BEST FOR… BEGINNERS
ADMIRE MONT BLANC’S MANY FACES, FRANCE
The 105-mile Tour du Mont Blanc, ticking off views of glittering glaciers, aquamarine alpine tarns, chalet-studded valleys and its namesake summit, is one of Europe’s most demanding treks. It’s also its most in-demand: beds in mountain huts get booked out far in advance. Based at a Chamonix hotel, Intrepid Travel’s greatest-hits itinerary sidesteps availability issues, utilising cable cars to dodge the steepest ascents and access dramatic ridges, cols and vistas. Intrepid (0808 274 5111; intrepidtravel. com) offers an eight-day Mont Blanc Highlights trip from £1,910pp including accommodation, transfers, most meals and guide, excluding flights; seven departures June-September
GET A TASTE FOR THE TRAILS, SWITZERLAND
Unsure whether a full-blown hiking holiday is for you? Headwater’s Walking in Kandersteg Short Break offers a bite-sized taster. From your base in this most photogenically situated Swiss village, head out (via cable cars or buses, using the free regional pass included) on walks along pine-scented trails, through wildflower-strewn Alpine meadows and around cobalt-hued Oeschinensee lake.
Headwater (01606 369121; headwater. com) offers a five-night self-guided Walking in Kandersteg Short Break from £1,069pp including full-board accommodation, route directions and maps, local guest card and travel pass, but not flights; weekly departures from May 22-Oct 2
MAKE A BEELINE FOR AN ENCHANTED VALLEY, SLOVENIA
Where soaring limestone karst, verdant glacial valleys and waterfall-striped pinewoods abound, so do hikers – usually. Not so in Slovenia’s Logar Valley, a gorgeous cleft in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps forming the 6,561ft-high border with Austria. During ambles on Inntravel’s self-guided holiday, based in the dale’s only hotel, encounter traditional farming hamlets, ribbon-like cascades, colourfully decorated Carniolan beehives and the timeless Robanov Kot valley. Inntravel (01653 617001; inntravel.co. uk) offers a seven-night Slovenia’s Enchanted Valley self-guided holiday from £970pp including B&B hotel accommodation, three lunches, three dinners, car hire, walking notes and maps, but not flights; departures until September 23
PICK YOUR OWN PACE, AUSTRIA
If you’re unsure how mountain-fit you are, hedge your bets with a dual-grade tour. For Ramblers Walking Holidays’ trip to Maria Alm, a typically comely Austrian chalet town guarded by the looming hulk of the near-9,800ft Hochkönig Massif, two leaders are at hand providing a choice of walks each day – one challenging, the other less so – through flower-strewn pastures serenaded by whistling marmots. Ramblers (01707 331133; ramblers holidays.co.uk) offers seven nights at Maria Alm from £1,349pp including flights from London, transfers, half-board accommodation, lift pass and guided walks; departs June 11, July 2 and 30, September 3