Walking holidays in Europe

Europe is rife with excellent destinations for a walking holiday. These destinations are also thankfully very easily accessible from within the EU due to the Schengen rules, which in 1997 were incorporated for the first time into European Union law. These rules essentially have relaxed the border controls between member states in order to provide citizens with free travel between EU members whilst tightening security at the borders between non-member states.

This is great news if you're on a walking holiday in Europe and want to move in between neighbouring countries with minimal fuss- something that's not really possible on other continents.

A few years back a survey was carried out on the purpose of visits to neighbouring countries in Western Europe. You may be very surprised to learn that for the year 2008-2009, 27% of European holiday makers classed themselves as on Walking or Camping Holiday!

Western Europe

Some of the better camping opportunities in Western Europe are located in France. France itself is a good place to start because it contains a good mix of easy terrain (and warmer temperatures) and mountainous, much colder areas (at higher altitudes). At its North/Eastern borders lay Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.

Switzerland is famed for skiing holidays, but might also present some excellent places to walk and even camp if you make an effort to stay in the lower-lying areas. There are some fantastic routes that are accessible all year round, however, it always pays to do your research first and plan your routes carefully and sensibly, sticking to your skill and experience level.

Southern Europe

The term “Southern Europe” covers many countries, but those of most interest to family campers will be the South-Western locations such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and Gibraltar. These are all recognisable as typical holiday destinations for party-goers, but also have a wealth of really picturesque locations for camping and hiking if you want to stay out of the cities.

Of course, the mostly warm weather in these countries does nothing to damage their worth as potential camping and walking destinations. Some walkers find the change in weather refreshing; coming from a part of Europe where hiking often involves getting wet and cold, a warm sun on your face can be very uplifting!

Northern Europe

It would be ill advised for anyone to venture out on a walking holiday in northern Europe without a considerable amount of planning and preparation. Certain Scandinavian countries become extremely cold at points during the year due to their proximity to the Arctic Circle, and it would be safe to assume that much of the terrain is difficult to traverse for all but the most experienced hikers.

There are, however, some excellent locations in the United Kingdom (Snowdonia, Cumbria, County Mayo and the Scottish Highlands to name a few) where there are camp sites aplenty and well known routes to challenge every level of walker. The Channel Islands (Alderney, Jersey Guernsey) are also very much worth visiting if you get the chance, with lots of unspoilt areas to explore, not to mention the French influenced micro-climate which leaves the islands very warm for much more of the year than mainland Britain.

Eastern Europe

Some Eastern European countries have delicate political situations which should be reviewed thoroughly before planning any holidays. A good tool to use in the first instance is the foreign office website which has regularly updated information on destinations worldwide. However, there are also some astounding areas of beauty in these countries which are well worth the effort it costs to visit them. The Czech Republic in particular is very tourist-friendly and has a great mix of spectacular architecture and great natural beauty.