Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

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131 Reviews

4.9 out of 5

James Baxter

Reviewed March 2015

Challenging but rewarding!

This was a demanding but thoroughly enjoyable trip for a pair of novice walkers. It was our first ever walking holiday and as the trip loomed we were worried that we may have been a bit ambitious selecting a Moderate/Challenging trek despite doing a good amount of preparatory walking to get fit. The walking was tough with around 800-1000 metres of accent on each walk coupled to quite long days. A couple of our fellow travellers who had been on other ‘challenging’ grade trips mentioned that they thought this trek was more demanding. This is probably down to the fact that the terrain is very rocky and uneven in places and considerable sections of the walks were on rough trails which was quite hard on the feet. The ascents were generally not a problem and although hard work they were conducted at a civilised pace with everyone finding their own speed.

There is an excellent balance to the days which were very satisfying with the hard work being rewarded by some fantastic views over the surrounding area, which is totally unspoilt and a world away from the costal resorts of Alicante and Benidorm. More importantly (I think) there was a heavy emphasis on refreshments in the evenings with plenty of food, wine and beer which I don’t think anyone felt the least bit guilty about indulging in after a day’s toil in the hills.

The accommodation was very good. The first hotel was clean and basic with a good breakfast and dinner in the evenings. The second hotel, which I was expecting to be more remote and rustic, was Casa Roc in the lovely little village of Sella. This was a charming spot with clean and comfortable rooms and communal kitchen areas and terraces. The honesty bar with its seemingly inexhaustible supply of beer and wine was particularly popular. We didn’t find sharing facilities too much of an issue, we shared a bathroom with two other people and were quite happy to trade the earlier slot in the shower for an extra half hour in bed! The hosts Steve and Liz were very friendly and clearly work hard to keep their guests happy. Liz did a fantastic job producing delicious authentic Mediterranean meals for us in the evenings, no mean feat considering how many people she was catering for. Steve did an equally good job keeping the jugs of wine and the bread baskets topped up.

There were 14 people in our group and without exception everyone was friendly and sociable and for us this really made the holiday that extra bit special. There were people who were obviously more experienced and fitter than us but they were very supportive and encouraging, especially when we expressed doubts about joining the group on the last day for the climb to the 1408 metre summit.

Most Inspirational Moment

The last days walk to the summit of was definitely the hardest part of the trip but the sense of achievement and the views from the top were spectacular. Even Benidorm looked nice!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose is a fantastic guide and has a great sense of humour. He has a wealth of knowledge about the area and is obviously very passionate about it. It can’t be easy trying to keep 14 people organised and motivated but he did a great job. He encouraged people to take their time and didn’t pressurise people to go faster than they felt comfortable on the more difficult sections. On our free day he offered suggestions on what we could do and offered to organise transfers back from the costal town of Villajoyosa, and generally acted as mediator, translator and negotiator.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Walking poles and good strong boots with ankle support are a must if like me your knees don’t like going downhill. Also water was only available from springs on one of the five days of walking so take heed of the trip notes which advise you to bring two 1 litre bottles. The tap water from the hotels is perfectly safe to drink. Despite it being early March several of the days were pretty hot (by British standards) and shade is often elusive, and with 7-8 hours of walking you may need more water than you think.

Irene Paterson

Reviewed February 2015

Sierra de Aitana Trek

Excellent holiday – the grade for this holiday is 4 Moderate/Challenging however, the walks were more challenging than some “challenging” holidays we have been on.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many but we particularly liked the walk on day 3 – Sierra de Serrella – the views and scenery were spectacular, we were walking in snow for part of this walk and had to do a bit of scrambling as well, which was very different.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose was very knowledgeable about the whole area and told us a lot about this history etc. His enthusiasm and passion for this region shone through. Also, the sandwiches he prepared for us were excellent – very tasty and filling.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take walking poles with you – they are helpful on some of the steeper descents.

Irene Paterson

Reviewed February 2015

Sierra de Aitana Trek

Excellent holiday – the grade for this holiday is 4 Moderate/Challenging however, the walks were more challenging than some “challenging” holidays we have been on.

Most Inspirational Moment

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose was very knowledgeable about the whole area and told us a lot about the history etc. His enthusiasm and passion for this region shone through. Also, the sandwiches he prepared for us were excellent – very tasty and filling.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take walking poles with you – they are helpful on some of the steeper descents.

Mark Kevlin

Reviewed January 2015

Sierra d'Aitana

Just the right combination of walking,views and recovery time make this a great trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Views from the summits are stunning and getting there is just hard enough to make you enjoy it thoroughly.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant, riendy, knowledable and his grandma makes the best sandwitches.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you bring your insurance certificate

Jillian DAVIS

Reviewed December 2014

Sierra de Aitana

One of the best short treks with good challenging walking and no fewer than 4 peaks to climb – so if you like peak bagging this is a good choice! Great having a two centre base, as the two valleys were quite different and you get a good insight into the whole area.

Most Inspirational Moment

Every summit! The views - seeing other peaks we'd climbed or would be climbing. Staying in Serra - lovely warm atmosphere living in houses instead of a hotel. Fun group - we all got on well.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose is knowledgeable about the area including history, geography and the natural environment. He cares very much about the people and the place, and his enthusiasm is infectious.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It's not an easy trek, the terrain is tricky and often steep - I enjoyed the challenges. If this is what you like too, then go for it. Just a warning if you're wanting an easy stroll.

Derek Gott

Reviewed November 2014

Sierra de Aitana Trek in Spain

I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday. Good walking, good weather, good company and excellent food.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the summit of Puig Campana on the last day.jj

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose is a great leader. He is so knowledgeable,enthusiastic and efficient. He also made our lunches!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Drink plenty of water as the weather can be very hot.

Reviewed November 2014

SIERRA DE AITANA - AN UNEXPECTED SPANISH TREASURE

Great walking, stunning scenery and plenty of wine and beer – what more could you want!

Most Inspirational Moment

The scenery is amazing and really unexpected so close to the cultural graveyard of the Costa Blanca. There are impressive limestone peaks and ridges stretching into the distance. Views from the tops are amazing - even Benidorm takes on a certain grandeur when spied from afar! The trip also offers a good dose of rural Spanish culture. The village of Sella is a delight, there is nothing better than coming off the hills after a great day of walking and retiring to one of the village bars for beer and tapas!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose is a fantastic leader - knowledgeable, great company and a pleasure to be with on the hills. His enthusiasm for the area is infectious and I shall certainly go back.

Advice for Potential Travellers

A pair of walking poles is useful particularly for some of the steeper downhill sections. The trip starts on a Sunday so consider spending Saturday night in Alicante, which is just a short 3.75 Euro bus ride from the airport. The old town is worth a look and a fun way to spend a Saturday night - very Spanish with not a rowdy Brit in sight. It also means there is no stress with linking in to the group transfer should your low cost regional flight be delayed.

Reviewed October 2014

Sierra de Aitana Trek

If you like decent rough mountain walking, great scenery, good views, quiet villages, good food and drink at great accommodation do this trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

The sunrise over Puig Campana seen from our accommodation in Sella. The view from Puig Campana to Mallorca on our last day

Thoughts on Group Leader

JosÃ© Miguel GarcÃa Fraile went the extra mile and a half to ensure we had an excellent walking holiday. He has excellent local knowledge on walks, climbs, history, culture etc and obviously loves the area and is keen to encourage others to do the same. I was really impressed that he had done footpath clearance work and is keeping open some old routes that could fall out of use. We had poor weather forecast on one day and he found a good alternative to the advertised route, he clearly has a lot of walks up his sleeve

Advice for Potential Travellers

You need to understand that while some of the walking was on 4x4 tracks and pleasant little footpaths there was a lot of walking on steep rough ground over scree and rocks and you should come equipped with reasonably stiff mountain boots with good ankle support.You will find poles come in handy and bring bottles etc for at least 3 litres of water, it can be hot even in October. If you want to send post cards buy them and stamps that at Guadalest, the supply of stamps at Sella is not great. If you like to follow where you are going on the trip get there is an excellent 1:20000 map that covers most of what we did.

Reviewed October 2014

Sierra de Aitana Trek

This was a superb holiday in what was to us an unknown area of Spain. The area was full of historic sites and had excellent walking opportunities with some relatively demanding paths to the summits. The whole holiday was very well planned and coordinated and the short transfers to the start of the walks were appreciated as avoided sitting on a bus for too long.
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Most Inspirational Moment

The sense of history walking in the steps of travelers from centuries past, along the tracks and mountain passes. The peace and solitude in the area as there were very few other walkers around - some days we saw none.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had Jose Miguel as our leader, who lives in Sella and is passionate about the area and its history and ecology. He has lead much of the restoration of the old tracks and paths and is knowledgeable about them and their history. On the walks he was supportive and encouraging, whilst quickly able to assess individual strengths and weaknesses and make decisions as to ability to tackle the more demanding walks - just what you want from someone leading you in a mountainous area. He was pleasant and amusing, made triple-decker sandwiches to keep you going all day, and was all we could have hoped for as a leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We had warm/hot weather (October 2014) but we would suggest going fully equipped for mountain weather with good walking boots with ankle support as many of the tracks are rough and stony. The trip is graded Moderate/Challenging and this is realist - imagine a longish day in the Lake District with sunshine. Ensure you carry plenty of water - on some walks there is no opportunity to resupply and we drank 2 to 3 litres.

Reviewed February 2014

SIERRA DE AITANA TREK

Very underrated and challenging trip in an area of Spain that offers some great walking. This trip also offers some great summit opportunities.Could not believe that the mountain area behind Benidorm could offer such remote and historic walking terrain, combined with great food, drink and social activity. We went at the beginning of February and the almond blossom everywhere was stunning.

Most Inspirational Moment

Actually doing 6 days of good walking and achieving some really good summits combined with full and long days of walking. Also, having a large group that was of a mixed age and gender, that gelled from Day 1 with a passionate, do anything leader who made fantastic sandwiches too!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader was Jose Fraile and we very quickly warmed to him. He is local to the area, passionate about the historic footpaths, tracks and abandoned terrace farms. Jose is very patient, eager to please, has a lovely persona, humorous and makes lovely sandwiches with a different filling each day! He even keeps the footpaths cut back and stops them getting overgrown.Even on our free day, Jose made sure that everyone was taken care of and was happy to transport us to our different destinations.Couldn't have wished for a better leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We did this trip as a mature couple and thoroughly enjoyed it so, don't even think about it - just do it. This is a superb winter destination to top up your walking and is as good as a week in the Lakes. On the first day it rained and was cold. On the second day it snowed on the high ground. This did not stop us achieving our walks on either day, so be prepared for indifferent weather and take some warm clothing as we wore everything we took from the UK, even though we thought we had gone over the top with our warm and wet gear. The remainder of the week was sunny, hot and blue skies - just what we had expected. Check the weather forecast before you go and search on Sella and not Benidorm. Every day was not a walk in the park and you need to be prepared for some tough ascents and long descents, especially at the end of a full day. There are no coffee or refreshment shops on any of the trekking days (thankfully), but you do get the chance of a beer at the end of some of the walks and in lovely village bars.

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