Mediterranean Pyrenees coastal route self-guided walking holiday with 7 nights in France and Spain with luggage transfer
This self-guided walking holiday with a duration of 7 nights spans the Mediterranean coast of both France and Spain in the region of Catalonia. This is an enchanting landscape on both sides of the border with its typically Mediterranean vegetation of maquis, vineyards, olives, chestnut orchards, small-holdings encased with stone walls, undulations of sun-kissed fields and in one direction the foothills of the Pyrenees and the sacred Mount Canigou and in the other direction the jagged coast of the Mediterranean hiding sandy coves, creeks, cliffs and marinas. The terrain affords a range of panoramic views and you’ll discover walled villages, castles and signal towers as well as a land associated with Matisse and Salvador Dali. You stay in charming fishing villages and small resorts where you will enjoy the traditional, family-run auberges and boutique hotels. Dinner is included for five of the seven nights and if you choose the up-grade to a 4-star hotel in Collioure you dine in a Michelin starred restaurant. The walks each day are not long and can be enjoyed by anyone who likes a good walk rather than a very experienced hiker although some tracks can be stony and steep. On two days there are circular walks which can be a shorter or longer version, and in between places there is the choice of a coastal path or a Pyrenees foothills path.
Highlights
Collioure • Madeloc Tower • Hermitage of Notre Dame de la Consolation • St Elme • Port Vendres • Paulilles beach • Banyuls • Cap Cerbere • Col des Belitres • Tour de Querroig • Port Bou • Llanca • Sarnella lighthouse • Monastery of San Pere de Rodes • Port de la Selva • Cap de Creus • Cala Nans lighthouse • Cadaques • Pla de la Tudela • Port-Lligat • Cap de S’Oliguera
Walking information
Average between 7-12 miles/11-18 kms per walking day • Average of between 3.5 and 6 hours’ walking per day • Grade 2 difficulty • Terrain can be stony and with some steep parts •Recommended 1 March to 15 November • Suitable for anyone who enjoys a good walk
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for seven nights.
From about
£1,220 3-star hotel in Collioure
£1,630 4-star hotel in Collioure
Holiday Code CWFR06
Additional nights can be added before, after or during the tour.
Call us on 01392 441266
Mediterranean Pyrenees coastal route self-guided walking holiday with 7 nights in France and Spain with luggage transfer
Upon arrival in Perpignan today, either at the airport or the railway station, you will be transferred by car to the beautifully charming artists’ village and fishing port of Collioure, which is about 40 minutes away. Try to allow some free time to explore the town. There is a choice of hotel in Collioure, either a 3-star hotel in the centre just a few metres from the port and the sea, and if here, you have dinner in a nearby restaurant, or there is a 4-star hotel facing the port with its own beach and Michelin-starred restaurant. Allow time to check your kit, pack your rucksack and study your guides and map.
Today take a circular walk from Collioure which takes you along the hillsides below the Madeloc Tower and past the Hermitage of Notre Dame de la Consolation. An extension to this walk takes you up to the tower for a magnificent view. It’s worth doing this extension if you are choosing to do the coastal option the next day. Time your walk so that you have free time in Collioure in the afternoon.
Height gain: 330m or 680m
Time: About 2 hr 30 mins or 4 hrs 40 mins
Today it’s a point to point walk with two options to choose from: along the coast or over the mountains. Either way you start with walking out of Collioure up to the old windmill and then on up to the fort of St Elme where you enjoy panoramic views of the coast, northwards and southwards. From here you choose coast or mountains. If you choose the mountain route, continue climbing up to the majestic Madeloc Tower through a patchwork of alternating maquis and vines. From here you’ll appreciate a breath-taking 360° view from the Spanish border to the Roussillon plains. An ideal spot for a watch tower. Then it’s a descent through vineyards and chestnut orchards to reach the coast at Banyuls. If you choose the coastal route instead, you walk from the fort of St Elme down through the Mediterranean terrain to the typically Catalan and bustling port of Port Vendres. From here you follow the coast by Cap Bear with its lighthouse, and picturesque coves and creeks. Interspersed with the maquis and low-lying pine trees are rows of vines. Ever present and not too far off are the foothills of the Pyrenees. The coastal track then reaches Paulilles beach and an irresistible opportunity to swim or sunbathe. This area has a fascinating history with what was a dynamite factory established by the founder of the Nobel prize, but now a protected ecological site. The bay of Paulilles is a classified site and enjoys a remote, natural and splendid location between the sea and the mountains, the terraced vineyards and cork-oak forests. From here continue by way of Cap d’Ullastret famous for its clear waters and hidden coves, to Banyuls. Banyuls is an interesting and historic former frontier town, also the end of the trans-Pyrenean 900km GR10 from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Tonight, you stay at a three-star hotel overlooking the sheltered beach and bay. Its La Littorine gourmet restaurant has a terrace and panoramic windows. Many rooms have sea views, and some have balcony.
Distance: About 13.5 km or 15 km
Time: About 5 hrs
Elevation: Plus 500m or 700m, minus 500m or 700m
For today’s walk there is again a choice with one route following the coast and the other climbing up into the foothills. Both routes take you across the Franco-Spanish border on foot and arrive at the little-known but interesting border village of Portbou. If you choose the coastal route you begin today by walking along by the sea, before veering up onto cliffs that form Cap Cerbere with its marine nature reserve which stretches out to sea for about a mile. The area is clearly marked by yellow buoys. Along this route you pass beautiful creeks popular as moorings for yachts before climbing up to the border at Col des Belitres. You then descend gently to Portbou. If you choose the foothills walk today you climb comfortably from Banyuls along small lanes with ancient stone walls through vineyards before reached the maquis above. There are panoramic views to enjoy of the nearby coast and hills with the higher Pyrenees further away in the distance, including Mount Canigou, at nearly 8,500 feet and 30 miles away. Snow can often be seen on its summit right into the summer months. Your route takes you to the signal tower, the Tour de Querroig, at about 2,000 feet. This marks the frontier between France and Spain. You then descend to Portbou. Once you reach Portbou, you are transferred by car to the resort and fishing port of Llanca, about 20 minutes away, where you stay in a comfortable, welcoming and centrally-located hotel and you dine at an excellent restaurant nearby, where regional Catalan specialities are served.
Distance: About 11.5 km or 13 km
Time: About 4 hrs 30 mins or 5 hrs
Elevation: Plus 500m or 700m, minus 500m or 700m.
Once again, there is the option of a walk along the coast, or a walk in the foothills of the mountains. On the coastal walk you pass some impressive villas as you leave LLanca to arrive at the Sarnella lighthouse and then the pretty, white village of Port de la Selva where there is time to explore the village and relax at your waterside hotel. On the foothills walk you undertake a superb route through the maquis climbing into hidden valleys and along pilgrim paths to reach the small chapel of St Helena and the imposing monastery of San Pere de Rodes. From here you enjoy stunning views of the coast including Cape Creus and several white villages. You can choose to climb even higher, to the castle of San Salvador, from where you see the bay of Rosas and Mount Canigou. From either spot, you descend to Port de la Selva. Your hotel is situated a few yards from the sea and was once a maritime warehouse. It has an atmospheric, vaulted restaurant, stylish bedrooms, and spa facilities
Distance: About 12 km or 15.5 km
Time: About 4 or 5 hrs
Elevation: Plus 250m or 500 to 700m, minus 250m or 500 to 700m
From the coast at Port de la Selva, you climb upwards and cross the wild and unspoilt coastal foothills of Cap de Creus taking time to visit the beautiful and steep-sided Cala Tavallera. The craggy landscape is hugged by the low, Mediterranean vegetation and here and there are traditional dry- stone shelters amongst clumps of trees. After crossing the headland and towards the end of the walk, there is a panoramic descent through olive trees enclosed by stone walls to Cadaques. We recommend that you extend the walk by visiting the Cala Nans lighthouse. You stay in Cadaques for two nights in a well-situated, 4-star hotel, on the waterfront with its own small beach. Behind the hotel is a large garden, with olive trees, tennis court and swimming pool. You are free tonight for dinner and there is plenty of choice in Cadaques.
Distance: About 12 km
Time: About 4 hrs 30 mins
Elevation: Plus 450m or plus 600 m
Your destination today is the lighthouse on Cap de Creus, a headland to the north-east of Cadaques, and which is almost the most easterly point on the whole of the Iberian peninsula. From here you walk to the Pla de Tudela along a rough-surfaced road amidst a landscape whose strange rock formations influenced Salvador Dali, who lived on this coast. The coast here has jagged coves and bays, with clear blue water. You walk to Dali’s adopted village of Port-Lligat where you can visit his waterside house, where he lived and worked from 1930 to 1982. From here it’s a short walk back to Cadaques. You are free again tonight to choose your restaurant for dinner.
Distance: About 12 or 18 km
Time: About 4 hrs 30 min or 6 hrs
Elevation: Plus 300 or 400 m, minus 300 or 400 m
After breakfast you will be transferred back to Perpignan airport or railway station. The journey time is about 2 hours.
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for seven nights.
From about
£1,220 3-star hotel in Collioure
£1,630 4-star hotel in Collioure
Holiday Code CWFR06
Additional nights can be added before, after or during the tour.
Our prices include
● Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
● 5 dinners
● Luggage transfer between hotels
● Pick up from and return to Perpignan airport or railway station
● Relevant map (1/25 000 scale) and detailed notes describing the trail
● Creative Walks own regional information
● English-speaking emergency assistance 24 hours a day
Call us on 01392 441266
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for seven nights.
From about
£1,220 3-star hotel in Collioure
£1,630 4-star hotel in Collioure
Holiday Code CWFR06
Additional nights can be added before, after or during the tour.
Our prices include
• Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
• 5 dinners
• Luggage transfer between hotels
• Pick up from and return to Perpignan airport or railway station
• Relevant map (1/25 000 scale) and detailed notes describing the trail
• Creative Walks own regional information
• English-speaking emergency assistance 24 hours a day
The journey and how you get there The nearest airport to the start of the tour is Perpignan or further afield Montpellier. Perpignan is also the closest major railway station. We include a transfer from Perpignan airport or railway station to Collioure on the first day of the holiday, and again at the end you are taken back to Perpignan airport or railway station. Transport is not included in the holiday price, other than luggage transfer during the tour, the airport/railway transfers and a taxi transfer on day 4 from Port Bou to Llanca.
Call us on 01392 441266
Mediterranean Pyrenees coastal route self-guided walking holiday with 7 nights in France and Spain with luggage transfer
These are examples of the accommodation used - a mixture of 3-star and 4-star hotels. Because some of the accommodation have a limited number of rooms, alternatives may be offered at the time of booking. Hotels: Collioure, Hotel les Princes de Catalogne (3-star) Collioure, Relais des Trois Mas (4-star) Banyuls, Hotel les Elmes Llanca, Hotel Carbonell Port de Selva, Hotel Porto Cristo Cadaques, Hotel Playa Sol
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for seven nights.
From about
£1,220 3-star hotel in Collioure
£1,630 4-star hotel in Collioure
Holiday Code CWFR06
Additional nights can be added before, after or during the tour.
Our prices include
• Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
• 5 dinners
• Luggage transfer between hotels
• Pick up from and return to Perpignan airport or railway station
• Relevant map (1/25 000 scale) and detailed notes describing the trail
• Creative Walks own regional information
• English-speaking emergency assistance 24 hours a day
The journey and how you get there The nearest airport to the start of the tour is Perpignan or further afield Montpellier. Perpignan is also the closest major railway station. We include a transfer from Perpignan airport or railway station to Collioure on the first day of the holiday, and again at the end you are taken back to Perpignan airport or railway station. Transport is not included in the holiday price, other than luggage transfer during the tour, the airport/railway transfers and a taxi transfer on day 4 from Port Bou to Llanca.
Call us on 01392 441266
Mediterranean Pyrenees coastal route self-guided walking holiday with 7 nights in France and Spain with luggage transfer
About Languedoc-Roussillon
The region of Languedoc-Roussillon covers a vast area of southern France, from south of the Auvergne to the Pyrenees and as such offers a wide range of scenery and landscape. There is a wide, fertile, coastal plain that runs from Montpelier to the Spanish border and this area produces an abundance of fruit, vegetables and vines. In the north of the region, the coastal plain is flanked by beautiful hills, characterised by vineyards and ‘garrigue’, rocky outcrops of limestone and aromatic bushes. The hills abound with historic, fortified and cathedral towns and cities, many dating from Roman times and with a bloody history of sieges and religious persecution. In the south of the region, the Pyrenees form a natural barrier with Spain, wooded on the lower slopes but also interspersed with orchards and vineyards, and then offering fantastic hill-walking higher up. The coastline here is characterised by charming fishing villages such as Banyuls and Collioure, rocky cliffs and coves. There are a couple of Grande Randonnées, the GR36 and the GR7, that cross the region and there are several pilgrimage routes. Languedoc-Roussillon is an ancient region, with traditions that vary from area to area, with a fascinating history and a dramatic, beautiful landscape.
Average temperatures of Languedoc-Roussillon
Average air temperatures in Centigrade: Jan: 12.4, Feb: 11.5, Mar: 12.5, Apr: 17.6, May: 20.1, Jun: 26.5, Jul: 28.4, Aug: 28.1, Sep: 26.1, Oct: 21.1, Nov: 15.8, Dec :13.5. Source: Direction de la Meteorologique de France
Call us on 01392 441266
Mediterranean Pyrenees coastal route self-guided walking holiday with 7 nights in France and Spain with luggage transfer
About Catalonia and Eastern Spain
For a walking holiday the region of Catalonia and Eastern Spain is all about the Pyrenees and the dramatic beauty of the wild coastline, the Costa Brava, that extends from the French border southwards. In this area there is a combination of the spectacular coastline, flanked by jagged cliffs and secluded bays, behind which are hills of Mediterranean maquis, vines, olives and almond trees. It is a region with rich cultural associations, both historic and artistic, and of course has its own language. There is a strong independence movement in Catalonia. Walking in Catalonia brings a delightful choice between coastal paths and mountain paths, both affording wonderful views and places of interest as you walk. Along the coast, you are never too far from a picturesque fishing village and excellent restaurants, whilst dominating the mountain views perched on the border between France and Spain is Mount Canigou, often snow-topped into the early summer months. Inland there is a wine trail route in southern Catalonia where ancient mule tracks are now wine trails, there is the Route of the Seven Gorges, a 9km-long waterfilled circuit and there is hiking in the strange landscape of dormant cones and craters in the La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone National Park. Green vegetation, azure sea, dramatic cliffs and seascapes, mountain ranges, peaks and valleys, artists hideaways, fishing villages, secluded beaches in tiny coves, mule tracks, vineyard trails, towers and turrets, all make Catalonia a superb walking destination.
