sue s
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Posts: 13
(18/1/04 8:16)
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walking holidays
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I have just got a brochure from Inntravel for walking holidays in France and Spain. I'm not a great walker and wondered if anyone had tried a grade 1-2 walk or would recommend another company. I like the idea of some walking with stops for wine tasting and lunches! Also I am thinking of going late June,would the weather be ok around the Burgundy region?
sm041052
Posts: 237
(21/1/04 13:28)
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ezSupporter
Re: walking holidays
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Hi,
I've never done a walking holiday with Inntravel so can't help with regard to their grading system etc but you might want to have a look at the holidays offered by the Ramblers Association which I have found to be excellent (and their grading and guidelines re fitness etc to be quite accurate) and a friend as had some very good experiences with the Holiday Fellowship - I think that they now trade as HF Holidays. HF do short breaks here in the UK so you could always try signing up for one of those and that would give you a good idea of the required level of fitness for their different grades.
One general piece of advice I would offer about walking holidays, especially touring holidays where you move on to a different hotel/hostel/climbing hut each night is that is it better to underestimate your level of fitness than over estimate it and if you have any doubts to drop a grade. It's always far better to find out that the walking is well within your capability (and that you could have tackled something more ambitious) rather than that it exceeds it. There is nothing more miserable than being on a walking holiday where you finish up each day absolutely exhausted, probably having spent the day constantly fretting about whether you were goning to make it to your next stop in good time or not. It might be worth inquiring what the companies 'backstop' is, if any, if you do find yourself unable to keep up with the pre-booked itinerary.
SM
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sue s
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Posts: 14
(22/1/04 13:55)
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walking holiday
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Thanks for the advice I hadn't thought about what would happen if we didn't get to the hotel or didn't want to walk any more.
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selectworldtravel
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Posts: 7
(24/2/04 19:17)
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Re: walking holidays
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Have you thought of changing to a Cycling Holiday, there is an excellent company called Susie Maddron's Cycling for softies, Explore and Exodus ( known more for their walking, Trekking and Adventure holidays) also have cycling programmes or if it's wine-tasting then Arblaster & Clarke or Winetrails are the ones to look out for
Some of the big companies mentioned use very large groups for their walking holidays. This can be a bit unwieldy when walking especially in the more natural places where the wildlife gets frightened off by the noise, etc. For some contrast, try some of the smaller group companies.
Linden Adventures in the UK operate small group walking holidays (max 8 people) in Slovenia. Although they can offer the more demanding walks to order, they specialise in easy-walking with a spot of pedestrian sightseeing and nice meals/wine, etc around the lesser touristy trap parts of Slovenia.
They operate in Notranska and Doljenska in the South which are beautiful and really unspoilt.
Try checking out their website http://www.lindenadventures.com
Linden Adventures in the UK operate small group walking holidays (max 8 people) in Slovenia. Although they can offer the more demanding walks to order, they specialise in easy-walking with a spot of pedestrian sightseeing and nice meals/wine, etc around the lesser touristy trap parts of Slovenia.
They operate in Notranska and Doljenska in the South which are beautiful and really unspoilt.
Try checking out their website http://www.lindenadventures.com
Hi,
I can certainly recommend Slovenia as a destination for a walking holiday. It's a beautiful country and the people are hospitable. Bear in mind though that the company recommended above is not offering a complete package, just a tour once you arrive - you have to make your own flight arrangements. So they are not required to have an ATOL or similar bonding and as you book direct with them you won't be covered by the ABTA bonding scheme either. This is not say that you'll have problems - anybody doing a DIY doesn't have this sort of protection either but do make sure that you have good holiday insurance of your own in place before you book.
I'm accessing the Net from a slow dial-up service at the moment and downloading their PDF brochure was taking for ever so I cancelled it so I don't know if they give details of their insurance cover for their walking guides in it or not but before booking (and I'd be interested myself) then this is something to definitely check. One of the advantages of going with one of the big companies is that they have insurance cover for their liablities in the event of guides being negligent etc. I'd also want to check out the qualifications of their walking guides etc plus any dislcaimers re their responsibilities with regard to your safety etc before booking. This is a market which is largely unregulated even though reputable companies will comply with various voluntary codes of practice.
If I sound a bit of a killjoy it probably has something to do with the fact that I live in Scotland, am a keen walker myself and am well aware that the rescue teams up here get over 350 callouts a year. The reasons for the callouts are varied and most rescue volunteers don't voice any criticism of those they help because the usual thinking is that 'There but for the grace of God go I'. But some of the callouts are due to people not understanding the fact that a pleasant afternoon stroll can easily turn into something more serious in mountainous country. Only yesterday the Cairngorm team was called out to help a school party of 49 girls in their ordinary school uniform and accompanied by just one teacher when they got lost in mist. Given that the Cairngorms was the location of one the worst tragedies involving young people no wonder the team leader this time did express strong criticism of the organisers. I don't think you can ever be too careful in these matters.
SM
I can certainly recommend Slovenia as a destination for a walking holiday. It's a beautiful country and the people are hospitable. Bear in mind though that the company recommended above is not offering a complete package, just a tour once you arrive - you have to make your own flight arrangements. So they are not required to have an ATOL or similar bonding and as you book direct with them you won't be covered by the ABTA bonding scheme either. This is not say that you'll have problems - anybody doing a DIY doesn't have this sort of protection either but do make sure that you have good holiday insurance of your own in place before you book.
I'm accessing the Net from a slow dial-up service at the moment and downloading their PDF brochure was taking for ever so I cancelled it so I don't know if they give details of their insurance cover for their walking guides in it or not but before booking (and I'd be interested myself) then this is something to definitely check. One of the advantages of going with one of the big companies is that they have insurance cover for their liablities in the event of guides being negligent etc. I'd also want to check out the qualifications of their walking guides etc plus any dislcaimers re their responsibilities with regard to your safety etc before booking. This is a market which is largely unregulated even though reputable companies will comply with various voluntary codes of practice.
If I sound a bit of a killjoy it probably has something to do with the fact that I live in Scotland, am a keen walker myself and am well aware that the rescue teams up here get over 350 callouts a year. The reasons for the callouts are varied and most rescue volunteers don't voice any criticism of those they help because the usual thinking is that 'There but for the grace of God go I'. But some of the callouts are due to people not understanding the fact that a pleasant afternoon stroll can easily turn into something more serious in mountainous country. Only yesterday the Cairngorm team was called out to help a school party of 49 girls in their ordinary school uniform and accompanied by just one teacher when they got lost in mist. Given that the Cairngorms was the location of one the worst tragedies involving young people no wonder the team leader this time did express strong criticism of the organisers. I don't think you can ever be too careful in these matters.
SM
If flights are booked direct with the airline or a travel agent, then the cost of the flight is covered by them under their ATOL cover.
Most reputable companies offer some form of public liability cover should you get injured due to any negligence on the part of them or their employees, contractors, etc. As you say, its worth checking with the individual company concerned, but its not necessarily a black and white case of BIG = Good; SMALL = Bad.
Tourists should ensure that they have adequate travel insurance with ANY holiday and this is designed to cover things like medical attention or in the cases of severe illness, repatriation back to the UK. Travel insurance is available from a variery of sources these days including Tesco !
This is mandatory and not relevant to the size of company that you book with.
Fully agree with the importance of safety.
In the UK, extreme activities are covered by AALA and instructors need to be licenced by the national governing body for climbing, canoeing, whatever. The key here is to really look at what you will be doing in the intended destination. The Cairngorms is a serious mountain and should only be attempted with a qualified mountain leader if you are an inexperienced individual or group. What happened with the school was unbelievable.
Summer low level walking is a slightly different thing.
Also, please remember that outside the UK, if you plan to climb mountains, you cannot expect local climbing leaders to have British Mountaineering Club qualifications.
However, most mountainous countries have their own schemes and if you plan to go up above snow lines or into the mists or the weather can turn, as it can in the Cairngorms, then its a good idea to check what qualifications they have.
Most reputable companies offer some form of public liability cover should you get injured due to any negligence on the part of them or their employees, contractors, etc. As you say, its worth checking with the individual company concerned, but its not necessarily a black and white case of BIG = Good; SMALL = Bad.
Tourists should ensure that they have adequate travel insurance with ANY holiday and this is designed to cover things like medical attention or in the cases of severe illness, repatriation back to the UK. Travel insurance is available from a variery of sources these days including Tesco !
This is mandatory and not relevant to the size of company that you book with.
Fully agree with the importance of safety.
In the UK, extreme activities are covered by AALA and instructors need to be licenced by the national governing body for climbing, canoeing, whatever. The key here is to really look at what you will be doing in the intended destination. The Cairngorms is a serious mountain and should only be attempted with a qualified mountain leader if you are an inexperienced individual or group. What happened with the school was unbelievable.
Summer low level walking is a slightly different thing.
Also, please remember that outside the UK, if you plan to climb mountains, you cannot expect local climbing leaders to have British Mountaineering Club qualifications.
However, most mountainous countries have their own schemes and if you plan to go up above snow lines or into the mists or the weather can turn, as it can in the Cairngorms, then its a good idea to check what qualifications they have.
Hi Long John,
It's good to see that others endorse the point about checking for qualifications etc. Slovenia has a well developed system as you'd expect for a country with the sort of skiing and mountaineering resorts it has. they have a well developed training and qualification system that is as rigorous as the British Mountaineering Council system. There is both an Alpine Club and a Guides Association both of which would be good first ports of call for anyone thinking of going walking/climbing there.
One of the big differences though is that the maps in my experience are no where near as good as the OS maps available to walkers here and this can make having someone with good local knowledge really important. In common with most of the maps that are available to walkers in Alpine Europe they are impossible to use with compasses as they don't have the grid lines marked on them that you need in order to use the Silva-type compass. I felt quite insecure as a result when I first went walking there until I realised how comprehensive their waymarking system is compared to what we are used to in the UK and especially Scotland.
I do think though that you're being a bit optimistic in assuming that if you book direct with an airline you'll be covered by their ATOL bonding because the ATOL scheme only covers tour operators ie those companies that sell packages and the scheduled operators like EasyJet and BA etc aren't usually part of the ATOL scheme. I'm not sure of the position if you book a flight only with a charter company. Also, the ABTA scheme protects you if the travel agent you book with goes bust before they've paid the airline but I'm not sure that it protects you if the airline ceases trading after the agent has paid your money over. So that's why travel insurance is still important but it isn't actually mandatory which is why some people still get caught out and face bearing the loss themselves.
SM
It's good to see that others endorse the point about checking for qualifications etc. Slovenia has a well developed system as you'd expect for a country with the sort of skiing and mountaineering resorts it has. they have a well developed training and qualification system that is as rigorous as the British Mountaineering Council system. There is both an Alpine Club and a Guides Association both of which would be good first ports of call for anyone thinking of going walking/climbing there.
One of the big differences though is that the maps in my experience are no where near as good as the OS maps available to walkers here and this can make having someone with good local knowledge really important. In common with most of the maps that are available to walkers in Alpine Europe they are impossible to use with compasses as they don't have the grid lines marked on them that you need in order to use the Silva-type compass. I felt quite insecure as a result when I first went walking there until I realised how comprehensive their waymarking system is compared to what we are used to in the UK and especially Scotland.
I do think though that you're being a bit optimistic in assuming that if you book direct with an airline you'll be covered by their ATOL bonding because the ATOL scheme only covers tour operators ie those companies that sell packages and the scheduled operators like EasyJet and BA etc aren't usually part of the ATOL scheme. I'm not sure of the position if you book a flight only with a charter company. Also, the ABTA scheme protects you if the travel agent you book with goes bust before they've paid the airline but I'm not sure that it protects you if the airline ceases trading after the agent has paid your money over. So that's why travel insurance is still important but it isn't actually mandatory which is why some people still get caught out and face bearing the loss themselves.
SM
try http://www.walklink.com
we have had people come to us via this site, groups who want to be together but not organised as a group. Beautiful time of year for it!
we have had people come to us via this site, groups who want to be together but not organised as a group. Beautiful time of year for it!
Have you tried Headwater holidays? http://www.headwater.com
Similar sort of thing to Inntravel and very good at finding a holiday that suits your (un)fitness level, and they do cycling tours too. We found their guided walks to be very well run (and nice small groups too). Next year we're doing one of their independent walks - will report back on how good it is.
Similar sort of thing to Inntravel and very good at finding a holiday that suits your (un)fitness level, and they do cycling tours too. We found their guided walks to be very well run (and nice small groups too). Next year we're doing one of their independent walks - will report back on how good it is.
We have a great three bedroom apartment in sunny Tenerife. Its only 30 mins ride to the cable car for Mount Teide National Park and you can walk from the apartment in the village of Chirche. The apartment has wonderful views and is so peaceful. We have a friend who can take you on guided walks or we have maps available. Please look at our web site for more info. http://www.tenerifeholidayrentals.com or call for a chat 0034922851361
Regards Chris Arnold
Regards Chris Arnold
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Edited by
chrisandstu1515
2005-08-17 21:43:33
we now have a guide on the staff, route notes if you want to self guide, and plenty of home cooking when you get back! best time of year is spring, Feb march April, but this august has not been hot and we have had guests heading into the mountains straight from the front door and returning happy and exhilarated.
see http://www.VillaJalon.com
see http://www.VillaJalon.com
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