Walking in Andalucia

Our first ever Exodus trip - one of our best holidays EVER!!

A really enjoyable holiday despite the potential for disruption caused by the farmers' road blocks, deftly avoided by Michael, our very knowledgable guide, and his network of 'spies'. A good variety of walks, nicely paced to accommodate the mixed ability within the group. The day off in Sevilla is a must, as is the optional trip to Ronda. As an add-on consider exploring Malaga, if you've not been before. It's well worth the effort, and if slotted in before the walking begins, as I did, gently eases you into holiday mode.

This being our first experience with Exodus and having been on two other walking holidays we knew roughly what to expect however this holiday exceeded our expectations ! From pick up at Malaga to departure a week later everything went smoothly. On arrival Chris who was our leader for the week met us and took us to the waiting taxi where the other guests met us as well to take us onward to Cortijo Rosario our home for the week. On route Chris pointed out various places of interest and had a wealth of historical information to make the journey interesting for us all. We were a small group six in total but this did not matter at all. Once unpacked Chris showed us around the farmhouse and gave us a few house rules which helped us settle in. Each evening Chris told us all we needed to know about the following day's walks all of which were varied and thoroughly enjoyable whether it was from the Farmhouse or a taxi journey away. Every walk had lots of interest and lots of wild flowers and birds to see and this was backed up with Chris and a vast amount of Andalucian knowledge. Food was excellent,prepared by Maria a local lady and helped by Rocio, giving us all a taste of Andalucia. Breakfast was simple but enough to start our day's walking,lunch was a picnic and one day a tapas lunch was provided in on of the local villages that we passed through.Evening meal was three courses with wine all very nice.After the meal the group sat in the lounge where a large open fire made us all feel at home, this gave us time to reflect on the days walk .One night Chris did a quiz to see if we had taken on board all that he had to tell us, this was fun. Whilst we were there it was our 33rd wedding anniversary and having spoken to Rocio she managed to get flowers delivered to the Farmhouse for my wife, in the evening Bill and Ann the owners bought out a bottle of Cava for us all to enjoy, a really nice touch.This was followed by two local girls who did Flamenco dancing for us, this was fantastic ,a joy to see. So in general an excellent holiday with a brilliant leader. Thank you Exodus

This trip was wonderful; I recommend it with two thumbs - or 10 fingers - up! It was a blend of 5 days of hiking and 1 day of playing tourist in Seville, a perfect mix of experiencing Andalusia for the first time. The hotel was lovely and relaxed, occupied only by our group; the food was delicious! (we had a paella lesson on the last night with Alexis translating the chef's instructions); the hiking was varied and featured beautiful vistas; all of us got along well - really, a 5-star vacation.

Lovely trip - great walking combined with fascinating landscape, wildlife, history and geology. Very varied, from rugged Rocky Mountains to verdant forests and the city of Seville with a super bunch of people.

I very much enjoyed the holiday - the hotel was comfortable with good food, the walks were varied (in length, difficulty and scenery), and the day in Seville exceeded my expectations. It was a very well thought out itinerary, and all the staff we encountered were very helpful, especially our guide, Michael. We had a fairly large group of 14, but we all got on very well, helped by the friendliness of the local staff. We were lucky to get very good weather at the end of April (as hot as summer!), so we could make good use of the hotel pool, and eat our evening meals outside on the terrace.

I really enjoyed this, my first walking holiday in quite a while. It was very well planned, starting with a short amble to the nearby village and building up to a longer, slightly more challenging route later in the week. None of the walking was particularly arduous, although there are some hills - including the short steep one up to the finca where we stayed - but our leader Alexis always made sure we were all happy with the pace, which was leisurely, and we took frequent rests to admire the countryside. The area is very peaceful and unspoilt, and the days when we were taken further afield and into the mountains in the minibus gave us a chance to see more of it. The day in Seville was a good contrast to the rural walks, and there is a lot to see there. The beautiful Alcazar is pretty unmissable if people haven't seen it before. At the finca the accommodation was comfortable and nothing was too much trouble for the staff; the owners came to say hello and were also charming and helpful. The food was good and plentiful too. Having wondered beforehand how I would cope after a long break from walking, I had a really great week, and am now planning my next week away.

Everything about this trip went absolutely perfectly and we couldn't be more pleased with the accommodations, food, hiking, service and organization. If every Exodus tour is as good as this one then we longer will search for any other hiking vacation options.

Great walking despite the rain. Comfortable acommodation with fantastic home cooking, friendly staff and welcoming cups of tea and grinning dogs on return to  the Cortija Rosario Great group and excelllent guides,plenty of stops to gather breath and learn more on the local flora and fauna with a bit of history thrown in.

A very good opportunity to walk in an unspoilt part of Andalucia from a converted farmhouse base where the staff will look after you very well.