Vikos Gorge Traveller Reviews

We went to the Vikos Gorge in Greece for 6 days (4 days walking). Wonderful views, food, people and hotels.

I took a party of 8 to the Vikos Gorge in May. Everything from start to finish was excellent from On Foot Holidays. The booking process very good and easy with lots of information from people who knew what they were talking about. The pre trip information and guides etc superb and the on ground rep was wonderful. Can not fault them at all.

Our first On Foot Holidays trip and already looking to book the next one! The friendly, knowledgeable people at On Foot in the UK was replicated by the team on the ground. The Vikos Gorge, Greece trip is rated ‘hard’ but they made it ‘easy’!

As above…..the before and during was exemplary.

A 4 night stay in Vikos Gorge, staying in small traditional hotels and walking between villages. Hiking in the mountains, swimming in cool.streams and wildlife spotting,

Excellent information package and arrangements, picking perfect accommodation. Staff very accommodating and worked around problems to fit our holiday schedule.

A six-day holiday with five day mostly linear walk in the Vikos area, northern Greece. Luggage was transferred between guest houses. A really lovely and unique part of the world - the villages, paths, landscape all to be enjoyed, and some spectacular views. Varied, from Vikos Gorge, which was hot at the end of May, to the melting snowfields below Astraka. The trip included a night in Astraka Mountain Hut, and a walk to Dragon Lake (the 'dragons' are now the hundreds of newts that inhabit the lake). The guest house accommodation was luxury and the food excellent, particularly the home cooking (although the Greeks give you too much food and I never know how many courses to expect).

I was kept very well informed throughout. The location and itinerary were well thought out. A good sample of the villages and an interesting route. The amount of walking was well planned. All the accommodation was delightful. They provided a lot of information, which for me was too much (I had hoped to travel light). The personal itinerary, maps and GPS file were the most useful.

The itinerary, accommodation and administration provided by On Foot Holidays were all first class. The communications were prompt, efficient and friendly. Nothing seemed too much trouble. Each of the 3 guest houses are distinctively different and all have lovely hosts. Joanne in Kapesova is a great cook too. Vasili in Papigo is a mine of information and very friendly. The mountains of northern Greece are spectacular and our walk passed through the landscape in springtime when the wild flowers were at their best. The holiday was everything and more than we had hoped for. Thank you everyone at On Foot Holidays.

On Foot Holidays were efficient and friendly. Tour details are accurate and the itinerary was imaginative. Well done, we felt well looked after. We won't hesitate to use the company again.

We travelled via Corfu to Zagoria in Northern Greece so that we could visit the Vikos Gorge. I had first seen this stunning area on a television programme and then found a lonely planet account of a walk there. The account was exactly what we wanted to do and luckily the small print told us that it was organised through ‘On foot holidays.’ We were pleased to find that ‘on foot’ still ran a trip that covered the majority of what we wanted. ‘On foot’ were brilliant with the planning and we soon found ourselves staying in Kapesovo in a fantastic guest house where we treated so pleasantly whilst also being able to sample amazing cooking. We did a circuit walk from Kapesovo to take a look down into the breathtaking Vikos Gorge-we did wonder how we would ever climb in or out of this dramatic place. We left Kapesovo and walked the ‘on foot’ route to Monodendri seeing our first of many wandering tortoise. Again the walk was amazing and the route was easy to follow. There was more stunningly spectacular scenery to absorb along the way as well isolated small churches and shrines to appreciate. The night spent in Monodendri was enjoyable and gave us our first visit to a beautiful monastery. The next day gave us our descent into the gorge and it was not as difficult as one would have imagined. Our walk here was everything we had hoped for and more-it was a truly memorable experience. However it was in the gorge that we had our first thunderstorm but nothing could dampen our spirits and it was fairly short lived. We had hoped to see a brown bear but only managed to see evidence that they were not too far away! The climb out of the gorge was also a lot less of a challenge than we’d thought. Our stay now was in Papingo and what a wonderful place this was to stay and we were so glad that we’d booked an extra night here. We abandoned our walk to Dragon Lake as advised by our hotel owner due to the intense heat and lack of shade. Instead we followed an ‘on foot’ alternative shorter walk that didn’t disappoint. Then a further day here was spent walking along the banks of the Voidomatis River. This brought the part of our holiday organised by ‘on foot’ to an end. We travelled on to Meteora.

On foot holidays were excellent in every way and totally enabled us to successfully visit and enjoy this walk and the whole area. The communication and paperwork, maps etc before we left was good and gave us confidence. What really shone for us was the places that they had booked for us to stay en route-these guest houses and hotels felt real and authentic. The welcome we received at each was so generous and the levels of comfort and accommodation were exceptional. Our bags were transported for us and were always awaiting us at the next stop. The maps and route descriptors were clear and concise. However we felt that the temperatures we were walking in ( high 30’s ) needed longer expected walking times.

This was a self-guided walking holiday in the Pindos Mountain region including Vikos Gorge and Dragon Lake

Excellent communication at all times. Notes and maps were detailed and easy to follow. All the accommodation was carefully chosen and it was clear that the operators held On Foot Holidays in high regard. Everything went smoothly.

We were a party of 5 who spent had 4 day walk thru the Zagori region, including the Vikos gorge, the deepest in Europe., in mid June.2019. We stayed in traditional stone villages, with enthusiastic local hosts, who took pride in their accomodation and home cooking. This is unspoilt Greece, with a beautiful climate for early summer walking. The wildflowers were beautiful, the walking paths uncrowded , the Vikos gorge spectacular. We would highly recommend this beautiful corner of Greece.

This is our 8 Th walking trip with on foot holidays, and we have never been disappointed. All the itineraries have been excellent and varied, On foot have walked all the routes, their communication pre , during and post walk is great, and they attend quickly to any needs or requests during the trip. We will certainly walk with them again.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 8 day walking holiday. We had 2 nights and 1 full day in Corfu which gave us the opportunity to see the old town and fort before taking the ferry across to the mainland. On Foot provided us with excellent travel information, so we were able to get the ferry and bus with no problems and were then met by pre-arranged taxi to take us to the Zagori mountain region for our walk. On Foot booked all the accommodation for us, which was comfortable and we were warmly welcomed at each place. We enjoyed staying at small B+Bs in the mountains, which gave us a flavour of the real Greece. Our luggage was moved for us, so was safely awaiting our arrival at each of the B+Bs we stayed in. The walking descriptions provided made it easy to follow the route (we walked on our own), and we were able to enjoy the stunning scenery in the knowledge that all the details had been attended to, and all we had to do was relax and enjoy the walk.

We have now booked 8 holidays with On Foot, and have our 9th one booked already for next year! That must surely tell you how much we value the support, attention to detail, and personal touches provided by On Foot. They will go above and beyond - this time helping with a request to provide a surprise birthday treat for a birthday which fell during the holiday. Having exchanged many e-mails and phone calls over the years, we decided to visit the On Foot office this year - it felt like meeting friends. We would not hesitate to recommend On Foot to anyone who likes walking in unspoiled countryside.

We had 3 nights at the beautiful Bella Venezia Hotel in Corfu town and then transferred to the Greek mainland and travelled by bus and taxi to the mountainous Zagoria region. The walking or Corfu was good and Corfu town is a real gem and not to be missed but we just loved the unspoilt Zagori mountains. Great scenery, stunning Vikos gorge, good food, friendly people, pretty butterflies and wild flowers. Walking was fairly strenuous but rewarded by lovely countryside and amazing views.

This was our third holiday with On Foot Holidays and they are excellent. Staff are very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Their choice of accommodation is perfect. Each hotel or B&B was faultless - great locations, beautiful buildings, lovely rooms, good food and all run by people who want you to have a great time and go out of their way to provide help. All arrangements worked well, transfer and travel details were precise and accurate and explained exactly what to do, where to go and how much it would cost. Walking notes are very easy to follow and give you complete confidence you will find the way.