Senderos y Pueblos

Reseñas

A holiday with Away from the Crowds is a great way to explore parts of Spain that are a bit off the beaten track.

"We had a fantastic holiday cycling the Alicante and Costa Brava route. Away from the Crowds provide everything you need for your trip. Due to flight dates/times we wanted to stay an extra day at the start of our trip and they arranged that for us. Any questions we had prior to the trip were responded to quickly and they also provided some useful last minute tips just before the start of the trip.

Everything went very smoothly - airport transfers, bike delivery and set up, daily luggage transfer. Everything was done as arranged and without fuss. Each day when we arrived at our hotel our luggage was waiting for us and there was somewhere secure to store the bikes. People everywhere were friendly and helpful.

The routes were varied and covered different terrains from cycle paths, quiet roads and off road tracks. There were some sections of busier roads but these were kept to a minimum. We used the road book in combination with the gps maps and that worked well for us. The road book has detailed directions as well as useful suggestions for refreshment stops. It also tells you about the area you are cycling in with reference to points of interest and local history. Some of the off road sections were a little challenging and care is needed when transitioning from road to off road as the bikes are heavy and can slip around a bit. The road book highlighted this and suggests sections where you may prefer to push (I did). The route between Alcoi and Villalonga is stunning with a fair bit of off road and quite a few tunnels!

The hotels were all very comfortable and well located. We especially liked the smaller hotels in Bocairent and Villalonga which had beautiful rooms with their own distinct character. I would also recommend visiting Plaza de Dins in Alcoi in the evening - the square is buzzing with many cafe bars where you can get great tapas and soak up the atmosphere.

A holiday with Away from the Crowds is a great way to explore parts of Spain that are a bit off the beaten track.

Jennifer Anderson, Scotland.

Thank you Jennifer. Very much appreciated. Delighted that you enjoyed!

Jaime, AFTC.

We had the most enjoyable experience

We had the most enjoyable experience cycling the Alicante/Costa Blanca 6 day tour. Everything was brilliantly organised and the course a good mix of lesser visited inland towns and more popular beach locations.

We're a couple with different levels of cycling fitness so we chose this particular tour, rated easy to moderate.

There was one particularly challenging climb but also no hurry so it's OK to walk if you want to. Much of the time we were on old rail trails and sometimes they're quite rough. We had good fun on these although they might not be for everyone.

With only an average of 30 odd kilometres a day to travel, you have plenty of time to get to your destination and have a good look around along the way.

The accommodation was always excellent (Villalonga our favourite), the bikes good quality and the quick responses from the folks at AWTC made us feel as though we were always being well looked after.

All good things come to an end and the time went by too quickly. We'll definitely consider coming back in future to try a different course.

Particular thanks to Jorge and Cris for all their help before and during the tour. Your personal touch is much appreciated.

Stephanie Segoura, UK

The route instructions were really good and easy to follow

Here are our comments, mainly Roger's as he was navigator. We had a very good time, and hope to do another with you again some time. The bikes were fine, although I would have preferred one a bit lighter on some of the route. We have of course already told you about the tunnel that was temporarily closed for works.

We really enjoyed the trip, particularly the section along the R Serpis after L'Orxa which really felt ""away from the crowds""!

It was unfortunate that a lots of the bars were closed in early October, but it couldn't be helped. Weatherwise it was an ideal time to go.

The route instructions were really good and easy to follow, nevertheless it was useful to have the GPX tracks which helped confirm that we were on the correct route (or not). We used these in conjunction with the Gallileo App - the basic version is free.

The luggage transfers all went well, and we liked the hotels. It was good to have swimming pools at some of them.

Margaret Goff, UK

Many thanks Margaret, I imagine the bike would have felt heavy going up to the Sierra de Mariela Natural Park. Here a sports road bike would have been ideal. Touring bikes are certainly heavier than other bikes but they are dependable, sturdy, comfortable and safe. I think it´s a good compromise.

Jaime, AFTC.

I must say we were very impressed

I must say we were very impressed and we both had the BEST holiday.

The bikes were great. Big heavy things but comfortable and well suited to the course. They certainly coped with the rough parts.

The hotels were well beyond what we expected. If we could single out a favourite, it would be Casa Babel in Villalonga. What a beautiful old building and lovely people as well. This was also the only place where we ate dinner at the hotel and it was superb.

The course itself was very thoughtfully planned and we both appreciated seeing parts of the country where few tourists go, although it did test our limited Spanish!

The road book is very detailed, although a bit inaccurate in places. Therefore the GPS is essential. I think you should strongly recommend it, or the downloadable course, to all travellers.

By the way, one of the bikes had a poorly calibrated computer so we had different readings from each other.

Paul Quick, Australia.

Many thanks, Paul and Juanita. We have reviewed the roadbook for inaccuracies since your visit, as we do at the end of every season.

Jaime, AFTC.

Compensación de huella de CO₂