5 Walking Holidays in Europe That Deserve a Week of Your Life
From Portugal’s wild coast to Turkey’s ancient shore
There is a particular kind of travel that only happens on foot. It is slower, quieter, and more deliberate than anything you can experience from a car window or a tour bus seat. Walking holidays have grown steadily across Europe over the past decade, and for good reason — they offer something that most modern travel cannot: a genuine sense of arrival earned through effort, fresh air, and an unhurried pace.
Europe’s long-distance walking trails are not all created equal. Some demand mountaineering fitness and wild camping experience. Others are surprisingly accessible, well-marked, and supported by comfortable accommodation at the end of each day’s walk. The five routes in this guide fall firmly into the second category. Each one is suitable for anyone with reasonable fitness, a pair of broken-in walking boots, and a willingness to cover between 12 and 25 kilometres per day.
What connects these five routes is something harder to define — each one passes through landscapes that change the rhythm of your thinking. Whether it is the Atlantic cliffs of Portugal, the terraced vineyards of Italy, or the pine-scented paths above Turkey’s turquoise coast, these are walks that stay with you long after the blisters have healed. They suit travellers over 40 particularly well, because they combine physical activity with cultural richness, good food, and the kind of accommodation that makes each evening a pleasure rather than a survival exercise.
In This Email:-
5 Walking Holidays in Europe That Deserve a Week of Your Life - This guide covers five of Europe’s finest walking routes — each one tested, well-supported, and worth building a trip around. For each route, you will find practical detail on distance, difficulty, what to expect, and how to plan your time.
The West Highland Way, Scotland
The Rota Vicentina, Portugal
The Cinque Terre Trails, Italy
The Camino Portugués, Spain and Portugal
The Lycian Way, Turkey
A suggested 5-day itinerary for the Rota Vicentina
Best times to visit and practical planning advice
5 Walking Holidays in Europe That Deserve a Week of Your Life
