Hike Spain's Sierra de Aitana

5 days guided walking; 1 free day

A private minibus is usually used for airport arrival and departure transfers. Depending on the group size, the short daily transfers and organised excursions will be either by nine-seater van or private vehicles. On occasions, your leader will need to make two journeys at the end of the walks so some members of the group may have to wait 20 minutes (or have another beer) to join the second transfer.

All breakfasts, five lunches and six dinners (plus local wine with dinner, one bottle per three people) are included.

Breakfast: Continental style – local seasonal fruit, orange juice, different types of bread, cakes, cheese, ham, or bacon and eggs on request every day. Tea and coffee.

Lunch: Picnic lunches will usually consist of bread rolls (our famous whole wheat triple deckers) with cheese and salad/meat, fruit, muesli bars, biscuits or nuts, and a juice carton. Our local guide usually also provides some snacks such as pickled olives, chocolates and dried figs.

Evening meal: As the main meal of the day, we enjoy a large variety of local cuisine including espencat, minxos (small pancakes)  legume soups, roasted lamb, and  of  course  local paella . Most of the food is freshly prepared from locally grown seasonal produce, and the pension produce their own olive oil. A reasonable amount of local wine is provided with the evening meal but additional beverages are not included.

Mealtimes in Spain are later than in many other countries; dinner is usually between 8pm and 9.30pm.

Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets are well catered for given prior notice, and most other dietary requirements can also be accommodated if you let us know in advance (at the time of booking). Please note we cant guarantee any dietary requests made on arrival.

Please note, should flights change to arrive earlier, or depart later, additional meals are not included. Please also note that no refund will be given for meals not taken or taken other than where designated.

vegetarian, vegan, meat

Tour leader throughout

We stay at Rincon de Pepe, a two-star hostel in the heart of Benimantell in the Guadalest Valley, approximately 40mi (60km) from Alicante and away from the crowded Costa Blanca. It is ideally situated for our adventure, minimising transfer times for our walks and offering views over the Mediterranean.

It has only eight rooms, which all offer sea views and the opportunity to enjoy a sunrise every morning. In the restaurant, there is a fireplace, which is used by the tour leader on the final night to prepare a paella (accompanied by a local vermouth) to end the hiking week. In winter, it also serves as an improvised barbecue to grill sausages or vegetables for dinner.

Additionally, the staff at Rincon de Pepe produce olive oil from the many olive trees surrounding the property; during the winter season, there will be oranges with which you can make your own freshly squeezed orange juice at breakfast. Local bottled wine is included for all five evening meals or soft drinks/beers.

There is also a back terrace/entrance, used only by our groups, which provides direct access to a private meeting room. This entrance also includes a small area where we can leave boots, walking poles and any wet walking gear.

Amenities

Restaurant serving traditional dishes using local ingredients

Outside terrace area

Wet gear room and clothes dryer

Living room area with comfortable seating

24-hour tea/coffee facilities, books and card games

Worth knowing

Single supplements (on request) are limited and are allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.