Looking for a beginner’s guide to walking holidays? This new guide could help
Walking holidays are just one of the positives to emerge from the pandemic, with the nation falling head over heels in love with walking, captivated by the beauty of our local green spaces. Move on 24 months from the first lockdown and travel is now firmly back on the cards.
The Slow holiday specialist, Inntravel has found that many of their new customers this season have never actually been on a walking holiday.
So, with May known as National Walking Month, Inntravel has launched an online guide for new walkers – the first time in its 38-year history. It is packed full of top tips to help people navigate their way around choosing their first ever break on foot, whether at home or abroad.
Inntravel are best known for seeking out holidays along the lesser-taken paths of Europe. They commissioned the experienced route finder, Andy Montgomery to write the online guide. She comments:
“Finding the right walking holiday is the crucial first step. Going too far out of your comfort zone can ruin a holiday, but get it right and every trip for years to come will be on foot.”
Andy Montgomery
Among the important topics covered that new and inexperienced walkers will want to consider are:
• How to decide upon the location: considering temperature, number of daylight hours, reaching the holiday, avoiding the busy honeypot sites, whether to opt for an itinerant hotel-to-hotel or a single centre holiday, and the importance of building in rest days.
• Tips for judging how difficult the walking will be: length, grading, number of days, ascents and descents, terrain, and whether to choose a circular or linear route are all considerations.
• Whether to opt for the flexibility of a self-guided holiday with route notes and maps provided, or a guided group walking with like-minded people who are all required to move at the same pace.
• What to pack for a walking holiday: the best footwear for the terrain and quick dry, breathable clothing, the benefits of walking poles, a rucksack, and miscellaneous items like knee supports, sunscreen, first aid, sunglasses, a flask for water, and Vaseline for blister prevention.
• Preparing and getting fit for your walking holiday such as the need to break in new boots and walking for a distance at home on consecutive days, not just once a week.
More than 40% of new customers this year are buying entry level (easy grade 1 and grade 1-2 routes) walking holidays, according to Inntravel, well up on the previous years. As a result further flexible and accessible walking holidays have been introduced for 2022.
Three new easy walking holidays for absolute beginners
Guernsey Herm and Sark
Gentle Guernsey and its islands offer a delicious blend of both exotic and foreign, yet are reassuringly familiar – perfect for those new to a walking holiday.
Introduced in April, the holiday combines a single centre 4-star hotel stay in one of Europe’s prettiest harbour towns. Complete with a pass for the local bus network to access walks that explore the dramatic cliff tops, quiet country lanes and crowd-free beaches.
Price: from £445pp based on 2 sharing, including 4 nights’ B&B, 1 dinner, daily bus pass, return transfers to Guernsey airport or ferry port, maps and walking notes and GPS navigation. Grade 1 and 1-2.
Wonders of Western Sicily
Discover the quiet charms of Western Sicily and the dreamy Egadi Islands with their distinct North African accent and gentle pace of life.
From the medieval hill-town of Erice, walk to vibrant Trapani, where an hour’s ferry takes walkers to Marettimo, the furthest-flung of the Egadi Islands. Here, follow Inntravel’s trails, including those along thyme-scented slopes where peregrine falcons and Bonelli’s eagles swoop overhead.
The final two nights are spent in the Moorish coastal village of Scopello, gateway to the beautiful Zingaro Nature Reserve.
Price: from £775pp based on 2 sharing, including 7 nights’ B&B, 1 picnic and return ferry Trapani to Marettimo plus transfer on day 5, luggage transported, route notes and maps, and GPS navigation. Grade 1 – 2.
The Quiet Side of the Italian Riviera
Away from the crowds, explore the Ligurian Riviera’s alluring villages and stunning coastline from the stylish coastal village of Moneglia, using the inexpensive local rail network.
Conveniently set between the Cinque Terre and Portofino Bay (2022 will mark 25 years since the Cinque Terre gained UNESCO status), walkers use the excellent rail links to access some of Italy’s finest and most flexible coastal walking.
Set in the hills just behind the seafront, stay in the friendly, family-run boutique hotel, Villa Edera, with a gourmet restaurant, a pool and a lift conveniently situated in the hotel garden which takes guests directly down to the railway station.
Price: from £860pp based on 2 sharing, including 7 nights’ B&B, wine tasting session with tapas, route notes and maps, and GPS navigation. Grade 1 – 2, and 2.
