It was the best tour ever! Definitely worth the money. The tour leader Pedro was very knowledgeable, caring, patient, and funny! The driver Ricardo was super cool, funny, responsible, and caring. It was a great team which contributed to our wonderful experience. The tour route was well planned and everything else that was included in the tour was just fantastic. I would do another tour with them in a heartbeat.
We banned the word 'wow' as it was used so much. Very happy with every aspect of the holiday. Nice people, good accommodation, good food, great guide, well organised. The views were just stunning, but we did recognise we were exceptionally lucky with the weather - which was perfect all week. The previous week had been a bit marginal which would have changed the whole experience. Having a mule accompany us for most of the trip added a unique little something to the group which I really enjoyed. (My next life will be as a French Mule.) Special mention is needed for Matthew, our guide. A very safe pair of hands and a really nice guy, who knew all the farmers and Refuge staff we bumped into - so he was of the mountains he was leading us through. Could not have been led by a better person. If I had one minor gripe, i'd say I was in an older group with 2 lovely Spaniards, a nice French couple and an American - so the conversation between members of the group was limited. We met up with a younger, mostly English-speaking group in the evenings, but the days were quite quiet.
This was a great and convivial trek from start to finish. Our happy band saw ibex, marmots, foxes, choughs, carpets of wild flowers and ice-blue alpine lakes. The final night in the Vittorio Emanuele II hut, below the peak of Gran Paradiso, was spent in the company of real mountaineers, including a Nepalese Sherpa, and we woke to spectacular views. Our guide was knowledgeable, attentive to the few English speakers, maintained a steady unhurried pace in challenging terrain and was ready to meet any difficulty thrown up by trail or weather.
