Walking Holidays

Terrain

Surrounded by mountain ranges, Castell de Castells is the perfect base from which to set off for your walks. Many walks start from the village itself, whilst others require a short drive in our comfortable, air-conditioned minibus.

The walks follow the undulations of the mountains in the surrounding ‘Marina Alta’ region and are normally on forestry tracks and Mozarabic trails (ancient Moorish trading routes between villages) amongst olive and almond groves. The trails are pretty much our own. Apart from the odd shepherd and olive farmer, we often see nothing other than fantastic views and any wildlife that may be active during the day.

In this breathtakingly beautiful limestone landscape, we can stop to look at old caves, neveras (Moorish ice houses) and ruined settlements. We occasionally drink from ancient wells and fonts which are fed by fresh mountain water via underground springs. Lunch is normally taken at a picnic spot chosen by your guide, Sarah or Gary, or alternatively, depending on the particular walk, a village bar or restaurant may provide tapas and drinks to satisfy lunchtime needs.

Walking Options

Holidays based at Pension Castells are flexible and can be tailored to suit your particular requirements, or altenatively you can join a group on a pre-arranged holiday. We cater for all grades of walkers from those who prefer a gentle stroll to those of you wanting a bit of a challenge.

Single day, weekend or full week breaks for guided / unguided walking (or a combination) can be booked at Pension Castells. Sarah and Gary, your guides and hosts, are BMC Walking Group Leader trained and are the first and only British guides in the area to have Spanish certification. We both hold current British Rescue Emergency Care certificates.

After a leisurely breakfast, guided walks typically start at about 10am (we have slipped into the Spanish way of life). Depending on group requirements, we normally return to the pension at about 4pm for afternoon tea and cake. This allows time to freshen up and relax with a drink on the roof terrace before dinner at around 8pm.

On non-guided days, we can provide details of other walks for you to enjoy. If you fancy a change from walking, we can arrange alternative activities and excursions.

When to walk?

Walking holidays are available at Pension Castells all the year, but the summer months of July and August can be a little hot for longer walks. The winter months still provide excellent walking conditions, cool mornings and evenings, but crisp daylight hours with blue skies and warm sunshine.

What we can provide:

• Our rustic en-suite rooms with their exposed beams offering relaxed comfort
• Wholesome continental breakfasts
• Guided /un-guided mountain walking
• Packed lunches
• Afternoon tea and cake on return from walks
• Sunny roof terrace for post walk relaxation
• Small in-house bar
• Sarah’s legendary (so our visitors’ book says!) 3 course evening meals served with the wonderful Jalon Valley vino tinto. NB: we can cater for most special dietary requirements with notice
• Airport transfers and excursions in our air-conditioned minibus

Holiday Options & Prices:
Below are a selection of walking packages we often provide. However, we are also happy to tailor a package to suit individual requirements for walking or multi activity breaks.

ONE WEEK GUIDED WALKING BREAK
(based on two people room sharing)

• 7 nights bed and breakfast
• 5 guided walks
• 5 packed lunches
• 5 evening meals (3 courses with local Jalon valley wine)
• Tea and cake after guided walks
• Information for days when no guiding
• Airport (Alicante) transfer for groups of four or more travelling together. For groups of xless than 4, an extra charge is made each way (minimum 2 people). For other airports – price on application.
  
  £535 per person -  flights not included

• 4 nights bed and breakfast
• 3 guided walks
• 3 packed lunches
• 3 evening meals
• Tea and cake after guided walks
• Airport (Alicante) transfer for groups of four or more travelling together. For groups of xless than 4, an extra charge is made each way (minimum 2 people). For other airports – price on application

  £350 per person -  flights not included

• 7 nights bed and breakfast
• 5 evening meals
• Walking information
• Airport (Alicante) transfer for groups of four or more travelling together. For groups of less than 4, an extra charge is made each way (minimum 2 people). For other airports – price on application
  
  £395 per person -  flights not included

• Single room supplement £12 per person per night
• Additional evening meals by arrangement. Alternatively the village has a number of xtapas bars where traditional Spanish cuisine can be enjoyed
• Picnic lunches
• Mountain biking (bike hire, instruction and guiding available), tennis (coaching and equipment), climbing , horse riding, golf, sailing and other waterxsports.