Spain Active outdoor Trips

Excellent but challenging hiking tour of Gran Canaria. Never expected such beauty. We were lucky to have excellent weather throughout the trip and the island had heavy rain in the fall making for an unusually green landscape. The six hikes were each a bit different as far as terrain and environment and all were wonderful. Our tour leader was very knowledgeable and experienced and always attentive. David was very organized and clear. As per the itinerary, we covered a lot of ground, averaging over 8 miles each day. Elevation gains and losses were significant so could be a struggle if one isn’t in good shape. The paths frequently had loose cobble, rough surfaces and slippery spots so one had to pay attention at all times. We had a great group and everyone seemed to get along very well making this one of my favorite Explore trips. I look forward to going to others of the Canary Islands.

Having really enjoyed the Explore hiking trip on La Gomera in January 2025, we came back for more on Gran Canaria in January 2026. The hotel in the casco historico of sleepy Aguimes was charming, albeit the breakfasts were rather basic and the double beds only 1.40m wide (we are used to 2m at home!). In contrast, the hotel in Altea lacked a certain charm, but had a super bed and a terrific breakfast. Our very affable and multi-lingual Explore leader, Brian, ensured some good extra activities (eg making goat’s cheese) and gave the group plenty of options for the free day. We rested our knees on this free day and went to the excellent Bodega Los Berrazales, a wine and coffee finca, in the Agaete valley as well as visiting, briefly before it had really woken up, Puerto de las Nieves; Brian’s information on the punctual but not very frequent public buses was spot on for this non hiking jaunt). The astronomy talk over one of the dinners at a farm outside Aguimes was a bit comical with half the slides in Spanish and an astronomer with shaky English. Dinners were not included in the tour but Brian always arranged dinners at interesting restaurants. He was at pains to describe aspects of Canarian history, culture and geology throughout the tour. The Museo Guayadque in the Guayadque Ravine (Gorge?) was fascinating. For me, also as a keen student of the Spanish language and all things Hispanic, these were just as important as purely the hiking. The hiking, and the views the hikes offered, were indeed pretty spectacular. We may have been lucky with the weather with a lot of sun at a very pleasant temperature. Apparently it had rained quite a bit the week before, so a number of areas were quite verdant. Described as moderate, the terrain, both in terms of sharp volcanic rockiness as well as steepness, both up and down, was quite tough for non-regular hikers, such as me, a 64 year old (albeit twice a week gym goer).

Absolutely fabulous trip. Our trip leader Raquel was superb. I can’t speak highly enough of her. She was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the landscape and led us on many varied walks sharing her extensive knowledge. The trip was well organised with good accommodation and private transport for the most part. It was also interesting to experience the public transport on the mountainous roads and see some local towns and villages. Dining options were good and we experienced both local and world cuisine. The group size was ideal and we were extremely lucky to have a great group of fellow walkers. The grading of the holiday was accurate in our view, with both easier and more challenging elements. It was our first holiday with Explore but will definitely not be our last. Excellent.

I very much enjoyed spending a week in November walking on this beautiful island. Some of the walking paths were steep and rocky, not the best maintained, but manageable. It was easy to get to the starting point, the little towns were charming. It would have been better if more restaurants were open off season, but most were fine. I wish there was a better location for a rest day; getting to the nearest beach took a long time on the bus. We had a great group, had a good time!

The itinerary was great, and I don't give it the full smily face because two days of the walks had to be replaced by lighter ones as a big storm passed over the island - so I can't comment on them. No fault of the guide or tour operator, indeed the guide rightly put safety first. The island is a mix of dry lower parts and forested higher parts, all visited. Lunch and evening meals need to be paid for separately but were good and well arranged.

The destination was a bit more monotonous than I expected — mostly rocks and arid ground — and I personally prefer greener landscapes. In hindsight, I probably should have chosen La Gomera first, but that’s on me; I should have done more thorough research. It’s also important to keep in mind that if you’re unlucky with the weather, there isn’t much to do, as you’re quite far from any larger town. Other than that, the organisation was good, and our guide Magdalena was truly amazing — she handled all kinds of requests very professionally and did her best to fill our time when two hikes were cancelled due to the orange weather alert. The hotels were fine. In Agüimes it was quite basic (for example, no hairdryer and no possibility to borrow cutlery from the restaurant), but the colonial charm and the extremely friendly staff made up for it. In La Aldea it felt a bit more touristy, with an excellent breakfast.