If you’re one of those people who wakes up in the bubble of your home, drives to work in the comfort of your car, works in an air-conditioned office and exercises in an indoor gym, it is time to reconnect to the outside world. Those of us who rely on cars are missing out on the simple act of walking.
Monte Commune in Italy (On Foot Holidays).
Walking Holidays in South Africa
We truly connect to a place while walking, by meeting the locals, smelling the food and feeling the breeze brush against our skins. As an answer to the fast-paced modern world we live in, walking tours and holidays have become increasingly popular over recent years. In Durban visitors can sign up for free architectural walks offered by BESETDurban, while in Johannesburg graffiti tours on foot are the latest fad. Multiday hikes through some of South Africa’s most beautiful regions are in high demand by locals and foreigners alike. In the Karoo you can sign up for a modern-day ‘Great Trek’ that sees you, for a strenuous ten days, cross some of the country’s starkest landscapes.
The Fynbos Trail.
In the Western Cape opt for the three-day guided Fynbos Trail through the beautiful Overberg region or sign up for the ever-popular Whale Trail that starts in Potberg and ends five days later at Koppie Alleen. The Garden Route’s five-day Otter Trail remains one of South Africa’s most popular multiday walks, while the five-day Wild Coast hike in the Transkei boasts exquisite scenery coupled with homestays in Xhosa villages.
Walking Holidays in Europe
The walking holiday phenomenon has also taken Europe and the UK by storm with a range of companies arranging multiday routes. On Foot Holidays, one of Europe’s leading self-guided walking tour operators, offers walkers around the world 28 self-guided tours across unspoilt areas of Europe. Boutique accommodation, meals, excellent wines and information packs are provided for all the routes and optional guides are available on select itineraries. This is an ideal holiday for independent travellers who prefer intimate encounters with destinations. Walkers can select their own departure dates, luggage is transferred between inns each day and all routes are designed by locals and tested by staff from On Foot Holidays. Some of the routes to choose from traverse the Greek Islands, Northern Provence in France, Dubrovnik in Croatia and Southwest England. With so many options available, it’s easy to break out of air-conditioned comfort into a world experienced on foot where your senses come to life.
The blue waters of Voidomatis river that flows through Epirus region, Greece
For more information and expert advice on walking holidays in Europe, contact On Foot Holidays on +44 (0) 1722 322 652/ walks@onfootholidays.co.uk/ www.onfootholidays.co.uk.
