Mallorca Tours and Holidays

A very enjoyable trip will be it a bit more strenuous than I had expected from the notes although the walks are short the terrain is extremely rugged at this challenge many in the group. The leader was good at leading the walks and handling everybody, but he was a little bit weak on the communications side, and quite a while people were unsure about what was coming up exactly.

I chose this walking package as a 30th anniversary trip after reading a travel photography book about Mallorca when 12 years old - so it's been a dream of mine ever since, and Mallorca was everything I hoped it would be! I liked that this package offered a solo walking experience but with detailed notes and maps as guides. The moderate-challenging rating is accurate, as there are options to do paths that are both easy and challenging. We like the moderately challenging routes so that's what we chose. The accommodations were excellent - clean, unique, with wonderful service and breakfasts. We arrived early on a Friday and chose a shorter walk for that day, so we actually got 3 walking options in at Lluc. What I loved about the trip was that each hike was different and challenging in various ways. It included woodlands, agricultural areas, craggy mountains, coastal terrains and enough charming stone villages, plus goats (in trees). We used a combination of the GPS maps and the physical notes, and there was only one tricky spot where the GPS seemed to diverge from the notes and we ended up on private, locked property. I did tell the company about that problem. I hope to visit Mallorca again and I am now interested in other walking packages offered by the company.

I enjoyed this trip emmensely - the tour guide Dago was very knowledgeable and when we were walking in the clouds and mist at the top of a mountain he confidently kept going and led up down to our destination. Great and challenging hikes going uphill a lot of the time! But definite would recommend this trip.👍😃

It was almost a fabulous week. The first 4 nights were based in the lovely Esporles for walking in the scenic surrounding mountains. Weather was perfect, not too hot and although weather was supposed to have been awkward for us it decided to be on our side, so all walks were done. The hostal in Esporles, although an old building was comfortable and had character. Breakfast was plentiful and presentation lovely. My only gripe on the hostal was how dark the room was and poor lighting. Presuming anyone who would go on this walking trip would be fit and able to manage the very steep narrow staircase to the rooms as there is no lift!! The last 3 nights are spent in Cala Ratjada, a pleasant smaller seaside resort with lots of small beaches/bays. The hotel here was a bit budget from what we were expecting, a bit tatty and walls very thin but it was fine for a few nights. Our first night we ate in the hotel buffet as we were late arriving. Although still in time for the buffet, it was awful. I believe Explores responsibility was to ensure that they had employed a well prepared tour leader who had first class knowledge of tried and tested routes and was passionate about his role to lead a walking group effectively, safely and with good ability to talk about local Mallocan surroundings and history. Unfortunately this was not the case. Early days the leader was concerned for our safety but later on he disappeared ahead of the group and the group became separated where he should have waited. The leader relied on google maps alone to guide us. We walked across unsafe coast paths where our way was lost. Unfortunately early on, the group tended to fragment and lose confidence. I think I will probably not wish to do another walking trip, I think this trip was an unfortunate one. We have had Explore cycling trips in the past and had very good experiences of the tours and the leadership. I think on this particular trip Explore has failed.

We enjoyed our trip to Mallorca, our 6th holiday with Explore but our first group walking holiday with them. The accommodation was olde worlde in Esporles and tourist hotel in Cala Ratjada, both clean and comfortable. The walks were all different, some moderate, one more challenging. All our previous Explore holidays have been brilliant but this holiday was spoiled by the Tour Leader allocated to the tour. We have submitted a detailed complaint to Explore about this. We were all delayed in arriving at Esporles because of a storm. Our leader was ending another tour in Portugal the same day that ours started in Mallorca. He missed the welcome meeting and didn’t arrive until 9am the following day, stressed and tired. Why allocate a guide expecting them to be in 2 countries on 2 tours the same day? The guide spent the entire time on the walks with his phone showing him which way to go. I can do that with Strava. Why pay a premium holiday price? He admitted he’d never done this walking tour before and had never even done the longest walk. We also raised the health and safety issue of taking people into the mountains without knowing the terrain and without sufficient safety equipment as he was only carrying a small rucksack although he did say he had a first aid kit. There was general dissatisfaction with the guide and lack of confidence in him which caused much grumbling and a negative effect on the mood of the group causing it to become fragmented. Explore say that their Tour Leaders are bursting with local knowledge and want to share it. Not this time. We agree with the previous reviews added today.

3 stars is mainly due to trip being described as moderate but didnt find it as difficult as other moderate trips but was informed this can be due to terrain as much as distance/ascent/decent. Personally preferred the first 4 days in Esporles. Coastal walks later in the week a bit disappointing. Overall, good walks, good food, lovely guide and nice bunch of fellow walkers.