In the world of The Walking Connection, every journey is infused with the rhythm of walking—whether it's a leisurely stroll or an invigorating trek, it's an essential ingredient in our travel adventures. Our itineraries are designed with flexibility in mind, allowing you to tailor your experience to your preferred style of travel. At The Walking Connection, the freedom of movement is always at your discretion—it's who we are.

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Our Small Group, Independent, and Private Adventures cater to walkers and hikers of all interests and abilities, empowering you to set your own pace and immerse yourself in the journey. Each destination offers a myriad of opportunities for walking, with our primary focus on providing an interpretive experience, fostering connections with local communities, and allowing you to explore at a leisurely pace.

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For all our trips, we emphasize the importance of sturdy footwear with deep-tread soles specifically designed for uneven terrain. While ankle-supportive boots are preferred, lower-cut hiking shoes or trail runners are also suitable. However, smooth-bottomed tennis or walking shoes, as well as sandals, are not recommended for our adventures.

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Each trip may encompass a blend of activity levels, and prior to embarking on each day's adventure, our hosts and guides will outline the planned activities and highlight the various options available. Generally, if you're accustomed to regular walking, can comfortably maintain a moderate pace covering 3-5 miles at a time, and are prepared to spend 5-6 hours actively exploring each day, then our moderate to challenging adventures are perfectly suited for you. Welcome to The Walking Connection, where every step leads to new discoveries.

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Descriptions and the words we use to convey the various activities we do can mean different things to each individual. To assist you in gaining a better understanding of the activity levels on our trips,below are the Walking Connection activity classifications. As you read through the descriptions, please keep in mind that each trip usually offers a variety of walks, and that most have options for you to modify your activity to your preferences. 

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Moderate - Planned Serendipity! 

• 3-5 hours of daily activities most centered around walking over various terrains. 

• The terrain includes city streets, village cobblestone walkways, well-worn countryside paths with uphill and downhill components, and generally, a support vehicle or alternative transportation is available.

• Your day pack will include a liter of water, snacks, a rain jacket, sunscreen, and personal items.

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Moderate to Challenging - Love To Move While I Learn!

• 4–6 hours of daily activities centered around walking, hiking, or trekking. 

• May include all aspects of the Moderate level walks with terrain that may involve crossing rougher terrain, long and steep inclines, and descents, and can be at higher elevations. Generally, a support vehicle or alternative transportation can be arranged.

• Your day pack will include several liters of water, snacks or lunch, extra socks, extra layers, rain protection, sunscreen, and personal items.

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Challenging - Let's Do This!

• Each day usually consists of 6 or more hours of walking, hiking, or trekking activities, and may include all aspects of our other walks but are longer and more difficult.

• Though there are alternative transportation and options available at the beginning of a mountainous hike, these treks are in more remote areas where greater self-reliability, agility, and a higher fitness level is required. 

• Your day pack will include three or more liters of water, snacks or lunch, extra socks, extra layers, rain protection, sunscreen, and personal items.

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Summit - High Adventure!

• Adventures may include porters or may be hut-to-hut, inn-to-inn where you will have to move your personal items yourself.

• Each day consists of 6 - 8+ or more hours of activities centered around walking, hiking, or trekking, and may involve crossing rougher terrain, a boulder field, long and steep inclines, and descents at higher elevations.

• Though there are alternative transportation and options available at the beginning of a mountainous hike, these treks are in more remote areas where greater self-reliability, agility, and a higher fitness level is required. 

• Your day-pack will include three or more liters of water, snacks or lunch, extra socks, extra layers, rain protection, sunscreen, personal items, and a camera.

 

Throughout your preparation, we are available to chat and can help you with setting the right expectations for yourself and those around you. Safety is our highest priority. It is a shared responsibility, yours and ours, and we will do everything within our power to make certain your adventure is fun, comfortable, and above all else, safe. This begins with you selecting the right adventure and then preparing for it correctly. We'll help you every step of the way.

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