Guided walking holidays in Catalonia, Spain
| country: | Spain |
| location: | Catalonia |
| trip type: | Introductory, moderate, guided walking holidays |
| departures: | 2008: 5 Oct, 19 Oct, 2 Nov, 15 Nov, 29 Nov, 13 Dec 2009: 10 Jan, 24 Jan, 7 Feb, 21 Feb, 7 Mar, 21 Mar, 4 Apr, 18 Apr, 2 May, 16 May, 19 Sep, 3 Oct, 17 Oct, 31 Oct, 14 Nov, 28 Nov, 12 Dec |
| price: | From £599 - £649 (8 days) excluding flights. Price includes: Accommodation, breakfast, pack lunch, evening meal (excluding drinks), airport transfer (Girona Airport) and all guided walks |
the amazing things you'll be doing
During your holiday with us you’ll be walking in the breathtakingly beautiful region of northern Catalonia. Framed by the Pyrenees, northern Catalonia has many different faces. Within a relatively short distance, you have the stunningly beautiful mountain range of the Pyrenees, and then the warm volcanic hills of the Garrotxa National Park give way to a more gently rolling landscape coated with olive groves, vineyards and woods of cork oaks. Cross the final ridge before the coast of the Costa Brava, and you discover yet another scene, wonderful rocky coves, stunning sandy bays and the rugged Cape Creus headland. To walk here is a revelation.
Our accommodation for these guided walking holidays in Catalonia is situated in the beautiful historic medieval town of Castelló d`Empuriés. Located in the heart of the village built on the ruins of the former home of the Count of Castello, Casa Clara offers all the comforts to make your stay on our holiday a memorable one. Each of the uniquely designed rooms is fitted with fully reversible air conditioning and all have en-suite bathrooms. They offer lovely views of the village. In the evenings we sit down as a group and enjoy a meal at one of our favourite restaurants, we choose a different restaurant every night. It’s a time to sit down and relax, reflect on the days walking, to have a laugh and to enjoy each others company.
Below is a sample of the kind of walks you’ll be doing on the holiday. We do change our walks on a regular basis, sometimes because we find new even more exciting routes, sometimes due to the weather conditions, for example if there is a north wind, one of our walks up or along a south facing slope is far more enjoyable.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival. Arrival at Girona Airport, where you will be transferred to your accommodation. Once settled in you will have an orientation tour and introduction to the history of village. |
| Day 2: | Cap de Norfeu 6 hours. Accent 280m. Today will start with one of the most wonderful coastal walks in the region. This is a beautiful trail that we believe fulfils every walker's hopes and dreams. This stunning coastal walk starts at Cala Monjoi and traverses the coastal slopes to Cala Joncols. We make an excursion on the way to the Cap de Norfeu, a rocky promontory reaching far into the sea. |
| Day 3: | Sant Quirze de Colera 6 hours. Accent 700m. Today we have an outstanding mountain and valley walk around the cloister of Sant Quirze de Colera. This Romanesque cloister is situated in a broad valley basin where the waters of numerous mountain streams collect. This circular walk along the ridge between Coll del Teixo and the Coll de Banyuls shows the many differing features of this section of the Serra de I’Albera nature reserve, and offers outstanding sweeping views to as far as the Canigou Massif. |
| Day 4: | The Zona Volcanica 6 hours. Accent 400m. Today we head more towards the Pyrenees. Only a few kilometers from the central axis of the Pyrenees our walk today takes us around a geological curiosity, a volcanic area with numerous volcanic domes, in the excellently preserved natural park "Zona Volcanica de la Garrotxa". The Garrotxa National park is one of the highlights of inland Catalonia. |
| Day 5: | Rest day. Today you can have an optional rest day, relax around the village of Castelló d`Empuriés or explore on your own the surrounding countryside. For those wanting something just a little different maybe you can try a tandem skydive! Our guide is also an instructor. |
| Day 6: | Punta del Cap de Creus 5.5 hours. Accent 150m. Today another glorious hike. A fantastic walk along an old trail from Cadaques to the lighthouse located on the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, the Cap de Creus. Most tourists drive there and miss out on the austere beauty of the scenic seaboard and it's rich variety of flora. We'll end up at the absolute tip of the Punta del Cap de Creus, with nothing left but the open sea in front and the fantastic formations of the ravaged cliffs behind. |
| Day 7: | Monestir Sant Pere de Rodes 4.5 hours. Accent 680m. Today a fabulous last walk before your departure tomorrow. Beautiful flowers and bewitching views over the northern Cap de Creus await you. We start in the hamlet of La Port de la Selva and make our way along a lovely trail which offers numerous opportunities for fantastic views of the coast, cliffs and mountains of the Northern Cap de Creus. We arrive at the spectacular Monestir Sant Pere de Rodes, then make our way up to the Castell de Sant Salvador de Verderra with it beautiful views over the bay of Roses. |
| Day 8: | Departure. Today after breakfast we shall arrange transfers back to Girona airport. Say goodbye to your new friends and start your trip home. |
how this holiday makes a difference
 Our guided walking holidays in Catalonia and tourism in general has benefited the local community immensely, without tourism many of the local restaurants, hotels, guest houses and craft shops would not exist, all of which employ local staff. Many of the younger generation have also stayed due to the employment tourism brings to the community. We only work in partnership with local suppliers. The bread we supply for the pack lunches are bought from the local bakery. We buy the fillings from the local market, grocer store and butchers. The accommodation is staffed by locals from the village and there food is sourced locally. We eat out every night as a group at a different restaurant; the restaurants are generally small family owned businesses who buy their produce locally. We believe our guest give a positive impact on the community. We encourage our guests to interact with the local community, this gives both the guests and locals the change to interact and embrace each other’s cultural differences. In order to limit the social impact of tourism all are guests are sent information packs about the local customs, religion, politics and history. We encourage our guests to visit local craft shops and to buy any provisions locally. Our group size varies from 6 to 16. In order to limit the social impact of tourism all are guests are given information about the local customs, religion, politics and history of the area. We believe our guests give a positive impact on the community. Tourism has benefited the local community immensely, without tourism many of the local restaurants, hotels, guest houses and craft shops would not exist, all of which employ local staff. Many of the younger generation have also stayed due to the employment tourism brings to the community. With regards to the environmental impact, during our walks we encourage all our guests to respect the local flora, fauna and wildlife and to act responsibly. We walk on designated paths and make sure no litter is left behind. The accommodation located in the heart of the village is built on the ruins of the former home of the Count of Castello and has been renovated by local tradesmen to a high standard using traditional materials. All of our business waste is recycled where possible through a local community initiative. All communication via fax is done electronically where possible, saving on paper. On arrival our guests are given information on recycling in the village. They are also given information in the form of a leaflet on how to minimize waste. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |