El Hierro: Canary Islands Walking

El Hierro offers some of the best hiking in the Canary Islands, often quite different to the other islands. Every day was different and there was a lot of contrast within each day's walk. We had excellent weather which helped a lot, but you do need to be prepared. Saw very few people. Routes were easy to follow with both GPX and the walking notes. Be prepared for some steep descents. Definitely one of our favourite hikes in the Canaries and the Inntravel service was second to none. Accommodation well chosen. 

Stress the difficulty and length of some descents - especially the first day circular walk and the second day walk to La Frontera. Emphasis benefit of using walking poles 

recommedation to future users to always get a drink at the Mirador la Pena before setting off on the second day

Another terrific holiday with Inntravel - everything went incredibly smoothly from booking, to travelling, to walking, to staying. El Hierro is a lovely unspoilt little island with amazing views, envigorating walks and (apart from one rainy day) glorious weather. The first hotel in El Mocanal is basic but pleasant, the apartment in Frontera is really spacious with a generous selection of food items provided and the final hotel in Sabinosa is beautiful (but try to avoid rooms above the kitchen at the front of the hotel as you will get some cooking smells through the air conditioning). Despite us, shamefully, not speaking a word of Spanish, all the arrangements went like clockwork and every aspect of the holiday was exactly as described. The walks were varied and pretty strenuous I'd say, for a couple in their mid-sixties who clearly weren't as fit as they kidded themselves they were! We certainly felt a huge sense of achievement at the end of each day and discovered that, unexpectedly, coming down was more painful than going up! Thank goodness we'd heeded the advice of others and invested in some walking poles.

We really enjoyed the trip to El Hierro, which is like going back in time to a slower and more basic way of life.  The planned walks were great and gave just the right balance of longer and shorter days, with the option to take a rest day if needed.  If going in UK winter time, it is chilly at night and you do need to pack some warmer layers.  It can also often be cloudy and rainy on the mountain tops, but if the cloud clears, the views and scenery are spectacular! All in all it was a great adventure!

We really enjoyed this holiday. El Hierro is very quiet and on a couple of the walks we hardly saw another person all day. A couple of the walks we found, as in our mid 60s but experienced walkers, pretty tough - long and with steep prolonged ascents and descents. But the scenery was fantastic and varied. At times it felt as if we were walking in Cumbria through green pastures with stone walls! And then, half a day later, looking into a volcanic caldera or walking through a forest of moss covered trees. We'd thoroughly recommend the holiday, particulary if you're fond of 'away from it all" walking. But a half decent level of fitness is required. And would reiterate the advice in other reviews to take walking poles even if you don't normally use them. There are a couple of instances - when descending on steep paths covered with volcanic clinker - where they are very useful!

El Hierro is a beautiful island with some amazing clifftop views and volcanic scenery. It's a really good place for a winter walking holiday.  Everything went very smoothly and we both enjoyed it a lot. 

We had a great walking trip on El Hierro. We found it to include very varied walking and there was lots to explore. The local food was very good. There is not much English spoken on the island, so the ability to speak a little Spanish was helpful. Don't forget your swimming costume as there is a good pool at the last hotel and there are good artificial sea bathing areas along the way.

We loved our holiday in El Hierro and felt it met our expectations in every way. The island is beautiful, quiet and wild. We met very few other walkers and felt we'd stepped back in time, getting a sense of island life from generations ago when the paths were regularly well-trodden by villagers, shepherds and pilgrims. The landscape changed continuously from dry, barren and strewn with cacti, to meadows enclosed by dry stone walls and filled with grazing calves, then a Mars-like landscape of deep red earth, followed by pine and cedar forests with views stretching to Teneriffe and La Palma, and finally down to the coast and the booming sound of the Atlantic swell. And that was just Day One! Two of the days were long and strenuous but were followed by shorter, flatter days and we enjoyed exploring the amazing El Gulfo coastline. By far the best meal we ate was in the cafe to the right of the car park at Maceta - the most delicious sardines, calamari and jumbo prawns. The best thing about our holiday was the views. By the end of the week we almost took for granted another Mirador and incredible vista. This is a stunning island but please don't tell too many people about it, because much of its delight was because it is so gloriously undiscovered and untouristy. The only thing we wouldn't recommend was the tour of the Guinea Eco village. Interesting as this place is, the two sheets in English give you all the information you need and the Spanish-only tour goes on for about an hour. However we are not sure if you can just read the sheets and wander about on your own. The 'giant' lizards are pretty underwhelming! 

We would agree that poles are essential given the ascents/descents. When we were there in January the mist would develop on higher ground by lunchtime so suggest setting off in good time each day!

Pleased to see El Hierro but the walking obviously lacks the variety of somewhere like Tenerife. The landscape on the final days walk (from Virgin de los Reyes) was interesting and the trees spectacular.

This was a truly amazing holiday. The walks were really diverse and interesting. The Island is so compact that the scenery was beautifully varied in every walk. I felt as though a great deal of thought and effort had been put into getting it so perfect. Thank you so much to the whole team. Certainly a holiday to remember. Great memories

I thought that El Hierro is a beautiful place with incredibly varied landscapes for such a small island and very friendly people. I found that there was very little English spoken so it's worth brushing up on your Spanish. The paths were all well signposted and in generally excellent condition. I loved the cheese and quesadillas, the island's unique cheese cake!

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.