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Fitness levels
What we provide
What we don't provide
What to bring
Accommodation
Getting here
Fitness levels
Our tours are designed for reasonably fit hill walkers, where "reasonably fit" is by hill walkers' standards! You are politely advised not to book our walks unless you are confident you are fit enough.
If you are familiar with Naismith's Rule and can stick to it with a light pack (10 kg) you are fit enough. (The metric version of Naismith's rule is that you can walk at 5 km per hour and ascend at a rate of 10 metres a minute. So a 10 km route up a 1000m hill should take you 2 hours for the distance + 1000/10 minutes for the height = 3 hours 40 minutes).
If you regularly hill walk and get up big hills in the UK in guidebook times, you will be fit enough. Please also read our Terms and Conditions.
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What we provide:
Minibus transport to/from designated airport, designated flights, driven by MiDAS accredited driver.
All accommodation and transport between bases
All main meals, including lunch on mountain days
A fully qualified and experienced mountain leader all the time you are in the mountains
Any technical equipment, depending on selected trek.
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What we don't provide:
Insurance cover: you are required to arrange insurance cover for the complete duration of your trip. This should include search and rescue cover. For other details of the level of cover required see the details for your selected trip. We recommend the insurance provided by the British Mountaineering Council
Personal equipment. See "What you should bring".
Snacks, drinks, coffees etc. are not included.
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What to bring:
Passport
Insurance documents
European Health Insurance Card [After 31 December 2005 E111 forms are no longer valid]
BMC/MCofS/CAF/OAV membership card if you are a member, but no need to join
Credit card/Euros for spending money
Rucksack c.45 litre
strong but lightweight comfy walking boots with good ankle support
lightweight waterproofs (cagoule and overtrousers)
warm fleece top
long-sleeved lightweight top
T shirts
shorts
long pants
underwear
swim wear
sunscreen at least factor 25
sun hat and sunglasses
warm hat and gloves
toilet kit - keep it compact and lightweight
any medication you need and a small first aid kit including Compeed or similar for blister prevention
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Accommodation
All accommodation is provided. Depending on the itinerary we will use hotels, gites, gites d’étape, youth hostels or mountain huts. See the specific itinerary for which types of accommodation are used on your intended trek.
Hotels will be at least 2 * standard and you can expect comfortable double or twin rooms, normally en suite. Our usual hotel also offers wonderful surroundings and a large outdoor swimming pool.
Gites: gites are French holiday accommodation, usually in converted and modernised old buildings, often owned and run by ex-pats. The gites we use are of a high standard of comfort and cleanliness with hotel quality rooms and often private or en-suite facilities. There may be a choice of self-catering or full-board.
Gites d’étape: not to be confused with holiday gites, gites d’étape are privately run hostels for hikers and skiers. They provide basic accommodation and food and are usually situated in small villages and remote hamlets. Expect bunk beds, just blankets for bedding, shared facilities. There are usually showers, maybe only one. Can be friendly fun places to stay!
Youth hostels belong to an international organisation that was founded in the 1920’s. Nowadays there are no age restrictions! Accommodation in the few hostels we use on some treks will be in small communal dormitories with bunk beds. Simple meals are provided. Communal washing toilet facilities are of a high standard of cleanliness.
Mountain huts vary hugely. We will include in our itineraries huts varying from large establishments offering double or twin rooms and near-hotel standard accommodation and food, to huts with very basic dormitory facilities. This can comprise a sleeping shelf with a row of mattresses and blankets. Toilet facilities will exist but may be rudimentary. Meals will be available but they will be simple, and there may be little or no choice. We will use basic huts for only one or two nights per trek. Welcome to the mountains!
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Getting here
The easiest way is to fly to Perpignan (Rivesaltes) airport where we will pick you up. Some treks are better served by Girona or Pau airports; see the trek details. Carcassone and Montpellier are not far away either (two hour drive) , and Nimes not much further. Barcelona and Toulouse are a three hour drive from Perpignan, but Toulouse is less than two hours from our Ariege bases. For airlines look on the useful links page.
You can of course drive to the area if you have the time. The motorway network is excellent and the tolls worth it for the time and fuel saving.
Perpignan is on the main rail link to Spain and the Waterloo-Paris service connects with the TGV service which is then direct to Perpignan, although it is only high speed to Montpellier currently.
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