Valtournative - Day Trips and Excursions in Valencia - Sustainable Tourism - Hot Springs Montanejos — Local services in Valencia

Valtournative Valtournative tours are exactly what the name implies—insightful guided tours to the many alternative wonders of the countryside just beyond Valencia. Millennial-priced, inexpensive day trips out of the tourist-trodden city to the spectacular mountains, historic villages, ruins and phenomenal natural wonders of the region.

This young, aptly named tour company, founded by 29 year old Daniel Escriva, runs the best tours we have ever been on. We have had wonderful tour guides in our travels, but never one who was as knowledgeable, thoughtful and kind as our Valtournative guide.

Our tour took Judy and me, and one other couple only, up to the hidden natural hot springs of Montañejos—where an Arabic king of Valencia once built a forbidden bath and spa to keep his wives young and beautiful. The sweet, mineral-rich waters are, in fact, extremely good for your skin.

Our swim through the emerald waters that spill through the majestic, hidden gorge was magical— and our skin did feel amazing afterwards! We drank from the holy fountain and bottled some to take with us.

After our unhurried, relaxed swim, we were brought to a restaurant in the village for a €15 Menu del Día that was among the best meals we’ve ever had in Spain. Wined and fed, we headed up the gorge to the Pantano de Arenoso, where a vast earthen dam creates a beautiful lake that drowned the lost village in the broad valley it fills. In the golden afternoon light below the ruined castle, we enjoyed the view and the conversation in the company of scampering mountain goats. We felt like right proper European bohemian intellectuals. It was picturesque, sublime, and Spanish as it gets, and I found myself remembering a quote by Mark Twain:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

One of the most remarkable things about the Valtournative experience is that instead of a rehearsed tour script, delivered by rote to a large group, you get relaxed conversation—real human connection that still manages to convey all the history and legend you crave. You feel like you’re just hanging with a new friend, but you realize that you’ve learned so much!

This seems to be Valtournative’s signature style and philosophy. Small groups that feel like a private tour, at a tiny fraction of the cost. Maximum authenticity with remarkably comfortable people, at rates a backpacking student can afford. It’s what makes Valtournative a true alternative to any tour experience you are...

This tour was spectacular in every regard. The bus ride to the Montanejos Thermal Baths was made more interesting by our tour guide Amir. He gave fascinating information along the way about the different towns we traveled through and any relevant landmarks to that town. Amir is an asset to Valtournative, as his knowledge of every locale we visited was extensive and he spoke perfectly in both in English and Spanish. I am still impressed by how quickly he switched from English to Spanish to ensure everyone had the exact information he was sharing with us. His personality was also quite friendly and approachable. Upon arrival to the baths, he provided equipment to enjoy our swim (goggles, swim shoes), and at all times, he gave clear communication of what to do to maximize the experience and when to gather back. The Montanejos Thermal Baths was simply amazing. The water was incredibly refreshing and clear to the bottom. Further down the ravine, there were more beautiful natural sights and even a small cliff where you could jump into deeper waters. We enjoyed drinking pure spring water and later, visited other natural sights that were equally amazing and impressive. We stopped to have lunch and I had the most perfectly prepared sea bass. Others in the group were also quite pleased with their choices. The amount of detail in this tour is something that I will not forget. One example of this occurred when each member of the group (who only spoke English) placed their lunch order. While doing so, Amir stood alongside the wait staff to be ensure the orders were understood before going to the kitchen and to help the group with questions about the menu. I will use this tour company again for future trips to these baths. I highly recommend this day trip to anyone...

The day trip to the super gorgeous Montanejos Springs, including some glorious attractions such as the salto de la Novia (waterfalls) and the mountaneous province with Daniel, the founder of Valtournative was indeed very special!. He is very friendly, knowledgeable and showed a lot of flexibility and enthusiasm to explain about the sights and also helped me with a lot of photographs. As a Vegetarian, I felt well catered to in a great restaurant like Refugio that was recommended and booked by Daniel. All-in-all, I was certainly well guided and taken care of!. The whole trip has water in various colours, forces, shapes as the central theme and this revealed how rich and lush the region of Valencia is at least at the springtime, Wow!. Valtournative seems like a promising tour operator that provies a number of tours that lets visitors have many alternative options and deeper exploration of quite some unknown places. I wish them all the very best for a good growth and come up with even more...