Walking holidays Europe

[chocolatemonster]

DP and I love walking/hiking.

Over the last couple of years we have had a couple of UK holidays - Snowdon, Lakes etc and covered a lot of flat/hills/mountains.

Next year we fancy going somewhere warmer (we wouldn't go in peak times as we don't have children still in eduction).

Does anyone have any recommendations for Europe - scenic for walking/hiking but we also love good food so needs to have decent eating options as well. Preferably places where locals eat not catered for mass tourism.

https://theoutdoorguide.co.uk/walks/walks-in-germany/

Bavaria! We had an amazing walking holiday there a few years ago. Flew into Munich, picked up a car then spent a few weeks driving round lots of little towns (like Garmisch Partenkirchen and Berchtesgaden). So cheap and not too many tourists unless you go to the big sights. Lovely mountains and lakes too - there are so many walking trails.

The Dordogne? Warm well into autumn, very beautiful countryside and impossibly pretty towns and villages, and a foodie's paradise!

I’m walking a Camino in Spain later in the year. There are loads of routes and Spain has amazing food.

Kitzbuhel in Austria.

There are guided walks (free - you just pay for your food and transport) or you can go off and do it alone.

Great restaurants and cafes, bars, gorgeous scenery and tonnes to do.

We had a fabulous summer holiday in Neustift in Austria. The skiing infrastructure means you take a cable car up the mountains and there are loads of great, signposted walks to do when you’re up there. The scenery was breathtaking. Hotel had saunas and freshwater pool to relax in afterwards.

Madeira has some great walking, and as pp, Bavaria. Also the Dolomites.

The Alps in Germany, Austria or Italy. Black Forest in Germany. Saxon Switzerland in Germany: https://www.anadventurousworld.com/hiking-bastei-bridge/

Sierra Nevada and Granada https://www.exodus.co.uk/trips/spain-holidays/walking/sierra-nevada-granada/tsn

There is a walk you can do right round the coast of Menorca, I've always fancied doing that.

So many possibilities so some questions to narrow it down a bit?

• do you want to hire a car / drive there, or would you rather rely on public transport?
• what would an average day's hike look like for you in terms of distance and amount of elevation?
• how confident are you route-finding v well marked paths?
• rolling hills or proper mountains?
• time of year? I know you said not school holidays but weather and snow on higher ground makes for a shorter walking season in higher places
• you said 'warmer' - how important is that bit? Warmer than UK I'm July/Aug than or warmer than UK at same time of year?

Thank you - some fab suggestions here already. DP will like the mountain ones. I also love a rugged coastal path too 😍

@Rapidtango I like the look of the Dolomites and I love Italian food however I am put off having recently read about a regular runner in the Dolomites who got mauled by a bear!

@PosiePerkinPootleFlump would have been helpful if I was more specific 😊 we are relatively easy going however:

DP not a fan of extremely crowded places so would hate a week surrounded by hundreds of people on a trail. Mountain/Hill summits to be expected so he is ok with people there

We would drive if practical ie France or fly/car hire if further afield. If there were lots of hiking opportunities in one place with good public transport then that would be ok too and wouldn't bother with car hire.

We have climbed Snowden, Scafell, Hellvellyn and don't tend to go the shortest routes so elevation not a problem. Often out for up to 10 hours including stops to eat picnic lunch, take photos etc.

I am not so good at route finding but dp is! Has,a compass- we have all the hiking gear - boots, appropriate clothing, rucksacks etc

One thing I won't do now I am over 50 is camping - love a good bed at the end of a day 🤣🤣🤣

Weather - don't mind what time of year - but would like guarantee of some warmth/comfortable temperatures that is more predicatable than the UK. Not extreme heat ' nobody wants to hike in high temperatures!

Will definitely be spending time researching all the suggested options.

We've done a few sections of this as day hikes and it is lovely. There's a website where you can tell it how many days you want to do it in and what level of accommodation you want and they can book the accommodation in the right place and help with planning/directions/luggage transfers.

https://www.camidecavalls360.com

I'd also like to do the coastal path around Gozo, which is easily achievable in well under a week.

Second the recommendation for Madeira, and inland Andalucia. Lanjaron in Las Alpujarras is a good base with lots of walks from a traditional Spanish town.

Regarding route finding I find this app really good, especially for Austria and Germany: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.komoot.android. You can get route suggestions with different parameters e.g. distance, difficulty level, hiking / running / cycling, but also plan your own route.

I’m going hiking in the mountains in Slovakia on a small group trip. I deliberately chose it as it was less touristy and popular than Western Europe. It’s through a company called much better adventures.

Try Slovakia. Or I think you would like the Scilly Isles (hard to get in but really worth trying). Or the Azores are interesting.

We went on an activity holiday last year with undiscoveredmontenegro.com/tours/walking-holiday-montenegro/
And their walking holidays look great.
Very unspolit part of the world.

The St Francis Way from Florence to Asissi. Umbria and Tuscany, amazing food and wine small medieval villages/towns, beautiful scenery and not many people. goes through the southern Appenines.
We went with a company that transfers the luggage from town to town so you just need a day pack.

Loving all these suggestions - places I wouldn't even have thought of. Looking forward to planning 😀

Corsica - lots of mountains, long distance trails, fabulous food.
Slovenia -one of my nicest holidays

Austria - we were near Mayhrofen last summer. Loads of fantastic walking to do. We drove down there.

Get a cable car up the hills and you're at altitude.

Following for future me. I’d choose Bavaria I think. Absolutely love it there.

We did a walking holiday in the summer a few years ago now based from Zermatt, it was lovely. We've done the Italian Dolomites too and I'd love to go back but your story about the bear is putting me off!

Germany is great for good paths (well marked and obvious). Italy less so. They have a habit of painting a red/white stripe on rocks that roll over.

If you want to go to one place on public transport but have a large number of hiking choices from there I'd recommend Chamonix - my happy place! Zermatt also a good shout. Neither are cheap, especially Zermatt.

We have loved doing long distance multi day hikes between mountain huts but food can be relatively basic in more remote catered huts. As a fellow food enthusiast I find getting away from it all a worthwhile trade off but you may or may not. We've done and loved Alta Via 1 and the Tour de Monte Rosa as well as various lesser known trails in Austria. I'd avoid busier routes like the Tour du Mont Blanc personally. I'd love to do the GR20 in Corsica. Closer to home the West Highland Way is great and can be a good intro to multi day as you can get a company to move a bag for you each day fairly cheaply allowing for more luxury. Best in April/may before midges get bad.

If you hire a car lots more possibilities in Europe... Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany, Austria.... Too many places to choose!