Field reports, questions and other route options

Have you already hiked the GR-132? Then you will surely have many more tips and suggestions or other variants for the GR-132!

Or do you have any questions about hiking on La Gomera or preparing for your trip? If you can't find what you're looking for in the FAQ (see FAQ), we look forward to new suggestions and tips from you!

PS: If you are looking for a travel partner for La Gomera or the GR-132, we have it here a tip for you.

Current impressions from other hikers can be found on Instagram #GR132

115 Comments

  1. Hello Frank,
    we came back from La Gomera yesterday. Thank you for the great planning of the tour. It was a pleasure. Have you hiked your route completely including the last piece Playa de Santiago - San Sebastian. Since we have always been very clear with your times, we would recommend that you increase the actual walking time from Playa de Santiago to San Sebastian to 7:30 hours (we had full luggage with us), increase the altitude to 1,140 meters up or down. down and to correct the mileage to 21 km (measured with Garmin). Sufficient water is highly recommended here, as there is absolutely no shade. The only option in El Cabrito is to ask for water at the hotel, but actually they don't even want to sell you a coffee... Attention: the hotel has no access to a road, you can only reach it by boat. This stage is nevertheless a very worthwhile stage. Another tip for stage 5: if you don't like asphalt, you should order a taxi in the bar in El Atajo or take the bus. Funnily enough, we met two nice women on the route, who also followed your route at the same time :-)
    Greetings from the Black Forest
    Stephanie and Frank

    • Hello Stephanie and Frank,

      Thank you for your feedback and great tips! I have adjusted the route information for stage 6 and included the tip for stage 5.

      Greetings from Hamburg!

      Frank

  2. Hello,
    we have been back from La Gomera and La Palma for a week now.
    And in the first week we ran exactly the tour described here.
    And it was great, even if it rained from time to time, but the tour was really great. We love to hike from accommodation to accommodation, so you can experience the island much more intensively than by car. On La Gomera we were particularly impressed by the change in vegetation during the tour.

    But actually I just wanted to say a thousand thanks for this great website.
    With this information and the gps tracks (except for a travel guide with a rough map, we didn't have an extra hiking map with us) you can fly to La Gomera without much preparation and just start hiking. Really great. Incidentally, we sent the link to this website as a recommendation to the publisher of the travel guide from Reise-know-how, because they recommended another website that we didn't find nearly as great. We hope that was okay.

    If you have any more such great circular hike suggestions, no matter where in the world, please let us know.

    So again THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

    Greetings Claudia and Fabian

    • Hello Claudia and Fabian,

      nice that you had so much fun hiking on La Gomera! And thank you for recommending my website!
      More hiking suggestions? In fact, we are currently planning our next hiking holiday, it could be that I will report here afterwards :-)
      Otherwise, I can highly recommend the Lycian Way in Turkey near Antalya: Very nice route between mountains and sea and accommodation rich in contrasts: on one day a chic hotel by the sea, on the other day a simple dormitory in a Turkish mountain village, then an overnight stay in one Hippie and dropout bay... Great!

      Many greetings!

      Frank

  3. Hello Frank,
    Thank you very much for the great website. For years I have been hiking with my husband during the Easter holidays and the preparation of this tour was possible in a very short time thanks to the perfect preparation, even though we modified a few things and adapted them to our needs. (Everything was planned and booked in a day and a half)
    Viewranger is a brilliant tip. A moderately accurate hiking map 1:35,000 (Goldstadt) plus Viewranger on the smartphone (can be used offline if the maps have been opened beforehand) made it easy to find your way safely outside of the GRs. The Rother hiking guide is a good supplement.
    Our concept: 9 hiking days with 2 overnight stays each in the same place, as in your description (La Calera, Las Hayas, Vallehermoso and Hermigua. In addition, one overnight stay in San Sebastian at the beginning and end.
    Quarters:
    In La Calera, Las Hayas and Hermigua as you recommended, also found to be very good (Las Hayas is quite cold though)
    Alternative in San Sebastian: Hotel Villa Gomera, small, friendly, typical city hotel near the center (10 min walk to the port, 5 min to the bus station) (bookable via Booking.com)
    Excellent alternative in Vallehermoso: Hotel Anaterve, great view, located slightly above the center, but still very central. Very tasteful rooms, the house is run by very nice Dutch people, the food is vegetarian. Except for Wed and Sun you can also have dinner there. Outstanding cuisine! Contact: http://www.anaterve.com
    Our concept allowed us to alternate a day hiking with and a day without luggage. Wonderful round trips were possible from every place.
    Day 1: As with you, stage 1 (Garajonay unfortunately in the fog)
    Day 2: Relaxation in the Valle
    Day 3: To Las Hayas via El Cercado (great route)
    Day 4: From Las Hayas to the heights of La Merica and the balcony path in the direction of Alojera (plenty of views, little incline)
    Day 5: Via GR 131 to Vallehermoso (cloud forest and extremely promising descent)
    Day 6: Round trip over the Cumbre Chijere (perfect views of the Teide)
    Day 7: Same as Stage 4, but about 200m lower in the 2nd part due to fog
    Day 8: From Agulo through the red wall (spectacular) to the Juego de Bolas, Las Rosas
    Day 9: From El Cedro through the forest to Garajonay and return by bus from Pajarito (circle closed)
    Conclusion: La Gomera is unbelievably beautiful, one panoramic trail follows the next, highly varied trails and vegetation, many vertical meters every day, the condition of the trail is mostly good, marking and signage is very good, moderately priced.
    Lots of ideas and variants for repeat cases...
    Best regards
    Almuth

    • Hello Almuth,

      that with the smaller circular tours during the "big" circular hike sounds great! A good idea and you get to know the beautiful island even better! Thank you very much for the many other good tips, I think I'll add a few of them to my site soon!
      Greetings from Hamburg,

      Frank

  4. Hello Frank,
    Thank you for the great, informative website. We discovered these earlier this year and used them as the basis of our tour. We hiked the route as described and only added an extra day in Vallehermoso. Originally intended as a "day of relaxation", we then decided to use this day as well. On 30.5. we started at the Garajonay and then, as you suggested, the tour went from stage to stage. The landscapes are DREAMLIKE and the people in the villages are consistently friendly. We hardly met other hikers on the route at this time. During the whole hike maybe 10 individual hikers and once a guided group (THIMA) with about 15 hikers.
    Now at the end we enjoy a few more days in the Valle. Of course again at the Hotel Jardin Concha. The owner is very friendly and the breakfast is by far the best here.
    So thanks again from our side. I saw that the tour is now also available as an e-book. By the way, that's enough. We hiked without GPS and due to the detailed description we had no trouble finding the paths. Nevertheless, we recorded the tours with Runtastic and consistently got more daily kilometers (approx. 10-15% more) and also significantly more meters in altitude (up to 40% more). In the Black Forest, where we usually live and hike, Runtastic actually works very well. But that's only marginally.

    Many greetings at the moment from the Valle and otherwise from Schopfheim
    Manfred & Beate

    • Hello Manfred & Beate,

      Thank you for your feedback! Nice that you liked the island, the hike and the accommodation!
      The difference in altitude is such a thing: my wife's iPhones and mine differ significantly from each other. Although of course we often hike the same route on the same day...
      I hope that I have presented the stages as demanding enough in terms of fitness and that you have reached your destination every evening!

      Many greetings,

      Frank

  5. Hello Frank,
    First of all, my compliments for the detailed and appealing homepage.
    I would like to walk the loop trail as you suggested at the end of February. A friend would like to accompany me, but can only stay a maximum of 5 days. That would not be so feasible with arrival and departure via Tenerife. Hence the question of whether you or anyone else has experience of getting on somewhere - eg only at stage 3 or 4. What are the chances of getting there publicly from San Sebastian?
    Many greetings,

    Martin

    • Hello Martin,
      Thank you for the compliment and question :-)
      You can enter (or exit) the circular hike at various points. All places that are served by either bus line 1 (San Sebastián - Valle Gran Rey) or bus line 2 (San Sebastián - Vallehermoso) are ideal for this purpose. You can find the bus timetable below http://www.guaguagomera.com. The approximate route of the Bus line 1 and Bus line 2 I visualized it using Google Maps.
      I hope this helps with the planning!
      Many greetings

      Frank

  6. Hello Frank, thank you for the wonderfully researched hiking page and the lots of useful information. I will be flying to La Gomera in January and would like to follow your suggested route to Hermigua (overnight Sun./Mon.). Unfortunately, I can't follow your footsteps from there, because I'm leaving the island on Tuesday morning by plane towards Tenerife. Due to the early departure, an additional night (Mon./Tues.) in Playa de Santiago is required.

    I would therefore appreciate a tip for a day trip from Hermigua to Playa de Santiago. I would also like to cover this route – at least in parts – on foot, eg via El Cedro? Do you have any idea?

    Many thanks and greetings from Freiburg

    • Hello Julius,
      Thank you for your very interesting question! In fact, I would advise against walking from Hermigua via el Cedro to Playa de Santiago. There are paths there, but in total there are just too many meters in altitude in my opinion. I can think of two things for your constellation:

      1. Bus ride early in the morning from Hermigua to San Sebastián (see line 2) and from there the normal stage 6 from our website.
      2. Taxi ride from Hermigua to about here (approx. 17 km). From there you can descend to Playa de Santiago via “Imada” on many different routes.
        On the one hand there is a path through the gorge Baranco de Guarimiar (Entering Imada here) and on the other hand from Alajeró two different sections of the official GR-132, which we have not described on our website, but which might be of interest to you: a descent to the west past the airport (approximate route at google maps) and a more easterly descent via "Targa" (approximate course at google maps).

      Personally, if I were you, I would choose the variant through the "Baranco de Guarimiar" - according to the Rother hiking guide, this path is "one of the most spectacular hiking trails in Gomera"!

      Greetings and happy hiking!

      Frank

  7. Dear Mr Ehlers,
    First of all, thank you for this inspiration and above all, this perfectly worked out route.
    I walked the entire route alone. I can hardly put my impressions (last evening in San Sebastian) into words at the moment. I hike a lot of day trips in the Alps (I live on Lake Constance) and have also been hiking in Sardinia and Mallorca for a week. However, what I have experienced, seen and felt here is beyond any scope. Thanks!
    Did you know that Casa Efigenia cooks without any spices? The older of the two gave me two oranges, a tomato and an avocado as a farewell. She likes hikers from Allemagne.

    The descent in the village of Chipude was exciting. If you turn right here out of the village instead of left, a dog is waiting on the chain, whose main meal seems to be the hiker. I was faster!
    I made a crucial mistake on arrival at La Galera. I realized too late that my accommodation (the recommended one was fully booked) is in El Hornillo. That means at the end of the day another 2 km uphill. But that was ok too. I then changed the second stage after Las Hayas via the climb from El Hornillo via Montana Farian! Was definitely an alternative. But very steep!
    Otherwise, everything went like this. All accommodations were great. In San Sebastian I stayed at the Hotel La Colombina. I wouldn't recommend that. I was fascinated after the Ermita del Santo. The hiking trail and the views were awesome. All in all, thank you very much.
    For 2018 I am looking forward to the Almalfi hike and I hope that you will not stop your activities in this regard.
    PS: I'm not unsportsmanlike and I've climbed quite a few meters and hiked a few kilometers, but this tour was tough.
    Yours sincerely
    Rico Boening

    • Dear Mr Boening,

      I am very pleased that you enjoyed La Gomera! And thank you very much for the great, very warm feedback! This is of course a great incentive to work out more interesting hiking routes :-)
      Hiking recommendation no. 2 is as http://www.amalfi-wanderweg.de meanwhile already online.

      Back to La Gomera: For stages 1 and 2, I have included your advice to find out more about the location when booking accommodation in Valle Gran Rey: "Valle Gran Rey" not only refers to the actual valley but to the valley entire community, which extends to "Las Hayas" 1000 meters higher.

      Greetings from Hamburg

      Frank Ehlers

  8. Hello Frank,
    I once asked you in the summer whether, from your point of view, it is possible to hike the round alone as a woman. Thank you for your encouragement on this: I have just returned from Gomera and had a wonderful week hiking! I felt comfortable at all times, find the people on Gomera very accommodating, but without being intrusive in any way. The hiking trails were well prepared and signposted and your GPS tracks ultimately gave me the confidence that I was on the right track and that I was able to estimate how far/high it was to the stage destination.
    Here are some experiences from my week:

    • no problem as a woman to run the round alone
    • From my point of view, however, it definitely requires experience on the mountain, good physical condition and experience with backpacking
    • The descents are pretty tough, and even more so with the luggage. I therefore only got on in the 2nd stage (because the 1st stage has so many meters of descent). The 3rd stage also has a lot of descent, but here the first descent is absolutely worth seeing. For the second descent to Vallehermoso I treated myself to a taxi because my knees were already aching. The hiking sticks were a must for my descents!
    • a day off is really good, I put it in San Sebastian, actually a town well worth seeing!
    • If you don't want to go to the expensive Hotel Tecina in Playa de Santiago: I stayed at the Pension Gaviota (also over booking.com), right on the promenade at Playa. Very basic, but absolutely ok for the price and clean.
    • from Playa De Santiago you can even take a boat to Valle Gran Rey on some days (I even had dolphins on the boat trip)
    • the GPS tracks were super helpful (although I'm not usually a huge cell phone user) since you didn't have to constantly pull out the map. Depending on the cell phone, you have to play with the functions a little to save the battery (especially if you also use your cell phone as a camera)

    Like so many others here on the blog, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your website gave me a unique experience; I wouldn't have had the island on my radar like that and I was absolutely delighted. THANK YOU!!!
    Many greetings
    Michaela Sommer

    • Hello Michaela,

      Thank you for your enthusiastic comment and the many good tips! I am very pleased that we were not wrong with our assessment of hiking alone :-)

      Greetings from Hamburg
      Frank

    • Hello Michaela, hello Frank,

      I also have my eye on the GR132 and would like to hike it alone. As far as I can feel in here, this route actually seems to be a good option. I have quite a lot of hiking experience, and I have always taken the “safest” routes possible, for example various sections of the Way of St. James in France or the West Highland Way in Scotland. I'm not worried about the level of fitness and the altitude difference, ... but there is one thing I do respect, namely exposed sections of the trail that require a head for heights or something similar. Michaela, what exactly do you mean when you say that you need “experience on the mountain”? I would be very happy if you could send me a message about this. Greetings from Hamburg, Anna

  9. Hello Frank,
    I just got back from a hiking holiday in la Gomera, first of all I would like to thank you very much for your great website!!!! Class.
    Quite inexperienced and unprepared, I quickly got an overview of your information here and, by and large, it happened as described here.
    We had a real challenge for us with the current temperatures on site and a luggage hike for the first time :-) the daily meters of altitude to be mastered are not to be underestimated .... alone 11km la Calera to Las Hayas at 25 degrees was really awesome and without water water water nothing works...... but won !! :-)
    View Ranger worked absolutely fantastic and it was very easy to get the daily routes correct.
    There are fantastic landscape sections and almost every valley, every mountain shows a different vegetation. With one exception, the recommended overnight stays were app. Triana II (not easy and relaxed as you described...unfortunately...the reception closes at 3 p.m. and it takes a while before someone opens the doors in the evening and annoyed hands over the keys, all other hotels were, as you described, very clean , well-groomed and with a friendly welcome, we felt in good hands.
    Thank you for the inspiration and support for a super great holiday week!!!

    • Hello Lars,

      Thank you for your valuable feedback! I have included your note on the Aparthotel Triana II in the text as a small update.
      Many greetings

      Frank

  10. Your website is really great. So the planning is really no longer time-consuming! Have already booked :).
    Another tip from us (if you don't already know it): Went to Portugal in September last year - sea and hiking. Was incredible. Great panorama, swimming in the sea, nice people, good food, good infrastructure and continuous marking.
    http://de.rotavicentina.com/

    Best regards
    Martina + Andrew

    • Hello Martina & Andreas,
      Thank you for the positive feedback and the tip with Portugal. In fact, we've been thinking about doing a hiking tour there for a while. Two years ago we were also in this area in September, but with a rental car as a chill vacation. The coast and the atmospheric light are really impressive there!
      Many greetings
      Frank

  11. Hello Frank,

    I would like to hike your way on La Gomera and then spend another week on Tenerife.
    Now my question: where can I deposit my suitcase for this week?

    Best regards Christine

    • Hello Christine,
      we also added a week after our hike and therefore had the suitcase problem. We asked our hotel in San Sebastián de la Gomera in advance whether we could store a suitcase there a few days beforehand (i.e. on the day of arrival). Hence our idea of spending two nights in the same hotel after stages 5 and 6.
      I don't know anything about official lockers on La Gomera or Tenerife. So I think that's the only option left.
      Good luck and have a nice trip!
      Frank

  12. Hello Frank
    First of all, thank you for this website! We intend to use this tour as the basis for our 2 week holiday in La Gomera. We also have a “baggage question”! Is there a way to have the luggage transported as well, so that you only have to carry a small daypack (similar to the Coastal Path in Cornwall, for example)? That would be a great relief, especially on the descents. Admittedly, we have also developed into comfort hikers (not necessarily as far as the tours themselves are concerned - as Swiss we are used to a few meters in altitude and hours of hiking.....smile...but the surroundings can also be a bit "luxurious"). . Can you also tell us something about the accessibility, reliability and costs of taxis? Thank you in advance! Greetings from Switzerland!

    • Hello Martin,
      That's a tricky question :-) That's why - and because I was on vacation in the meantime - I've only got an answer quite late. I hope this still helps you.
      Unfortunately, we do not have our own experience with luggage transport or taxis on La Gomera. However, the following website provides an approximate overview of the costs for taxis on La Gomera: planetgomera.com/la-gomera-taxi/ . Since the island is quite small and therefore there is no taxi density like in a big city, I would always register the taxi luggage transport the evening before. Your hotel or guesthouse will certainly be able to help you with that.
      If I were you, I would change the route so that you have to transport your luggage as little as possible. That means concretely:

      • on the first day by bus (and luggage) directly to Valle Gran Rey, where we stay for several days.
      • From there, hike stage 1 either normally or backwards/uphill (bus journey with line 1, see here)
      • Stage 2 normal, but back to Valle Gran Rey by bus
      • Entry into stage 3 by taxi, which then takes the luggage on to Vallehermoso
      • From stage 4 then continue normally, each with luggage transport by taxi.

      And since you have 2 weeks, you can plan several days at each location...
      I would definitely be happy to receive feedback or a report on your experiences with luggage transport by taxi!
      Greetings back to Switzerland!
      Frank

  13. Hello Frank,

    we came back from Gomera a week ago - this website was an invaluable help to us in preparation and on site. A thousand thanks for doing the work of compiling all the information and preparing it in such an appealing way. Very great!

    I have two additions:

    1. On the stage from San Sebastian to Playa de Santiago you still don't get anything to eat in the "El Cabrito" hotel complex, but at least there is free water (water tap right next to the reception).

    2. According to the compass map and your description, the GR-132 stage from Hermigua to San Sebastian leads long stretches over asphalt - from Hermigua southwards over the Mulagua reservoir and a pass over into the Barranco de Aguajilva and then down to San Sebastian . On the way we were surprised that the path was only marked with a green and white sign and not with the usual red and white signs or the red signs on the signposts. In El Atajo we didn't feel like walking on the asphalt anymore, turned onto the path marked (according to the compass map) with PR LG-1, up the mountain - and at the top we came across the actual GR 132, with the red ones signs marked. The course of the GR 132 must have been changed at some point. Subsequent research revealed that the current course is documented on the Spanish website for the GR 132: http://origin.magrama.gob.es/es/desarrollo-rural/temas/caminos-naturales/caminos-naturales/sector-canario/costas_gomera/etapa-i/default.aspx

    The stage is 7 kilometers longer than the one shown on the compass map, but will probably do without the long asphalt stretches. But I don't know exactly, because according to the compass map, a long stretch runs along a route designated as a mountain bike route, which may be a gravel road. At least the part that we walked from El Atajo to San Sebastian was very beautiful and promising, as it runs on the ridge of a ridge all the way to San Sebastian.

    Thank you again for setting up this website - we will certainly follow in your footsteps more often. :-)

    Many greetings
    Dorothee

    • Hello Dorothee,
      Thank you very much for your praise and the feedback! I have included your variant of stage 5 directly in the description and one separate map created, on which the PR LG 1 you mentioned should be drawn. But I think that's a very sporty option, respect! :-)
      In fact, there are different variants of the GR-132 that exist in parallel and are also described differently depending on the source. I know the link you sent, the stage described there between San Sebastián and Hermigua, for example, runs completely differently than "our" stage. The stage on the Spanish website is given as a length of 26.7 km, so it is significantly longer and, in my opinion, only conditionally suitable for a multi-day circular hike with luggage.
      Among other things, because of these inconsistencies in the official Spanish stage guide, I made the effort for this website at all. What use is the most beautiful circular hiking trail if, for practical reasons, it cannot be hiked in one go?
      Many greetings
      Frank

  14. Hello,
    we, two 19 and 21 year old students from Switzerland, have just done the circular hike on La Gomera. First of all, a big thank you for all the great information on the website. We were able to plan and carry out our holidays (1.2.18-8.2.18) based on this information. Here we would like to add a few experiences and suggestions:

    – The views and landscapes are really beautiful and it is always worth completing the strenuous ascent.

    – Unfortunately, the weather was a bit stormy and we had to contend with wind and rain in the higher areas. It also got rather cold during the nights. -> Good rain and wind clothing and a warm fleece jacket are worthwhile. Thermal underwear, a scarf and a headband are very useful for the hike.

    – It wasn't always easy to find accommodation because February is the high season and so many of the accommodations you specified were already fully booked. -> With AirBnB we were able to find cheap alternatives that are also close to the route. In addition, the tourist office in San Sebastian (next to the church) can provide very good information on accommodation and maps.

    – The Viewranger app with the downloaded routes was just great. After brief initial difficulties, we always found our way super.

    – For us, as hikers who are not yet so trained, it was sometimes very exhausting and we have a little sore muscles.

    – Shopping for provisions also worked great.

    Details on the individual stages:

    1. We went directly to La Calera by bus because we still had to find accommodation. The Pension Parada spontaneously had a small, simple room right next to the bus stop. The beach was very close and we could treat ourselves to fine smoothies at Noah's Ark and shop for the next day at Spar on the beach.

    2. The stage was tough but it went really well. Dinner at Casa Efigenia is a must. It's unique and very good. We were quite cold at the Amparo Las Hayas guesthouse, but otherwise it was great.

    3. The hike was very nice but the steep climb in front of the Chorros de Epina was very strenuous. Even if the Aparthotel TrianaII communicates that you can only check in until 3 p.m., you shouldn't let yourself be stressed. They come very quickly when calling locally. Supermarkets are also open on Sundays.

    4. The hike with the detour via Agulo was very nice. The steep stair descent to Agulo in such an intermediate valley was very uncomfortable and we asked ourselves whether there was a more pleasant connection from Agulo to Hermigua. In Hermigua we stayed in Raquel's Casas Rurales. We liked this accommodation very much and the next day we were able to walk on the street "Las Nuevitas" right from the start and continue on the route after the cemetery. The food at the Telémaco restaurant is excellent.

    5. The ascent was very pleasant and the view from the top across the valley to San Sebastian was simply a dream. The only uncomfortable thing was the long stretch on the road to San Sebastian. It's not so comfortable with hiking boots. Via AirBnB we found the apartment "Vista Al Mar Y Montaña", which offers plenty of space to hang up clothes and a lot of other comforts. In addition, the kitchen is well equipped.

    6. We didn't do the 6th stage. But it should be noted that Fredolsen has had a fast ferry (a catamaran) since 2017, which goes from San Sebastian to Playa de Santiago in 40 minutes and from there directly to Valle Gran Rey in 30 minutes. So there is also the possibility of taking the ferry from Playa de Santiago back to San Sebastian. (The last ferry from Playa de Santiago to San Sebastian currently leaves at 7:40 p.m.).

    Conclusion: We really enjoyed the circular hike and were really happy and grateful for the detailed information from you.

    Warm greetings
    Tamara and Simona

    • Hello Tamara and Simona!
      Thank you very much for your very detailed report and the many small tips! Glad you enjoyed the circular hike!
      I immediately included the note about the new Fred Olsen ferry in the description of stage 6. Great if you have a second option for the return trip in addition to the bus.
      Many greetings from Hamburg
      Frank

  15. Hello Frank,
    I came back from La Gomera a few days ago. Inspired by your really great website, I decided to do the circular hike. THE HAMMER! Your instructions are very detailed and still up to date. The Viewranger app in particular was a great help when I was unsure. Thanks a lot for this!

    At this point I would like to give a few additional inputs for subsequent hikers and you.

    The line 1 bus from San Sebastian to Parajito still leaves daily at 10.30am. So no change here. On the first stage, at waypoint 8, I decided not to descend to the right into Valle Gran Rey. I wanted to stay away from the impressions of civilization a little longer and made good time. Instead, I followed the path straight ahead at the sign. It was very very nice with wonderful views of the sea and the bays. After about 2 km, a path ("Camino de leche") was marked on the Viewranger map, which should also lead in the direction of "Valle" and meet the path you indicated. I would not recommend this path. He was actually hardly there, partly very steep and impassable and not secured. I then turned back to waypoint 8. Nevertheless, a very nice extension, which is worthwhile because of the panorama. And you can always turn around and model over time.

    In stage 2 I cheated a bit. The weather in Las Hayas was pretty uncomfortable at that time (rain, fog, cold) and the accommodation there didn't seem particularly inviting either. Also, I'm not out of this cloudy winter with us in the south, to be on the road again in the fog with wet and cold.... So I extended the room in Valle Gran Rey for a day at short notice and did stage 2 as a day hike to just behind Arure with light luggage, where I then walked back the same way. Magnificent panoramas and, as so often, other perspectives open up on the way back. On the high plateau above Valle Gran Rey, your view ranger route deviates from the GR132 for about one km. I didn't notice that on the way there and just followed the official wide path. On the way back I ran your variant. It's definitely the nicer one. So if you just walk, you should definitely make sure to take the branch (left hook just before waypoint 3), which then meets the GR 132 again at waypoint 4. Incidentally, the day hike was easily manageable in terms of time, especially with 10 kilograms less on my back... And in the evening I was able to enjoy the pleasant beach and bar life in the "Valle" with pleasant temperatures.

    From there, the next morning at 8:00 a.m. a bus went to Las Hayas, where I arrived shortly before 9:00 a.m. and then boarded directly into stage 3 you described, almost as if I had spent the night there. In this stage you can cross the dam wall of the reservoir just before Aracadece and then to Arure, parallel to the road at some distance. I found it more pleasant that way, instead of along the street. This path is also on your map.

    I saved myself the last leg from San Sebastian to Playa des Santiago. From various reports it didn't seem so worthwhile to me. Instead, I did part of the "official GR 132 variant" from Vallehermoso as a day hike past "Los Organos", which you can't really see from this side, to the northernmost accessible point on the island and to the "Buenavista" viewpoint. For me, the view from there was the most beautiful on the whole island. Absolute top league!! From there to Playa Vallheroso. The path is also marked on your map of stage 3. If you have the time, you should not miss this detour.

    Overall, some paths were quite slippery and slippery due to rain during the night and a lot of concentration was required, especially when going down steep hills. I never run with sticks myself. In this case, at least one would have been helpful at times.

    I hope I was able to contribute something and thank you again.

    Mark

    • Hi Markus,
      Wow, thank you very much for your detailed report and your experiences and tips! A great contribution!
      It makes me want to do the hike again :-)
      Many greetings
      Frank

  16. Hello hikers!
    Our plan is to spend our trekking holiday on La Gomera at the beginning of February. The route suggested here is a very good basis for us to start our hike. There will be two of us and overnight stays with tents and sleeping bags are not planned. In order to remain as flexible as possible, we wanted to look for the rooms on site. In a comment it was written that February would be the peak travel time for La Gomera. Is that true? Is it really that difficult to get a room spontaneously at this time?

    Kind regards, Resi

    • Hello Resi,
      November to March is really the peak travel time on La Gomera. Tamara and Simona have further up yes also reported about their difficulties at the beginning of February 2018. If you want to stay a little more flexible (e.g. because of the weather or similar), I would at least take care of the next overnight stay in the morning before the day's stage.
      Most of the stages are very strenuous, so looking for accommodation at the end doesn't necessarily bring more relaxation. Especially in places like Las Hayas (stage 2) there are only a few accommodations or only a few accommodations that accept guests for single nights (e.g. in Vallehermoso on stage 3).
      It is said that there are also some private rooms on site that do not even appear in the booking portals, but I have never heard of them before.
      Whatever you plan, I wish you a nice hike!
      Frank

  17. Dear Frank, dear other designers of the website and the travelogue,

    We did part of the hike described here in January 2019, gained wonderful impressions of the island, found lonely but well-marked hiking trails and always met nice fellow hikers who followed your tour suggestion: it was an all-round great experience.

    As you aptly described, the stages are actually extremely demanding. Due to illness, we were only able to do part of it, but the public bus service always gave us the convenient option of shortening routes, boarding later or ending earlier.

    Your accommodation recommendations were all right, from simple (Vallehermoso) to extremely comfortable houses (Hermigua): great.

    Many thanks to you Frank and your co-designers for this great experience.

    Greetings from Bonn

    Martina & Oliver

    • Dear Martina & dear Oliver,
      Thank you for your great feedback! Respect if you walked large parts of the tour despite illness!
      Greetings from Hamburg to Bonn,
      Frank

  18. Hello Frank,

    We want to do your round trip on May 19th, 2019 – May 25th. Are accommodated before and after in the Hotel Jardin Tecina. Unfortunately, they don't want to store our suitcase for that long. Are there other ways to deposit it or is it not possible at all?

    Thank you in advance for your answer

    • Hello Susanne,
      I took the liberty of writing to the hotel again. Maybe they'll make an exception :-)
      I'll forward the answer to you!
      Many greetings
      Frank

      • Hello Susanne,
        Unfortunately, my separate request at the hotel had no effect - due to the hotel's security regulations, this is probably not possible and the hotel employees are not aware of any other possibility to store their luggage in Playa de Santiago.
        We left our luggage (1 large suitcase) in San Sebastian at the time Parador de la Gomera sheltered and stayed there two nights in a row (after stage 5 and stage 6). We did stage 6 without a big backpack and took the bus back to San Sebastian in the afternoon / evening. Maybe that's still an option if you can still cancel the Hotel Jardin Tecina?
        Many greetings
        Frank

  19. Hello Frank,
    thank you very much for your effort. We have now decided to only be on the road with our backpacks because we would like to visit the Hotel Jardin Tecina.

    We are looking forward to doing this tour and will report

    Many greetings
    Suzanne

    • Hello Susanne!
      I can also only recommend to travel completely with small luggage. A lot of what you would still pack in the "big suitcase" you usually don't need after you've gotten along with very little for a few days.
      I regularly washed my hiking clothes in the evening and was therefore only able to take a 33l backpack with me, which was not even completely full.
      Have fun with your hike!

  20. Hello,

    I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the great planning of the tour here. I was traveling alone in December last year and did exactly the tour described here.

    Since I still had more time (2 weeks in total), I really wanted to circumnavigate the island completely. My initial plan was to find accommodation in La Dama (between Playa de Santiago and Vale Gran Rey). After repeated inquiries, I eventually gave up the plan because nothing was found.

    Thanks to a nice lady in the tourist information I came up with the idea of staying one night in Imada. There is a new hotel there (Hotel Rural Imada). So I was able to hike the missing two stages at the end. In retrospect, I'm also glad that I chose the route over the mountains, as I found the coastal hikes rather boring and hot. I found the stage from San Sebstian to Playa de Santiago to be rather average.

    Luckily for me, a nice Dutch woman drove me to Taco/El Rumbazo in Playa de Santiago. So I was spared the boring part further down and went straight to the beautiful part in the mountains.

    My overall conclusion is also very positive:
    – The weather was incredible, almost no rain, mostly sunny
    – The people are friendly and you can talk to almost everyone
    – You mostly meet hikers doing a day trip (only very few are on the road for several days), with whom it is fun to chat.
    – The island was quite quiet in December, many tourists were not out and about
    – Even alone it is no problem at all to do this tour

    Best regards and everyone who still has this wonderful tour ahead of them, I wish you a lot of fun!

    george

  21. Hello Frank,
    Which place / hotel in the south would you recommend if you add two days of relaxation to the circular hike? We plan to do the tour in November. VG, Susan

    • Hello Susanne,
      actually lends itself to it Playa de Santiago excellent: By the way, stage 6 ends directly at the entrance gate of the Hotel Jardín Tecina :-) However, this 4-star hotel is relatively expensive.
      Unfortunately, I don't have my own experiences with overnight stays in Playa de Santiago, since we stayed two nights in San Sebastián and went back by bus after stage 6 in the evening.
      In my opinion, places other than these two are not so suitable for your plan, as getting around the island using public transport is relatively time-consuming.
      I hope this assessment is of some help to you!
      Many greetings
      Frank

  22. Hello Frank,

    Thank you for your prompt reply. We are actually staying one night at the Hotel Jardin Tecina after stage 6. The next day we go back to San Sebastian by bus.

  23. Hello Frank,

    this is a great site here, thanks! I also have my eye on the GR132 and would like to hike it alone. As far as I can feel in here, this route actually seems to be a good option for it. I have quite a lot of hiking experience, always alone, and I've gone on routes that are as "safe" as possible, for example on various sections of the Way of St. James in France or on the West Highland Way in Scotland. I'm not worried about the level of fitness and the altitude difference, ... but there is one thing that I unfortunately have a lot of respect for, namely exposed sections of the trail that require a head for heights or something similar. Could you give me some feedback on this? Greetings from Hamburg, Anna

    • Hello Anna,
      Unfortunately, I can't say much about the subject of having a head for heights. Luckily I was spared and I can't even remember the parts that would pose a challenge for you.
      But I created the following 3D preview: https://www.rundwanderung-lagomera.de/3d-vorschau-der-fernwanderung/. Between km 29 and km 30 the path leads along the steep slope. Maybe you can take a closer look at that. If in doubt, you can walk around this point (e.g. on the road to waypoint 3).
      Greetings back from Hamburg!
      Frank

  24. Hi Frank, just a little addendum, the hike is already planned for the end of October. Can you also say something about whether there are also some hikers at this time? Once again, best regards and thank you, Anna

    • Yes, October/November and March/April are rather high season on La Gomera (as far as hiking is concerned). You should also meet other hikers there.

  26. Hello Frank!

    What a brilliant and inspiring site - TOP!

    I'm considering doing the tour in January and am currently a bit put off by the altitude difference. So far I've hiked 3 times in Kitzbüehl and have always done about 6 hours of tours there. I'm not a big fan of long, steep descents.

    Is there a way to take the route a little more relaxed? What do you mean?

    Greetings from Munster

    Sascha

  27. Hello Frank,

    First of all, a big thank you for this great website!
    In 2017, the question of luggage transport between the stages came up - we are planning your tour exactly, but would like to hike with a light daypack and have the luggage transported. Are there any new insights? We would be very happy to receive feedback
    Best regards
    Heike & Gunnar

    • Hello Heike and Gunnar,
      Unfortunately, I don't have a newer/better status on the subject of "luggage transport" than the one above from 2017. Tip: On one of our other hiking tours, however, there is an option for individual travelers to transport luggage: https://www.costabrava-wandern.de/. Something like that would of course also be great for La Gomera, but I don't know of anything like that.
      Have fun anyway - it's worth the effort!
      Frank

  28. Hello Frank,
    First of all, thank you very much for the great website and the great information!
    Our first hike in your footsteps was supposed to be the Amalfi Coast in spring 2020, but Corona thwarted our plans. With Easyjet, however, we were able to rebook with a very small surcharge and here we had the right "nose": we decided to fly to the Canary Islands in November. In summer they were also a risk area, but in October the numbers were down and we were able to fly in mid-November. But since Germany was now well above the Canary Islands with the Corona numbers, we had to be tested before departure. Wasn't that easy, since the official test sites were only for travelers returning. We had to drive 200 km to Tübingen, where we got a PCR test for 65 euros and after 6 hours we already had the result. A second problem was the rules on the Canary Islands: they initially required a new test if you changed accommodation within the first 15 days. So it was clear that we could only start the tour after 15 days and because of the late arrival in Tenerife we could not cross directly to La Gomera. So we decided to stay in Tenerife for a week, then cross to La Gomera and start the tour again a week later. Fortunately, the obligation to test was lifted when we changed accommodation and we were able to go to La Gomera without an additional local test.
    We spent the first week in Valle Gran Rey in the Jardin Concha you recommended (we already knew that from a trip in 2012). We spent the week with fantastic weather with daily introductory tours, we also rented a car for 4 days and drove to all the places that we didn't touch later on the tour. Another insider tip for dining in Valle Gran Rey: “La Boutique del Vino”. At first glance simple and unimpressive, but what was served was absolutely top class!
    Unfortunately, the weather then changed, there was a storm and heavy rain at the beginning of our tour. Our first stage led from La Calera to Las Hayas, but since we had already done your variant via Riscos de La Mérica and Arure as an introductory tour, we decided to climb to the right of the Valle via Cercado to Las Hayas. This is also a very nice variant with a beautiful view. After about 1 hour of heavy rain at the beginning we were lucky and arrived relatively dry in Las Hayas. Overnight stay in the Jardin Las Hayas and of course dinner at Efigenia (By the way, Angela Merkel has already eaten there).
    Unfortunately, a lot of rain was announced for the next day and we had concerns about the danger of falling rocks on the way part of the Ermita Santo through the rock faces (even on the roads there were boulders everywhere after the heavy rains). We therefore chose the direct route to Vallehermoso. After the first half through the cloud forest, the weather improved and we still had beautiful views of the Vallehermoso valley. Unfortunately, we hadn't gotten anything else in the Triana II, but a good alternative was a nice holiday apartment Casa La Teraza for 45 euros. Excellent dinner almost across the street at El Carraca.
    Finally the weather improved for our third leg to Hermigua. There is now an alternative to your route up to Agulo (which is also described in the older Rother editions). In the more recent Rother editions, the route is closer to the coast, but with a similar number of meters in altitude and route length. The friendly gentleman at the Tourist Office in Vallehermoso knows both variants and recommended the newer one, which has more prospects. We really liked this stage, but we don't know the other version and can't compare it. Overnight at the Hotel Rural Villa de Hermigua (relatively expensive: 75 euros without breakfast). Unfortunately, nothing was available at the Hotel Rural Ibo Alfaro.
    We were also lucky with the weather on the last stage to San Sebastian: it only got cloudy at El Atajo. That's why it was also clear that we wouldn't climb up again and go over the ridge. The road was boring, but still doable. Unfortunately, we had bad luck with the overnight stay in the Torre del Conde: we got a 10% discount, but unfortunately the room was inside the building, without a window. Apparently the booked room was no longer available because there was a large group in the hotel.
    We then saved ourselves the last stage from San Sebastian to Playa Santiago, we had already had 13 additional hiking days behind us due to our “initial tours” on Tenerife and La Gomera.
    Thanks again for all the information, we will definitely take more of your suggestions under our hiking boots.

    Bridget and Franz

    • Hello Brigitta and Franz!
      Thank you for your detailed report! You took it upon yourself to be able to do the hike at all! With regard to the alternatives you describe, I'll do a search in my own "old" Rother edition. Maybe I'll find something there.
      I'm glad that you like my hiking suggestions so much :-) Hopefully the time will come again soon when you can travel as carefree as before.
      Many greetings
      Frank

  29. Hi,
    I have planned stage 6 for tomorrow (will report back on my experience later) but they predict stormy weather, so it's probably not a good idea to do the entire hike.
    If weather permits, I was thinking of doing part of it and returning the same way – mainly to catch some of the views. Which side would you recommend for this, San Sebastián or Playa de Santiago?
    thanks
    sigrid

    • Hello Sigrid,
      I hope I answer in time. I would start hiking from San Sebastián. I think that's more worthwhile. You might even make it to El Cabrito.
      Many greetings
      Frank

  30. Hi,

    First of all many thanks for the useful information here.

    I have just finished the hikes with self organized luggage transport, here is some feedback:

    I used the planning suggested above:
    – 4 nights in Valle Gran Rey – for stage 1 and 2 (stage 2 done in reverse): arrived a day beforehand and had a 'free' day on day 3. Doing stage 2 in reverse from Arure makes it actually quite short, so if I would plan it again I would skip the free day in VGR (since you already have half a day the day before) and add a potential rest day in Hermigua since I really loved the apartment and view from the terrace there.
    – 1 night in Vallehermoso (Telegraph hostel)
    – 1 night in Hermigua (Casa creativa)
    – 2 nights in San Sebastian de la Gomera (Hostal Colon)

    I emailed a couple of taxi drivers I found online and asked for a quote for:
    Stage 3: pick me up in VGR and drop off at Arure + deliver my luggage in Vallehermoso
    Stage 4: pick up luggage in Vallehermoso and deliver in Hermigua
    Stage 5: pick up luggage in Hermigua and deliver in San Sebastián de la Gomera

    I then reserved all accommodation with a free cancellation option, asking if they could accommodate the 'separate arrival and departure' of my luggage. Telegraph hostel didn't understand what I wanted but it worked out well in the end, all the others confirmed and shared contact details of reception opening hours when relevant. Based on these replies, I confirmed my bookings.

    I chose accomodations in the same area as the ones suggested here, but as a solo traveler was aiming for a +/- €40/night price.
    – VGR: finca contero: large apartment with terrace with partial sea view, fridge, microwave, wash basin and drying rack for laundry, ok wifi. Well located near La Calera busstop and not far from the busstation either.
    – Vallehermoso: Telegraph hostel, shared bathroom (right across from the room) and kitchen. Nice rooftop terrace, in the old town. Only one power outlet in the room.
    – Hermigua: Casa Creativa, cozy studio with fridge and terrace with sunbed and great views, clothes drying rack. Forgot to ask the wifi password, but there seemed to be wifi.
    Ss: Hostal colon, great location, basic windowless room, disappointed by the lack of wifi in the room – the WiFi downstairs had good upload speed though. They were so kind to grant me a late checkout, otherwise the restricted hours of the reception and luggage storage might have been annoying. I was missing a hairdryer and hot water never turned truly hot imo.

    I got quotes of €95, €131 and €160 and decided to go with the most responsive taxi driver: José Gregorio Martín Barroso. Tfno: 690 032 362 goyomarba@gmail.com

    Here are the contact details of the other ones who replied:
    – taxiarure@gmail.com (Carlos Hernandez
    Taxi Arure 629689080)
    – Carlos, via whatsapp +34639648044

    The following is the final information I provided to the taxi driver (just Google translate so I'm sure this can be done better) and based on this all was perfectly organized:

    Aquí hay more information for the traslado de equipaje:

    Propondría salir a las 8 de la mañana del día 21.
    Desde: Caidero nº 20 – Edificio Caixa, La Calera, Valle Gran Rey, 38870
    Dejar para mi: en Arure
    Entrega del equipaje en la siguiente dirección: Telegraph hostel; Calle Mayor, 38, 38840, Vallehermoso (34637002181)

    22/12:
    Recogida de equipaje en: albergue telegraph; Calle Mayor, 38, 38840, Vallehermoso (34637002181)
    Entrega de equipaje en: Casa Creativa; Carretera General, nº 56, 38820, Hermigua
    puede llamar a Christiane al 0034637197249 y dejará el equipaje en el estudio

    23/12:
    Recogida de equipaje en: Casa Creativa; Carretera General, nº 56, 38820, Hermigua
    puedes llamar a Christiane al 0034637197
    Entrega de equipaje en: Hostal Colon, Calle Real 59, San Sebastián de la Gomera, 38800 +34 666 36 25 55; El horario de reception es 10-13 and 16-18.

    On the last day I put the money plus a tip in a side pocket of the luggage and sent a photo of where to find it. I brought 2 padlocks for my luggage but forgot to use them. I did label the luggage with my contact details just in case.

    I hope this helps.,
    sigrid

    As for vertigo on the hike, I can feel shaky when I have to come down on a narrow trail next to a steep drop so was a little worried, here is where I suffered (but nothing truly bad):
    – stage 3 after the ermita del Santo, long stretches next to a steep drop but the path was broad enough
    – stage 4: the part around the old transportador, when leaving Agulo for Hermigua.
    – stage 5: climbing out of Hermigua past the lake, lots of fallen stones, earth, rocks and sometimes entire trees narrowing or even blocking it. Sometimes next to a steep drop, but never over a long distance.

    Other remarks
    Stages 1 and 2:
    I took the 8 am bus at around 8.15 at the La Calera stop for stage 1. There was only one seat left on the first day when I took it from La Calera, so I walked 5' to the bus station instead the next day.
    Stage 5:
    I didn't like the start of stage 5 too much, more than 1.5 hrs over paved road with similar views. If I would do it again I would get a taxi to the point where the hike branches off the main road. The trail is also overgrown with ao thorns – not ideal for shorts/skirt.
    Stage 6:
    I only realized rather late that I planned stage 6 on 24.12. Last bus was at 15.30 (later buses were canceled because of Christmas Eve) so my plan was to catch the 7 am bus to Playa de Santiago and do the hike in reverse. However, after I found out that they predicted stormy weather I decided to change my plans and just walked Ss to El Cabrito and back.

    Thanks a lot for all the info here,

    sigrid

    • Hello Sigrid,

      Thank you very much for your detailed report! And especially the information about luggage transport! This has been asked a lot in the past - but you're the first who wasn't put off by the difficulties and who actually tried it! Really great! I will contact the taxi driver you recommended and ask if he is interested in driving such tours more often. If so, I will set up a separate section for you. The costs are also reasonable - at least when you compare it with an organized trip and you can divide the price by two if necessary.

      Many greetings
      Frank

  31. Hello Frank,

    Thank you very much for the great website, the tips for accommodation and the gps tracks - made planning our holidays and tours a lot easier :)

    We hiked all stages apart from the third as you suggested. In terms of fitness, we were quite challenged, but from our point of view, the effort was more than worth it for the wonderful and varied landscapes :)

    The hotel you suggested in Vallehermoso seems to be (currently?) closed. As an alternative, we can highly recommend the Hotel Rural Triana. In San Sebastián there is also the Pensión Victor as an alternative accommodation with very tasty food in its own restaurant :)

    Best regards,

    Eve and Angela

  32. Hi Frank,

    First of all, thank you so much for providing this platform for people to get all this information and share their experiences - extremely useful!

    I am planning to do the hike in October and I wanted to get some feedback from you:

    1. I am planning to do the entire island, anticlockwise. in the following stages:

    day0: Arriving from Tenerife
    day1: San Sebastian – Hermigua
    day2: Hermigua – Vallehermoso
    day3: Vallehermoso – La Calera
    day4: La Calera – Alajero (or maybe Playa de Santiago)
    day5: Playa de Santiago – San Sebastian
    day6: Last day in San Sebastian

    Issue I am having is there are no accommodations available in Alajero for my dates so I might take a bus/cab to drop me off a bit closer so I can do the La Calera – San Playa De Santiago stretch in one stage.

    Just wanted to get your thoughts on this route. The idea would be to get luggage dropped at Vallehermoso and then from there to Playa de Santiago and then from there to San Sebastian + pick me up from La Calera and drop somewhere along the route. Attaching a link hopefully it works.

    https://en.mapy.cz/turisticka?planovani-trasy&x=-17.2223494&y=28.0505982&z=14&rc=tMRQRv-pE1tM2QRv1KfPLVv18Q8tL9rMcK6bc1bzMbrme8ae27v-sC9tLss25c4esAv-h01tLymeg3Dm68v-Y8CtMQv5v-p1C&rs=osm&rs=coor&rs=osm&rs=coor&rs=osm&rs=coor&rs=osm&rs=osm&rs=coor&rs=coor&rs=osm&rs=osm&ri=28294&ri=&ri=28536&ri=&ri=1096452572&ri=&ri=1095771231&ri=27084&ri=&ri=&ri=53096&ri=94324881&mrp=%7B%22c%22%3A132%7D&xc=%5B%5D

    But yeah I was just wondering how ambitious do you think this might be, if you think its doable and whether I might want to consider some alternatives or if you might have some suggestions on how I can improve it.

    Kind regards,
    Mon

    • Just a few follow-up questions:

      1. How was the phone network throughout the trails?
      2. Do you think if in a case of emergency I needed a cab it would be easy to get one from the areas where the hotels are based?

      Thanks!
      Mon

      • Hello again Mo,
        Unfortunately, I don't remember the phone cover exactly. I believe that there were definitely dead spots when there were no towns nearby.
        There are taxis on La Gomera, but these are mostly individual providers/drivers. It is best to save a few phone numbers beforehand. I recommended a taxi driver on the following page: https://www.rundwanderung-lagomera.de/gepaecktransport-mit-dem-taxi/. Unfortunately, "Goyo" hardly speaks any English. But in an emergency, he knows almost every taxi driver on the island and could certainly help you.
        Many greetings
        Frank

    • Hello Mo,
      I was able to open your link. Exciting planning :-) Here are my thoughts:
      1) I don't think day 3 can be done like this - that's 22 km and over 1,600 meters of ascent and descent. For such a route I would plan at least 12 hours of hiking time. I think that's too tiring.
      2) The lack of accommodation between La Calera and Alajero was exactly the reason why I deviated from the official route of the GR-132 here on this website. You should therefore also shorten day 4 - you can find the right bus line here: https://www.rundwanderung-lagomera.de/buslinien-auf-la-gomera-linie-1-valle-gran-rey-san-sebastian/
      All in all, I think your planning for 6 days is too ambitious. Either you give yourself a little more time. Or maybe you don't really want to hike all the way around the island.
      Many greetings
      Frank

  33. First of all, thank you for the great information and updates on this website
    Triggered by this, I developed an extended hiking variant and it also expired in December 2021 and can only warmly recommend it. For details see below link to Komoot with all stages.
    My basic planning ideas were:
    1. Clever combination of island hike GR 132 and island hike through GR 131, especially to get a little more of the laurel forest / national park in the interior of the island
    2. Addition of the 4 top highlights...
    "Climbing the Barranco Argaga" at Vueltas/ Valle Gran Rey +
    "Crossing Table Mountain and Fortalezza Place of Worship" at Chipude+
    "longest trail through the national park/laurel forest" at El Cedro +
    " Hike through the water tunnel in the hamlet of El Cedro"
    3. Execution in an anti-clockwise direction to have the peak of the highest mountain "Alto de Garajonay" near the end, which I find better in terms of the arc of suspense.

    Remarks:
    Stage "0" from San Sebastián to Playa de Santiago was practically preceded by arrival, on foot and with the late airport bus (around 6 p.m. from Playa de Santiago) back to San Sebastián..

    From San Sebastián I had a taxi take me about 7km to Las Casetas, firstly to save me the tarmac route from the capital but also to shorten the otherwise super long stage to Hermigua a bit.

    After my arrival in Hermigua after the water tunnel as the final highlight, I took the bus back to San Sebastián

    Most of the routes were very lonely, you really are alone for hours. You have to know and tolerate that, especially if you are traveling alone like I am. In all my time I had not met anyone who also did one of the GR hikes. I could only register day hikers at the usual highlights.

    I had booked accommodation in advance via Booking.com and AirBnB, which also worked without any problems.

    I almost always had mobile phone reception, mostly already 4G including Internet.
    where it was more remote there was no internet but at least always a phone/SMS capable mobile network. That's reassuring just in case

    If you omit the optional "entry day", you can get around in 7 days and also through the entire island on this clever combination of GR132 and GR131 and take these 4 really great additional highlights with you.

    Tip:
    In view of the already scarce bar/ restaurant/ supermarket supply, check the respective opening times/ closing days beforehand. I had bad luck in Playa de Hermigua at the El Faro restaurant and in Las Hayas at the famous Efigenia restaurant

    Greetings Bertram and many other "Gomera hikers"

    • Hello Bertram,
      wow, thank you very much for your hiking variant! Sounds really good too! I absolutely have to go to La Gomera again... :-)
      Many greetings
      Frank

    • Hello Bertram,
      would like to add you as a friend in the komoot. Under which username can I find it there, please?
      Can you please reply to my email: thxxxxxxxxxxxxxx @ xxxxxxxxxx.xx

      Warm greetings
      Thomas

      • Hello Thomas,
        clicking on Betram's name just above his comment will take you to his Komoot page. I hope this helps you further! I have removed your email address from your comment above for data protection reasons :-)
        Many greetings
        Frank

  35. Hello Frank,
    I would like to hike the GR 132 on La Gomera at the beginning of January.
    The most important thing for me is to know in advance how much altitude has to be climbed for each stage.
    I can find different information about it everywhere. Now I came across the homepage of "mapa.gob.es".
    listing the stages as follows:
    Do you think this information fits?

    Kind regards Thomas

    1) San Sebastian – Playa de Hermigua 1025 m
    2) Hermigua – Playa de Vallhermoso 920 m altitude
    3) Playa de Vallhermoso – Alojera 970 m altitude
    4) Alojera – Valle Gran Rey 655 m altitude
    5) Valle Gran Rey – La Dama 990 m altitude
    6) La Dama – Alajero 980 m altitude
    7) Alajero – Playa de Santiago 15 m
    8) Playa de Santiago – San Sebastian 980 m altitude

  37. you have to go to the homepage of "mapa.gob.es" under search "GR 132" and then it will appear
    "Camino Natural Costas de La Gomera" click this
    Then a map of La Gomera appears below, with 8 digits for the individual stages.
    If you click on 1 and then on the "Mountain" symbol, the altitude will appear, among other things

    • Hello Thomas,
      the differences are mainly due to the fact that some of the stages are cut differently. The official GR 132, which you can find under mapa.gob.es has the disadvantage that there are sometimes no accommodation options at the stage destinations :-( That's why I created this website back then.
      At the points where my route is identical to the official stages, the altitudes match up pretty well again. For example, “my” stage 4 corresponds to the official stage 2 in reverse, my number 5 is number 1 there.
      I hope this sheds some light!
      Many greetings
      Frank

  38. Hello,
    At the beginning of March 2022, I hiked the entire GR 132 counterclockwise, starting and finishing in San Sebastian.
    I made 10 daily stages out of the recommended 8 daily stages because the first and last stage is just too long. I recorded all stages on Bergfex. If anyone would like information on this, please get in touch.
    Warm greetings
    Thomas Grimm

  39. Dear Thomas, I am planning an island hike with my daughter and preferably in 10 daily stages and as you described, starting from San Sebastian. I would like to have your notes about the stages.

    Greetings from La Gomera
    Uta

  40. Hello,

    behind Agulo in the direction of La Rosas, the GR132 is currently closed due to a rockfall at approx. 28.18842° N, 17.20566° W.

    Maybe this is common knowledge, we only found out yesterday through the sign on the flagging tape.

    Many greetings,
    Rüdiger

    • Hello Rüdiger,
      thanks for the info! So that would be on stage 4 between waypoint 10 and waypoint 11, right? Could you easily avoid it or what do you recommend as an alternative?
      Many greetings
      Frank

  41. Hello Frank,
    yes exactly: We arrived at waypoint 10 of stage 4 of the circular hike during another hike. As an alternative, we recommend turning right at this point in the direction of the "moonscape" from which we had come. Here you reach the "Mirador de Abrante", a glass platform from which you have a breathtaking view of Alguro (opening hours 10-16 h, closed on Mondays). At the end of the plain, the path descends mostly in steps towards Alguro. At the bottom, cross the GM-1 road and take village roads to waypoint 11, which is behind the recently covered sports hall (with blue flooring now unfortunately incongruous with the landscape).

    This beautiful path is similarly long (approx. 3.5 km), but much more strenuous. As we did not want to do the descent again, we actually crossed the rockslide, but - apart from the fact that it is forbidden anyway - we strongly (!) advise against it: The wall above still looks extremely unstable and the view down is not without its challenges.

    Many greetings
    Rüdiger

  42. Hello Rüdiger,

    I have found your comments through a Google search about this closure. I'm a bit confused because you are talking about stage 4 but Hermigua to Vallehermoso is stage 2. I completed stage 1, San Sebastián to Hermigua, yesterday. I am in Hermigua now and plan to leave in the morning to walk stage 2 to Vallehermoso. I have just seen a laminated paper sign in Agulo about the closure in the area Sendero El Roquillo which is in the direction of La Rosas as you mention above. I'm wondering how this corresponds to it being stage 4 for you as I feel sure we are talking about the same closure. Any tips on finding definitive information about this closure. Also, when you mention waypoint 10, stage 4, is this information from a GPX set that you have? I have had trouble finding any reliable directions therefore I've just started at the beginning and planned to walk the entire path. I'm mostly sleeping outdoors so not concerned much with accommodations. Any tips would be great.

    Thanks,
    Marco

    • Hello Marco,
      Rüdiger and I both refer to stage 4 as described here on this website (link: stage 4). The numbering differs from the official route of the GR-132, hence your confusion.

  43. Hello again,
    Just as a follow up. This may sound very novice and although I do have massive amounts of long distance walking experience across many parts of Europe over many years, I have no idea how one would find specific waypoints such as waypoint 10 mentioned above. Can you please enlighten me on this a bit as it seems like crucial information. Again, seasoned distance walker here with thousands of KM under my belt but no idea how one would determine that they are at waypoint 10.

    Sorry for what I'm sure is a dumb question but would appreciate any tips.

    • Waypoint 10 refers to the map you can find at the link above - the map corresponds to the GPX file you can also download from this page. If you landed directly in the comments here via Google search, you will of course miss the context :-)
      Many greetings
      Frank (I am the operator of this website)

  44. Hello Frank,
    Thank you so much for your fast reply and very rich trove of information here. I have just been searching around the comments and your page. I downloaded Outdooractive and am having a look now at your GPX downloads.
    Again, many thanks for this resource and your speed in replying
    Marco

  45. Hello Frank,
    Thank you for this detailed page. Is the 3D view still available somewhere? Unfortunately, the link no longer works for me...
    Many greetings

    • Hello Antonia,
      you are right, the previous 3D view is no longer available as Ayvri has unfortunately discontinued the service. I am currently checking various other providers who offer a similar 3D view. Until then, you'll have to be patient.
      Many greetings
      Frank

      • Update: I have now integrated another provider who also offers a 3D view. In case you haven't already been out and about in real life, Antonia :-)

  46. Dear Frank; I'm flying to la gomera on Thursday; to hike in your footsteps; all accommodation booked etc FULL OF EXCITEMENT - and now oh dear oh dear a corona illness has recently got in the way! I am recovered but still weak on my legs. strenuous daily stages are out of the question; I think I can manage 500 hm and 3-5h a day. Please give me your opinion: can your stages be shortened, e.g. with the help of a taxi / bus, so that they are definitely easier rather than more difficult? Or is it wiser to just do smaller tours from my hotel locations? Am in VGR/ vallehermoso/ hermigua. Start and end in SS. I had planned to book luggage transport but am still thinking about how to use it. Thanks for your advice! LG maria

    • Hello Maria,
      that's a bummer - but at least you can fly! In principle, you can shorten individual stages by bus or taxi. The question is how sensible that is if your accommodation plan is already fixed and you are then constantly dependent on the departure times of the buses etc. I would take a more relaxed approach if I were you. If I were you, I would take a more relaxed approach. La Gomera is definitely a hiking island - even for shorter hikes.
      A few shortcuts nevertheless in a hurry:
      - Stage 1: in Chipude (at waypoint 4 and 5), the bus line passes by that goes to Valle Gran Rey.
      - Stage 2: if necessary, hike backwards, i.e. take the bus from Valle Gran Rey and join the hike at waypoint 6. Then you only have a descent, no ascent.
      - Stage 3: is more difficult to shorten, as there is only one bus a day from Alojera to Vallehermoso (Mon-Fri only). If you want to risk it, you could get on at the same point as stage 2 and then enjoy the descent to Alojera. Probably the taxi driver who takes your luggage to Vallehermoso could let you off there so you don't have to take the bus.
      - Stage 4: If necessary, start from "Las Rosas" at waypoint 5. The main road passes approx. 100 metres in altitude below the reservoir. You save approx. 6 km and 450 metres of altitude difference of the stage (and hike more downhill again).
      - Stage 5: can also be shortened somewhat by bus or taxi by shortening the climb from Hermigua. You have to get off at the last bus stop before the tunnel (as far as I know, there is no bus stop for quite a long time after the tunnel). If you take a taxi to transport your luggage, you can of course get off exactly before or after the tunnel and let your luggage continue...
      - Stage 6: there is no shortcut here.
      The best thing to do is to get an overview of the bus lines on La Gomera (links under https://www.rundwanderung-lagomera.de/busfahren-auf-la-gomera/).
      In any case, have a great hiking holiday!
      Frank

  47. Thank you for your prompt reply. Hm yes ...more relaxed approach but how ? Because I have already booked the accommodation. Or do you just mean doing smaller rounds starting from these places? That would certainly be an option. I will report back - an update already: luggage transport costs according to my current info 150.- inflation is everywhere..glg maria

    • Hello Maria,
      Yes, I may have been a bit careless with the "more relaxed approach" :-) You can't cancel anything free of charge anymore, right? Then it is probably the best option to take the shortcuts described above. If you had planned to have your luggage transported anyway, you can at least use the taxi rides for you and your luggage so that you are dropped off on stages 3, 4 and 5 on the way in order to shorten the hiking distance.
      I have adjusted prices for luggage transport on the website, thank you!
      Frank

  48. Dear Frank- last question hopefully- no promise. I found out that I can still cancel some hotels. - I'll probably stay in one place for the whole week to relax and do smaller tours or even a bus tour from there. Which place would you recommend ? Thank you very much maria

    • Hello Maria,
      then I would recommend the Valle Gran Rey, there you have a relatively large selection of larger and smaller hikes and you can also hike part of the first stages of the hike.
      Have a good trip!
      Frank

  49. Hello Frank,
    Thank you for this great website. From your point of view, is it recommended to go hiking on La Gomera in November?
    Greetings Sonja

    • Hello Sonja,
      Yes, that is the advantage of La Gomera - you can hike almost all year round (except perhaps in July/August). We ourselves were there in December/January. So November is a good choice :-)
      Many greetings
      Frank

  50. Hello Frank, hello dear hikers,
    I start my hike on La Gomera on 17.3. I have one question: Is it necessary to take hiking poles on the tour? I would actually like to do without them, as I will only be travelling with hand luggage and the poles have to be checked in as luggage.
    Many thanks for your assessment :-)
    Kind regards Max
    P.S. in December I was hiking in Malta/Gozo - I have left my experiences in the comments on the corresponding page...

    • Hello Max!

      right, you were the hiking colleague from Hamburg :-) On the subject of (telescopic) hiking poles: I actually stand by my statement that these are almost compulsory on the hike on La Gomera (see FAQ). Especially for the quite strenuous descents - partly on a somewhat rough path - I consider this a great help: relief for the knees, more safety on the descent.
      Idea: There is a small shop for hiking equipment in Valle Gran Rey. They also sell hiking poles there (price information: 18€ each). Link: https://timah.net/. If necessary, you could retrofit there after stage 1 (note opening hours!). The shop seems to be uncomplicated, I asked there via WhatsApp.
      Best regards - and happy to report how it worked out!
      Frank

    • Hey Max,
      I don't know which airline you fly with, but I flew with RyanAir last week and had no problem with hiking poles in my hand luggage. :)
      Have a nice trip.

      • Hm, I think it depends more on the local security staff / airport than on the airline. For Hamburg airport, for example, there is a checklist for hand luggage - there, walking sticks seem to be in the same category as baseball bats :-) So not allowed...

      • The security regulations are not dependent on the airlines, but are subject to the regulations of the Federal Police. These state that trekking/hiking poles are not allowed in hand luggage.

  51. Hi Frank, thanks for your reassessment and efforts with the shop.
    That's how I'll do it and report back if it worked flawlessly.
    Many thanks for the great support!
    Best regards,
    Max

  52. Hello, anyone here has experience with moovitapp on La Gomera? It shows frequent bus transports, more frequent than guaguagomera. Is it correct and doesn't guaguagomera show all, or is it incorrect? For example see bus 2 - San Sebastian to Vallehermoso's timing: 6am (moovitapp) vs 10am (guaguagomera) for start?!

  53. LINEA 2
    ELa VALLEHERMOSO
    SAN SEBASTIAN
    Route 2 - Line 2
    Lunes - Viernes / Monday - Friday / Montag- Freitag
    Estación de
    Guaguas
    Vallehermoso
    .sebastian
    Hospital/sick house
    05:30(3)
    10:30
    07:30
    12:00
    13:30 (3)
    15:30
    18:30
    15:00
    18:00
    18900
    21:30
    Sábados - Saturday - Saturday
    21:00
    Estación de Guaguas
    Sisebastiar
    Hospital/sick house
    10:00
    -OUT
    12:00
    14193107
    13:30 131
    15930
    15:00
    15:30
    16930
    18:00
    18:00
    21:00
    Domingo /Sundays
    Estacion de Guagu
    Vallehermos^
    S.Sebastian
    Hospital/sick house
    08:00
    15:00
    10:30
    10:00
    1700
    20:30
    bank Holidays
    Valionor
    5.5055
    TOROO
    17:30
    21.30
    17:00
    21:00
    Hello Wouter, I am now on La Gomera and have found this information at the bus terminal in San Sebastián. Correct departure time is 10:30h
    Regards, Max

  54. Sorry, the copy mixed it up:
    First departure from Vallehermoso 5:30h and fron San Sebastián 10:30h

    • Thanks Max! Is that a copy/paste from the guaguagomera website?
      Do you otherwise have (good?) experience with moovitapp?

  55. No, I took a picture of the timetable yesterday at the bus station in San Sebastián.
    Have no experience with these websites.

  56. Hello Frank,
    I am back from my hike on La Gomera.
    First of all, thanks again for your tips and suggestions, which have helped me a lot. And thank you also for pointing out so vehemently that it is not feasible without trekking poles. In fact, I was able to buy some in San Sebastian in the Calle Real, the main street there. Right at the beginning of the street on the left side is an "Oriental Bazar", they sell them there (quite cheap for 8,50€), but also a few hundred metres further in the same street there is a sports shop "Gran Sports", they also have outdoor articles. So I could make the descent the next day towards Valle Gran Rey already with the poles, which was a real relief. There in Valle Gran Rey, Timah would have been able to buy the poles.
    By the way, the descent (as already described above) on day 4 to Agulo must still be made via the Mirador de Abrante, the route you described is probably permanently closed because of the rockfall. However, the descent from the Mirador is well signposted and doable, even if very strenuous.
    All in all, I am totally enthusiastic about the hike and the island. You just get the feeling that the world and nature are still in order there. The hike was very challenging for me, as I have never hiked such heights before and am actually afraid of heights, but it was all doable :-)
    The 3-day rest in Valle Gran Rey at the end was really good for me and I could revel in the good memories and great experiences.
    Thank you very much again and best regards
    Max

    • Hello Max,
      wonderful, then we now also have a solution to the issue of walking sticks :-)
      I'm glad you gave feedback again!
      Many greetings
      Frank

  57. Hello Frank,

    I would like to do the circular walk.
    I heard that you can also camp wild on the island. Do you think there are nice places to camp after the stages?
    The next point that occurred to me was the drinking water. Do you think a water filter is enough, as there are enough water sources along the way?

    All the best Caro!

    • Hello Caro,
      Since wild camping is officially forbidden on La Gomera, I would never publicly write or recommend anything else here :-) My stage suggestions are based more on the towns where there are guesthouses and hotels. As a wild camper, you would have to plan differently anyway.
      On the subject of water: La Gomera is very dry, especially in the southern part. I would always take enough water with me. You can find a list of places to buy water here: FAQ.
      Many greetings and have a great time on the island!
      Frank

  58. Hello Frank!
    Thank you very much for the beautiful routes around Gomera! My wife Elisabeth and I hiked around Gomera exactly according to your route. Everything was perfect, a wonderful experience, great nature cinema! Elisabeth asked me to give you a big compliment because everything worked out so well according to your instructions. We hiked in 5 stages, the 6th we spared ourselves, but we stayed in Hermigua 2x in the Hotel Ibo Alfaro, was certainly the best address of your recommendations!
    As I said, everything is great; I would like to add one thing to your description! On the 4th tour from Vallehermoso to Agulo, it should be mentioned that directly after the visitor centre, it is possible to reach the Mirador de Abrante viewpoint with only a small diversions! ... or to reach Agulo via the Mirador de Abrante; in retrospect we were sorry not to have seen the viewpoint!
    Once again a big thank you
    Reinhold and Elisabeth
    PS: Can you also recommend a nice tour on La Palma for next year in March/April?

    • Hello Reinhold and Elisabeth,
      Many thanks for the "high praise" :-) I'm glad! I will add the hint to the "Mirador de Abrante" right away, very good idea!

      About La Palma: we were on La Palma shortly before the 2021 volcanic eruption - but without long-distance hiking plans but with 3 different accommodations spread over the island. At that time, we did a lot of nice day hikes and also thought about whether there was anything we could do in terms of long-distance hiking. But I couldn't come up with a coherent idea. There are two designated long-distance hiking trails, the GR-130 and GR-131, but they are difficult to combine with overnight stays in guesthouses and the like. Therefore: There are beautiful hiking islands such as La Palama or Madeira, without necessarily being able to do "deluxe" long-distance hiking there. But both islands are still worthwhile for hiking enthusiasts :-)
      Many greetings
      Frank

  59. Hello, thank you for the interesting article! Do you have any idea whether it is possible to rent storage units on La Gomera to store heavy luggage? Best regards

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