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We could tell you how great our cycling holidays are – and they really are great – but who better to tell you about the experience you could be having than people like you?

Margot Hillock is a former Explore Tour Leader who is based in Andalucia in Spain. Here she shares her thoughts and experiences of our Moorish Trails holiday.

"Before me, the blue Mediterranean stretches all the way to Africa.  Behind me, snow-capped mountains sparkle against a cloudless sky.  All around, pristine white villages cling to hillsides that are currently turning vivid green thanks to the fresh burst of new growth on the vines. Spring has sprung in Andalucia and the hills above Canillas de Albaida on Explore’s Moorish Trails tour are surely one of the best places to be!  

Spring flowers in Andalucia

It really is a very special delight to discover that all this gorgeous scenery exists just a few miles inland from the high-density resorts of the Costa del Sol.  Practically speaking, it’s no bad thing that those resorts with their many facilities are so nearby. I and many thousands of other visitors have enjoyed happy times on the beaches and in the chiringuitos (beach-side fish restaurants) of the coast. But in my personal opinion the real glories of Andalucía are in her wonderful cities and in her unique rural landscape carved by time and generations of different peoples, including the Phoenicians and the Romans and especially the successive waves of invaders and settlers we refer to as the Moors.

On the Moorish Trails tour, visitors get a chance to not only experience this landscape up close, but also to visit some of the Moors greatest triumphs, such as the incomparable Alhambra in gorgeous Granada.  There is also a chance to meet some of the people who still farm these steep-sided hills using tools and techniques that haven’t changed since the Moors first introduced them over a thousand years ago.

The warmth of Theo's welcome is second to none

It is the people, both the walkers and the locals, who make Explore walking tours such fun. I think it’s great that groups of disparate people “gel” to form lasting friendships on tour and I especially enjoy the mutual pleasure both visitors and locals get from getting to know each other.  On the Moorish Trails tour, whether it’s big-hearted Theo in his tiny bar in remote Salares or smiling Maria in her family’s traditional Bodega just outside Competa, the locals you encounter really do get a genuine kick out of meeting people who have chosen to check out this hidden corner of Spain through Explore. The inhabitants of Canillas De Albaida are fiercely proud of their heritage and their surroundings, but for a long time they thought that the glittering high-rises of the costas were all that visitors wanted and they are delighted that Explore is bringing a new kind of visitor to their small villages and secret valleys. This isn’t only because of the obvious financial benefit Explore brings to what is a fairly impoverished area, but also because this kind of tourism reassures these communities that they are not alone and that there are people out there who also appreciate and want to celebrate the way of life and landscape they’re struggling to maintain. What's more, Andalucian people really love a party and what better excuse to celebrate than making new friends.

Of course, the other great joy of this Tour is getting out into the mountain air and wandering the scenic paths that thread through the beautiful Natural Park of the Sierra Tejeda and Almijara and the surrounding area.  It’s hard to beat that feeling at the end of a good day’s walking, when you finally settle down in the pretty plaza in Canillas feeling pleasantly tired and start looking forward to a hearty meal in Gustavo’s restaurant and a couple of “copas” of excellent local wine.  During your day’s wanders, you may have spotted some ibex or a young golden eagle and you’re sure to be feeling sun-kissed and perhaps a little wind-swept.  The chat has been good and any cares or worries seem a long way away and for me it’s hard to imagine a better way to end a darn good day."

Find out more about Moorish Trails.

Yvonne Ramsey works in Explore's Operations team and recently travelled on our Cuba Solo Adventure.

This was not my first experience of Cuba however it was my first experience of an Explore trip. Travelling on my own I thought the solo option would be interesting as I'd be travelling with a whole group of individual travellers. I had a fantastic group of 15, all except one travelling for the first time with Explore. We broke the ice in style on the first night with a fantastic dinner in a local palada, followed by making - and drinking - our own cocktails.

We spent the first three nights of the tour in Havana, a city full of contrasts with modern and old, from the old Cadillacs driving along the Malecon to the modern Mercedes taxis. As well as the great city tour we experienced some great group activities such as salsa and the cocktail making classes – a lesson I have put into practice here at home.

We headed to the west of the island for a walk in Vinales country, a land of limestone outcrops and tobacco farms. Here we took a walk through the farms, getting an opportunity to get to know the locals and their produce by spending some time with the farmers, tasting some of the coffee and sharing a cigar.

It was then time to head to the southern coast via the Bay of Pigs down to where we spend the next three nights in the tranquil colonial gem of Trinidad. Trinidad gave us time to relax and wander the cobbled streets looking for bargains at the local markets. We spent some leisurely time on a day out on a catamaran to Cayo Blanco where even in the pouring rain we had a fantastic time snorkelling and eating Paella!

Overall, I'd say the tour leader Jose Luis was great helping us all get the most of the Cuban experience - the eating, drinking and dancing… This holiday was a fantastic experience in fantastic company. I would highly recommend this as a great introduction to Cuba.

Try our Cuba Solo Adventure for yourself or see all our holidays in Cuba.

Explore MD Ashley Toft visited Peru in 2011 to Trek the Inca Trail. Share his experience of this once in a lifetime trip.
Ever since I was a tour leader for Explore 20 years ago, I've yearned to get to Peru and to trek the Inca Trail. At last the opportunity arose in 2011, when I co-hosted a travel agent familiarisation trip. A great opportunity to showcase the best of adventure travel and to show our partners in the industry what Explore is really about. And our visit didn't disappoint. After a day of acclimatisation in lovely colonial Cusco, followed by a dousing as we rafted down the Urubamba River it was time to start the trek.

We stopped off in historic Ollantaytambo to get provisions in a tiny shop in the main square, which seemed to have everything, from energy bars and batteries, to walking poles and suncream. Our 4 day trek started at KM 82 where everyone goes through a checkpoint; it was good to see that the numbers on the trail were being strictly controlled, and actually having so few people on the trail really added to the feeling that we were doing something very special.

As we set off following the Urubamba river, it soon became clear that it was going to be a spectacular trek, and it wasn't long before the snow-capped peaks came into sight. We met our porters at the first lunch stop where they had prepared a lovely lunch for us, before sprinting ahead to set-up camp. As the sun went down on the first evening some of the porters took us to visit the school in the tiny mountain village where we were staying. It was the next morning, after our first night under canvas that the porters gathered, most wearing their colourful ponchos due to the early morning chill, to introduce themselves one by one, and to tell us something about their familes. We reciprocated, and this really broke the ice, especially when some of us decided to show off our rather rusty Spanish!

The porters were integral to the success of the trip. The head porter and guide had the respect of everyone and worked brilliantly with our Tour Leader Jorge, to ensure the whole group completed the trek; even the few on our trip who were not experienced trekkers. They were also great company, clapping as we made it to camp, providing hot water to wash and soak our weary feet in, and always around to lend a hand. Even though most of us could feel the effects of altitude as we climbed to the highest point at Warmiwanusqa (Dead Woman's Pass) at 4200m, there was plenty of time for everyone to go at their own pace and to enjoy the incredible and far reaching views. The thing that really surprised me about the trek, was the number of amazing Inca sites along the way. I had no idea that we would come across so many incredibly well preserved ancient cities and towns, with such great names as Llaqtapata and Winaywayna.

And no matter how many times you have seen photographs or video of Machu Picchu, you will be blown away by the view as you step through the Sun Gate and peer down on the ancient city from above. It even brought a tear to the eye of a hardened adventure traveller and ex tour leader. I felt incredibly privileged to have walked the trail into Machu Picchu, especially as it was the 100th Anniversary of its re-discovery by Hiram Bingham.