UKC

Hi everyone, I am just back from 2 weeks at home in Ireland for Xmas and it was miserable. At home watching telly with the folks and wishing I could be outside and somewhere warm. I looked at Malta for a good walking holiday even if it's not mega high hills but I was wondering about somewhere with even better weather. Morocco or Canary islands? Proximity to a niceish 4 star hotel as a base would be ideal. Does Tenerife tick that box?

Maderia is lovely for walking, highly reccomend.

Benidorm, no really. It has plenty of hotel capacity, close to an airport with lots of winter flights, pubs and resturants are open AND a massive range of hills/mountains in sight with plenty of trails through them. A car will be required.

Most of the holidaymakers are gone however there are still drunken pensioners revving up their electric buggies on the streets to avoid.

Back in February 2020, just before everything went into lockdown, I had a great week's walking with Exodus in the Sierra de Aitana, the hills above Benidorm. They don't seem to offer the same holiday now, though they do a point to point trek.  This is the hotel up in the hills which was our base: https://hostaltrestellador.com

There are loads of waymarked trails in the area. I think hiring a car on the coast would be your best bet, though you could get a taxi from Altea and just do walks from the hotel - or use local taxis as and when. The weather was warm and sunny during the days, though often chilly overnight up in the hills.

If you can be arsed to read my trip notes, they're here: https://www.tonyturton.com/sierra-de-aitana-alicante-spain/

A second for Maderia. Really nice place and I'm sure good hotels available (we rented an apartment). 

I've had one week climbing and walking on Tenerife and many, many more on Mallorca. OK, the weather is warmer in the Canaries but I think the mountains of Mallorca hold far more interest than Tenerife.

Corsica - never been but would love to

Mallorca - been a few times and stayed in/near Pollenca each time, which is stunning and lots of places to stay/eat etc. The hills/mountains are amazing, 15 mins from a lovely port (Pollenca) and if you have a bike there's some of the best and hardest routes around. 

La Gomera - off Tenerife.

I've been looking at a friend's holiday photos of Madeira - it looks amazing - imagine the Camino Del Rey , but with everything covered in vegetation (including the cliffs).

Another vote here for Benidorm. I had a week off in January 2020 and the weather in Britain was looking rubbish, so at short notice I booked a flight to Benidorm as I'd heard there were some nice hills in the area (which I admit surprised me). Turned out to be a great week, did several good walks without hiring a car. Either walking from Benidorm or catching a bus, I did Puig Campana, Penyal D'Ifac, Ponoig, Sierra Helada, Sierra Cortina as day walks. Some were long days, some were shorter walks. There are plenty other hills which you could get to if you hired a car, or even by public transport if you planned more in advance than I did, I was just making up the week as I went along.

Yes. I am at this moment sitting in the mountains just inland from Benidorm (visible a few miles away). Fabulous country. We are climbing but there are loads of signposted paths, lovely villages, rocky peaks. Very quiet despite being the weekend. The actual costa in Costa Blanca is awful, but inland is stunning.

Me too. A stunning place indeed and just a few miles inland the place is so quiet. The mountain paths are generally in good condition and well cared for, signposting is mostly good and weather during the winter months is ideal for mountain activities. We've been on the Ponoch Via Ferrata and scramble today, some of us in t-shirts. The summit plateau is a wild place that sees few people, just loads of wildlife.

Check out my guide that includes a good selection of walks - https://www.cicerone.co.uk/costa-blanca-mountain-adventures

Another vote for Benidorm. Flights, car hire and accommodation really cheap and weather very reliable during the winter and the walking is great

We did the ferrata and scramble on to the summit last week, Ibiza was clearly visible with the northerly breeze.

If you decide on the canaries then Gran Canaria is great for walking.

Google ‘Rambling Roger’ (I kid you not) for routes.

Another vote for Madiera.  There is a Cicerone guide, although almost all the walks are A to B walks, rather than circular routes.  We went in the summer and didn't really enjoy it as the weather was either like an oven or raining.  However, it is beautiful, the locals were lovely and I should imagine that when it isn't summer, dry days are a very comfortable temperature.  Some of the walks can be really quite challenging so there is something for everyone.

Thanks for the recommendation of Rambling Roger. I have been for one walking holiday using the printed guidebooks, we are going again at the end of Feb and I have just bought a copy of Roger's book in practical pdf form - it's so much better and I am now making great plans for February.

Thank you so much, gents, I booked a hotel and hire car in Madeira but not the flights yet. Then I realised I could get a guided walk up Kilimanjaro for a week for about the same money and figured I'd just do that. Feels a bit more out in nature and adventurous. Plus I want to start to get some altitude experience. Appreciate there aren't really any technical elements and is pretty simple, but still is a fair old mountain size wise so will be a good one to do!

I've been obsessively watching Everest and K2 documentaries on YouTube lately and felt I should make the early stages of ramping up my ambitions! Am 44 and in really good cardiovascular shape. A decent amount of winter mountaineering training and some altitude exposure over the next 3-4 years and should be good to go with the right guides?!! Granted the Khumbu icefall looks a tad scary 😰