We often get asked to suggest easy walking holidays, which can be difficult to answer since there is no standard definition of “easy.” It depends on your physical condition and whether or not you are willing to experience some form of discomfort (physical or experiencing something outside your comfort zone).
To answer this question more thoroughly, we’ll dive into…
Who enjoys gentle walking holidays
First and foremost, let’s get past any stigma associated with these types of trips. Easy walking holidays aren’t just for “old people.” There are a lot of reasons people choose a gentler walk and these are just a few:
- Families hiking with small children
- Walkers who want time to pursue other activities
- People recovering from an injury
- Those with chronic illnesses (such as myself) who have to balance activity with rest
- Beginning hikers who are unsure of their limits
Our first walking holiday was shortly after I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. While we don’t regret walking the Dingle Way, it would have been nice to have this list back then for easier options. There were some very painful days during that trip that could have been avoided if we had the knowledge that we do today. It’s one of the reasons we’re so passionate about matching people with the right tour company and route. Your time, health and money are precious and there’s no sense in wasting anything on a trip that doesn’t fit your needs.
Definition of an easy walking holiday
We’ve done our research and it’s fairly obvious that everyone has a different idea of what constitutes an easy or gentle walking vacation. Most agree that it must be relatively easy terrain with minimal ascents and descents, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the walks are all flat. Where they really differ, however, is with daily distances. Some consider a daily walk of no more than 4 miles to be easy, while others include daily walks up to 10 miles in their beginner level walks.
For this article, we define an easy walking holiday as:
- Daily walks are less than 8mi (12.8km)
- Relatively flat terrain or without steep climbs/descents
- Includes options to skip or shorten walks some days
Best easy walking tour companies
Bermuda Railway Trail
This 20mi (32km) island trail is as easy as it gets, with walks averaging 2mi (3km) per section. It’s a Do-It-Yourself trip so you’ll choose your own lodging and determine when and what you want to walk. The route connects towns and coastline on this small Caribbean island, so it’s a great choice for town walkers who want an island escape.
- Don’t want to DIY? Responsible Travel offers an 8-day Bermuda walking holiday for $2,860 per person.
Cotswold Walks
Walking holidays in the Cotswolds of England is a great choice for easy terrain, and Cotswold Walks is an excellent choice because they can customize any itinerary to meet your needs. From their “Self-guided Walks” page you will see a list of “Easy Walks,” which they define as an average of 5-10mi (8-16km) and 3-5 hours of walking per day.
- We love their 8-day Best of Cotswolds walking tour for $1,255 per person. It has one day with a 10mi walk but it’s circular and can easily be changed to a rest day. The other days range from 3-7.5mi (5-12km) days.
Country Walkers
Country Walkers offers several itineraries, guided and self-guided, that meet the easy criteria and their itineraries are clear about daily elevation and distances. Click on “Find A Tour” and sort by “Easy to Challenging.” Prices are higher with this company but they’re a good choice if you want a company to plan everything for you (including flights).
- We love their guided 8-day Lithuania & Latvia Vilnius to Riga for $3,950 per person or their self-guided Maine trip for $2,100 per person.
Girosole Italy Walking Tours
Girosole doesn’t provide a way to search for easy walking tours but they do offer itineraries that fit the bill and they can customize the trip to fit your requirements.
- We love their self-guided 7-day Sicily West for $1,990 per person. It averages 5.6mi (9km) per day with some elevation and if that’s a concern just speak with Girosole – they can offer alternatives or add in rest days.
HF Holidays
If you want easy walking holidays in or starting from the UK, HF Holidays would be our first choice. Their Grade 1 trips are defined as short walking days with easy gradients and they offer over 200 itineraries that meet this criteria. Start a search and use the filter box on the left to limit your search to Grade 1. You can also start with their “Gentle Guided Walking” trips or their “Special Interest” trips (most of which average less than 4mi of walking per day).
- We love their 8-day Ramble with a Sketchbook in the North York Moors for $1,455 per person or their 8-day guided French Alps holiday for $1,912 which departs from London.
Hike in Holland
Even though most of their itineraries average more than 8mi per day, we include Hike in Holland in this list because the Netherlands has the easiest terrain in the world for walkers. Practically zero elevation changes, excellent road and trail signage and a culture that loves walking and biking as much as chocolate and sunshine – it’s a walker’s paradise!
- We love their 9-day Estates of South-Holland walking tour for $860 per person. Walks range from 7-9 mi (12-15km) each day but some walks may be skipped or shortened.
Hillwalk Tours
Hillwalk Tours makes it easy with their “Best for Easier & Beginner Hiking” theme, which offers a small selection of trips. You can also search their “Gentle Grade” trips which range from 8-10mi (13-16km) walks each day with an average hiking time of 3-6 hours per day.
- We love their 4-day Camino Frances Gentle Hike for $315 per person with walks averaging 6.5mi (10.5km) per day.
Inntravel
Inntravel has the largest selection of easy walking holidays, which is one of the reasons they’re our top pick for new walkers. Click on “Walking” in the top menu and select “Gentle” under “Walking holidays by level.” Inntravel defines gentle as having few ascents/descents – it doesn’t necessarily mean the distances are short – but of the 44 gentle trips we perused only 5 had daily walks more than 8mi per day.
- We love their 7-day Gardens of Lake Constance for $1,047 per person because it provides options each day depending on how you feel.
iWalk Cornwall
This one’s for the Do-It-Yourself crowd. With iWalk Cornwall you can pick a town and easily find walks nearby that are less than 8mi (13km) and are considered easy (no steep gradients). Or start with their “Shorter and Easier Walks” list which only shows walks up to 4mi (6.4km) with easy to moderate gradient levels. You’ll have to book your own accommodations and drive yourself to the trailheads but iWalk Cornwall’s site makes this easy by providing a list of lodging for each town and providing excellent maps.
The Natural Adventure
The Natural Adventure defines easy as being less than 7.5mi (12km) per day with few gradients (but still requiring a reasonable level of fitness). You’ll find the easy walking holidays with their Advanced Search (under Difficulty).
- We love their self-guided 7-day Stockholm Archipelago itinerary for $1,015 per person.
Walk About Italy BONUS
For those seeking easy small group or private guided walking tours in Italy, you won’t find a better company than Walk About Italy. Walks are never more than 5mi (8km) per day and include culinary excursions and comfortable/luxury lodging.
- We love their 7-day Italian Alps and Dolomites itinerary for $3,400 per person.
