Suggest an Inn to Inn hiking tour (not too expensive)

Barb, could you give the folks here an idea of what "not too expensive" means to you? What sort of budget you're working with? Also your country of citizenship and how many days you'd like to spend on this trip?

Barb,
I'm interested in the answers to your question. Especially in England.

I will keep an eye on this thread.

Without knowing what companies you have already considered and found to be expensive, I will suggest Contours, HF Holidays, and Celtic Trails for the UK, and Macs Adventures or Sherpa Expeditions for the UK, Ireland, and elsewhere in Europe.

Edit: a friend used Distant Journeys for a self-guided Tour du Mont Blanc and was happy with them.

https://www.distantjourneys.com

Lola's list is pretty comprehesive. I have only used Contours Walking Holidays for England and Scotland inn to inn (or B&B) walking tours. Contours walking tours are moderate because they are self-guided but include bed and breakfast overnight accommodations, luggage transfer service and maps/walking directions etc. but no guide. Contours walks are not group tours other than your own group. https://www.contours.co.uk/

I have also participated in Norwegian DNT group hut to hut ski tours during the winter. The DNT also does summer hiking/trekking tours. They have tours with English speaking guides that have international participants, not just Norwegians. DNT tour leaders are club volunteers (free lodging but no salary). https://english.dnt.no/guided-tours/

Adding to our Contours experience: Countour's longer distance walking tours typically offer the same route covered in less or more days of walking and allow for optional extra/rest days of your choosing. Those options allow you to somewhat change a challenging walking tour (fewer but longer days of walking) to a more moderate walking tour (more but shorter walking days with a rest day or two). As noted, Contours includes breakfast in their pricing with luches and dinners on your own. However, on some walks there are no mid-day facilities and your overnight host can offer packt lunches. And some overnight accommodations are away from dinner options and Contour offers to arrange dinners with you B&B host as an extra.

I understand that Contours may offer "bail out" options on some walks allowing walkers to ride to the next destination with their luggage.

We’re using Macs Adventures for our Camino de Santiago hike later this year.

We've done six long distance walking trails in the UK. The company that we prefer and have used for most of the walks is Mickledore Travel. We used Western Discoveries for Cornwall because Mickledore didn't offer it. In August we will be using Encounter Walking Holidays for the Dartmoor Way and are satisfied with our interactions so far.

Hi Barb -

We also have used Encounter Walking Holidays when we did the Two Moors Way, and we stayed at a fair few pubs and a farm on that. If you contact them Encounter will devise an itinerary for you (you need to give them some basic info/preferences to assist in this) for you to agree/adjust as required and during the trip they will ship your bags to your accommodation on a daily basis for you.

Our trip went without a hitch and we can’t recommend Encounter Walking Holidays enough. For an additional cost, they’ll supply you with the relevant maps and guides as well. A day by day itinerary with brief route synopsis and mileage and accommodation info is supplied as standard. Check out their website - they are specialists in the south west of the UK and the website lists all the trails they cover - and also the review section!

Ian

We have used MacsAdventure and loved their flexibility and prices. We called their office with questions before booking and were very pleased with everything about their company.

You can find "hiking without luggage" offers in almost every tourist region. Since almost all answers here only cover the UK... if you want to hike on one of Germanys most popular hiking trails, the Malerweg (painters trail) in Saxon Switzerland, or other beautiful trails in the region:
Augustus Tours

Hi again Barb -

If you are not specifically tied to the south west, then I forgot to mention the blindingly obvious, to whit, Inntravel who do the sort of walking tours you are after. They do Europe as well as the UK so nipping over to their website might turn up something to your liking!

Ian

I'll have to go back and check all my research, but in meantime, Google "Southwest Coastal Path" (Cornwall) bag shuttle or spot to spot tours or the like >> I remember finding several that were moderately priced. If you want to save even more money, I'd recommend you plan the tour/hikes yourself, based on your desired miles walked/day >> there are numerous shuttle vans that will take your bags from spot to spot for a very inexpensive price.
Another option is what I chose to do: I booked the most wonderful guest house in Portmellon Cove (near Mevagisey) for 3 nights ... hiked inland to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, all around and then along the coast (before I realized it I'd hiked 18 miles!!), one day; then other 2 days hiked opposite direction on coastal path; then moved to Fowey for 3 days and did similar. The scenery is beyond breathtaking.