Reviews

The perfect trip!👌

This was a great trip! It was very well organised and we had a great tour leader in Edvardo. He was personable and very funny.it was a good mixture of leisure and walking. I would thoroughly recommend.

Excellent Trip

Good company, good leaders, good food, good experiences.

The highlights without all the work!

A superb selection of hikes on the Tour, an excellent guide, easy transport to less accessible start/finish points. and a lovely chalet and hosts is an unbeatable introduction to the glories of the Alps. The weather, well, you need a bit of luck. We did, for most of the hikes. Thoroughly recommended.

Amazing

My husband and I did this tour for our anniversary and it was better than expected. We experienced local markets, local food and adorable little towns each day. Each hike had very difference scenery too. It’s was surprising. Our guide Isabelle was amazing as well. We called her Mary Poppins because every day she pulled something new out of her nap sac for us to try and it was always local. It was wonderful. She even baked us a cake for our anniversary. The hikes themselves were rated well. There were some inclines that put you slightly out of breath and declines on rocks so you just have to be careful and take your time. But I wouldn’t call this strenuous. We loved it and can’t wait for our next one!

Coastal views

Portugal is a beautiful country and cycling along its coast felt like I experienced all it’s best parts.
Cycling: This is rated correctly at “moderate” because of the hills. However it is a comfortable “easy” ride for the average fit person. I don’t ride a bike at home and felt this was very doable. I really enjoyed how the cycling increased in time on the bike and pace as the trip progressed. From the first day where we took it easy, stayed together as a group and didn’t go too far a distance, to the last day of rolling hills, go at your own pace (fast or slow) and longer distances. Since you are travelling as a group it is to be expected that sometimes you will be waiting for the last person. But it is nice since, you can have yourself a little snack and coffee while you wait a lot of the time. Plenty of opportunity to take your time or even ride in the support vehicle if you aren’t up for the hill that day. I took advantage once myself of the ‘free’ ride.
The ride is on mostly flat, or rolling, paved bike paths, through forest and coastal towns. We spent little time on roads and if we did they weren’t busy. Since it is a cycling trip the majority of your day is spent on the bike or ‘in transit’. Sightseeing in the towns you stay in is limited but a part of the consistent paced itinerary.

Great introduction to trekking and altitude

I was using this as a bit of a practise for my trip to Everest Base Camp, it provided the practise I was looking for and so much more.
The walking was a good steady pace that suited the group, with meals almost magically appearing from nowhere. Considering all the food had be transported on the mules, the food was good, even a few welcome surprise snacks.
The scenery was stunning , with some part surprisingly green.
The time spent in Marrakesh was a complete contrast to the solitude of the mountains, but still great fun. The sights and sound on markets will stay with me for ever

The Five Stans - A journey through history and the Central Asian Republice

A great holiday with plenty of superb sites and stunning scenery. One reason for calling this the Silk Road was that silk was used to pay people. It started with the Chinese needing horses to fight the nomads from the north. By 53BC, Rome was spending half its silver production on silk and other products from the Silk Roads. Rome also had to introduce modesty legislation because of the number of people wearing only silk.

Whilst Julius Caesar was invading Britain in 53BC, his friend Marcus Crassus was leading another Roman army to defeat by Persia, in an empire that stretched from modern day Iran to Afghanistan and north to Merv. 10,000 Roman captives were sold at the Merv slave market to the Chinese, to fight on their northern border against marauding nomadic tribes.

The ruins of three cities can be seen at Merv, in southern modern day Turkmenistan. The first was built by Cyrus the Great when he created the first Persian Empire. Next to it is the remains of the city built by Alexander the Great and next to that the remains of the city built after the Arab invasion, which was destroyed by the armies of Genghis Khan 1221 AD, with up to a million people being massacred.

Alexander is a hero in Turkmen, after he freed them from Persian rule. In Uzbekistan, Timor is the hero, as he rose from hired sword to ruler of a vast empire, stretching from the Chinese border to Egypt, destroying many armies on the way. He made Samarqand his capital and made it one of the greatest cities.

In Tajikistan, it is Cyrus the Great who is remembered, partly because he was murdered there.
In Osh, Kyrgyzstan, it is Babur, great great grandson of Timor and founder of the Indian Mughal dynasty who is remembered. Although it is Manus who is the local hero.

Good

A very comprehensive tour where you get to see many of the best places in Croatia on the coast and Islands.
Beautiful scenery with a picture around every corner.
Very busy itinerary both the cycling and the travelling with not much free time so make sure sure you are prepared for this one – both physically and mentally.
It was very hot when we were there so you have to factor in that you might be cycling big hill climbs in extreme heat and out in the heat all day, every day.
There is a support vehicle if you need it but ours did not have too much in the way of aircon.

A great week in the Mont Blanc area

A fantastic week. The accommodation was top notch as were the chalet caterers. The description of the weeks walk was accurate sadly the weather let us down a little.

Mont Blanc Highlights

Had a wonderful week walking in the Mont Blanc massif. Everything was fantastic – the walks were thoughtfully planned and well guided, chalet was comfortable with amazing views, food was delicious and varied, company was excellent……..and the weather was brilliant.