El Hierro – the Last Outpost

El Hierro is an unusual and dramatic island. It is comparatively untouched by mass tourism. Minimal English is spoken and the food is as Inntravel describes and a bit of 'pot luck'. Our favourite meals were in the restaurant at the first hotel and the beach hut at La Maceta (to the right as you face the sea) which did great vegetarian and vegan options. The walking is challenging due to the prolonged descents, but paths are generally good and well signposted. Favorite bits: the walk across the badlands lava field, Malpais circuit, this was dramatic coastal scenery and volcanic activity. The taxi ride to the Ermita de los Reyes was spectacular. 

Highlights included swimming in the sea at Pozo de Las Calcosas on day 0; walking from our apartment in La Frontera to the hotel at Pozo de la Salud without any taxi transfers; walking around the rim of a volcanic cone. We recommend Kiosco La Maceta at Playa La Maceta (head right from the toilets and smarter restaurant), the food was excellent, the service was friendly, and it was popular with a local crowd.

The first view of El Golfo from the Mirador de la Pena was amazing - as was the restaurant there.  We just had coffee/soft drinks but the food looked as though it was probably very good.

Swimming in the rock pools at La Maceta was another highlight and we highly recommend the leg and back massages at Pozo de la Salud after a strenuous day's walk.

On the whole our fortnight of walking was enjoyable if challenging. (Lanzarote & La Graciosa A Discovery Walking Holiday followed by El Hierro, The Last Outpost, A (grade 3) Self-Guided Walking Holiday.) The organisation was outstanding and the directions and notes were spot on. All meals and hotels were very good and we would reccomend Inntravel to anyone. However, you have to be a serious walker to do some of the walks on El Hierro. Thanks to everyone in your organisation.

Where to begin? El Hierro is a dream island, remote, green, beautiful, unfrequented, basking in a temperate climate. This walk provides an opportunity to leave the beaten track, to test yourself against quite demanding ascents and descents and to enjoy repeatedly sea vistas and island panoramas. So many highlights but I have a recording of the sound of the sea breaking on the shore outside my hotel window that I will listen to repeatedly!

Tip: I never walk with sticks. The guide advises walkers to bring sticks. This is GOOD advice even if you don´t habitually use them. A couple of the walks descend sharply and for a sustained period of time. Two extra legs would be very useful in these circumstances!

El Hierro has beautiful scenery, the people are very friendly and the walks are quite challenging, we are walkers and we certainly felt like we had had a walk at the end of each day. I did read other reviews before we booked and I agree that walking poles are very useful for the descents which are steep, long and have very loose shale which takes a lot of concentration. Having the GPS loaded on my OS app on my phone was great as well, we only had a couple of occassions where we were a bit unsure and we were able to check our position on the phone which gave us the confidence we were on the right track. 

We enjoyed El Hierro very much, it is unspoilt, very quiet and has some spectacular scenery. Take walking poles!

The people were all very friendly and helpful, though English isn't widely spoken.

Really enjoyable week on this beautiful island which has such varied scenery. High mountain pastures edged with lichen-clad dry stone walls, dense pine forests, enchanted laurel silva forests, lava fields, volcanic cones, waves crashing through arches carved out of the lava and abundant flowers - stunning.

El Hierro was delightfully quiet. We often spent the whole day without encountering anyone. The walks are quite tough but the views rewarding. The picnics were enormous!    

We enjoyed our holiday on El Hierro very much and the weather, though often cloudy at high levels, was very good for walking. We loved El Hierro - very unspoiled by mass tourism. The islanders were most welcoming and friendly, very pleased to have visitors. As others have commented, there isn't a lot of English spoken on the island but we easily managed to get by with our very rusty Spanish and we had some fun conversations.

The walking routes were easy to follow with very good notes and many signposts. The Outdoor Active App proved useful from time to time but (somewhat sadly!) it did make the maps redundant for us. We rarely saw any other walkers.

The walks involve plenty of long stiff ascents and long steep descents. While not big mileages, we had to take them slowly and keep our eyes on our feet as the terrain was often tricky.

The accommodation was generally very good and we enjoyed the included meals though not sophisticated they were wholesome and freshly prepared with local produce.

We enjoyed a meal at Casa Pucho/Don Din 2, the bar/restaurant closest to the apartment at Frontera. No menu! The chef came out to tell us what he had available. Great fun! Main meals available from 7pm and pizzas throughout the day.

The Mirador de la Pena serves excellent coffee with a fabulous view.

The Inntravel arrangements including the taxi transfers all worked perfectly.

p105, descent is indeed "inexorable" (9th bullet point): might be worth emphasising somewhere that the descent does go on rather and that it is hard and slow going given the uneven and rocky nature of the path (which is much easier to follow than the notes suggest).

Overall I greatly enjoyed the holiday and found your arrangements and organisation excellent

A holiday combining 'Lanzarote and La Graciosa' and 'El Hierro, The Last Outpost'.
Lanzarote and La Graciosa
Yaiza is a quiet and useful base for the holiday, away from the crowds. The room was comfortable, but had no kettle or fridge - we were glad of our travel kettle as you can't get drinks during the day, other than at breakfast, lunch or dinner times. The restaurant we found to be excellent. The walks are varied and interesting. We particularly enjoyed our day trip to La Graciosa. Make time to watch the sunset from El Golfo and to visit Manrique's house. The Sunday market at Tinajo was also interesting, especially the stalls that sold locally made crafts and produce. It is definitely worth doing the bus trip around Timanfaya national park. We are glad we added a couple of days to the planned week so that we could fit everything in. Beware the Femes walk if you suffer from vertigo. It's a fabulous walk but the section right at the end of it could be challenging for some. Definitely worth getting a more detailed map as the one supplied relates to a Discovery Walking Guide not included. We were initially confused by the numbered walks on the maps provided - they relate to specific walks in the Walking Guide and not the walks in your Inntravel pack. Other than that a thoroughly enjoyable week and a bit before our transfer to El Hierro as the Calima started!

El Hierro
We landed in a very strong wind and were transferred to the hotel in Mocanal. Very little English is spoken on the island so brush up on your Spanish. The first thing to emphasise very strongly is to follow the advice tucked away in the instructions to check on the weather in advance of your plans. Use the aemet.es site as recommended as this provides hourly forecasts and warnings. We had a yellow warning on our first day of walking and an orange on the second, due to the calima and rain forecast. We decided, sensibly, not to do the first two walks, one from Valverde and back to Mocanal and the other the transfer walk from Mocanal to Frontera. We were able to cancel one of the taxis and to transfer with the luggage as the owner could let us have the apartment earlier than would usually be possible. We were, however, able to fit in two shorter walks as the weather improved. The apartment at Fontera was so well stocked we decided to get a few more bits and pieces and ate in for a couple of nights. We enjoyed both walks around Frontera and the Eco-museum at Guinea is fascinating. The walk from Frontera to Sabinosa is a bit of a heave up but well worth it for the views. The descent, while not narrow, was interesting when we can to a point just above Sabinosa where the path has almost disappeared in a landslip. It is passable but there is 20m section where you are walking through moving scree to get back on the path - sticks a must! [Inntravel note: path since stabilised by the local authorities.] The hotel at Pozo de la Salud was a delight although the restaurant lacks atmosphere - food good though. We opted not to do the six and a half hour walk the next day and opted to do the more gentle Malpais circuit. This was one of our favourite walks along the coast, taking in all the shapes that have been made in the lava by the sea and watching the waves crashing through the arches formed by the weathering. The final walk, starting at 1300m at the Mirador de la Llania was fabulous. We had a very clear day so the views were magnificent. After walking alongside fields on the Camino de la Virgen, almost like being in north Wales, you turn off for an attractive descent down to Timirijaque. We arrived at 2.30 pm and called the taxi to pick us up earlier. It was lovely ending the trip in the Parador, but strange to be surrounded by people speaking English again. Beware! If you order a gin and tonic here it is extremely strong - literally four or five measures. Too much for me.

All in all a fascinating holiday taking in three islands. El Hierro is an undiscovered gem and one for hikers. The paths here are very well marked and it was a breath of fresh air to have to make the effort to converse in Spanish.

El Hierro is certainly a pleasant break for a winter walk, with warm temperatures, some good routes and plenty of sunshine. Although the island is less geared to travellers than the main Canaries destinations, the compensation is the quietness of the settlements and the walks, with only a few travellers around and no large scale tourist installations. Not the most luxurious outing, but an ideal getaway to escape the xmas madness.