Join Our Fixed Trip Starting Date
TRIP DATES | AVAILABILITY | PRICE | SPACE LEFT | |
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October 13, 2024 - October 18, 2024 | Available | £995 |
Available
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May 3, 2025 - May 8, 2025 | Available | £995 |
Available
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May 8, 2025 - May 13, 2025 | Available | £995 |
Available
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Details at a glance
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Perpignan
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Perpignan or Barcelona
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Hotels
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Spring or Autumn
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Not too difficult
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5-15
Overview
For this trip, there is one itinerary sticking closer to the coast and another ‘escape col’ route through the stunning Alberes mountains, climbing to 2000m.
DATES for 2024 and 2025
We have dates available in March, April, May and October 2024 and 2025.
We can offer this self-guided for groups of 4+ people:
01 March – 30 June 2024 &
01 September – 31 October 2024
(You can start any day)
Do request if you would like a particular option by e-mailing anne@freedomtrailtreks.com.
Coastal Freedom Trail
We have 2 options, the classic Coastal Freedom Trail crossing the Alberes mountains staying in all hotels and the Escape cols of the Alberes mountains which links together escape routes above the coast. Over 100,000 people escaped this way during WW2 either along the coast before the German controls increased or up into the mountains later in the war to evade them following a secret map from the mayor Azuma in Banyuls sur la Mer. It was part of the Varian Fry escape line within the Pat O’Leary. Accommodation is all in hotels. This coastal freedom trail, follows the escape route taken by Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin during WWII. You will hike from Collioure, France to Cap de Creus, Spain along the Vermillion coast of the Costa Brava. Unsurprisingly, the coast (in French the Côte Vermeille, in Spanish the Costa Brava) and its fishing villages have long attracted many artists, among them Dalí, Picasso and Matisse, who were drawn by the bright Mediterranean light. This trip includes four or five days of trekking and a six day trip in total. Options are to stop in Llanca, walking to the Saint Pere de Rodes monastery or continuing straight to Port de la Selva. You will be accommodated in stylish 2-3* hotels during your journey. Bags are transferred each day so you only need to walk with a day sack. You can arrive into Barcelona airport or Perpignan airport or train station. Many flights in and out of Barcelona are available and it is possible to reach Perpignan or Collioure easily by train to join.
Escape Cols of the Alberes mountains
This route also climbs Pic Salifort on the way and visits Col de Banyuls used both in the Spanish civil war and during WW2 and is generally tougher with more height gain than the classic route. There is a wild camp refuge experience so you can really feel what it was like to be an evadie! Both routes are ideal for groups and families alike. We have an in depth knowledge of where these routes went so if you are tracing the footsteps of a passeur, escaper or would just like to experience it and see the signs of the past and find out more we can help! We have also helped people to discover where their relatives crossed. Lisa Fittko herself was an iconic female passeur who survived to write a book so her inspiration lives on.
If your preferred dates are not available, please contact us to enquire about alternative dates.