Away from the Crowds

Reviews

impressed by the quality

We really enjoyed our holiday. It was helped very much by the weather being so good. We were especially impressed by the quality of the hotels. All were lovely and with the exception of the Parador, unmistakenly Spanish. Although the Parador is a very good hotel, it is not as typically Spanish as the others although the staff were very happy to let us try our poor Spanish conversation on them.

The taxi transports worked perfectly and our drivers were, without exception, delightful.

We enjoyed the walks very much, especially the variety of habitats and therefore also the variety of birds we saw. One day we saw many pied flycatchers while another many woodchat shrikes for example. Of course we saw vultures every day.

The email you sent with the files for a GPS was extremely useful and we used them every day. Of course, you provided us with a GPS machine for use at La Granja but we used our own too just in case we had a problem. Your GPS files ensured that we did not.

Thank you again for arranging such a lovely holiday.

Best regards,

John & Liz Knowles, UK

wonderful meals

We enjoyed ourselves very much

All the hotels were very comfortable and everyone working in them were very friendly and hospitable. They were a joy to meet.

We would also like to commend the food as well, but reserve special thanks for the wonderful meals we had at the hotel in Segovia, the Posada De Gallegos, and at the Restaurante Cristobal in Sepulveda.

You asked for anecdotes. I'm not sure we have those, but we will always remember the walk along the Rio Duraton (despite it being ""there and back"") not just because of the beauty, but with our encounters with the wildlife. It was like a ""Disney movie"" with dozens of blue butterflies hovering around our feet, and a red squirrel (with an almond nut in its mouth) posing for its picture to be taken.

Keith Weymouth, UK.

fantastic experience

Hi there ,

we began our holiday in Segovia for 2 days sightseeing in this amazing (world heritage) town. Hubby and I were then transported to Navafria , to complete a circular walk connecting rustic villages . This was a great challenge , we averaged 15 Km a day for three days.

We were then transported to Sepulveda for a couple of days to see the vultures and walked in the amazing Duraton Canyon.

It was a fantastic experience, made easy thanks to Jaime's organisation with amazing accommodation, good maps and directions, great eating (and drinking) places.

We were so lucky with the weather, a very dry period, not too hot but plenty of wild blackberries, almonds and walnuts to keep us going! The wildlife did not disappoint with lots of close up views of vultures,also booted eagles, kites, choughs, shrikes etc.

We managed una poco Espaniole but this has inspired us to learn more, would love to do another trip with "Away from the Crowds"!

Mel and Gus Spirit, Scotland.

it was good value, well organised

We really enjoyed our walk with your company, we thought it was good value, well organised, and covered interesting countryside. We felt the benefits of local knowledge in the planning of this trip.

Throughout the planning booking and actual trip communication with your team was excellent.

Accommodation was generally good, Infanta Isabella, wonderful location, great room overlooking the square but breakfast not so good; The Hotel Roma, good location, attentive landlord, good simple breakfast, closed for dinner on the second evening and raining cats and dogs so very difficult to go out and find food, but not as appealing as the other places we stayed; accommodation in Gallegos was suprisingly good, although the outside apperance was a bit haphazard, but the room was great and the food was some of the best we had anywhere, and the landlord was very helpful (we spread our packed lunch over 2 days as it was huge); hotel poseda san milan, a bit of a walk from the main square but was amazing, wonderful old building, fantastic room, warm friendlly and very obiliging staff.

Our only disappointment came in Sepulveda, where the Duraton Canyon walk was closed (due to bird breeding) and also the interpretive centre did not open on the Sunday or the Monday.

We also had a very wet and miserable day in San Ildefonso, but I guess we cant hold you responsible for the Spanish weather. (We did make our way up to the waterfall and then retired to the palace for the afternoon.)

Our taxi transfers were excellent, also we really enjoyed meeting you and your boss for the other transfers and learning about the countryside as we were being transferred.

The tracknotes were excellent (apart from the couple of errors we told you about during our transfer).

I hope you find this feedback helpful

Warm regards

Helen Thorne (and Rupert), UK.

Thanks for your feedback. So sorry to hear you did not get to enjoy the Cannyon. Actually, it would have been open, but with restricted access and we had requested the permit for you and your husband. It´s a pity you did not realise.

Jaime, AFTC.

CO₂ footprint offsetting