How to spend a week in Andorra
Holiday diary feat. mountain refuges, trail running and the world's longest tobaggon
For as long as I can remember, my dad has been dishing out what he calls his ‘tips for life’ (so much so that it’s now the name of our family WhatsApp group).
They vary vastly in scope and seriousness but, as far as any of us can remember, the original was ‘weed your patio’. I’ve not yet progressed to the stage of life where I have my own patio to look after, but this wisdom is absolutely ingrained for when that day comes. Sometimes they’re woven into general conversation, other times delivered by specific text messages or emails or phone calls.
A few years ago, I received one such email entitled ‘tip for life’. Dad had just returned from a few days on the GR10 route in the Pyrenees, and his tip was to do with not setting off on a 100-mile long run wearing shoes that already have holes in. The hole will grow, the sole will start detaching while you’re on the trail, you will have to duct tape it back on and this will definitely not be ideal when a freak snow storm arrives.
Good advice, I think we can all agree.
Footwear malfunctions aside, the main thing that came across in his (quite long) email was how much he loved the Pyrenees. This is a point he’s reinforced on an almost weekly basis in the six years since. Yet, for some reason, I kept going to back to the Alps to get my mountain fix and never heeded his suggestion. Sorry, Dad.
Until a Spanish wedding plus one invite came through via Isaac earlier this year, and he suggested to tag on a trip to Andorra beforehand. Andorra - the tiny landlocked country in the Pyrenees, nestled between Spain and France, smaller than Cumbria in both square footage and population - isn’t somewhere that had massively been on my radar beforehand but it turned out to be an excellent suggestion.
After various stints of Googling, ChatGPTing and Komooting, we cobbled together the following itinerary and I’d absolutely recommend everything we did! Running, hiking, mountain refuges, lakes, Europe’s longest toboggan… what more could you want from a holiday?
Andorra holiday diary
Saturday
I hate paying for luggage and had convinced Isaac we’d be fine with just hand luggage. The holiday therefore started with a bit of stressing about fitting in wedding suits/dresses/shoes/bags along with everything we needed for a week of adventures, but we just about managed it.
Early Saturday alarm to squeeze in my long run before heading to the airport, and we were off. It was my first time flying from Leeds Bradford and I can’t say I loved the experience, but I quickly forgot about the dismal selection of sandwiches on offer once we landed in Spain.
We flew to Girona, and then hired a car. This was easiest for us with the wedding at the end, but it seems like there’s a pretty straightforward bus from Barcelona Airport if you want to use public transport, and we saw lots of local buses when we were actually in Andorra.
It was about 2.5 hours to our first stop, Sant Julia. Sant Julia mainly seemed to have a lot of banks, but we chose it because it was super convenient for our Sunday plans. We didn’t arrive until gone 10pm but easily found a nice little restaurant for dinner (which always feels like a miracle coming from the UK where everything stops at 8pm). Grilled fish, our first holiday beer and then we were very ready for bed.
Sunday
The day that Isaac was probably most excited for and that I was probably least excited for. Naturland is basically a big outdoor activity centre and I have to admit I was a little bit sceptical about it this being a great way to spend a day of our holiday. Turns out, I was completely wrong and it was so much fun.
We got there early and did everything on offer. High ropes, this thing where you jumped off some scaffolding onto a big inflatable cushion, archery, various slides etc. We had lunch in the cafe which was actually surprisingly good. €15 for set menu thing of half a rotisserie chicken, roast potatoes, salad, soup, pudding and bread. We discussed how at theme parks at home you’d pay that for a crap hot dog.
Then came the main event and why we were really there: Tobotronc. It’s the longest alpine slide/toboggan/coaster in the world apparently - something that really hits home after you get on at the bottom, and spend 20+ minutes being hauled up 400m of vertical gain to the top. It then takes just 6 minutes to hurl yourself down the 5km long track back to the bottom. I’m a massive wimp and I still loved it.
Back to Sant Julia for our final night in the town of banks. We stayed at Hotel Sol-Park which was basic but fine. It had a huge terrace but the bar wasn’t open, so we bought some drinks and snacks from the garage before eventually heading into town for dinner.
Monday
I went for a quick run first thing and then we sorted out our stuff ready for the thing that I was probably most excited about - an overnight in a mountain hut.
We stopped at a supermarket in Sant Julia to buy a picnic (a fairly elaborate one, admittedly - not sure a whole can of olives is generally considered good lightweight backpacking food) then drove to the trailhead in Arinsal. The plan was to walk up to Refugi Comapedrosa, stay the night there, then do the big hike up to Andorra’s highest peak the next day.
It was only about 5km up to the shelter and it was hot, steep and beautiful. A trail runner came flying down in the opposite direction and I couldn’t get over how fast she was moving on the rocky ground. We found a nice spot for our picnic and I was happy that my bag felt a bit lighter once we’d eaten the olives etc.
We reached the hut by mid afternoon and bought cold drinks which felt remarkably well deserved after such a short walk. Isaac saw a peak in the distance and headed off to run up it, while I went for a stroll then spent the rest of the afternoon sunbathing at the lake right by the refuge. Stunning spot, freezing water.
Dinner was pasta and pesto, goulash, peaches in syrup and jugs of red wine, then we went to bed where we happily had no snorers in our dorm. Probably one of the best ever mountain hut experiences.
Tuesday
After a standard mountain hut breakfast of various types of dry bread products, it was time to tackle Coma Pedrosa. At 2,943m, it’s Andorra’s tallest mountain and felt like something we needed to tick off while we were there.
The route was relatively straightforward until the horrible discovery, for me, which was that the last part up to the peak was full of screen - and I really, really, really hate scree. I did not keep my cool at all, freaked out and cried the whole way up and down this section. Just in case you were under any illusion at all that I’m remotely brave…
It was absolutely stunning at the summit though, views for days, even if I wasn’t bringing much to the vibe. The other thing that didn’t help the vibe was Isaac ordering what turned out to be the world’s soggiest tuna sandwich for his packed lunch from the refuge, which leaked onto everything in his bag. Delish.
A lovely combination of puffy-eyed and smelling like fish, we eventually made it back to the car late afternoon after a longer-than-expected walk. It was super hot in Arinsal by then so we got changed in the car park and walked into town for some much needed snacks and cold beers, before heading to our next destination: Ordino.