The Coast of Almería

Waking up to the views at Bitácora was fabulous! And having a pot of hot coffee at breakfast outside Hotel Jardín de los Sueños was really nice.

The Almerian landscape is outstanding and the climate perfect for walking over the winter months. The coastal routes and inland walks are all supported with indepth information/history about the local area.  A truly memorable walking holiday.

Granada [an optional Add-on]: An incredibly interesting City to visit steeped in Moorish history.  Beautiful cobbled streets, street entertainment, cafe/bars.  The Alhambra, over-looking the City and surrounded by distant mountains is an absolute gem and well worth a day's visit.  The highlight of our 3 day trip was the Flamenco dancing in Restaurante Tablao Flamenco in the Albayzin district; truly amazing.  An unforgettable break for both of us.

Thank you Inntravel for providing such comprehensive self-guided notes/maps.  We will definitely be booking another holiday with you.

We thought the overall trip was well planned. We liked the fact we had three very different destinations and types of accommodation. We were given warm welcomes in each location and were well looked after. The scenery in Almeria (Cabo de Gata Natural Park) is spectacular and a fabulous location for a walking holiday. Even though our trip was in December, there was a very good choice of restaurants and bars and felt traditionally Spanish.

Highlights were the walks to the cove of San Pedro from Las Negras and the walk to Cortijo del Fraile and back through the quarries, to Rodalquilar. The view from our last hotel Dona Pakyta was stunning and well worth having the room with the balcony. The food at the restaurant Labeche in Rodalquilar was also exceptionally good.

We loved our holiday to the Coast of Almeria.  It was a perfect mix of shorter and longer days and there was a great mix of terrain and beautiful scenery along the coast as well as inland.  Several of the trails were more hiking than walking but that suited what we were looking for.  Also liked the fact that there were options for different trails.   The accommodations were all charming and the innkeepers very pleasant.

I went to the coast of Almeria with my 9 year old daughter. We had a fantastic trip overall. It is a truly beautiful area, very remote and wild. The walks were all different and showcased many of the beautiful aspects of the Cabo de Gato national park. Our favourite walk was in fact the longest walk. My daughter was a little daunted by the idea of walking nearly 18 kms but we did it and saw many beautiful places along the way, the coast dominating our view all along. The accommodation and service were very mixed but I would highly recommend this memorable trip nonetheless.

All round it was an excellent holiday with interesting walk routes and a good standard of accommodation. The three hotels used gave an excellent variety to the walk and added interest to the holiday. In our case we were late booking the holiday and had to travel via Malaga, adding long bus trips to the journey. Almeria would have been far better as a destination airport, but we should not have left it so late to book!

A fantastic introduction to Inntravel walking holidays. This is such a stunning part of Spain, a real wilderness, a place to escape the rat race and relax surrounded by nothing but flowers, birds and endless views. Add into this mix some fascinating history and of course, delicious local cuisine plus really lovely accommodation with friendly staff. The walking notes were excellent, so good, we did all the walks, didn't want to miss seeing another amazing view. I can truly say this was a wonderful holiday.

I had not heard of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park before booking this holiday but I am very glad that I have visited this part of Spain and it made me wish to return. I feel sure that walking through this dramatic, semi-desert landscape was the very best way to get a feeling of its history, flora and fauna. There were many highlights including one morning when we spotted 5 hoopoes and a Scops Owl. Wildflowers were everywhere. The three villages/small towns we stayed in were all very different in atmosphere. There were plenty of bars and restaurants to eat and drink in. The quality of food everywhere was really good especially fish and seafood. We especially enjoyed Restaurant Aurora in Los Negras and Lebeche in Rodalquilar. Portion sizes are super generous! The beaches are magnificent but as with the walking there is little shade. So don't forget a hat and sun-block!

The Coast of Almeria is simply beautiful. Each day's walking was different, and the final day from Cabo de Gato to San Jose, was stunning: rocky headlands, desert landscape right down to the sea, beautiful beaches. Do be aware, though, it can be very windy!

The Cabo de Gata Natural Park is a fascinating area in which to walk. In early March there was almost constant sunshine and the wild flowers were spectacular. The scenery was varied but always beautiful and we saw other people only rarely. The accommodation was, as ever, very good and although it was early March there were plenty of places to eat in both las Negras and San Jose. In Rodalquilar the restaurants seem to open late and after a day's walking we were ready to eat by 7.30. So we went to the Hotel Naturaleza on all three nights and had an excellent 3 course meal for 18 euros. Eckhard told us several times that it wasn't the best, but we enjoyed it and would recommend it if you want an early meal! Once again we thoroughly enjoyed our Inntravel holiday and look forward to the next one!

This was my first self-guided walk and thanks to Inntravel I won’t hesitate before doing another. They have thoroughly researched an area and discovered the best routes and the most interesting locations so you can benefit. I really appreciated that I wasn’t just walking but also learning a bit about the history of the area while visiting particular locations like the old gold mine and cobble-stone quarry.

Almeria had all the winter sun I’d hoped for and the coastal walks and beaches were barren and beautiful but it was windy and I needed to take 3 layers every day on the walks: tee-shirt weather when the wind dropped but on the top of some cliffs I was glad of my fleece and pac a mac.

The scenery was spectacular and emblematic with the agave trees, palms and other desert plants. Such a wonderful change from the grey-green sogginess of winter in Belgium.

For me, this was a fabulous holiday in a lovely part of Spain with unspoilt coastline. The Cabo de Gata natural park provides a welcome relief from the surrounding area on that southern coastline in Spain. It has not been over-developed and there are plenty of footpaths through the hills and along the coastline. We stayed in some lovely places and were generally very well looked after. We found the walking notes very well written and easy to follow, providing lots of interesting information relating to the area and some of the landmarks we passed. We also found the level of the walk just right. We were pushed, but not bushed by the end of each walk. The fact that we had a few nights in the same place meant that we could unpack and settle in and opt to do more or less in terms of walking on the days where circular walks were offered. Our luggage appeared at the next accommodation as if by magic. The only thing I would say is that, although we had glorious weather with blue skies and sunshine throughout, I would probably not recommend February as the best month to do this holiday. There was a cold wind that stayed with us throughout and some of the places we stayed were not really prepared for cold weather. The only heating there was was in the form of air conditioning and sometimes on arrival the place felt slightly cold or damp. On the other hand, the places we stayed were often quite quirky and certainly added to the flavour of the holiday. 

The route follows the coastline through terrain covered in wild rosemary, lavender and thyme, offering sensory stimulation to both the eyes and nose. You can probably pretty much guarantee sunshine, whatever time of year you go, although temperatures vary depending on the wind factor as well as the month. The walking notes provided by Inntravel were very easy to follow and offered lots of insight into facts about the area, pointing out places of interest along the way. The length of the walks allowed us to linger in different places and see the sites along the way and yet were sufficiently challenging to allow us to feel a sense of satisfaction at the end.

This is a superb break in a little known part of Spain. The walks are varied, interesting and help illustrate the history of the area. Accommodation is also very varied and very good. Holidaying in January here is ideal for comfortable walking during the day but evenings are very cool so warmer clothing is essential.

The walking was excellent, routes were well planned. The description of routes was excellent, and apart form a few small mistakes we made during the walks (possibly our own fault), the instructions were easy to follow and accurate. I would not say the routes were easy to moderate - they were more moderate than easy, and included some steep routes. However, since we have been on walking tours before, we took this possibility into account and the routes were good for our level.

Hotels were good, however, except for at the Garden of Dreams, there were not enough options for vegetarians/pescatarians. Bitacora was definitely on a lower grade (2*) than the others, there was a problem heating the rooms and the shower didn't drain well. They seem to have tried to fix this, but without success.

The area is beautiful, highly recommended.

We enjoyed all the walks and would recommend the taxi to the Cabo de Gata lighthouse while staying at Dona Pakyta as that was a beautiful walk back to San Jose. Taxi 50 euros, he took us to the bird hide first and waited and then took us on to the lighthouse. The walk which we found least interesting was the walk from Jardin de Los Suenos to San Jose. The first part to the village of Isleta del Moro was lovely but beyond, the area was quite barren and uninteresting and the terrain quite rough. They were very welcoming at Hotel Bitacora in Las Negras with very good, fresh breakfast. Lovely tapas and fish in Las Negras. We ate one night in the hotel in San Jose which was very good and the other night in town with very good fresh fish. Rodalquilar was somewhat disapponting for restaurants at this time of year with a mediocre standard by comparison to the other locations. We loved the gardens at Jardin de los Suenos and the general atmosphere there, wonderful views from the terrace. Dona Pakyta in San Jose is a lovely hotel with wonderful views from the balcony. It is well worth upgrading to a sea view.

Before beginning the walk from Rodalquilar to San Jose, carefully check the weather forecast, as the final 4 km include narrow paths above the sea that are open to strong winds.

LAS NEGRAS: Best pizza ever! in the upstairs Il Capricio restaurant, and some pleasant bars too further into town towards the beach.

RODALQUILAR: Two great restaurants side by side in the small square near the entrance to the village, but many other bars and eateries to choose from further up hill.

SAN JOSE: Best pizza ever! in the La Gondola restaurant beside the pharmacy at the end of Calle Correo.

Curro in Las Negras was superb. The food highlight was El Oro y Luz in Rodalquilar. Eckhard at El Jardin de los Suenos kindly phoned Ricardo to arrange for him to take us to the Cabo de Gata lighthouse (via Las Salinas) for our final walk which was well worth doing. It was certainly worth going on a guided tour of the Alhambra and pre-booking this. There was always plenty of wind to cool us down whilst walking! Overall, a most enjoyable peaceful and interesting week.