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Partner has said she would like to have a go at a multi-day walk/hiking tour next year. She's not done much longer distance walking/over night stuff/back to back days, so looking for something that will be a good time, but not be overly ambitious and end up putting her off doing something similar in future - want something that is pretty comfortable:
- 4-6ish days of walking, maybe a a day or so at each end and/or rest day in the middle
- Stay at hotels/airbnbs/refuges along way, carry small packs with us
- Hard to put figure on max distance/vert per day, maybe 10-15km and 600m vert?
- Pleasant weather - minimal rain, ~15-25deg C
- Interesting and varied landscapes
- Good walking surface (i.e. not sand the whole time)
- Little villages, vineyards etc to explore on the way through. Anything like natural hot pools a bonus.
- Good food (semi-veggie) options
- Not crazy expensive
- Happy to use ski lifts etc
- Ideally a loop or a one way with return to start with public transport (rather than an out and back)
- Defined/established route with accommodation suggestions etc would be nice but not essential
- Flexible on time of year, but likely UK Spring or Summer
- Within Europe
Think that's enough requirements for now..!
Some options we have looked at
- Magna Via Francigena - across Scicily - looks great but probably a bit longer than we want
- The Emperor’s Crown, Austrian Alps - looks great but a bit too much vert (average 1000m per day)
- Norwegian fjords area - stunning, expensive and weather hit-and-miss
- Fishermans Trail, Portuguese coast - too much sand (we have done bits of this)
- West Highland Way - weather hit-and-miss
Any suggestions/recommendations/comments?
Thanks!
This goes past my place. It´s quite nice
The time of year is going to really affect things, I reckon. West Highland Way would be a balance between 'weather finally got good' and 'Aargh, midges!' and similarly any European mountains have a fine line between 'The snow's gone, let's go!' and 'Scorchio 35C every day...'
I've recently been looking at some of the WWII 'escape trails' over the Pyrenees between France and Spain. Probably a bit more climbing (900m or so) a day. Typical guided trip here - but that kind of thing might be good. A bit of history, and you get to walk between two countries!
Any of the Grand Randonee routes in France? Auvergne is nice, Pyrenees is epic. Alps also amazing. No idea about any of the others.
Camino de Santiago is an obvious choice.
GR221 on Mallorca
Half the tour du Mont Blanc? Bus back through the tunnel from Courmayer, or start with the bus and walk back round to Chamonix?
You'd probably want to take more time but I'd suggest looking at Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites.
Walked WHW in March. 10min of drizzle over the whole week. Didn't bring shorts, wish I did.
Anglesey coastal path?
We started with the Cumbrian Way, split some days and take a rest day in Keswick. Or the Dales man way?
Not cheap but inntravel do some good trips, self guided but luggage transported. Good for ideas even if you don't want to pay the premium for accommodation and organization
Massif Central in France - some of the best trekking I have done
I was googling this very thing
I found this
https://slovenia-trips.com/self-guided/family-alpe-adria-trail-hike/
But I’ve not done it or used the company
We are really tempted. Back in the day we did stuff like this. Now looking for a trip that won’t bother our knees too much
Welsh Coastal Path on the Llyn Peninsula, especially around NW tip.
Jungfrau area of Switzerland eg Interlaken as a base then car/train/cable car to peaks. Trails seemed to be well marked for distance and time.
Not been myself but probably Mont Blanc area for good outdoor scene.
Peak District - likes of Edale, Buxton and Castleton as base.
Scotland - get ferry to likes of Rum and walk around. Places like Rannoch Moor on mainland if you can stay at the station. Must be routes from Ft William too.
Obviously Lake District - Ambleside as a base.
Edit: bernese oberland not Jungfrau.
Wife and I did a very nice week of supported walking on Andros through Inntravel. Small B&Bs. Flew into Athens, then ferry to the island.
My wife and I did the Obersdorf to Meran Transalp with a couple of friends. We had a med/low level of fitness and really enjoyed it. It's a classic walk and let's you know which buses to catch to eliminate all the dull walking along valley bottoms, meaning you just walk the more interesting dtuff. We stayed in a mix of hotels and Hütten.
Everybody had a great time, we were shattered but happy at the end when we got the train back to Munich.
I have more details, send me a message if it dounds like your type of thing.
Dolomite Alto Via if you want some altitude (and refugios) or one of the Camino’s De Santiago (there is now even an English one about 70-80 miles that was in the guardian the other day…). The Frances one is the most popular (and busiest). Planned to cycle the Norte in ‘19/20 but COVID put the mockers on that. Would definitely extend it to hit Finisterre personally.
Watching with interest...
Corsica. Mar et monte or something I think its called. Day stages take you to gites for food and accomodation. Middle to end of May the flowers and scenery are stunning. It runs down the west coast, never far from the sea, and is served by public transport at either end..... Would be a great first hike for her!
You could go on an organised trip?
Even if that doesn't appeal, take a look at KE adventures. They have loads of walking trips that are exactly as you describe (in terms of route). It would be a good place to start for inspiration. You can probably arrange most of them yourself.
Tatras mountains was good (Poland/Slovakia)
The walking in Slovenia is awesome - around Triglav starting near Bled.
There's some really good stuff around Benidorm (seriously! Calpe/Altea mostly) but you'd have to book yourself into small hotels along the way. https://costablancaenduroland.com/ might be able to help here as they Jose led our walking trip. Been meaning to go back with a bike!
Don't rule out Morocco, it's not Europe but if you are getting on a plane it's only a bit further and cheap. There are some lovely big mountain walks in the Atlas - mostly fairly easy going, just like the lakes but at altitude.
Malta has been on the list for a while. Fairly easy DIY.
Corsica is supposed to be amazing but I've heard horror stories of the huts on the G20 as it is just so busy?
Not sure what is on Sardinia, very similar I would guess, not sure of the infrastructure?
I love these threads as people post up walks I've not heard of! Usually it ends up with me going down a wormhole of fantasy trip planning for the afternoon
My tuppence worth is to maybe have a look at the cicerone website which lists loads of walks and what they entail ie distances and altitude gain.
https://www.cicerone.co.uk/books?region=370
From my own experience i'd say that walking in the Alps is generally easier than scotland for example. Paths are generally better graded and it is possible to comfortably walk much further and climb/descend more. My first euro route was the GR5 (highly recommended) and I remember reading the guidebook and thinking jesus wept, the days are massive. The author (paddy dillon) said dont worry, the paths are good, and he was right.
Routes I have really enjoyed and rate are the GR5 mentioned above, and you could break it down into short sections and use public transport. The GR58 Tour de Queyras,, The Tour Mon Viso in Italy/France and the Epic Via Francigena Canterbury to Rome. I did it in a oner, but you can do sections of it particularly in Italy that are well catered for. Lots of beautiful Tuscan hills, romanesque architecture, generally easy walking and italian craziness.
The best walk I have done in the UK is the Stevenson Way, it's possible to break it into sections but if not the whole route across Scotland is definitely something to aspire to
I am sure the Pyrenees / Alps are stunning but to have accommodation and resupply options every 10-15 km and not too much ascent I would start easier. Especially to have a small pack, unless you are going to pay for a supported trip with luggage transfers.
In the UK you could do part of the Cleveland Way with plenty of small villages between the North York Moors and the coast to do shorter days and there is rail and bus to make logistics easier. East coast is typically drier than west. Plenty of good pubs.
Or the coastal paths, Anglesey is a good choice if you can make the distances work between villages. I've liked the South West and Pembrokeshire paths but the bits I've done have been more remote so to get villages / somewhere to stay and eat every 6-10 miles I would look at Devon or Cornwall in ~May (better weather but out of season to get one night bookings).
I am sure the Pyrenees / Alps are stunning but to have accommodation and resupply options every 10-15 km and not too much ascent I would start easier.
This is why my suggestion of massif central - its networked with paths so you are not stuck with a preplanned route and can alter it according to how fit you feel and what the weather is like. Some of the best trekking I have done was in Puys du dome and Cantal. Loads of places to stay
Re-supply on the Transalp I suggested is also no problem, regularly passing huts and through villages. We ate packed lunches a couple of days and bought meals the rest of the time.
They route guide I have also offers alternatives with Ski Lifts if you don't want to climb or descend on the odd day. We did this a outlet of times to help out my mate who's knee started playing up.
This is close to me, easy to get to the start and finish from Frankfurt airport.
Gr221 Mallorca, steady 4-8hrs a day walking ,stopped in refuges along the way so didn't nead much gear,and broke it up by having a beach day in soller and pollenca.Not big amounts of elevation,so pretty good as a beginner hike.
As Mogrim suggests ..
Camino de Santiago is an obvious choice
We found the Camino Del Norte was a good mix of countryside and distances,it goes through some great cities on the way.
The Spanish are also well set up for moving your main bags between destinations.
Just choose which section(s) you fancy.
Corsica is supposed to be amazing but I’ve heard horror stories of the huts on the G20 as it is just so busy?
Certainly wouldn't recommend the GR20 to a novice irrespective of accommodation issues. In fact even the coast to coast walks can be tough & accommodation sketchy, however if any one does visit Corsica the walk from Corte to Refuge de la Sega (a day walk) is stunning, but you do need to book to stay at the refuge, it's only serviced by helicopter.
Edit: if anyone is thinking of organised walks in UK, this co used to be run by an old uni mate https://www.mickledore.co.uk/ and get good reviews.
Thanks for all the suggestions! Will go through them all with my partner and see what we think.
The Burgensteig-Bergstrasse one is not a bad call.
Very easy transport links to both ends and every town/village en route. Easy bail out options too to skip a section or mix up with the Blütenweg (blossom way) which follows basically the same route but more vineyards than castles, if the uppy downy gets a bit much. Would certainly be wanting to do some of the hills though (eg the monastery and Nazi-era outdoor theatre above Heidelberg).
One of these days I will actually get around to doing the entire length (possibly in 1 day on a gravel/XC bike)
Nijemagen 4daagse?
Might not be the vibe you want but it's a good week! Loved it....