Walking Vacations

[PawPrint53]

I am curious if anyone has completed a walking vacation. My DH and I did a walking tour of the Cotswalds several years ago and would like to do more now that he plans to retire soon. We used a company whose name I don't remember and they planned the route, giving us a map and great directions ("turn left at the red barn in the sheep pasture") on the public footpaths, and took our luggage to the B and B they arranged in each village. We stayed at some great places and ate some great pub meals.

Anyone else walked internationally or in the U.S. and have recommendations to share?

 

[Big_Hitter]

interested as well

 

[Sunset]

Somehow I got on the mailing list for Country Walkers See the World on Foot with Country Walkers Walking Tours.

It does look interesting and would like to know companies that people have actually used with good & bad points.

 

[Gotadimple]

Overseas Adventure Travel. Not truly a walking tour company, but offers group tours that keep you physically active - either walking or hiking. For those who travel solo, there is no single supplement.

- Rita

 

[COcheesehead]

We've done walking tours in Portugal and Italy with VBT. We'd use them again for a full service tour. http://www.vbt.com/
For self guided tours, Country Walkers is good. For UK and Ireland trips I have heard Hillwalk is good.
http://www.hillwalktours.com/

 

[Persn]

Does hiking count? DH and I did a 3 day to Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon. First day hike down. 2nd day hike around on the canyon floor, exploring slot canyons. Third day hike out to the South Rim using a different trail. Accommodations for two nights were in cabins, and all food was provided by either Phantom Ranch or the tour operator, Wildland Trekking Co. We went in September when the weather had cooled down a bit, but it was still hot. We cooled off by sitting on rocks in the creek. The guides were wonderful and showed us places in the canyon we would never have found by ourselves. I would highly recommend it and can tell you that the hike out, which is what everyone worries about beforehand, is really not difficult. The hike down is actually harder on the knees, such that the end of the hike was somewhat painful, but as soon as the terrain flattened out I was fine.

I saw a walk across Ireland on a website a few weeks ago that I would like to explore further, and I want to do some more National Park trips as well, so I am eager to see how others respond to your post.

 

[COcheesehead]

I think "walking" is sort of misused. Most of the "walks" we did were actually hikes. Like this one on The Path of the Gods in Amalfi Italy.

 

[Dawg52]

We've done walking tours in Portugal and Italy with VBT. We'd use them again for a full service tour. VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations - Discover Active Travel
For self guided tours, Country Walkers is good. For UK and Ireland trips I have heard Hillwalk is good.
http://www.hillwalktours.com/

On the vbt site.....they even have a bike tour on the Natchez Trace here in Mississippi. I wish I had biked more when I was younger, spending several days on the Natchez Trace would be awesome. The little biking I do on the AL coast is about a 2 hour ride at most. Then I'm kicking the feet up in the recliner. Plus the trail I ride is for bikers, walker and joggers only. I'm not much into dodging cars.

Natchez Trace Misssissippi Guided Bike Tour—VBT Vacations

 

[jerryo]

Just finished a three week hotel to hotel walking/hiking tour in Switzerland (and Italy) using Sunstar Hotels (a small, middle of the road Swiss chain) which provided room and half-board, train tickets from and to border or airport, luggage transfer from hotel to hotel, good topographic maps, most life and local transport passes, etc. First week in Eastern Switzerland (Davos, Arosa and Linterheisen), 2nd week in Varenna, Italy (on Lake Como) and Lugano. Third week in the Berner Oberland (Wengen, Grindelwald and Meringen). Book ended by long weekends in London and Zurich.

Wonderful trip. About 8-12 miles of hiking a day (but lifts and trains where available when it was too much or too hard). A lighter middle week on the Italian and Swiss lakes. Great food. Nice accommodations (with beautiful indoor pools, etc.). Very efficient luggage transfers! And not even that expensive what with the strong USD

Would definitely do it again!!!

 

[audreyh1]

My neighbors used to do Country Walkers for all their Europe trips.

 

[savory]

The Camino de Santiago. We did it on our own and stayed in the Allbergies (hostels). But I believe there are tour companies and more private accommodation.

If you hike, self contained, Isle Royale or Pictured Rocks were amazing.

I know you said walks but I am writing this while on a week long Adirondacks bicycle trip. Just throwing it out there as another way to move at human speed.

 

[ElizabethT]

We used Sherpa Walking Holidays (now Sherpa Expeditions) for a 110 mile trek through Switzerland's Alpine Pass, and will be using them again this next summer to do the 225 mile coast-to-coast walk across England. Similar to what has been described above, they provided half-board lodging, luggage transfer and incredibly detailed walking guides. Best part of such an active vacation was eating non-stop and still coming home lighter than when we left.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I had a friend do one and liked it but it was very expensive. When we go to Europe we walk all day long and rarely use public transportation. We found we could eat like crazy and not gain weight which is fun as someone mentioned.

 

[mh]

http://www.wildrogue.com/rogue-river-hiking-trail/#4day

Just came back from above trip. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it if you like walking trips. This time of year is a good time to go also.


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[Gumby]

Another vote for Country Walkers. We did the Italian Lakes almost ten years ago. They were very well organized, the group size was reasonable (9 clients and 2 guides) and the guides were knowledgeable and personable. It was so nice to see a place in depth, on a human scale of time and space, rambling down the back roads and side streets. Zooming by on a tour bus cannot compare.

 

[PawPrint53]

ROGUE RIVER TRAIL HIKING TRIPS

Just came back from above trip. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it if you like walking trips. This time of year is a good time to go also.


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That sounds wonderful--just the kind of thing we're looking for.

 

[Lsbcal]

Somehow I got on the mailing list for Country Walkers See the World on Foot with Country Walkers Walking Tours.

It does look interesting and would like to know companies that people have actually used with good & bad points.

I took a look at this and it looks kind of expensive. For instance, I looked at the self-guided Cotswold walk, link: England Cotswolds Self-Guided Walking Tours | Country Walkers

Cost for 2 is $3800 for 7 days and 6 nights. So if I use 7 days this works out to $543/day. We took one UK trip in 2013 and that turned out to be $306/day. On an Italy trip last year we spent $493/day and half of that trip was a Rick Steves tour. And we did plenty of walking on those trips.

So it could be expensive but maybe worth it for some of us. I would want to pick a country where the weather is somewhat predictable. England of late has been pretty unpredictable and I would not want to be out in the rain a lot for a week. We had some cold rains in May 2013 in the UK. DW had to buy a winter coat. She is very affected by extremes (medical condition).

When we do our day hikes in the California Sierras we pick late August and that works out well. In Italy we had some rain but there were always interesting interiors to visit in the cities.

 

[COcheesehead]

Country Walkers is the most expensive. Their trips are high end. VBT will be a bit below that. These are trips for someone who does not want to bother with anything. They are a luxury, not a bargain basement vacation. You get picked up and dropped off at the airport. Almost all your meals, some with wine are included. Usually they include a couple of food or historic tours. VBT took us in 4WD vehicles back into an ancient Roman historic site way off the beaten path and served us wine and lunch in a place few will ever see. So you sort of get what you pay for.
As for rain, it rained on us everyday in Portugal and we still look at it as one of the best trips we ever took. Just prepare for it and have fun. You can't do anything about the weather.

 

[AllDone]

My mom and I did this one a couple of years ago and enjoyed it:
Walking Holidays in France - Alsace | Headwater

 

[pixelville]

Just finished a three week hotel to hotel walking/hiking tour in Switzerland (and Italy) using Sunstar Hotels (a small, middle of the road Swiss chain) which provided room and half-board, train tickets from and to border or airport, luggage transfer from hotel to hotel, good topographic maps, most life and local transport passes, etc. First week in Eastern Switzerland (Davos, Arosa and Linterheisen), 2nd week in Varenna, Italy (on Lake Como) and Lugano. Third week in the Berner Oberland (Wengen, Grindelwald and Meringen). Book ended by long weekends in London and Zurich.

Wonderful trip. About 8-12 miles of hiking a day (but lifts and trains where available when it was too much or too hard). A lighter middle week on the Italian and Swiss lakes. Great food. Nice accommodations (with beautiful indoor pools, etc.). Very efficient luggage transfers! And not even that expensive what with the strong USD

Would definitely do it again!!!

Sounds wonderful. Can you provide a link to their website and also the particular tour you took? What was the approx per day cost?

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

We used Sherpa Walking Holidays (now Sherpa Expeditions) for a 110 mile trek through Switzerland's Alpine Pass, and will be using them again this next summer to do the 225 mile coast-to-coast walk across England. Similar to what has been described above, they provided half-board lodging, luggage transfer and incredibly detailed walking guides. Best part of such an active vacation was eating non-stop and still coming home lighter than when we left.

Did this same trip with Sherpa as well 6 years ago - tough but fun.

Also used Inntravel for another Swiss hike before that - Grindelwald to Gstaad

It all comes down to the weather! You follow the same route and stay in the same inns no matter which company you go with


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[jerryo]

Sounds wonderful. Can you provide a link to their website and also the particular tour you took? What was the approx per day cost?

I'm traveling and don't have the website handy, but if you google "Sunstar hotels" you'll find it.

And somewhere on their website (under excursions or packages or something like that) you'll find their hiking program

They have two sets of packages, one in the Graubunder region and one in the Berner Oberland each for either 4 or 7 days. It comes to about $300/day for two, including half board (excellent 5 course dinners with many choices and wonderful breakfasts) in modern hotels with large rooms (usually with balcony), indoor pools, etc), all in beautiful settings. Also includes "transfer tickets" from Swiss border or airport to and from hotels and luggage transfers between hotels. Pretty reasonable for Switzerland! In Graubender it also includes local trains and lifts; but in BO you have to pay for this (even with discounts, somewhat pricey).

In Graubender we did the 4 day package (but added an extra night at the beginning) and in BO we did seven nights, but I expect they could also customize whatever you want. My wife discovered the chain on a business trip to the Davos Conference and took day hikes (which they also organize) on her off days.

We flew into Zurich after 3 days in London, used our train pass to get to Davos; hiked to Arosa and Linterheisen; and then used our pass to take the Bernina Express (wonderful) to Tirano, Italy. We caught a local train there to Varenna on Lake Como. We spent a week in Varenna and Lugano (2 hours by ferry and bus). Then we used our second transfer pass for the train to Wegen; hiked from Wengen to Grindelwald to Meirengrn; then trained back to Zurich (with a half day stop in Berne).

Like i said, a wonderful trip!

 

[pixelville]

jerryo, thanks!
Your itinerary makes sense. I had found their website earlier but didn't find any 3 week walking tour including Italy, so was wondering what you did...
Adding this to my potential 2017 summer plan.

 

[Lsbcal]

Here is the link Jerryo was referring to:
Baggage-free hiking holidays | Self-guided Switzerland hiking tours

Has some pictures, a map, etc.

Jerry, thanks for the great suggestion. I like your northern Italy idea too. We were thinking of Amsterdam (nonstop fligths from SFO) next year and maybe could add this in. Still early planning.

 

[Bonesaw383]

Camino de Santiago in Spain. Rent or Netflix the movie The Way. I have done 4 different routes to Santiago. The French route is the most popular and runs from Saint Jean Pied du Port France to Santiago de Compostela. You can start anywhere along the 500 mile path. It is marked by yellow arrows and scallop shell markers extensively along it's entire length. Guide books are available on Amazon...recommend the John Brierley guides. I do DIY Caminos myself and stay in purpose built Municipal or parochial Albergues (5-7 euros/night) and carry my own gear...approx 15 lbs worth.....very manageable weight. But you can pay companies to handle all or some aspects of your trip....they will provide transport to start point and back from the end......carry your bags.....book your lodging in B&B's or Casa Rurals up to classy hotels. You have but to do a google search to find an outfitter. The American Pilgrims on the Camino Facebook is full of folks who have walked it, are currently walking it or seeking info on walking it. Also, tons of YouTube videos on the Way as well. Enjoy your walk and Buen Camino!