Easter in the Sun- Walking the Fabulous Costa Blanca Mountains

Flights and Transfers

You purchase your own flights for this holiday.

The price you pay to Secret Hills Walking Holidays is a land only price.

Flights are from most UK regional airports to Alicante

When you reserve your flight, our policy is to enable you to fly from your local airport, wherever possible.

This means that clients will arrive at the destination airport at different times and we will arrange the onward transfers to the hotel, and return you to the airport at the end of the holidays.

Transfer time is between 70 and 90 minutes.

Tour details

The walking

Given our location, we will undertake a mixture of walking inland and on the Mediterranean coastal cliffs which are situated within an hour’s drive from our rural hotel. The driving to walk starts, and from walks finishing points should be seen as part of the walking programme. We take in the sights of this beautiful area.

We pride ourselves on organising walks that are different each day, all with beautiful scenery, but a different feel to each day

The walks we choose from -we may organise others

Circular mountain walk from our Hotel taking in Els Arcs and Penya de Castallet

( 16km, 700 m ascent and descent)

The Valley and villages of Guadalest and Guadalest Castell

( 15km, 450m ascent and descent)

Costa Blanca coastal ridge walk– travel to coast by minibus

( 11km, 700m ascent, 550m descent)

Circular walk from our Hotel taking in Cave paintings

Linear walk from Hotel to Guadalest

We offer on your day off a walk on the coast at Calpe- an additional 15 euros transport cost- but really well worth while as you see a completely alternative Costa Blanca scene to the one you have been experiencing on other walking days – and down by the sea.

 Holiday Highlights 

• superb location in traditional Spain- far away from the madding crowd on the coast
• walking in beautiful scenery- authentic Spain- well maintained footpath network
• See and Feel the real Spain
• a lovely village to explore
• authentic Spanish hotel but with all the modern facilities you would want
• a taste of Spanish food – the authentic cuisine of this region.
• our friendly tour guides to help you enjoy this area
• small groups
• our administration support.

Grade of walking

• This holiday walking programme is designed for good competent walkers on a mixture of terrains. We walk between 6 to 12 miles a day and potentially average around 700 metres ascent/ descent. Ascents are taken slowly to allow plenty time to absorb the magnificent  environment around you.
• The walks on this trip vary between moderate and challenging and each day involves a fair amount of ascent and descents.  The holiday requires a reasonable amount of fitness, ideally with some previous walking experience in similar conditions.
• Underfoot conditions are generally good and we walk on mature paths and tracks.

• You need good walking footwear, preferably waterproof walking boots with good soles for protection. You may find that walking poles will aid your enjoyment of this land.

Exclusions

Although our leaders are well trained and experienced in dealing with different capabilities of our walking clients, if they have any concerns about any clients ability or suitability to undertake safely any walking activity we plan or they feel that participation of an individual may affect the groups safety and cohesion, then they have full permission to exclude that client from an activity.

They will try at all times to provide an alternative suggested activity, though this may involve the client in additional local cost.

We rarely have to enforce this above recommendation, but it is a sensible and necessary protection for the individual client, the group and the leaders.

It’s all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress-free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secret Hills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekend’s activities – but it’s good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.

“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.

You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for travelling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.

Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.

Oh – by the way – it’s not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like-minded friends – just relax and enjoy.

Just arrive and enjoy.

There are other walking holiday companies that cover Europe but we believe we offer the best value for many reasons….

• We specialise in organising guided walking holidays for solos and singles.
• We are a small friendly company
• We have a loyal customer base who return again and again (so we must be doing something right) – read our testimonials page on the website
• We offer a lot of flexibility – you can stay extra nights which we are happy to organise for you. We are also very flexible on the walks we provide, adapting to suit walkers and weather conditions
• Our walk leading is second to none. Unlike some other large Walking Companies, we use LOCAL leaders who live in the area and who love their surroundings. They have expert knowledge of everything you need to know to make an area come alive.
• You are safe in our hands – our guides are experts, fully qualified in first aid. Also, because of their local knowledge of the hills, they can respond to any situation that might for example demand cutting short a route. They don’t need to consult maps – they know the hills intimately.
• Our leaders are all easy-going, genuinely sociable people who want to ensure that you have the best time you can with the rest of the group. They make the weekend fun by engaging with all members of a group, and ensuring that everyone feels part of the group experience.
• We give great value for money. Because we recognise that lots of walkers holiday on their own, we have negotiated no single supplement deals with all our hotels to ensure the best possible deal.
• We always use good hotels, selected and constantly reviewed.
• We have smaller groups than some of the larger walking companies because we believe the social experience is much better in a smaller group. People can talk to everyone, especially at dinner where you can all sit at one table in a small group. Our numbers vary from holiday to holiday but an average group size would be 8-12.

How to book a UK guided walking holiday AND holidays in France, Algarve, Douro Valley and Ireland
To reserve a place on any of our holidays, please follow these simple instructions.

Reserve online – once you have chosen your holiday, click on the booking button and complete the online form OR contact us by phone or email, and we will send by post or email, a booking form to you
OR you can call us direct on 01694 723600, and we will take your reservation over the phone. Please note we cannot take credit/debit card details over the phone; you can, however, post us a cheque. Alternatively, you can pay via the Pay Pal system attached to our website, which allows you to pay either by debit/credit card, or by using your Paypal account if you have one.

We will also accept a Bank Transfer and on request we will supply our bank details to you.

It is important that you read the terms and conditions before you sign the booking form.

Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.

Address:

Secret Hills Walking, 35, Sandford Avenue, Church Stretton, Shropshire, SY6 6BH

Insurance – you need to be fully covered

It is a condition of joining any of our holidays that you must be fully insured against travel, medical and personal accident risks (to include repatriation costs and air ambulance or helicopter rescue services where appropriate). Our partners New Experience holidays will ask for this information as a condition of reserving a place. If you are a UK citizen and travelling in Europe you should obtain the UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) which is available only online from the UK Government website. This gives you medical care at a reduced cost, and some cases for free, in many European countries, but should not be considered a substitute for adequate travel insurance.