Ronda & the Grazalema Sierra

The walking was wonderful and met expectations in every respect. I had a lovely holiday, as always.

Ronda is beautiful town and the walking around Grazalema was excellent.

We thoroughly enjoyed this glorious Spanish sampler. This was our first trip to Southern Spain but surely not our last. We combined visits to Seville and Granada with the Ronda/Grazalema walking trip. We fell in love with Seville -- the accommodations were ideally situated and the walking tour included in our travel documents allowed us to see the city's highlights thoroughly and at our own pace. Ronda was swarming with tourists but our hotel was quiet and we found opportunities to explore the gorgeous hiking trails outside of town, visiting a massive gorge and the Chapel of the Virgin de la Cabeza, which was carved out of rock in the 9th century by the Visigoths. Grazalema was quietly stunning with surprisingly good restaurants for such a small town, warm, friendly residents and breathtaking hiking and vistas. We finished off in Granada with a visit to the Alhambra and two glorious days of exploration. We recommend extra nights in Grazalema, because the hiking is so good, as well as in both Seville and Granada. Not enough time so we'll just have to go back!

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our short walking break Ronda and the Grazalema Sierra with our city add-ons in Seville and Granada

I have just returned from an extended version of the Trail of Three Cities trip combined  with the Ronda and the Grazelema Sierra short break.  

Upon the recommendation of fellow Inntravel customers I met on a previous trip, I extended the stay in Seville to four nights and the stay in Granada to three nights, and I am very glad that I did.  Particularly in Seville there is so much to see and absorb that a two day stay would easily leave one running full tilt the whole visit without the time to slow down to get some feel for the Andalusian lifestyle.  As someone raised on a very Anglocentric view of European history and culture, it was fascinating to see an entirely different perspective, and I would urge people like myself starting with only the most rudimentary knowledge of Spanish history to read up on it before the trip to gain the most from the experience.  As has been my previous experience with Inntravel trips, the accomodations were an important part of the experience, each one unique and a reflection of its city.  In Cordoba I literally had a room fit for a queen, even though I was a solo traveler, as I stayed in the same room that was Queen Sofia's when she visited Cordoba a few years ago.  The transportation arrangements went without a hitch, although there was a bus connection for part of the trip between Cordoba and Granada due to construction of the AVE line to Granada.  For travelers making the bus connection from Granada to Ronda or Ronda to Malaga as I did, it is worth mentioning that it is well worthwhile showing up a the bus station  with a time cushion before the scheduled departure, as bus schedules  and departure lanes are not necessarily posted at the stations, and the buses may not have any signs indicating their destination, thus requiring a bit of extra time to figure out the logistics of the journey.  The bus stations were the only situations where I was happy to have at  least some rudimentary  Spanish, as the hotel staff  and railway ticket agents to a one spoke much better English than I spoke Spanish.  

Ronda and the Grazelema Sierra provided a very nice, if brief, contrast to the cultural excitement and bustle of the cities.  Even though Ronda has many day-tripping tourists at midday, it becomes much more peaceful at night so that one can appreciate its traditional appeal as a romantic, cliff top destination.  The Grazelama Sierra is a young range of jagged, limestone peaks, which even in somewhat imperfect weather conditions provides a seemingly endless series of spectacular views, ranging as far as the Mediterrainean with good visibility as I had on my second day.  Even though I walked  almost nonstop my two days there, I could easily have spent another day to cover all the places I would have liked to have seen.  

As a repeat customer, I am quite sold on the Inntravel experience, as the quality of the notes and choice of accomodations and recommendations are second to none in my experience, and all of the transportion logistics now on several trips have gone without a hitch.    There is almost no way that as a first time traveler to southern Spain that I could have created a similar itinerary on my own, and I look forward to returning for future trips.  

Incredible hiking in three islands of the Canaries on this trip - through the most wildly biodiverse hikes which often take you through desert plants and cactus, beside ferns, often juxtaposed with pine trees all on the same hike. We enoyed lush and rare laurisilva forest reserves, and many misty views over canyons. We also added hikes to see rare Spanish fir in the rocky mountainous mainland north of Ronda to our trip. You will find yourself in awe of the views everywhere, and not infrequently going up and over passes and narrow tracks over mountainous rocky areas.

Not for the faint of heart, the hikes are challenging, with many good uphill climbs which the Inntravel note writer accurately describes as "relentless" and "thigh burning" and then equally lengthy downhills some days. There are vertiginous drops on some hikes but due warnings are provided in the notes, and other alternative options are provided. Tremendously rewarding hiking and town walks. Wide variety of accommodations from the smallest local village hotel experience, to the posh Parador and similar grade luxury accommodation. A really nice balance of culture, history in small towns and large, with a good dose of strenuous exercise to wear off the local food, good wines and after dinner liqueurs.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed our Canary Islands Experience holiday followed by Ronda and the Grazalema Sierra.

We just returned from a three week combined holiday put together by Inntravel of: The Canary Islands Experience, Ronda and the Grazalema Sierra (both Self-Guided Walking Holidays) and a Malaga City add-on. The trips were very fun and exciting and a balance of challenging hikes, history and urban culture. The hiking on the Canary Islands is challenging but the scenery is worth it. The Grazelema hikes were also amazingly beautiful and peaceful. We appreciated our good gear of walking poles and rain wear since the weather on peaks and ridges can change quickly. Our Ronda and Malaga hikes were full of local charm and culture providing a nice balance to our more challenging ascents and descents. The accommodations in each area were unique and varied so the trip actually felt like many multiple vacations rolled into one wonderful adventure. The taxi transportation arranged by Inntravel was a couple of times undependable and Inntravel is changing their poor providers to avoid this for future guests. We would recommend both these holidays from Inntravel to fellow hikers since the hikes were really enjoyable lifetime experiences.

A fantastic itinerary in a beautiful and interesting part of the world. Combining city and national park segments gave us a great window into this fascinating region, and did not seem the least bit rushed (with the extra days we added in Ronda and Grazalema). We loved being able to create our own daily agendas, with the infrastructure of hotels, trains, and suggested walks and restaurants provided by the experts. Recommended restaurants: in Cordoba: Casa Pepe, Bodegas Mesquitas. In Granada: Arrayanes (great Moroccan food). In Grazalema: El Torreon, Meson El Simancon, & Cadiz El Chico are all excellent.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Discovery Journey A Trail of Three Cities with Ronda with our walking holiday Ronda and the Grazalema Sierra