We are wondering what tour companies people would recommend that include hiking and other outdoor activities as a big component of what they offer. I looked briefly at Backroads tour company and they seemed every expensive, so I am wondering what people's experience with this is, and what companies are good at this kind of thing.
We are thinking of maybe a five day - ten day trip, as part of a longer time in Europe.
I talked to a lot of young tourists during my recent trip to Ireland. An outsized percentage of them were taking Vagabond tours. You might check them out:
I recently learned that RoadScholar offers hiking tours from a person who has been on a few and enjoyed them. No personal experience, yet, and RoadScholar tends towards older, in case you aren't familiar with the company.
https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-adventure?page=1&pagesize=12&tags=Walking%252FHiking
I recently went to a presentation by a sales manager for G Adventures. Could be a good fit for you.
I’ve taken two Backroads tours, one hiking and one biking. Both were well run and well done, https://www.backroads.com/, but expensive as you mention. The principal difference is you stay at very nice hotels, and have two guides supplemented with local guides. I have friends who have taken multiple REI tours and have spoken highly of them. https://www.rei.com/adventures.
Might depend on the ages of the target markets. G Adventures, Exodus and Intrepid are all long established international global travel companies...all with a similar concept of offering multiple trips to locations with a variety of price points and activity or comfort levels. They all started in differing countries (Canada, Britain, Australia respectively) so there may be a tip in the balance in countries represented, but all will have some sort of global mix. I have done one G Adventures. A coworker and her husband pretty much only travel with them. I tend to be more of a solo traveler, whereas they really enjoy the small group camaraderie.
See whether any of these 3 offer something at a cost you can consider.
Also, there may be some in country tours that fit your needs. It would mean researching a specific area of interest - and even starting from a specific city and google from there.
All that being said, I have a penpal from another travel forum who has been doing his own planning for trips in the Dolomites for his wife and he for years. There may be some guide books that help with planning this and doing trips from one or two central locations....they would segue in nicely for a longer trip to Italy :-)
You might look at REI Adventures, Wilderness Travel, UTracks and Sherpa Expeditions.
No personal experience, but know people who have been happy with G Adventures and Intrepid Travel (South America and Europe).
The economy option is self-guided walking tour companies that suggest routes and arrange itineraries, book lodging, transfer luggage and provide advice but do not provide a guide. We have used Contours Walking Holidays for UK walks, and a German friend used a German company for a German bike tour.
https://www.contours.co.uk/
https://www.wikinger-reisen.de/
What is a self-guided walking holiday?
From the door of each night’s accommodation, you’ll follow our maps
and guidebooks on foot through the countryside — with complete freedom
to walk at your own pace, stop for breaks when you like, choose your
own meals and linger as long as you want at the sites that interest
you most.That’s because a self-guided holiday is built around you. There’s no
need to choose from a limited selection of dates and you won’t join a
group of strangers. Gather your walking companions from amongst
friends and family, pick a trail, select the itinerary that best suits
your pace and let us know your dates. We’ll arrange everything for you
and provide all the details so you can act as your own guide.What does Contours provide?
Nightly accommodation Breakfast Daily luggage transfers Personalised
holiday pack 24-hour emergency support Exclusive members area
Transfers to and from the trail
German company provided similar but we had a German speaking friend.
I have done a Road Scholar hiking tour. It was several years ago and unfortunately I had fallen badly in London right before the tour so couldn't participate in all the hikes and equally unfortunately the activity level was higher than was then shown on the website. The activity level is now rated higher than when I took it and looks about right.
You can take a look at www.roadscholar.org and see if anything looks interesting to you both based on location and activity. You can do a sort based on activity level.
I've traveled with Mountainbug in the Pyrenees if you're interested in France or Spain.
http://www.mountainbug.com/
Thank you everyone for all these suggestions. I will be doing lots of research on these websites, etc. I forgot to say that it would be the two of us, in pretty good shape for moderate distances, and our 21 and 24 year old sons.
Then definitely G Adventures or the other 2 I mentioned will have a variety of ages on a trip.
With the 2 kids, I would definitely NOT even consider Road Scholar. While on Rick Steves tours there are often folks who are in their 20's I've not had anyone younger than maybe early 50's/late 40's on my many Road Scholar tours.
Perhaps Sierra Club Outings? Many are abroad, and seem awfully tempting. Right now I see options like the Cotswolds, Dolomites, Alps, canoeing in the Dordogne, and on and on. They are often around 10 days, and the prices look more reasonable than the company you mentioned.
Any of the guided tours, Sierra Club included, tend to be expensive because someone (you) are paying for the marketing of the program, administrative cost. the guide(s) who cut wood and carry water for you, in addition to the expenses incurred and profit.
Another cost looking at the Sierra Club's Coast to Coast walk
https://content.sierraclub.org/outings/england-coast-walk-irish-sea-north-sea
is the added coast of transportation during the walk to short cut the walk. The Sierra Club does the 190 mile walk in 14 days (13 nights and 11 walking days) by busing sections of the walk. Including meals $4045 USD.
In contrast a self-guided Contours walk is cheaper but doesn't include lunches and dinners.
https://www.contours.co.uk/coast-to-coast-walk
You do however, get to walk the full 190 miles of the route. Contours 13 night/12 walking day package cost only 950 GBP, $1235 USD at 1.30 USD to the GBP.
You have multiple options and can stretch the walk to as many as 19 nights/18 walking days, and can add rest days (no walking) with the 19 night program priced at 1390 GPB, $1807 USD at at 1.30 USD to the GPB. Again lunch and dinner extra with prices per person double occupancy.
Bottom line is that self guided treks allow you to to the full walk without getting bused to save tie and at less than half the coast of a guided trip.
And the Sierra Club Coast to Coast looks like a bargain compared to the National Geographic:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/destinations/europe/active/england-coast-to-coast/
at $6,495 USD double occupancy and the National Geographic also doesn't do the full 190 mile route.
REI also shortens the Coast to Coast to a 9 day trip priced at $4,699 USD and doesn't do the full 190 miles:
https://www.rei.com/adventures/trips/europe/england-hiking-vacation.html
Spend nine days covering some of the most beautiful parts of
England's famous 192-mile Coast-to-Coast walk.
We have done three trips with REI Adventures and one with MT Sobek ( who also run the National,Geographic and Smithsonian Active Adventures trips). Yes, they are expensive, but not as expensive as Backroads. We think it is worth it for the camaraderie, the convenience, and the local knowledge. But we also do self-guided walking trips (in the U.K.) and totally independent active travel with our extended (mainly in Switzerland which I know quite well).
My sister and her husband did one trip with the Sierra Club (hiking in Picos de Europa in Spain) and will not use them again as the guide was unprofessional and did not handle the group well.
For a less expensive trip, I like the Europe guided walking Holidays offered by HF Holidays, a U.K.-based member cooperative (non-members are welcome). They offer full week lodge-based trips in many European countries, with guided walking at various levels each day. The guides are volunteers and passionate about what they do.
https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/destinations/europe/
The cost is much less than the commercial trips that move from place to place. For example, you can spend a week in the Dolomites for £1148, which includes lodging, all meals, transport to trailheads, and guided walking. (That is the price without airfare from London; they also offer packages with airfare included for a bit more). They still have openings for this summer at many places (including the Dolomites). We were just in Dorset on an HF Holiday walking trip last week, and the guides explained that bookings are down for their continental trips due to "Brexit fear".
The Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) is the Norwegian equivalent to HF Holidays. It's a member organization (that foreigners can join) with volunteer guides. Cheaper than commercial guided trips but more expensive than self-guided. And no one carries your luggage.
https://english.dnt.no/guided-tours/
Guides receive extensive training and must pass a test to be a certified tour leader. We were on a ski tour with a newly certified "turleder". His "assistant" leader was an old timer (and a retired medical doctor). Volunteer guides get free lodging but pay for their own food and do not receive payment.
Hytter (huts) range from staffed full service mountain lodges with hot showers to fully equipped but self-service huts.
Thank you all for the great, detailed info on these different companies. We are very excited about doing active trips with our in-their-twenties children, and it looks like there are several good options for us to look at. The Dolomites sounds like a great area, and we are also very interested in Switzerland and the U.K. We were briefly in Switzerland, on the 21 day Rick Steves trip, a few years ago, and our whole family just loved the trails outside your door feeling, and also the cows and cowbells outside the door, the natural beauty there, etc. so we would love to go back!
