Wondering where to wander in Europe? Our experts pick the best trails, from gentle Amalfi coast hikes to Greek island hopping and Norwegian fjord explorations
Remember that song by Nancy Sinatra, These Boots Are Made for Walkin’? Well, Nancy, never mind the footwear, our bodies are made for walking too — and there are few holiday pursuits more natural than a proper, old-fashioned hike. You stretch your legs a little, conversation is suddenly uncorked and the need to reach your goal supplies all the purpose you need. Suddenly, you notice your surroundings too — and that’s what makes this collection of European walking holidays especially mouth-watering, because they explore some of the continent’s most dramatic and fascinating landscapes. Madeira, the Dolomites and Albania’s Accursed Mountains all feature, with levels of difficulty to suit every adventurer — and a good night’s sleep at the end of each day all but guaranteed.
1. Campania, Italy
No wonder the Amalfi coast has become such a hiking hub. Thanks to its plunging mountainsides, movie-star glamour and shimmering sea views, just being there is a buzz. And by walking its revitalised network of valley paths and mountainside mule tracks, you’ll avoid the perpetual crowds of its harbour towns.
This moderately strenuous seven-night Intrepid itinerary overnights in four small hotels — in Naples, Agerola, Minori and Amalfi — and is canny for all sorts of reasons. As well as tackling the short but spectacular Path of the Gods, it sets a day aside for Pompeii’s ruins and adds a kayaking excursion from Minori so you get an essential taste of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Just be sure to extend your stay by at least a day, in order to climb to the mountain-top Sanctuary of Maria Santissima Avvocata. Hardly anyone hikes there, despite the sensational views.
2. Haute Savoie, France
It’s an essential part of walking’s appeal — the sense of freedom that comes from spending a whole day outdoors. This 14-night tour of Mont Blanc in the western Alps doubles down on that pleasure but turns the hike into a camping trip as well. Don’t worry: all your gear is transported ahead of you, and your camp support leader puts up your spacious, two-person tents before you arrive, as well as preparing your meals. Nearly all your campsites have hot showers too.
Nevertheless, this is still a challenging hike, as you circle, 94 miles, around the mountain’s mesmerising massif — from Chamonix into Switzerland, on through Italy and back into France. Each of your three scheduled rest days is going to be bliss.
3. The Cyclades, Greece
The ever-changing play of sunlight across the Aegean gives this easy-going two-week Explore! island-hopping itinerary its sparkle. So, too, the chance to commune with its ghosts as you explore the islands’ historic paths. On Paros, for example, you’ll walk a Byzantine road, paved with local marble, that’s thought to be 1,000 years old. On Syros, coastal walks are the norm, while a dramatic path beckons in Santorini, along the edge of the island’s crater.
On each of your four island stops you’ll stay in small and friendly hotels, with plenty of free time for day-trips to neighbouring islands or optional hikes with your guide. Or maybe just a lazy afternoon, soaking up the spring or autumn sun like a lizard.
4. Cumbria and Northumberland, UK
For a continuous dialogue between history and landscape, England’s Hadrian’s Wall path has few European rivals, especially in its central section. Here, it shadows the best-surviving parts of the Imperial frontier, as the wall hauls itself onto the Whin Sill escarpment and marches on, regardless of the terrain, in a way that speaks volumes about the Roman mindset.
This five-night self-guided holiday with Exodus takes care of your daily luggage transfers as you walk from Lanercost near Brampton to St Oswald’s Church, above Hexham, with overnight stops in four different inns and hotels en route. And because it allows you to set your own pace and book your own dinners, it gives you time to properly enjoy two key features of this magnificent stretch of country — the world-class archaeology of the fort at Vindolanda, just south of the wall, and a burgeoning gastronomic scene.
5. Valbone, Albania
Sheer cliffs and bare limestone crags make Albania’s Accursed Mountains reminiscent of Italy’s magnificent Dolomites. But there is one startling difference — by western European standards, hardly anyone lives there. It’s a place of rudimentary infrastructure and isolated villages, now protected by the Alps of Albania National Park; and the sense that you’re seeing a mountain range in a more pristine state adds an extra thrill to this guided week-long exploration with Wild Frontiers. Five days of fairly strenuous walking culminate in a crossing of the 1,795m (5,889ft) Valbona Pass, accompanied by packhorses to carry your luggage. Overnight accommodation is in a range of small hotels and local guesthouses.
6. Vestland, Norway
Odda, southeast of Bergen, is your base for G Adventures’ feisty, one-week introduction to the Norwegian fjords — which climaxes with a guided ascent to the Troll’s Tongue balcony of rock, that sticks out 700m (2,296ft) above the lake at Ringedalsvatnet. This final 10-12 hour trip includes an optional via ferrata section and requires both agility and a steady nerve. But the itinerary builds to it slowly with an easier climb to the Strandsfossen waterfall, a walk on the Folgefonna Glacier, and a day of rest for kayaking, biking or self-guided rambles alongside the shores of the Hardangerfjord. After one night in Bergen your accommodation will be in one of Odda’s unfussy, hiker-friendly hotels.
7. Madeira, Portugal
Roughly 100 million years in the making, Madeira is nature’s Atlantic-island masterpiece. A breathtakingly intricate and vertiginous place, it mixes subtropical forests, terraced fields and towering cliffs — while see-forever ocean views add a haunting, edge-of-the-world sense of isolation.
Not surprisingly, getting around the island is tricky, so the best walking holidays here are group tours which stick to either the eastern or the western half of the island and provide transfers to and from the walks, saving you the stress of mountain driving.
Ramble Worldwide has a moderately strenuous eight-day Eastern Madeira trip that’s based in a modern hotel in the island’s capital (complete with rooftop pool) and focuses on the island’s more dramatic eastern end. Among the highlights are hikes along the sinuous Sao Lourenco peninsula and through the lush forests of the Ribeiro Frio.
8. Cornwall, England
England’s South West Coast Path may be a 630-mile leviathan, which takes many walkers seven to eight weeks to complete, but the six-night, self-guided Walking the tip of Cornwall itinerary from Headwater will serve up many of its highlights in a much shorter, 41-mile package. Tracing Cornwall’s far western tip, the route explores the county’s wildest and most atmospheric stretch of coast — from St Ives to Morvah — as well as the gorgeous shimmering coves of Porthcurno and Lamorna.
The endless undulations of the cliff path will test your legs, so the trip’s baggage transfer service between your overnight stops (in five atmospheric inns and hotels) is a boon, as is the respite provided by pubs such as the Gurnard’s Head. But it’s the heaving ocean beside you that offers the best reward for your efforts. You’ll never tire of looking at it.
9. La Gomera, Spain
It’s not only sunbathers who love the Canary Islands’ balmy climate. January and February temperatures that top out at 22C make it a congenial place for winter walking too — and to sidestep the kiss-me-quick holiday resorts, all you need to do is target a smaller island.
Mountainous La Gomera is the hiker’s favourite. A mix of semi-desert, tangled cloud forests and steeply-terraced fields, it’s a place of startling contrasts; with sea views at the end of every valley and small, characterful hotels that feel a world away from the behemoths of neighbouring Tenerife.
In six moderately strenuous walks, Exodus’s self-guided, seven-night Contrasts of La Gomera tour explores its most distinctive landscapes; from the island’s summit at Alto de Garajonay to the village of Agulo, set on a green and fertile balcony of farmland.
10. Lapland, Sweden
Here’s a useful corrective to the idea that Europe is overcrowded; Kungsleden trek — the Kings Trail of Sweden is a nine-night, hut-to-hut hike through a landscape that is almost entirely unpopulated. KE Adventure’s trip follows a section of the trail into the Scandinavian mountains, and once you’ve left the wayside halt of Abisko, north of Kiruna, the only people you’ll see are the wardens of the mountain refuges you’ll stay in — and other hikers.
The trip is guided, which takes nearly all the stress out of venturing into such a wilderness, although you will have to carry all your own gear and a share of the communal food. It also allows for the ascent of Sweden’s highest mountain: the 2,097m (6,879ft) Kebnekaise. If there’s snow on the summit, your guide will supply crampons and show you how to use them.
11. Sardinia, Italy
Usually, it’s the landscape that supplies your walking holiday with a sense of drama. But on Italy’s toughest trek — the Selvaggio Blu — it’s the path itself that will give you goosebumps. Over the course of 25 miles, along Sardinia’s wildest stretch of eastern coastline, it serves up five abseils and two via ferratas, as well as lunchtime swims in secluded coves.
The six-night Trek the Selvaggio Blu Trail tour with Much Better Adventures tackles the full length with five nights of camping en route and the support of a qualified and experienced mountain guide. Needless to say, both a head for heights and a high level of fitness are essential.
