An unforgettable holiday for families, 5-day donkey trekking
A fantastic bonding experience for all the family! Put away those tablets and mobile phones and enjoy a trekking adventure from hotel to hotel in the company of a charming donkey.
"...such an unforgettable adventure and we still speak about it often."
From 726 € per person
Difficulty:Easy
Details ...
Duration:4 nights, 5 days
Dates:April to 31st October (not available in July and August)
Start:Saturday to Monday
The route is almost exclusively through valleys and along rivers with no significant ascents.
Average daily distance:8 miles (14 km)
Description
This tour is a winner time after time. Families love the feeling of purpose and adventure involved in this multi-day itinerary with a difference!
- Walking in the company of a donkey will make the children go a lot further without complaints! Delightful walks along beautiful countryside in the Guadarrama National Park.
- The adventure consists of three delightful days of walking from rural hotel to rural hotel. We will transfer your luggage and look after all the details. All you have to do is enjoy the walk and look after your donkey.
- Stunning traditional villages in an area renowed for its wildlife and stunning scenery. Look out for wild boar, golden eagle, vultures and even the elusive iberian wolf!
- We recommend you extend your holiday to visit Segovia, UNESCO World Heritage Site to finnish off with a bang. The kids will love the Roman Acueduct, and hill-top palace!
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival to Navafría
Arrival at the quaint mountain village of Navafría on the foothills of the Guadarrama Mountains. This being Spain, you will have time for a swim in the local natural pool and a walk before dinner.
Day 2: Navafría to Requijada
Distance: 9 miles (15 km)
This morning you'll meet your friendly donkey and will be shown how to handle and look after him! You then set off on your family adventure! The walk takes you along the River Cega and through the picture postcard village of Valle de San Pedro. There'll be lots of pretty picnic possibilities along the way! You will pass the ancient church of San Justo y Pastor. From here, an old drovers’ trail will lead you into Requijada. Your four-legged friend will spend the night in the grounds of the hotel.
Day 3: Requijada to Pedraza
Distance: 9 miles (14 km)
A tiny country road drops you down in just 2km to the river valley you crossed yesterday. From here you wind along a flat shelf of land to regain yesterday’s pretty bridge. (The only other bridge – north of Requijada - would mean more kilometres on a busy road.) A second bridge over a tributary leads you winding up into the hills, where you pick up a drovers’ trail to reach a large cattle ranch. By dirt road you are greeted with outstanding views of the honey coloured hill village of Pedraza, before descending to cross the River Vadillo beneath the limestone cliffs. A short ascent brings you to this perfectly preserved village.
Day 4: Pedraza to Gallegos
Distance: 7 miles (12 km)
As you leave Pedraza you will pass an ancient monastery and two quaint limestone villages where you can enjoy a snack and a cold drink in the terrace of one of the local bar/restaurants. When you reach your destination, the hamlet of Gallegos, the kids will probably want to jump straight into the pool as you relax in the shade with a chilled drink in hand!Make sure the kids get plenty of time to say a loving farewell to their treasured companion and newest best friend, before local farmer and donkey enthusiast, Luis comes to take the donkey home!
Day 5: Departure or extra nights
Return home today?? Make sure you take the opportunity of extra nights in Segovia, the kids will love it! Or, why not visit Madrid and get to know our capital cityTravel
Frequent questions:
- Which airport should I fly to?
- Madrid International Airport.
- How do I get to the Starting Point?
- Catch an AVE (High Speed Train) from Madrid to Segovia (takes 25mins). From here we take you to the starting point for free (30 min private transfer)
- How do I get back?
- Again, we'll include the final transfer from Gallegos to Segovia for free so that you can catch an AVE (High Speed Train) back into Madrid (takes 25mins).
Useful links:
Hotels
Four family-friendly, small, rural hotels. 2 with their own outdoor swimming pools (opened seasonally) and two near pools.
Night 1: Navafría
A mountain village house, renovated in rustic style. 14 magnificent bedrooms decorated with love. Restaurant, gardens, comfortable living rooms. A friendly Spanish family from the village run this hotel very well indeed. Nearby natural swimming pool in the river Cega.
Night 2: Requijada
Traditional building in an isolated village of extraordinary beauty. Only four double rooms with all the creature comforts and decorated to a high standard with a lot of attention to detail. Own restaurant and outdoor swimming pool.
Night 3: Pedraza
Located in the beautifully preserved medieval town of Pedraza, this rural hotel combines comfort with old Castilian rustic style. Ten very comfortable rooms and dining room, beautiful inner courtyard and bar.
Night 4: Gallegos
Small rural hotel full of character. Eleven comfortable bedrooms imaginatively decorated. Common areas include dining room, living room, terrace and gardens. Excellent hosts.
Donkeys
Our donkeys are very experienced trekking companions who live in the Guadarrama Mountains to the south of Segovia.
They are tall donkeys of a Spanish race called Zamorano: docile, tranquil animals of a rare and surprising intelligence!
You will be pleased at how well they keep a good pace and how they carry the smaller children without complaint!
Galindo, Ligoncete, Marina, Gordito and Madrileño are their names.
Prices
Basic price:
Per person in double or family room726 €
This includes:
- 4 nights' accommodation. 4 breakfasts.
- 3 picnic lunches and 3 dinners.
- Free transfer between Segovia train station and the walking area (30mins).
- Free transfer between the walking area and Segovia train station.
- Luggage transfers between hotels.
- Detailed maps with your trail clearly marked.
- Itinerary description, full of recommendations for things to do and places to visit, advice and suggestions and information about your accommodation, etc.
- Emergency support.
- Activity insurance.
Adults or children in single room (per person)764 €
First child in family room290 €
Second and other children in family room254 €
Children in their own double room (price per child)466 €
Children in their own triple room (price per child)407 €
Child sharing double room with single parent (price per child)676 €
Supplements:
Solo traveller supplement
460 €
Extras:
Donkey hire (3 days)179 €
Transfers:
Taxi Madrid to Navafria (1-6 persons)185 €
Taxi Gallegos to Madrid (1-6 persons)185 €
Other options:(Prices on request)
Extra night(s) in Madrid
Extra night(s) in Segovia
If interested, please contact us with your plans, requirements and queries,
or simply use the next "Get a quote" section, which we would recommend.
Get a quote
Reviews
- the most incredible time
We had the most incredible time, exploring rural Spain with our adorable donkey Lucia!
I'm pretty certain we would have never stumbled upon the adorable villages of Pedraza, Navafría et al., if it had't been for this one of a kind trip.
Everything was perfectly organized, so that we (barely ;)) got lost during our 5 day trekking adventure, and easily found our way to our accommodations - each unique, welcoming and beautifully set.
Thanks to Jorge, Cris and the rest of the team!
Marie, Else & Ada, Germany
- we all fell in love
We had an absolutely super time! Our donkey, Gordy, was so good and we all fell in love with him!
The maps and instructions were particularly helpful and we loved the places we stayed in. In particular , the place in Gallegos was very beautiful and we had a superb meal on their beautiful veranda – it was a real highlight.
Please pass on our comments to them. The lady in Pradena was very sweet and cooked us a lovely breakfast and Pedraza was a beautiful hotel too.
We will certainly recommend you to all our friends.
Emma Bate, UK
- The days spent walking with our donkey were perfect
We had an amazing walking holiday in May with our gorgeous, placid donkey 'Ligoncete'.
The communication and organisation were fantastic, everything went smoothly and 'Away from the Crowds' were really helpful. They went out of their way on the last day to take us back to our hotel to check in and then gave us a lift to La Granja de San Ildefonso.
The days spent walking with our donkey were perfect. The countryside was beautiful, the terrain mostly flat and we barely saw another soul for 3 days!
The hotels were lovely and very quiet. We particularly liked the owner and amazing evening meal (paella) in Requijada, the breakfast and picturesque old town in Pedraza and the beautiful views in Gallegos.
We were all sad when we had to say goodbye to Ligoncete, he was such a good walking companion.
I would definitely recommend this company and the family walking holiday, we won't forget it in a hurry!
Louise Ball, UK.
- a fabulous trekking experience
A big thank you to you all for such a fabulous trekking experience with our loveable rogue 'Gordito'.
Whilst the weather may not have been the best it didn't dampen our spirits or spoil the time that we had.
Gordito was sure footed and an absolute delight. It is something that will go down in the memory book, literally!
The places we stayed were well chosen, the people whom we met so friendly and helpful and the service from your team was super efficient. We certainly were Away From The Crowds and we loved it!
We hope to be back!
Once again, thank you all so much for a fabulous time.
Sarah Owen, UK.
- a proper walk for once
Donkey walking what a great idea! It works for the whole family (aged 5 to 74!).
Galindo (the donkey) made it possible for us parents to do a proper walk for once, while our little boy was super excited about riding and feeding him (and has now shown photos of Galindo to all his friends at nursery).
All the practical arrangements were well looked after in a friendly manner, hotels and meals were uniformly of a good standard, arranged transfers were bang on time, and our individual requests (e.g., extra days in Pradena and Segovia) were swiftly sorted.
We warmly recommend this holiday to all our friends.
Thanks for a fantastic week!
Lena Dahlberg, Sweden.
- lovely donkey - lovely places
What a lovely donkey trekking holiday we are having in northern Spain with an 11 and 13 year old staying in lovely places on the way.
Thank you so much for your kindness and hospitality.
Joanna Marshall-Casson, UK.
- we still speak about it often
Lucy and I had a wonderful time on the donkey trek.. Lucy was heartbroken to say goodbye to Galindo on our final day.
The directions and maps were very thorough and the hotels were really lovely and welcoming. It was fantastic to experience real Spain.
We had such an unforgettable adventure and we still speak about it often. I have recommended this holiday to so many of our friends.
Thank you for everything you did for us. And please feel free to use the photos on your website if they would be useful.
I'm sure well see you again!
Amanda (and Lucy) Kinnear, UK.
CO₂ footprint offsetting
This holiday produces a carbon footprint of 0,2589 tonnes of CO₂. This includes taxis, luggage transfers and accommodation for every traveller.
We will compensate the CO₂ footprint for each booking through tropical reforestation projects in collaboration with the CeroCO₂ platform.
Additionally, you can also offset your own flight emissions by visiting myclimate. See the link below.
