20 of the best walking holidays for 2023
Slow travel, wellness travel, green travel, flight-free travel, sustainable travel, authentic travel – so many buzzwords, so many seemingly disparate themes. Yet you could cover all those bases in one fell – or, rather, fells – swoop. Just take a hike.
Even before the dark days of lockdown, another bug was taking hold: walking. Now we’ve been released from our travel cages, soaring demand is piquing tour operator interest. And not just commercial companies: Visit Wales declared 2023 the Year of Trails (as did, perhaps less pertinently, North Carolina).
“During the pandemic, we found a renewed love of discovering places on our own two feet,” says Michael Edwards, Managing Director of Explore!, reporting demand for walking holidays up almost a third on 2019.
“According to Mintel, walking is the most popular type of activity holiday,” affirms Fiona Marshall, Macs Adventure Head of Product, “and the number of active walkers has increased by 29% over the past five years. Tastes for different active holidays constantly evolve, so there’s a huge range now on offer, whatever your level of ability.”
Keen to tap into this booming market, tour operators create increasingly diverse hiking tours. You can bed down in castles, cabins or remote campsites; amble between wineries or along ancient pilgrimage trails; track wolves, meet nomads, cross borders, conquer peaks. The selection of 20 trips below – many new this year – is just the tip of the iceberg.
Déjà views of Everest in Nepal
Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 shared front pages with news that the world’s highest peak had been conquered. Aptly, in this coronation year, Mountain Kingdom’s special departure arrives at Base Camp on 29 May, 70th anniversary of Tenzing and Hillary’s triumph. Hikers tackling the strenuous trek from Lukla alongside chattering ice-melt streams, between traditional teahouses and past remote villages and Buddhist monasteries will be regaled with tales of Himalayan derring-do by guide and three-times Everest summiteer Pertemba Sherpa.
Mountain Kingdoms’ (01453 844400) 19-day Everest Base Camp 70th Anniversary Trek costs from £3,700pp including flights, accommodation and meals on trek. Departs May 18
Explore alternative Alps in Slovenia
The waymarking paint barely dried on Slovenia’s Juliana Trail before Covid clobbered tourism. So this 160-odd-mile circuit around Triglav National Park in the Julian Alps still feels freshly minted – and nowhere fresher than on its quieter southern stretches. Fleewinter’s new, leisurely self-guided walking week focuses on the Soča Valley, tracing the dramatic gorges and sweeping meanders of its striking-coloured river – teal, emerald, turquoise? – with a dab of First World War history and a taste of local wine and cuisine thrown in. There’s also time to admire the heavenly lakes of Bohinj and Bled, too.
Fleewinter’s (0207 112 0019) Emerald Valley tailormade itinerary costs from £975pp including B&B, three dinners, luggage and airport transfers, excluding flights.
Fall for southern Iceland
Away from the well-trodden Golden Circle, southern Iceland is quiet – but that’s perhaps a little misleading. Waterfalls thunder, hot springs simmer, seabirds shriek, vast glaciers creak ominously and, thanks to G Adventures’ new medium-grade small-group tour, walking boots crunch on trails. From the popular cascades of Seljalandsfoss and mighty Skógafoss, plunge into magical Múlagljúfur Canyon, negotiate the crevasses of Svínafellsjökull Glacier and trek to the base of volcanic Mt Laki, epicentre of one of history’s most violent eruptions.
G Adventures’ (0207 313 6937) six-day Hiking Southern Iceland tour costs from £2,099pp including guiding, transport, accommodation and some meals, excluding flights. There are several departures in June and July.
Cross England from coast to coast
When famously reticent fell-walker Alfred Wainwright published his hand-written guide A Coast to Coast Walk in 1973, he’ll have had little inkling of its impact. Fifty years on, the testing trek between St Bees Head and Robin Hood’s Bay via the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors is among England’s most revered, recently awarded National Trail status. Macs Adventure offers several options for tackling the 197-mile route, all punctuated with cosy country pubs, high moors and mountains, valleys and lakes.
Macs Adventure’s (0141 530 5452) 14-day self-guided itinerary costs from £1,265pp including B&B, luggage transfers, maps and route information.
Play pilgrim in Japan
Finally welcoming international visitors after long seclusion, Japan’s cherry-blossom-viewing sites are largely chock-full for sakura season. Not so during autumn’s koyo leaf-peeping period, perfect for walking the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail and historic, stone-paved Nakasendo way. Inside Japan’s gentle self-guided Honshu Hiking itinerary tastes both, taking in all the rice terraces and pine forests, hot-spring villages, temples and shrines, mountains and waterfalls your camera can handle, plus time in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.
Inside Japan Tours’ (0117 244 3380) Honshu Hiking tailormade itinerary costs from £2,660pp including 14 nights’ B&B, some meals, domestic transport and some private guiding, excluding flights.
Walk into the frame on Sicily
The creamy sands of Cefalù feature in the forthcoming Indiana Jones adventure, and book-ended the latest season of HBO’s The White Lotus. They also beckon on Inntravel’s new self-guided walking holiday, revealing two very different sides to Italy’s largest island. Golden and Bonelli’s eagles soar above rocky trails lacing the little-visited Madonie mountains, where moderately challenging hikes through ancient forests and between timeless hilltop towns are rewarded with sweeping views over limestone peaks to the Aeolian Islands.
Inntravel’s (01653 617001) Mountains of Sicily with Cefalù costs from £1,355pp, including 10 nights’ B&B, luggage transfers, maps and notes, excluding flights.
Mount a border patrol in France
Compared to the Alps, the Pyrenees can offer a blissfully serene experience – you’re more likely to overtake transhumance herders heading to high summer pastures than trekkers snaking over passes. Headwater’s new mid-grade self-guided holiday showcases the most dramatic vistas of the spectacular range dividing France and Spain: hulking Vignemale reflected in Lac de Gaube, Pyrenean chamois whistling among granite needles, the vast amphitheatre of the Cirque de Gavarnie, and summit panoramas of the Pic du Midi.
Headwater’s (01606 369121) Walking the Best of the High Pyrenees trip costs from £1,549pp including seven nights’ B&B, dinners, luggage transfers, route notes and maps, excluding flights or trains.
Gorges and grapes in Galicia
South of the well-trodden Camino de Santiago in Spain’s northwesternmost region, paths lace the Ribeira Sacra (“holy riverside”) wine country, named for vineyards established by medieval monks. On Foot Holidays’ new self-guided trip skirts the steep-sided Sil and Minho valleys, from the grey bulk of Castro de Caldelas’ citadel to the old town of Ourense. Modest distances link characterful accommodation including an 18th-century mansion and a grandiose former monastery.
On Foot Holidays’ (01722 322652) Gorges of the Ribeira Sacra costs from £1,190pp including nine nights’ B&B, several meals, luggage transfers, maps and route notes, excluding flights or trains.
Climb among the Caucasus in Georgia
Medieval hilltop villages framed by snow-dusted massifs, limestone pinnacles and canyons, pristine wilderness, fine wines and delectable food, plus excellent value for money: with these credentials, Georgia is set to top walkers’ wishlists this year. Corinthian Travel’s medium-high-grade private guided itinerary strings together routes in the Lesser and Greater Caucasus, including the spectacular Georgian Military Highway for hikes around the huge dormant volcano of Mt Kazbek, the ‘Valley of 60 Towers’ and much-photographed hilltop Gergeti Trinity Church.
Corinthian Travel’s (020 3583 6089) tailormade Walking in Georgia tour costs from £2,175pp including nine nights’ B&B, most lunches, guide and transfers, excluding flights.
Soak up the magic of Morocco
Set off through the dramatic Atlas Mountains on a group hike with Walks Worldwide. This moderately challenging adventure takes in some of North Africa’s most evocative landscapes - rugged peaks, sweeping canyons, river gorges, argan groves and hilltops dotted with ksars and kasbahs (fortified settlements). Highlights include learning about unique Berber culture in tiny mountain villages and the spectacular ksar of Ait Benhaddou, made famous from starring in blockbusters such as Gladiator and Prince of Persia. Before heading home, there’s also time to explore the winding souks of Marrakech, too.
Walks Worldwide’s (01962 302085) eight-night Raiders of the Lost Kasbah trip costs from £799pp, including an English-speaking guide, accommodation and most meals, excluding flights.
Conquer the Cairngorms
Britain’s largest, wildest, loftiest national park, encompassing more than 50 Munros (mountains over 3,000ft high), turns 20 this year. Wilderness Scotland is celebrating with a moderately challenging small-group walking week tackling some of the highest summits, including Sgorr Gaoith, Meall a Buachaille and Cairn Gorm itself. Striking out from a private lodge in nature-rich Glen Feshie, keep eyes peeled for capercaillies and red squirrels in ancient pinewoods, as well as ptarmigans and even reindeer on the high tundra.
Wilderness Scotlands’ (01479 420020) High Points of the Cairngorms National Park costs from £2,185pp including six nights’ all-inclusive accommodation, transfers and guiding. There are five 2023 departures.
Hike the highpoints of the Balkans
The offset spine of the Balkan Peninsula is the toothy, 1,200-plus-mile massif of the Dinaric Alps, traversed by the recently created and hugely aspirational Via Dinarica trail. Intrepid’s new country-hopping small-group tour stitches together a series of fairly demanding hikes. Starting from Split in Croatia, track wild horses in Blidinje Nature Park, trek to Bosnia’s highest village, roam the glacial lakes of Durmitor National Park in Montenegro and brave the trails of Albania’s Accursed Mountains.
Intrepid Travel’s (0808 274 5111) Hiking the Balkans tour costs from £1,739pp including nine nights’ B&B, some meals, guides and transfers, excluding flights. There are four 2023 departures.
Wines and wild wanders in Portugal
The vintages and vistas of the Douro Valley are beloved of British walkers; less tramped is the northerly Minho region – equally adept with grapes, but wilder and lonelier. Collett’s Mountain Holidays’ self-guided tour – updated this year – combines the best of both. Hikers roam vine-striped slopes on the Douro’s northern banks, then head north to craggy Peneda-Gerês National Park – Portugal’s oldest, home to wolves, wild Garrano horses, ancient stone villages and pilgrimage sites – before cooling off on Atlantic beaches.
Collett’s Mountain Holidays (01799 51333) Highlights of Northern Portugal costs from £1,195pp including eight nights’ B&B, some lunches, route notes and luggage transfers, excluding flights/trains.
Trek India’s Little Tibet
For ambitious hikers and climbers, the remote reaches of northern Ladakh’s ‘Little Tibet’ region offer a next-level challenge: non-technical 5,000m-plus peaks, isolated Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, forts, palaces and villages, lofty wildflower-spangled meadows and sparsely beautiful desert landscapes. On KE Adventure’s tough, new 18-day small-group camping tour, you’ll meet monks, marmots and Bactrian camels – but likely no other trekkers on the remote trails of the Nubra Valley. The return of India’s eVisa makes planning smoother, too.
KE Adventure’s (01768 773966) Peaks and Passes of the Nubra Valley costs from £3,145pp including flights, meals, camping equipment, local transport and guides. Departs July and August.
Amble to an eclipse in Utah
Utah’s roster of natural wonders – red-rock arches, buttes, hoodoos, pinnacles and canyons – is augmented this October by an annular eclipse creating a ring of fire in the sky. Explore’s special 12-day small-group walking itineraries, running Las Vegas-Salt Lake City and vice versa, feature moderate hikes in Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, Bryce and, of course, Grand Canyon National Parks, with an expert astronomer on hand for the sun-obscuring spectacle in Capitol Reef National Park.
Explore’s (01252 240826; explore.co.uk) Walking the Western US National Parks and Eclipse trip costs from £3,519 including 11 nights’ accommodation, some meals, leader and driver, excluding flights.
In the hoofprints of knights on Menorca
Created in the 14th century for horseback soldiers patrolling the coast, the restored Camí de Cavalls (‘Way of Horses’) is now a 116-mile walking trail circumnavigating Menorca. In 2023, the island itself celebrates 30 years of Unesco Biosphere Reserve designation, which recognises natural diversity and distinctive cultures. Pura Aventura’s new part-guided inn-to-inn tour cherry-picks choice sections along the north coast, mixing hikes in barranc gorges, bird-bustling wetlands and hidden coves with guided visits to an artisan cheesemaker, an archaeological monument and the historic former capital of Ciutadella.
Pura Aventura’s (01273 676712) Menorca Coastal Trails costs from £1,950pp including eight nights’ B&B, several meals, luggage transfers and some guiding, excluding flights.
Complete a short circuit on Jersey
The reboot of John Nettles’ 80s classic Bergerac, filming this summer, should be catnip for Jersey tourism, showcasing its distinctive Gallo-British culture and gentle pace of life. For walkers, the star is the varied coastline – specifically, the 48-mile coastal path circumnavigating the island. Celtic Trails’ self-guided walk meanders between pretty fishing villages, white-sand beaches and soaring cliffs, veering inland to prehistoric monuments and castles. There’s flight-free access via regular ferries from Poole.
Celtic Trails’ (01291 689774) Jersey Round Island Walk costs from £700pp, including five nights’ B&B, luggage transfers, map and route notes, excluding flights or ferries.
Waltz along the Blue Danube
Point-to-point hiking is endlessly rewarding, with new landscapes, faces and experiences to absorb each day. The one niggle – daily packing and unpacking – is bypassed on Jules Verne’s seven-day walking cruise along the Danube. Gliding through Austria, Slovakia and Hungary, walkers visit riverside castles and abbeys, along with exploring the historic sights of Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and Esztergom on foot, but also hop off to tramp easy trails in the Wachau Valley and Little Carpathian Mountains.
Jules Verne’s (020 7633 6700) seven-day guided Walking the Blue Danube cruise costs from £2,335pp, including flights, full board, drinks and excursions. Departs May 20
Meet the Maasai in Tanzania
Immerse yourself in the nomadic life of the Maasai – and the game-filled landscapes they call home – on Gane and Marshall’s Tanzania mobile camping safari. Moderate walks on sacred Mt Longido and across the Great Rift Valley are rewarded with views of Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru, but also chances to spot giraffes, zebras and buffalos, and to engage with local communities alongside Maasai guides. The updated itinerary, suitable for families, also visits flamingo-pinked Lake Natron and wildlife-bustling Ngorongoro Crater.
Gane and Marshall’s (01822 600600) six-night tailormade Into the Maasai Lands holiday costs from £2,880pp, including fully supported camping, meals, guides and transfers, excluding flights.
Walk on Italy’s wild side in Abruzzo
If not quite the land that time forgot, Abruzzo is at least pretty untroubled by modernity. The region’s eponymous national park is a mountainous land of wildflower meadows and ancient beech forests prowled by wolves and bears. HF Holidays’ new small-group tour offers a choice of walking grades, with nature guides on hand to reveal the flora and fauna of the region dubbed ‘Italy’s Wild Heart’. Alpine lakes, medieval castles and authentic abruzzese cuisine come as standard.
HF Holidays’ (020 3974 8865) Discover Abruzzo tour costs from £1,419pp, including seven nights’ half board, four picnics, guides and transfers, excluding flights or trains.
