Self-guided walking tours are just like any other type of travel — there’s a wide variety with lots of competing companies. There are large companies offering highly polished websites and a huge selection of destinations. There are local family-operated businesses offering personalized experiences. Then there are the small tour operators who focus on a particular region or sub-category of walking holidays. So the question is,
how do I choose the best self-guided walking tour for me?
We’re going to answer with our own set of questions, designed to get you thinking about what you value and how you prioritize experiences. Ponder the questions for each of these categories, then rank each category in terms of what’s most important to you.
Destination
How important is the location? Is there a specific hike or destination you want to check off your bucket list? Are you only interested in a specific climate or terrain?
If destination is important, here are the best self-guided walking tour options:
- If a specific country is what you seek, the easiest way to find a tour operator is to use our Destination Search.
- Look for companies that have earned our Search Star. These are the tour operators offering the most user-friendly sites with excellent search filters. You’ll find it under Special Category in our search section.
- Inntravel has one of the best sites for searching by type of destination (beyond just country). Sites like this allow you to search for remote locations, coastal, mountains, cities and more.
Motivation
What entices you about walking holidays? Are you a purist who just wants to walk each day, or are you seeking to combine other interests? Are you only interested in spiritual pilgrimage tours? Is this a “test your limits” kind of trek, something to motivate you to get in better shape?
If you’re motivated by specific reasons, here are your best self-guided walking tour options:
- Look for companies using our Special Categories feature. This is where you’ll find common interests such as pilgrimage (caminos), culinary and trains. If you don’t see the category you want, look for operators matching Search Star or Multi-Activity.
- Macs Adventure is especially good for this category, letting you search for interests such as foodie, whiskey, spiritual, wellness, wildlife, cultural, water sports, rail and more.
Budget
Is there a budget limit and if so, what is that magic number? Have you factored in airfare or other transportation costs? If you don’t want to compromise on luxury, are you willing to shorten your trip or select a destination based on cheapest available flights?
If staying under budget is important, here are your best self-guided walking tour options:
- Use the Search Box at the top right of our page (magnifying glass) and type wallet friendly.
- Most of our wallet friendly options are Do-It-Yourself (DIY) trips, which means you put in the work to book lodging and create an itinerary. If that doesn’t sound appealing, consider tour operators such as Hike in Holland, S-Cape Travel, Vicentina Travel, Undiscovered Mountains, Responsible Travel and Wild Rover Travel which all fall into our wallet friendly category.
- If these companies don’t impress you, search by destination for countries that tend to have cheaper cost of living. Just keep in mind, remote locations often mean more expensive transportation costs. Greece remains one of our favorite places for walking holidays because the lodging is inexpensive and affordable flights to Athens are usually easy to find.
Responsible Tourism
Just because the label says "organic" doesn't mean it's really organic. Ya feel me?
How often do you think about responsible tourism? Are you concerned about the effects of over-tourism and whether or not your travel dollars are being spent to improve the places you visit?
This should be everyone’s concern and here are your best options for finding the good ones:
- To the best of our ability, we only include companies on our site who show a real effort to support responsible travel practices, so beginning a search on our site is a great choice!
- Look for companies who can give real examples of what they’re doing to improve the communities in which they operate. We do this research for you and note these kinds of details in our reviews, but you can also find this info for yourself by looking at a company’s about or FAQ pages as well as their social media posts.
- Booking directly through local operators is often the best option if you truly want your money to stay local. No Footprint Eco Tours, Portugal A2Z, Mandala Tour, Encounter Walking Holidays and Aragon Active are excellent choices for this. Muddy Boots Walking Holidays and trail association sites such as Rota Vicentina, Liechtenstein Trail and Valais Switzerland are also good choices because they focus on partnering with the businesses directly involved along their routes.
- If you want a larger operator, consider Responsible Travel, Alpine Hikers, Oku Japan or Absolute Escapes.
Brand Loyalty
Do you want to be a repeat customer? Are you the type of traveler who prefers using the same tour company for multiple trips, or do you like trying out new companies? Does it excite you to book with a small business just starting out?
If brand is important, here are your best self-guided walking tour options:
- Choose large tour operators who offer trips worldwide and that cater to a variety of activities and/or physical abilities. Look at companies like Eurohike, Exodus, Inntravel, KE Adventure Travel and Macs Adventure.
- Choose small tour operators if you want a variety of companies or you want multiple trips focused on a specific region. The Natural Adventure, Auswalk, Walk Japan, Portugal A2Z, Absolute Escapes and Wild Rover Travel are just a few examples.
- Choose a local tour operator when you want to book directly with the people running your trip. You may only ever book one trip with this type of operator, but you may form a friendship for life. This is your best option for creating custom trips. An example of this would be Muddy Boots or any of the operators listed on Walking Holiday Info.
Extra Services
Do you want extra amenities or services, such as airport transportation or guided excursions? Do you want the company to book your flights? Are you seeking an easy “I don’t have to think about anything” experience?
If extras are important, here are your best self-guided walking tour options:
- Look at tour operators in the Luxury price range or tour operators offering guided trips. If that doesn’t fit your budget, look for small or local tour operators who include these types of services. We note these types of things in each company review that we do.
- On Foot Holidays is an excellent example of a small tour operator that offers airfare and transport options, as well as high-end dining experiences, lodging details, built-in currency converters and blog posts matching each trip. This extra attention makes it easier for you from start to finish.
- S-Cape Travel is another good example, especially for people with vision or mobility impairments or families seeking a more customized approach.
Recap
