Walking focus
Our tours are about being active and walking on our beautiful planet – a mode of transport as natural as breathing. Exploring wild places, marvelling at human ingenuity, understanding new cultures, sharing delicious food and the company of like-minded travelling companions are all essential elements in our tours.
While walking is the main mode of exploration, we also use buses, trains, boats, planes, chairlifts and cable cars to transport us around countries and to the trailheads. Although we focus on national parks, World Heritage-listed sites and wilderness areas, we also like to contrast the hiking trails with cities and towns that have special significance.
When we visit a walking area there are hiking options most days. If we have more than one guide on the tour, we usually offer both easy and more challenging options. Quite often you can also extend or shorten the main group day walk. Depending on the tour, walks vary from two to three hours on graded tracks to full day hikes in high mountain country. On day walks, you carry just a daypack and return to a hotel or camp in the afternoon. On through-walks, your main luggage is transported to the next location while you walk with a daypack.
Choosing the right tour
Nothing pleases us more than to welcome a guest touring with us again. Many people have travelled the world with us regularly and extensively in the last 30 years and we often hear that a tour more than exceeded a guest’s expectations.
An essential element in the enjoyment of a group holiday is that each person is able to get out and walk. Ability will always vary within a group and under most circumstances we are able to accommodate these differences – our walks aren’t a contest of speed! However, it is important for your well-being and that of your tour companions that you are sufficiently fit for the region you are entering and for most of the walks on offer.
We will give you the information that you need to match your walking fitness with an appropriate tour. Make sure you carefully read the descriptions of the walks in the detailed itinerary. Tour guides are more than happy to discuss their tour and the walks with you.
Unique accommodation
Accommodation varies from lodge accommodation in Lamington National Park to chalets in the Australian Alps; from a stunning mountaintop kasbah in the Atlas Mountains to local minshuku accommodation in rural Japan.
Where possible, we choose places to stay based on their unique character or history, location and atmosphere. In national parks, we prefer to be close to the walking tracks, rather than 20km down the road. In urban centres, we stay in central locations that allow us to experience the character of the town or city. In most locations, we stay two to four nights and sometimes longer. This allows us to slow down, unpack our bags and adjust to the local pace.
The cost of our tours is on a twin share basis; however, most tours offer a sole-use price if you want to have a single room. If you are travelling alone but would like to share a room, we can usually match you up with another guest – though, if we cannot, you will need to pay for sole use of a room. Further information about accommodation is provided in the detailed itinerary.
Food, glorious food
Walking and a hearty appetite go hand in hand, so we tend to make food a highlight of any tour. Whether it’s a picnic breakfast in the rainforest of North Queensland or a four-course dinner of local specialities in an Italian trattoria, meals will be a memorable part of your holiday. Be prepared to explore regional cuisines and experience the culture through flavour and the delights of a shared table.
Depending on the destination, up to three-quarters of the meals are included in the tour price. On camping and more remote tours, our guides prepare a wonderful array of special meals in some of the most glorious locations.
Guides and groups
The group size of our tours is generally between 10 and 20 guests. Some of our European tours can accommodate slightly larger groups. If a tour reaches its minimum group size, our aim is to provide two tour guides wherever possible. This gives you more flexibility with walks (for example, guided half- or full-day walks) and options for daily activities. We also use local guides where additional specialised expertise will enhance the tour. The many comments we receive confirm the belief that our guides are special people, dedicated to ensuring you have genuine, relaxed and memorable experiences of each place. They are from many nations and all walks of life, with a common love of exploring and enjoying the outdoors. Their task is to look after all the details of travel, leaving you free to walk, relax and enjoy. See Guiding Lights for biographies.
Walking tours seem to attract like-minded people and we find that groups bond very quickly. Although our guests come from all walks of life, everyone has a common interest in the outdoors. Since much of our time is spent on the walking trails, this gives us space to relax and enjoy both company and times of solitude.
Special interest focus
While walking is always an integral part of the interNATIONAL PARKtours experience, we also highlight special interests that are appropriate to a country or region. In Australia and New Zealand, many of our tours include a birding, wildlife or botanical focus. Culture & history form the backdrop for walks in many places. Most European tours include time with local guides to interpret the history of a particular place. And of course food always goes hand in hand with walking. Regional cuisine is a feature in Europe and in Japan where we delve into the culinary delights of central Honshu.
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