Popularity of slow travel stepping up
MORE travellers are expected to embrace the journey rather than the destination next year and take it slow while travelling.
According to On Foot Holidays, which specialises in the art of slow travel, as travellers become more environmentally conscious and tired of the tourist traps, selfpaced, immersive walking tours through some of the continent’s finest countryside are growing in popularity.
“So much of our lives are fast-paced, rushing from one thing to the next,” On Foot Holidays director Simon Scutt said.
“Our walking tours allow travellers to take a break, journey on their own two feet and notice the fine details of trees, fields, villages and castles instead of just glancing at sweeping scenery out of the coach window.”
Among On Foot Holidays’ most popular walks is a seven-night journey through the wild mountains, craggy scenery and remote vineyards of Italy’s picturesque Amalfi Coast.
The ‘inn-to-inn’ tour takes walkers through old fishing towns nestled on the water’s edge, secluded beaches on the San Costanzo Peninsula and along the Path of the Gods, high above the sea.
The hike begins at Amalfi, with the following days featuring two walking circuits, including visits to the tranquil Villa Cimbrone Gardens and
Torre dello Ziro, a castle overlooking the bay.
Walkers will then journey westwards along old medieval pathways, visiting the towns of Praiano, Positano, Sant’Agata, as well as the now uninhabited monastery of San Domenico, before finishing at Sorrento, overlooking the Bay of Naples.
An ideal way to explore the Amalfi Coast without negotiating bumper-tobumper traffic, the self-guided walk is classified as multigraded with options available to suit different walking abilities.
The walking tour package includes accommodation for all seven nights, all breakfasts and all luggage transfers – meaning travellers need only carry a day pack. The walk costs from $ 1951 per person, twin-share.
Rated one of Europe’s leading self-guided walking tour operators, On Foot Holidays offers 31 self-guided walking tours in 12 countries across Europe.
Accommodation and information packs are provided for all the routes and optional guides are available on select itineraries.
Payments can be made via Transferwise, a system which offers Australians the convenience of paying for walks in Australian dollars via a local bank, saving transfer charges and credit card fees.