Away from the Crowds

Reviews

...the monastery at San Frutos will be something we remember for many years for the amazing views and for watching the vultures.

We had a great holiday and please pass on our thanks to the whole team. Our holiday was well planned with just the right balance of rural, mountain and village/fortified castles. The finish at Duraton Canyon was amazing, and the walk down to the monastery at San Frutos will be something we remember for many years for the amazing views and for watching the vultures.

Observations are as follows:-

Luggage transfer was very efficient. We really appreciated having access to our bags as soon as we arrived after long days cycling.

GPX files. These were great. Thanks. - the turn by turn directions meant a we didn’t have to pay as close attention to the road book all the time.

Transfers. - your transfer from Madrid to Segovia by taxi was great and much better value than anything I could find online.

Spanish language. - it would be worth emphasising just how little English is spoken in this region- even in the hotels. We knew a few words of basic Spanish, but might be worth recommending Google Translate in your notes especially the camera function for translating menus!

We’ll be sure to post a review online for you guys and hope to take a holiday with you again some day.

Thanks

Simon Vaux, UK

absolutely superb

I can safely speak for our entire group when I say that our Spain tour was absolutely superb, including all of the excellent services and equipment that you provided, our nightly lodgings, our splendid route though stunning countryside and lovely towns, the Spanish food (and wine!), and the welcoming Spanish people that we met.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are already planning another bicycle tour vacation with your company. You have so many fine itineraries for us to consider!

Hope to see you again. Maybe next year….

Salud,

Larry Rice. Buena Vista, Colorado, USA

we felt like we were in a dream, it was so beautiful

We biked the medieval villages tour the first week of September. It turned out to be the best possible time – clear cool mornings, hot sun in the afternoons (siesta time) and gorgeous cool starlit nights.

The daily itineraries were perfect, biking on small country roads in gold and dusty green landscapes, stopping in small towns for a cold drink on the plaza mayor and to walk around a church from the 12th century – we felt like we were in a dream, it was so beautiful.

The directions were perfect and perfectly clear, the support was impeccable (kudos to Raquel and Edward and Jaime), the inns were welcoming and comfortable and truly delightful – we can't believe we happened upon this company and this vacation: it was perfect!

One note about the route: we are somewhat in shape, we bike not every weekend but regularly enough. Out of an excess of caution we opted for the 'ebikes' with battery pedal assist. And that first day, slogging from Segovia up into the hills to Sotosalbos, we congratulated ourselves on our wise choice.

We found over the week that we didn't need the pedal assist that often, but when we needed it, we needed it. We are in our mid-50s, more or less in shape – if you are around the same demographic, we advise paying that little bit extra and getting the ebike – it is, after all, vacation.

Barbara and Andy Green, USA

the accommodation excellent

The organisation of the holiday was faultless, the accommodation excellent, the people delightful.

The historic villages, scenery, scents of herbs and lavender were stunning, can't wait to do it again; every hill climb was really worth it.

Loved Segovia and Madrid at the end of the trip too, they were a bonus but the solitude of the hills and paths was just marvellous.

Thank you for an excellent service and wonderful experience.

Patricia Methven, UK.

well planned cycle routes

This was a wonderful experience staying at comfortable and interesting historic hotels with delightful hosts. These were connected by well planned cycle routes that were sufficiently challenging for a moderately fit couple in (very) late 50s.

Bikes were a tad heavy but well maintained and reliable. All connection, baggage transfers, etc were smooth and without problem.

Towns and countryside were stunning We would not have known to visit them without the tour.

We did the tour in early October when the weather was just lovely - it may be a tad hot in this region at the height of Summer.

Duncan Veal, Australia.

The route was fascinating for us

We all had a wonderful time. The heat was definitely a factor, but we are from Arizona where currently it is 115F (46C) degrees most days!!!

We coerced our lovely hosts to feed us breakfast earlier than they were used to and got on the road early.

The route was fascinating for us and constantly reminded us how young the United States is. The people we met along the way couldn’t have been nicer and despite our poor attempts at Spanish, were most gracious.

Jorge deserves a huge raise for coming through with two additional electric bikes. Saved the day (actually, the whole trip) for Ken and Catherine. In fact, everyone with Senderos y Pueblos was fantastic.

Lee Lambie, USA.

We can certainly recommend this trip

We took the option of the ebikes and were very glad that we did this. There are quite a few long climbs and the ebike was wonderful.

The maps, small hotels and directions were great. the accommodation got better and better with the jewel being the old hotel in Sepulveda.

We think the new routes that went more off the main roads were better and think, if possible, to do even more small roads. We can certainly recommend this trip.

Jenny Hicks, Australia.

the rural scenery was delightful

We wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed your Segovia's Medieval Villages tour. Although the weather was a bit challenging at times (cool with rain showers most days, snow one day) the rural scenery was delightful, the roads were in good condition and nearly empty, and the accommodations were uniformly excellent.

We particularly enjoyed the Hostal de Buen Amor in Sotosalbos, and the Posada de San Millan in Sepulveda. The young women who was our hostess at the Hostal de Buen Amor (Racha?) was very accommodating and friendly.

Pilar, who made us feel very welcome at her inn in Sepulveda, even drove us to the bus station in Bocegillas, so we could catch the bus to Madrid after the taxi driver cancelled at the last minute.

We also appreciated the arrangements you made for us for extra nights in Madrid at the Hotel Medium Cortezo, and in Toledo at the Hotel Eurico. Both of these hotels are very conveniently located, and provided very adequate accommodations.

The maps and directions you supplied were both accurate and easy to use, and the bicycles were ideal for the combination of highways, cobblestone streets, and gravel paths we encountered. We experienced no mechanical problems of any kind, or even a single flat tire.

We especially liked the fact that the trip alternated point-to-point rides with circular, "out and back" rides. This allowed us to settle in a bit at each hotel, and also gave us the flexibility to leave the bikes in the garage one day when it snowed in Pedraza.

Although we would have liked to explore the foothills to the south and east of town, the snow and cold made it easy to decide to skip the ride and instead catch up on our correspondence and simply wander about Pedraza a bit.

We will definitely recommend Senderos y Pueblos and your Segovia's Medieval Villages tour to our friends, and we look forward to trying out one of your other tours soon.

Paul and Lee Ann Weddle, USA.

amazing week of cycling

We just got back from our amazing week of cycling through Segovia's medieval villages.

Everything was perfect; the route was really away from the crowds through beautiful villages and swathes of countryside we would never otherwise have seen, the hotels were welcoming, clean, comfortable and full of character, the food was delicious and kept us cycling and the bikes were great too and very well fitted to us.

We will definitely be doing another trip like this!

Catherine Walker, UK.

CO₂ footprint offsetting