Active Over Passive Travel Experiences

Active travel offers a different way to experience a destination.

Rather than simply passing through, walking and cycling give you time to experience landscapes, towns and villages along the way.

Walk village back roads and discover local markets. Cycle through alpine landscapes and take in the scenery. Stop in communities along the route and experience local food, culture and everyday life.

And after a rewarding day on the trail or bike, sitting down to enjoy the local food and wine can be one of the highlights of the journey.

Explore Beyond the Major Tourism Centres

Popular destinations can experience significant pressure from high visitor numbers, particularly during peak travel periods.

Many of our walking and cycling itineraries travel beyond major tourism centres and include smaller towns, villages and rural areas along the route.

By staying, eating and using services in these places, travellers can contribute to tourism activity across a wider range of communities.

Supporting Local Economies Along the Way

Tourism can provide an important source of income for communities, but visitor spending is not always evenly distributed between major tourism centres and less-visited regions.

We continue to develop routes and itineraries that take travellers into lesser-known areas and create opportunities to use accommodation, restaurants and other tourism services along the way.

Examples include:

- The Camino Sanabrés, an alternative Camino route through Spain.

- The Andros Trail Self Guided Walk, on an island whose trail network has received Leading Quality Trails – Best of Europe certification from the European Ramblers Association.

- The Rota Vicentina, a long-distance walking network through communities and landscapes in southwest Portugal.

 

The Benefits of Staying Active

Walking and cycling provide an opportunity to incorporate physical activity into your holiday while experiencing a destination.

Regular physical activity is associated with a range of health and wellbeing benefits. The amount and intensity that is appropriate will vary between individuals, which is why our trips are graded to help travellers select an itinerary suited to their abilities and experience.

 

 

Better Travel Memories for You

Ultimately, we travel for the experience.

Walking or cycling through a destination gives you time to notice the landscapes, communities and details that can be easy to miss when simply passing through.

If you haven’t tried an active holiday before, perhaps your next trip is the time to start.