1. Guided Holidays

   a) Scheduled Guided Group Departures: On all our scheduled group holidays you will be accompanied by a professional English-speaking guide/s and (dependent upon the particular holiday) a full support crew. This may include porters, cooks, vehicles and drivers and pack animals too. For the majority of these trips your main baggage is transported for you, leaving you free to walk each day with only your usual daypack to carry. The detailed trip dossier for each holiday will outline the staff provided for your chosen holiday, the arrangements for transferring your main baggage, as well as a great deal more useful information about the holiday, accommodation etc. Usually our maximum group size is 16, although on the majority of our group holidays it will actually be less. On a group trip you will meet up with other like-minded travellers, generally with a good balance of ages and gender. Many of our clients are solo travellers, as well as couples and groups of friends. There is no extra charge for single travellers unless single rooms/tents are requested. Please note that on some of group trips you may be joined by clients from other tour operators and this is usually indicated in the respective trip dossier.You must be aged 18 years or over to partake in one of our scheduled group trips.

   b) Exclusive (Private), Guided Departures : For many of the holidays we offer as scheduled guided group departures, there is also the option to undertake these privately and exclusively (i.e. not as part of larger group), but still with all the services as the group trip e.g. with a guide, porter etc. Prices for this option are shown separately and are based on a minimum of 2 people travelling together. Usually you can choose your holiday dates to suit (subject to season/availability), allowing you a greater degree of flexibility with your travel plans, and invariably enhanced experiences along the way that are usually not possible when travelling as part of a larger group.

   We also have many guided walking holidays that are only available as exclusive, guided departures and entirely private for 2 or more people travelling together. We firmly believe that due to the special nature of these particular holidays they are not suited to larger groups and can only be best enjoyed as smaller, private parties (i.e. couples/small groups of friends). As these holidays are entirely personal and exclusive you would not joined by other travellers. Usually we are able to offer these holidays on whichever date you would like to travel (subject to availability). Although the cost of these particular, very special holidays are based on a minimum of 2 people travelling together, they can also be undertaken privately and exclusively by solo travellers too, at an additional cost.

2. Self-Guided Walking Holidays

   Our very popular self-guided walking holidays are ideal for hikers that prefer to be more independent. You will be provided with route notes and maps (prepared by our local agents) upon arrival at your destination and can consequently by and large dictate your own walking schedule for each day. Your accommodation will be booked for each night in advance for you and this will be detailed in your route notes, along with any required vouchers or tickets for public transport if applicable. On the days when you are walking from one overnight halt to another, on most of our self-guided walking holidays your main baggage will be transported for you (usually by vehicle) leaving you free to walk each day with only your usual daypack to carry. You will find detailed trip dossiers for each of our self-guided walking holidays on our website. For a handful of our self-guided walking holidays there may be the occasional night where you stay high in the mountains in a comfortable refuge/mountain hut where there is no vehicle access, and thus your baggage will be transferred to your next accommodation accessible by vehicle and you would carry some minimal overnight gear with you. A few of our self-guided walking holidays are centre-based where there is easy access to public transport links to walk further afield or the need for a rental car. All of our self-guided walking holidays are available for a minimum of 2 persons travelling together and most offer flexible daily departure dates (subject to season/availability). They can also be undertaken by solo travellers too, at an additional cost.

   Although our self-guided walking holidays are NOT scheduled group departures, there may be the occasion where you are travelling on the same date as other Walks Worldwide clients. However, as we offer such a wide range choice of self-guided holidays with an even wider choice of departure dates, the instance of this is quite rare.

3. Extensions

   For many of our walking holidays we are able to offer outstanding extensions to make your holiday even more special. Details of these extensions can usually be found in the detailed trip dossier for each individual walking holiday. We are also often asked to arrange extra hotel nights either at the start or end of our various types of walking holidays, and this is usually easily arranged for you. On our non-group walking holidays, it is also usually possible to arrange extra nights along the way to incorporate rest days, or to allow for further exploration too.

4. Tailor-Made Trekking Holidays and Special Groups

   Many of our guided non-group walking holidays, can be and often are tailor-made to suit according to our clients own personal requirements. One of our team of friendly personal trip advisors will be able to help and assist you arrange this.

   In many of the countries we operate in we have a wealth of personal walking experiences and can often help you create a very individual itinerary for private groups large or small that is not published in our brochure or on our website. Please contact our office to discuss your requirements in more detail.

   As our self-guided walking holidays are reliant on specific route notes/maps prepared in advance, we regret it is usually not possible to offer tailor-made versions of these, although you can usually incorporate extra along the way for independent exploration or rest.

Walking Holiday Gradings

To give an indication of the level of our walking holidays we give each and every holiday a grading. When grading each particular walking holiday overall we take into account more than just the daily walking as clearly there are many other factors involved. It is of course impossible for us to take into account your own personal abilities and experiences when determining the trip grade. Consequently when making a judgement upon each particular holiday grade the overall holiday duration (i.e the number of continuous walking days), ascent, descent, altitude, terrain, remoteness, possible challenging weather conditions etc are also taken into consideration. It is VERY IMPORTANT that before booking any of our walking holidays you should read the relevant trip dossier thoroughly. We are always happy to advise if you have any concerns over the grading of any of our walking holidays. It is of course your responsibility to ensure you are comfortable walking at the level of grading stated for the walking holiday you choose as well as being prepared physically and equipment wise for the holiday too.

ALL of our holidays are based around walking, usually on a continual daily basis. They are of course best suited to those that enjoy walking. Although we sometimes include the daily walking distances in our trip dossiers, we find it preferable to state the approximate walking times for each day. Distances can of course be misleading .e.g a fairly level 10km walk at low altitude will take considerably less time than a 10km walk that is a steep ascent and at high altitude. Walking times stated are always approximate walking times based on a regular hillwalker with a good level of fitness. Naturally these times will vary from person to person and should be taken as a guideline only. They cannot possibly take into account rest periods along the way as this will again vary considerably from person to person and as such are approximated walking times only. Consequently the total time taken from the start to the finish of each daily walk may be considerably longer dependent upon your own hill walking experience and physical fitness, as well as the amount of stops you make along the way.

We grade our trips from A to D, with A being the least challenging and D being the most challenging. These should be considered in conjunction with each holiday description. See the relevant trip dossier for more details. It is important you choose a walking holiday that best suits your level of experience and fitness.

• A - Easy - These are our easiest walking holidays and usually involve relatively short daily walks. Often these will be low-level walks, with straightforward conditions underfoot. There will be sections of both ascent and descent, but these are usually brief and not sustained. These holidays are suitable for those that enjoy leisurely walking and are in good health with a fairly reasonable level of fitness.
  
  
• B - Moderate - Increasing daily walking times on sometimes rugged mountain trails, forest tracks and footpaths, with considerably more ascent and descent involved, although usually at moderate altitudes. Elements of brief, easy scrambling may be involved. Suitable for most regular hillwalkers who have a reasonable level of fitness. Some days may be more challenging than others.
  
  
• C- Demanding - More challenging, with some extended walking days, and often longer in trip duration. These walking holidays involve more challenging and mountainous terrain, as well as sustained periods of both ascent and descent. Some will be at higher altitudes and are best suited to experienced walkers with a good level of physical fitness. This grade of holiday is usually not suitable for novices. Elements of some scrambling or crossing some sections of difficulty underfoot are likely be involved.
  
  
• D - Strenuous - Our hardest walking holidays. Daily walking times will be increasingly long and will involve significant amounts of very challenging ascent and descent at more extreme altitudes. These holidays may also involve walking over difficult terrain in isolated areas, high-mountain passes, glaciated or snow-covered ground and may require some basic mountaineering skills and equipment. Terrain may at times be very steep and sustained, with very challenging conditions underfoot as well as the possibility some exposure. A very good level of physical fitness and previous experience of walking at this grade level is essential.

Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you are uncertain about your ability to take part in any of our walking holidays.