Accommodation was excellent, bikes were fine, overall a great holiday, would recommend it

Some of the finest and most enjoyable cycling we have ever done. We did the trip at the very end of September and the weather was near perfect (highs around 25 degrees, sunny, very little wind) apart from day 3 when it was quite windy which made it hard on the uphills and a bit scary on the downhills, so we did much of that day slowly and unclipped.
Please note there is very little shade so make sure you stay hydrated (we put isotonic pills in our water to help) and pace yourself. We live in Scotland and I don’t think we’d want to do this in the height of summer. The altitude meant nights were pleasantly cool which was good for relaxing and sleeping (and for climbs early in the morning).

It's a hilly route and after the pandemic we weren't fit and we aren't hardcore cyclists anyway (and in our 40s and 50s), but we paced ourselves and it was fine, the only thing we'd mention to travellers is that the detour to see El Torcal is a steep 350 meters climb which was too much for us at the end of that windy day. But fitter cyclists will likely enjoy it, and it is a scenic place. And on the last day we took the taxi option on offer and started 200 m below the top of the last big hill, as we were tired. The hill wasn't as steep as we feared so retrospectively we could have done the whole route that day, but we don't regret taking the easy option and finishing our trip gently.

The landscape was magnificent and much more varied than we expected, from olive and almond trees to fruit and vegs cultures and limestone mountains. The old railway track on day 2 was a highlight, as was the main road on day 4.

The bikes were better than we expected, we got Cannondale 29ers with hydraulic disc brakes (important for the downhills), lockable forks and 2x10 drive trains (including a low "granny" gear which really helped on the climbs). We brought our own pedals and seats as usual. The turn-by-turn instructions were good, and we were given gpx tracks to load on our phones which made navigation a breeze. We got prompt and helpful support from Sandra throughout the route using WhatsApp (and mobile data reception is surprisingly good even in remote areas). The roads were in very good condition (definitely better than in the UK), quieter than we expected, and drivers generally very considerate. The off-road parts were fun and not technical (of course it's harder work to go up on gravel and rocks than on tarmac!).

Alhama, Antequera and Ronda were lovely, if we had to do it again we'd ask for an additional night in Antequera which deserves it and also to rest for a bit. We booked an extra night in Granada at the beginning (to do the Alhambra) and an extra night in the end in Ronda (to relax including in the Aguas de Ronda spa) and we really recommend doing both. The Caminito del Rey should also definitely be done (and booked well in advance), it's a two and a half hour easy hike that we did at the end of the day. The accommodation was great throughout, several hotels were 1-2 stars but that's because they don't have 24h reception or a mini bar, which we don't care about, instead they have beautiful terraces / gardens, friendly and helpful staff, and honesty bars with sometimes excellent wine. We'll take that over a Parador anytime. Our hotel in Ronda in particular was one of the best we've ever stayed at anywhere in the world, a haven of peace (we recommend upgrading to a room with a private patio/balcony if available).

Food options along the route were generally excellent as can be expected, we followed the recommendations from the French Guide Du Routard which in our experience knows better that the Lonely Planet. Spain is big on meat and fish and eggs and cheese so vegans might want to do some planning ahead and notify Otros Caminos. Breakfast is generally a light meal in Spain, but Otros Caminos made sure they were substantial enough to get us started for the day. The transfers of bags went smoothly.

This is a beautiful part of the world and we had an excellent experience with Otros Caminos, so we plan to come back next year to continue the route from Ronda towards Cadiz, and if we have time onwards along the Costa de la Luz (Atlantic coast). Both trips are offered by Otros Camino. They also do a route from Córdoba to Granada which looks tempting.

Thank you so much for all your help, especially your help re-arranging our daily agenda after day 2 and especially your arranging new times for the magic taxi to create a shorter walk on day 4 and to allow no walking at all on Days 3, 5, and 6. It wasn’t the Camino Mozárabe that we (or you) expected but it was the CM that we got. I know I’m not the first Ostros Camino pilgrim that has suffered an injury and I won’t be the last. But we really appreciate your willingness to be helpful and flexible with us as we finished the tour the best we could. We couldn’t have done it without you. Many. many, many thanks. Feel free to post this statement on Your website if it would be helpful. We are both impressed with your ability to change plans in the middle of the tour.

Via Anderson, Camino Mozarabe 2023

We got back from our trip to Europe a few days ago. I just wanted to write and let you know how much we appreciated the care you took in organising our hike. We appreciated the personal touches like trying to get us bathtubs and double beds!

We loved the hike: following the same river valley for several days made for a rewarding hike. We enjoyed every part of it, and particularly seeing the landscape unfold and become gradually more mediterranean as we hiked south. All the accommodations were fantastic with friendly, hosts who went out of their way to make us feel welcome. The hotel in Ronda is one of the most relaxing, beautiful hotels I can remember.

Andrew, From Ronda to Tarifa February 2024

It was an incredible experience and so glad we had the chance to do this amazing hike through the Cabo de Gat Nature Park! Will send you our comments via an email. Thanks for your help throughout the trip!

It was such a special place, and I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a unique experience. Jose and Jose wife were absolutely lovely. The tour was amazing and full of interesting information, and the food and their home was magnificent! I would give this 10 stars!

We arrived in P de Sta Maria quite early this morning. Spent the day exploring Cadiz.
We have had a fantastic time! Great organisation, comfortable bikes, fabulous hotels, good instructions.
Thank you and your team very very much!

Thank you, we really enjoyed the Camino – beautiful scenery, lovely wild flowers and interesting villages and towns. We have walked a lot in Springtime in Europe and this is one of the best, even though we got drowned on the way to Alcala de Real, but recovered when the sun came out! Your route notes and GPX files made the walk stress-free and rewarding. We hope to walk again with Otros Caminos. Now enjoying more hiking around Ronda. Many thanks, Jim & Eve

We have now arrived at a fantastically nice hotel in Cordoba. Everything has gone well, but of course some blisters and scuffed shoes but that’s part of it 😀
The breakfast bar in Castro del Rio has changed its name so it was a bit difficult to find there. Think you want to know.
Tomorrow we plan to go to the mosque/cathedral at 8.30 as you suggested. Is there a special entrance that we should use to enter?
The whole pilgrimage has been super good arranged with fantastic views, lots of culture and fine buildings, superb with the transports and the chosen hotels. We are very satisfied (and tired)./Lena and Monica

We recently discovered otros caminos which was lucky for us. We contacted Sandra who at very short notice put together a self guided holiday for us. We opted for the costa de la luz trip which involved mainly cycling on tracks and hugging the coast. Navigating was fun and we had an adventure. Well organised holiday, excelent choice of traditional hotels. Luggage was efficiently moved from place to place for us. Good maps and information. We will definitely book with them again. Sandra kept in contact with us over the week incase we had any issues. Superb company who have the customers best interest at heart.

A great tour from Granada to Seville pasando Cordoba, another impressive town.
Very good bikes, excellent service of luggage transport and route information. We loved the different accommodation, very well choosen!

A very well organised trip! Everything ran smoothly. We really enjoyed it. Thank you very much for the organization

Everything worked out perfectly well with the timetables, the taxis, the luggage transfer, etc. We loved the chosen posadas and hotels, because they were so authentic and the staff/owners very friendly.
The variety of the trails was amazing. Each single one was in its own different way awesome. We found it easy to find the trails, following mostly the seemingly brand new signs of the GRs, which are very well signposted. The GPS and your detailed description were only needed for „emergencies“ (and for the 2nd part of the Grazalema -Villaluenga section).
Overall, the week walking through this genuine part of Spain was just an amazing experience.
Best wishes and thank you again!

Bonjour

Nous rentrons de notre voyage en Andalousie et voici l’évaluation remplie au gré des journées. On a adoré le concept du voyage: rando/visites/villages
Voyage très réussi grâce à votre organisation parfaite.
Encore merci!

Beautiful Landscapes, excellent food and wine and very well organized!

Back in Augsburg with a lot of nice impressions of Andalusia, we want to thank all the people who helped to make this tour a success. In particular we will remember the great hospitality of the hosts in the hotels on the way (especially Maria in Fuente del Rey, she made an excellent meal for us). The location of the hotels was great.

The tour was well planned and the bikes the best we had on tours like this during the last years. We never got lost because the informations we had were very detailed.

We wished we could have done the long way on the last day, but we were too tired. For less experienced bikers it would be good to split it into two days.

Julian, Monika and Oliver

We had 10 magical days of swimming in cultural experiences – and a meeting of nice people and hosts in the small places outside the big cities.
The brilliant thing for us was that we had two days in Granada and two days in Cordoba. Attended a day in Malaga, which also turned out to be a nice city.
We can imagine joining several trips in the area by bike or hiking. We are now discussing this with friends in great enthusiasm.

Our cycling trip in Andalusia with Otros Caminos was unforgettable. Sandra was super helpful before we arrived, and up to the last day, when she arranged our taxi to the airport. She is personable and kind and it was great to meet her the evening before we left for an orientation meeting.

Everything was well organized and we never had any trouble with bags or accommodation. We stayed in beautiful unique places with friendly, helpful hosts. The information on where to eat and what to see along the way was well researched and useful.

We lost our way from time to time and had to revert to Google maps but this is all part of the adventure. We were very lucky with the weather as it can get very, very hot.

Thank you once again for a beautiful experience.

We had a great week, perfectly organized, always in very nice places! 👍😃
I wrote too much on the evaluation sheet (specially for the routes) and it’s barely readable now… If you send me an electronic version I will fill it in typing and send it to you per email.

We loved our trip with you all. Everything was perfect from our meeting with Maria to the accomodations, the bikesd and the routes. We loved it all the places we stayed at were all wonderful! I can’t say enough good things about this trip other to say we would do it again with your company just now to some where else since we covered granada to ronda!!!