Canyons, Caves & Coast of Gran Canaria

This is a fantastic and uncrowded (at least when we were there) area for walking with fabulous views. Highlights were the Roque Noble walk (we took the shorter option), and the final long, and in part precipitous, walk to Las Longueros. We missed the views one day but instead had a rather magical walk through misty woods in absolute quiet. All highly recommended.

A wonderful holiday with great walks and spectacular mountain scenery. Hotel Parador in Cruz de Tejeda is at 1500m so don’t be surprised to find yourself shrouded in cloud one minute and then watch the views of the mountains and valleys unfold as the clouds lift. That’s part of the joy, the changing scenery and a different sunrise and sunset every day. The altitude though does mean that, even if it’s not raining, it can be chilly and damp so pack for all conditions. I would say that walking poles are essential, particularly on some of the rocky downhill sections. The walks were well planned, with differing scenery and it was fascinating to note the changing flora as we descended to sea level. All the hotels were great in different ways, and everyone so friendly and helpful. Walking notes and transfers were excellent. This was our second Inntravel hotel to hotel walking holiday – we’re just about to book our third!

This holiday has  some very fine trails with  ascents and descents needing care. Some road walking encountered, perhaps inevitably, and some of the lovely area in the latter half of the week might possibly have been better exploited. 

As with some other people's experiences the weather was mixed and could sometimes be cold and, at least damp... The itinerary was well organised and the route descriptions were reassuringly accurate and helpful.

The early half of the holiday in the Parador was very comfortable, the other two hotels might benefit from a little tweaking for walkers' needs. 

Overall this was a very good experience and thoroughly enjoyed.

The first thing to say is that the weather was much more of a challenge than we were expecting given it was March! We had complete mist and very heavy rain (and wind) for the first 4 days so the views from the Parador (which is situated above 1500m) were almost non existent which was disappointing as I am sure that they would have been absolutely amazing. However we did do all the walks suggested and used all our wet weather kit including the thermal vests! At the Roque Nublo we met people in sandals and shorts who were clearly not expecting the extreme conditions. All I would say is be prepared just in case. When the sun came out later in the week the views and walks were amazing. The walk down the Barranco del Sao on the way from Fontanales to Agaete was stunning - we had no issues with vertigo and someone had also cleared the path. The Parador hotel exceeded our expectations, the Cabanas Valle Verde was more basic but the welcome was very warm and the room at the Las Longueras was also nice although the dinner was not great and was rushed. We opted to walk down into Puerta de las Nieves for dinner on 2 of our 3 nights there (we had an extra night) which was a little more lively and managed to get a taxi back. When leaving for the airport we finally saw Mount Teide in Tenerife on the horizon which was very spectacular. At all the hotels we tried to deploy our limited Spanish which was well received. One final tip - we used the free Komoot App on our smartphones to load the GPS files provided by Inntravel and they were very helpful. We always knew exactly where we were and whether we were on track - you save them offline on the app. We have been on lots of holidays with Inntravel and have been very lucky not to have such challenging weather in the past - if the weather had been clear then this would have been an amazing holiday.  

A very well organised and varied walking trip across some lovely terrain. The walking notes were really descriptive and accurate and gave us confidence that it would be quite difficult to get lost!  This was the first walking holiday that we had both experienced and are very much looking forward to the next one.  Inntravel made everything really easy for us and I would not hesitate to recommend.

It was a fantastic holiday, with excellent and very challenging walks, but a head for heights is needed as are walking poles. It can also be very cold and windy on top of the mountains so pack warm clothes, we did fortunately but other walkers (not with Inntravel) were a bit caught out.

This was our first self guided walking holiday and we are complete converts! Scenery amazing - particularly around the Parador and the birds and plants so beautiful . Extremely well organised holiday - all we had to do was turn up; walk, eat and drink.. what's not to like ?! 

This was our first trip with Inntravel and we were very impressed. From the collection at the airport to our eventual return was all handled very professionally. We found the walks chosen to be very varied and the walking notes to be in the main, both accurate and easy to follow. The additional information provided for the destinations, such as places to eat or visit proved to be most helpful. The weather was warm and sunny which really helped, we also found the locals to be very friendly. It was nice to stay in a mixture of different types of accommodation. Recommended!

All walks provided exhilarating views, with great variations in the scenery. The welcome was warm and friendly at each hotel.  

Some steep ascents and descents, but the parador is a lovely place to stay, and many of the walks give great vistas. The cabanas give a real contrast of experience and a taste of real life in the canaries. Great organisation, and very timely taxi services

Very good holiday! Wonderful views and very scenic. Arrangements all worked well, and Inntravel did a fantastic job arranging "official" lateral flow tests at short notice in Las Palmas. Thank you!

We loved the challenge and variety of the walks. A wonderful way to experience this beautiful island.

Gran Canaria provided us with all the attributes of a perfect winter walking holiday. Majestic and often beautiful scenery, well marked and maintained trails, solitude and hotels all of which had major advantages; the Parador with its stunning views and central position for the mountain walks, Cabanas de Valle verde with warm welcome and great basic food and Las Longueras with comfort, charm and, albeit slightly faded grandeur. There are a number of fairly stiff climbs in the itinerary, but the ridge and contour trails that they led to were glorious and most definitely worth the effort. We did suffer a bit from the weather, being driven back to the Parador after walking about 100 yards by low cloud and driving rain on our first day and doing the top half of the Tejeda walk in cloud on our second. The cloud was down again on the day 3 morning but lifted for a glorious ridge walk to Artenara and back. On day 4 the weather was as glorious as forecast and we did the Roque Nublo walk in warm sunshine, enjoying stunning views both on ridges and in the very open pine woods. Splendid views from the Roque itself though the walk up to it from the car park was crowded so one might choose to miss the last bit out and have longer to savour the empty bits. To Fontanales in the taxi, having sacrificed that walk to do the best ones in the best weather. Day 5 to Agaete with the climb out of Fontanales and the first half of the ridge walk in low cloud, the second half clear but cold. Then into the majestic, beautiful but slightly forbidding canyons via Hornillo to las Longueras. Day 6 we did the longer walk to Puerto de las Nieves climbing high behind the hotel for another contour and ridge walk of stunning mountain and coastal views. Day 7, as we had a late flight home, we did the short walk to Nieves, a pretty climb up the north side of the valley but then a walk through rather scruffy scenery to the town. In summary, the walking was as good as anything we have done with Inntravel, except the Dolomites, the hotels were comfortable, the food adequate. 

Really well organised. Excellent and comprehensive walking notes. Bit like a mild version of orienteering! Walking challenging, but never worryingly so. Took us through scenery we would otherwise never have seen. Thank you. Can't wait to try one of your other walks.

A really fantastic trip, the long walk from San Bartolome via Roque Nublo was a real highlight but every day there was something new and the variety of landscapes enthralling.

Try the sea water pools in Puerto de las Nieves (Piscinas Naturales Las Salinas) they are great fun!

It is worth mentioning that there seems to have been a lot of work done on the paths recently, some  of the signs are obviously new and do not necessarily have the same text as given in the notes. However it didn’t really cause any problem. Some of the overgrown paths have also been extensively cleared with better signage.

We loved Gran Canaria - the scenery was so much more wild, dramatic and beautiful that we had ever imagined. The route concept from the mountains to the sea is fantastic and it was a joy to have the trails to ourselves (with one exception)

We do think that the route could be improved to avoid such long sections on pavement and roads - the only real downside of this holiday for us. We are already looking forward to exploring another Canary Island!

We thoroughly enjoyed this holiday. Having never been to the Canary Islands we were amazed by the variety of the countryside and the walks. The choice of accommodation is a great mix for a week, from the Parador, through a cozy restaurant/cabin to a historic farm estate. They provided a great contrast in styles but were all most welcoming and helpful to us. All the taxis and luggage moves worked flawlessly. So all we had to do was enjoy discovering an amazing island.