Walking the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean Sea

This was our sixth Inntravel holiday. Very good quality accommodation, as always, especially Can Xiquet and Hotel Playa Sol.

Some lovely walking past olive groves, vineyards and oak trees, with stunning views from the heights. Overall, we found the walking harder than other Grade 2 holidays (eg Foothills of the Pyrenees, Alicante's Rugged Mountains and Yorkshire Dales: Wensleydale). We enjoyed Days 2, 3 & 5 the most, but were very tired at the end of Day 4 - more due to one particularly steep ascent than the descent into Palau-Saverdera. We were relieved to have scheduled a rest day afterwards. We're not regular pole-users, but having a set to share on some of the descents was very welcome. 

The weather was unseasonably warm and dry, which was lovely, but we wouldn't have wanted it hotter and so were glad to be there early April. The only disadvantage was that few restaurants in Garriguella and Palau-Saverdera open Sunday-Wednesday evenings. In fact, in Garriguella, we ended up dining on the remains of the generous Can Xiquet picnic, as La Espera Bar was unexpectedly closed and there wasn't even a take-away pizza to be had! 

The Tortoise/Turtle Recovery Centre in Garriguella is well worth a visit. We also enjoyed Dali's House, despite not being Dali fans. We'd booked well in advance for 11 April; people turning up on the day were told there was no availability until 28th!

Variety of walking and routes chosen were all excellent. Very enjoyable walking "off the beaten track" and in a part of Spain that doesn't have mass tourism! In respect of restaurants see the above comments about Gariguella. We also had a great Sunday lunch in Cantellops at the one restaurant / bar in the village. Highly recommended if future walkers are there at that time!

Excellent walking in a relatively new area for us.  If clients have the time, we recommend a couple of nights in Figueres (easily reached by TGV from Paris) with local bus trips to Castelló d'Empúries and the Ciutadella in Roses. The Dalí museum (like his house in Cadaqués) needs to be booked well in advance.

All the accommodation were excellent. 

The Can Xiquet hotel was fab - the junior suite rooms are lovely and well worth the upgrade. We did the Cantallops walk on a Saturday and arrived at Requesens Castle about 1pm - the only way to explore the castle is as part of a guided tour and they only did one per day at 12, so we missed it unfortunately.

Garriguella has about 4-5 places to eat but we were there on a Sunday-Monday and only the nearby wine co-operative and the pizzeria in the village (lovely service here) were open in the evening.

We had a great meal in Casa Carmeta in Palau-Saverdera - lovely food and really friendly service.

The coastal section was the highlight for us and Cadaques and the Hotel Playa Sol are lovely. There are lots of places to eat. We really liked Nord Est, the restaurant on the sea front just before you arrive at the Playa Sol.

Cadaques was a real contrast to the first three villages/hotels which were very quiet. We were the ONLY guests at the Casa Rural Can Coll and the Hotel Niu de Sol. We were keen to visit Salvador Dali's house in Port Lligat but didn't book it in time. It's very popular and you need to book a few weeks ahead or be disappointed.

Swimming in the sea was great. Having done some research, the best beach in Cadaques is the Platja del Ros (it's sandy) further on past the Hotel Playa Sol. For a prettier, more secluded beach we walked south round Cadaques sea front and across the headland (-45-50 mins) to the Platja de sa Sabolla. On the Cap de Creus walk we had a lovely dip at the Cala Jugadora beach, not long before, and with a great view of, the Cap. The Med was a very comfortable temperature when we went (mid-June). 

The scenery was amazing and the wildflowers when we went (end May) were beautiful.

Enjoyed all the walks and they got better each day. Our team of four are strong walkers and had no problems. However, 2 of the walks are quite long, particularly the Cap de Creus circuit, which some may find difficult in hot weather (it is a super walk, gave us a true taste of the Spanish moorland and should not be missed). Cadaques was a great finishing point, with a good Hotel and eating places.

We much enjoyed our trip, despite a few uncharacteristic administrative issues before we set out. Definitely one to do in the spring. The wild herbs and flowers scented the air and looked so pretty, it was all very verdant. Lots of bird song and cow bells clanging. As temperatures rise it will turn to scrub and lose much of its charm. There were several steep climbs which would be hard work if it was hot. We would strongly recomend you have GPS downloaded, the maps are very low resolution. The first days walking was a bit average but after that we had glorious days. Do book in for lunch at the lighthouse, we thought this walk was more strenuous than indicated and poles were essential. Can Xiquet was lovely, the staff went above and beyond locating our suitcases. Emilia at Can Coll was great when we arrived soaked through and then found it was as a Spanish holiday so most places were shut. She found Pizza Fortina was open, the pizzas were excellent. The next night we had a pleasant evening at  Bar Sinema, delicious seafood.

Our very first walking trip with Inntravel - From the Pyrenees to the Sea. What a fantastic time my husband and I experienced. The walking each day brought a different experience from amazing views of the Pyrenees with snow on top, olive trees, vineyards, quant small villages, farms, cows, donkeys ... never ending! All the accommodation were wonderful and different. I highly recommend taking walking poles! I found them extremely useful and certainly would have struggled on some of the terrain without them.

My friends and I loved every minute of our trip.  The views from some places were absolutely stunning.  All of our accommodation was fabulous although the favourite was Hotel Playa Sol in Cadaqués.  After a long walk it was sheer bliss to swim in the sea.  All luggage transfers were smooth and we never wondered what had happened to it.  Our daily picnics were also delicious but far too much food for 3 women.

This was a great holiday, our second time with Inntravel and it did not disappoint. One of our favourite meals was a take away pizza from Santa Massa in Garriguella, eaten with a beer in the square and we really liked Es Raco in Cadaques too.

We had a fabulous meal at Chez Loiusette Garriguella, thoroughly recommended.

Cadaques itself is a lovely little town, well worth a visit and maybe a trip back at a later date. The hotel there is in a lovely spot with a great pool and access to the sea. 

I've taken 6 Inntravel trips now. I have to say this was the least scenic trip of all. It is dry scrub brush through miles of farms and open space with no exceptional scenery. Cadaques is great, but the pictures in the online brochure may lead one to believe that there is a lot more water and ocean involved in this dry inland excursion. 

The walk from Garriguella to Palau-Saverdera was superb. We came to Mas Ventos and we looked around and behind the house as suggested. A sharp intake of breath as we arrived at the viewpoint! The views over the Bay of Roses and Emporda Plain were absolutely amazing, awe inspiring, for me! Unlike anything I have seen before, stupendous, and then the route continued around the rim with these fantastic views and ended in a steep but exhilerating descent from The Hermitage. Marvellous! Cadadques was delightful and I would like to go again and spend longer there ...and to get in at the Dali house by booking a bit earlier!! Having said that the house and olive groves and SWIMMING POOL were fabulous to see.

Varied landscapes as you pass from wooded foothills to whitewashed waterside villages. Interesting flowers and butterflies on the more open ridges. Can Batlle and Chez Louisette in Garriguella both very highly recommended. Also, in Cadaques we liked El Gato Azul, which was peaceful and unpretentious. The aforementioned monastery detour must be mentioned, and we'd also suggest including the Dali Theatre in Figueras as an option on any transfer back towards Barca if timings permit. We specifically organised our own journey back from Cadaques to allow us to visit: 10am bus from Cadaques and train around 5pm from Figueras to Barca gave us ample time, and they do have a luggage room there for your rucksacks etc.

A lovely trip for the early spring. The walking was fairly easy for us but the scenery and wildlife were stunning (including multiple sightings of golden eagle). A wonderful stretch along the Med with great, if chilly, swimming opportunities! Cadaques was very lively as it was a Spanish holiday week and we were pleased not to have taken the sea view option as the room overlooking the garden was very quiet. We did both the Cadaques walks and enjoyed a dip in the pool and Jacuzzi in the tranquil garden after each. 

All route information was accurate as usual. for this trip we had the added benefit of finally dicovering how to use GPX files which we transferred onto the map. The walking was fantastic and i guess a little lucky with the October weather. Some challenginging up hill in the heat but easily managed if you are relatively walking fit. Did not need poles.

We enjoyed all the walks with the Day 4 and Day 5 walks providing particular highlights for spectacular scenery and coinciding with my wife's 60 & then my 61st birthdays respectively.   It was very enjoyable being able to route find from the notes and very reassuring how accurate the notes were. 

The Hotel Can Xiquet surpassed our expectations we weren't expecting such a luxurious hotel with amazing views from the rooms.  We liked all the towns and villages where we stayed ...all had character and we found small supermarkets in them all. 

All our meals were great, 2 stand out the amazing meal at Solovida in Palau-Savedera for my wife's 60th birthday and the lunchtime meal at the Moli de Vendi restaurant in Gauriguella.

We found the walks challenging at times particularly some of the steep sections but the views were amazing and very rewarding.  We were pleased that on the loop walks we stuck by our guns and shortened them so we could relax in the afternoons and enjoy a beer with the locals in Cantallops and an afternoon meal in Garriguella.

Our final stay at Cadaques was very relaxing as we chose not to walk but to meander through the back streetsof this beautiful seaside town having a coffee, shopping and enjoying a lovely meal in the evening. 

Overall a brilliant experience. Very varied - my favourite Inntravel walk to date.

it was quite hard though which was fine for us but it felt more like a high 2/3 walk at times.

We loved Chez Louisette in Garriguella which the owner recommended. Excellent food and service. Best of the holiday.  Also a really nice meal at Els Pescadors in Cadaques.  Others were all good. 

The sense of achievement on reaching the top - and sometimes the bottom - of some significant hills was a great feeling. The views were amazing and the welcome, not only in hotels, but in other cafes and restaurants, was usually warm and helpful.

A very enjoyable trek with a variety of scenary and excellent accommodation. Highly recommended.

A great holiday well organised and planned. The self guidance information generally spot on particularly using the down loaded GPS route tracks. Accommodation always interesting, sometimes quirky but always comfortable and well located.

An excellent holiday with good accommodation and walks. We would recommend Sinema (tapas) in Garriguella for excellent food and service and a flavour of village life. The Cooperative provides excellent value for money. In Cadaques we would recommend Pizzeria La Gritta es Painc for good food and lovely service. The walks were varied in terms of the views and terrain (and difficulty), stopping off for a swim en route to Cadaques was a bonus and the sea swimming in Cadaques itself was excellent. We added on two nights in Girona which is a fascinating city, very compact with plenty to see and enjoy. The Inntravel town trail is really good, easy to follow with lots of information and alternative routes and things to see and do.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walk From the Pyrenees to the Sea with our Girona City add-on

A very enjoyable holiday although we would recommend doing it in spring rather than late summer to enjoy the wildflowers. Highlights of the holiday include our stay in Gariguella and visit to the tortoise rescue centre, dinner at Nou Fusion in Palau Saverdera (best meal of the trip), exploring the Cap de Creus and relaxing in Cadaques. We spent 4 nights in Cadaques, unfortunately we were unable to secure a sea view room but we'd recommend upgrading if you can as the views across the bay are lovely. Rather than complete the full walk circuit from Port Ligat to Cap de Creus, we used the new shuttle bus service from Cap de Creus to Port Ligat to reduce the length of the walk. This meant that we had plenty of time to walk around and explore the Cap around the lighthouse. We stayed one night in Figueres at the end of the trip (own arrangements) to visit the excellent Dali Theatre-Museum (highly recommended even if you are not a Dali fan) before taking the train back to the UK. 

Day 1 was a particularly good walk as well as Day 4. We would highly recommend the use of water hydraulc packs of at least 2 litres.

We would suggest earlier dates for undertaking this holiday as the temperatures were very hot for walking and the humidity for the first part of the holiday was very challenging. We found the walking in the last part of the holiday was much more scenic. Although we found Day 2 tedious we would suggest taking the short detour to the Dolmen as this is a large good example. Would recommend the walk to the lighthouse from Cadaques and also an extra day here to explore the town and doing this on the first day to have a break from the walking. Would definitely recommend upgrade at hotel De Col in Cadaques. Would recommend the Nou Fusion restaurant in Palau-Saverdera. We also booked all the restaurants in Cadaques prior to departure with the help of the hotel which was beneficial due to a Spanish holiday weekend. The Sirena restaurant here was particularly good and quirky.