had been trekking in Nepal before and most were also envisioning future trips, so this trip is a great addition to anyone’s Himalayan experience.
By Tim from Wiltshire | 20 April 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Enthralling trip to a wonderful country
Oman Adventure Trekking
This relatively short trip provided a myriad of experiences from a jaw dropping Mosque to fabulous wild walking to amazing isolated campsites to sensational swimming spots. Muscat is a fascinating city and the newly constructed Mosque is one of the world’s great religious buildings. I’ll never look at a chandelier in the same way again! The walking is relatively straightforward but the second 2 day trek is quite challenging especially in the heat we experienced…..4a.m. breakfasts necessary to start walking at first light. The savage wonderful scenery more than makes up for it but hydration is a very big issue and needs to be attended to scrupulously…..minimum 4 litres per day. The campsites were absolutely fabulous and a definite highlight of the trip…..the desert camp probably the pick of a superb bunch. For me, a definite high point was the swimming with several idyllic swimming spots culminating in the last day leading through the narrow gap into a huge “cave” with waterfall….loved it. Daniel our guide was brilliant and no praise high enough for our 2 drivers……you’d go a long way to get better off road driving experiences. Guide and driver also dealt with camping/cooking etc and were often on the go from 2a.m. until 10 in the evening. A point to bear in mind is travelling during Ramadan as we found several sites in the itinerary were closed. Also I feel consideration should be given to having an assistant guide especially if it was a large group. All in all this was a fabulous trip and highly recommended.
By John from Hawick, Scotland | 19 April 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Fabulous!
Self-Guided Walking in Catalonia
This has been such a fabulous self-guided walking trip. We’ve done a few such trips - all good - but this one in Cataluña has been the best of all of them.

1. For us, walking from our hotel in the morning to the next night’s hotel, every day and without any transfers whatsoever, was a real strength of this trip. It felt like a constant walking journey spread over a week of walking rather than a series of day walks.

2. The part of France in question - La Cô te Vermeille - is so beautiful. Collioure is a fabulous little town (I wish we’d booked an extra night there). It’s so pretty. Incidentally, the circular walk from Collioure on Day 1 is worth doing, if you have time, ie if you arrive in Collioure in time. Note though that our room in the hotel was not ready until 2pm, so we couldn’t start the circular walk until after that. No hardship - we sat and ate waffles and drank coffee in the beautiful harbour.

3. Crossing over into Spain, and the Costa Brava was fantastic … as is often the case, the scenery “knows” there’s a border, and it subtly changes.

4. The walking was fantastic. Wherever there was a choice of a mountain route or a coastal route for the day, we chose the mountain route, and overall I’d say that made it fairly graded as a “5” on KE’s difficulty scale. The walking was a mixture of different types of trail, from asphalt at one end of the spectrum to scrambling at the other, with everything in-between. However, the sections on asphalt were beautiful and very, very quiet, and the scrambling was never tricky enough to cause any problems whatsoever for someone without scrambling experience.

5. We got a bit of a “surprise” with the last proper day’s hike from La Port de La Selva to Cadaqués. It’s the longest day distance-wise, and we thought it would therefore be across easier terrain, but it was actually on some quite hard going (rocky) terrain at times. Note that although the navigation app for the trip states that there is nowhere to get a drink or food en-route on this day, there is in fact a great little bar at the lighthouse that serves coffee, cold drinks and sandwiches.

6. We didn’t bother using the trip notes for navigation whatsoever, and instead used the provided app (“Roadbook For Discovery”). The app worked perfectly well, and meant that we could enjoy the walking without having to constantly refer to route notes. I also uploaded the GPX files provided by KE to OutdoorActive in case the Roadbook app proved not to be any good, but I never needed to resort to using OutdoorActive - Roadbook worked perfectly well.

7. Food-wise, this trip was great! We had some amazing tapas and meals, and with a couple of exceptions where the hotel breakfasts were a bit “average”, the breakfasts were fabulous (despite being half Spanish myself, I have to admit the breakfasts were generally better in France than in Spain).

8. In terms of eating out, I’d recommend the following where we had terrific meals, coffees, cakes, etc:

Collioure: L’Ambiance Chez Simone La Cafetière Catalan
Banyuls-Sur-Mer: Le Corsaire
Cerbere: La Coba
Llanca: El Floc (doesn’t take bookings)
El Port de la Selva: Can Pepitu
Cadaques: Es.Fornet. Blau Bar

9. The accommodation was good (pains me to say it was fantastic in France; good but not as good in Spain). Special mention goes to La Close St Andre in Banyuls-sur-mer which was fantastically rustic with a slightly unpolished charm and a fabulous breakfast. At the Hotel La Vigie in Cerbere, we paid a supplement at reception to get a room with a balcony. Given the fabulous view, and having seen a room without a balcony that we were initially booked in, it was well, well worth the €55 extra.

10. Even in mid-April, it was getting hot in the mountains. Often, it was dead-calm even high up in the mountains. BUT the wind is notorious (it even has a name that escapes me), and when it does blow, OMG it is amazingly strong. Make sure you pack a wind-proof jacket!
By Adrian from Leeds | 17 April 2024
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