Planning an overseas hiking trip
It can be a bit intimidating when thinking about planning a hiking trip especially when it’s overseas. Where can you find the information you need? Should you book it yourself? Hire a tour company? Well, I’ve done it both ways and there are definitely advantages (and disadvantages) to both. Here I’ll share my experiences and the methods of my madness.
Where and when to go
I don’t know about you, but I usually have a list of several locations I’d like to visit dancing around in my head at any given time. Ultimately, one will stand out from the others but the logistics can vary greatly depending on the location. I will usually make my decision six months to a year before I plan to travel. Then, the research begins!
Since my adventures usually revolve around a hike of some kind, the weather and seasons can define the best time of year to travel. Also, the availability of accommodations and permits (if needed) can dictate when you’ll be able to go. Certain times of the year can be very crowded due to holidays or special events so the shoulder season may be more appealing. If you choose to be part of a tour, you’ll have to adapt to their schedule and itinerary. And don’t forget about getting time off from work!
Research
So now you know where and when you’re going, now what? YouTube and Facebook groups are wonderful resources for just about any destination. Before I walked the West Highland Way last year, I watched dozens of videos made by others during their walks. Because of this, I knew what to expect and had a pretty good idea of what the greatest challenges would be. Any questions I had were quickly answered in the Facebook groups. I did the same thing for my trip to Peru even though the circumstances were different (I’ll explain in just a minute).
I also go on Amazon and buy a guidebook for whatever hike I’m planning to do. Depending on the route, there are plenty of guidebooks to choose from such as the Trailblazer series. I don’t usually bring the book along because I don’t want to carry the extra weight but it’s a great resource during the planning stages. For the West Highland Way, I actually took photos of the maps in the guidebook with my phone. And yes, I did refer to them several times!
If you’re doing one of the more popular hikes, such as the West Highland Way or Camino de Santiago, they probably have an app. Most of these apps have downloadable maps of the route so you are able to use your phone’s GPS even if you don’t have service. Some apps have the different stages of the walk and list all of the accommodations along the way. It’s also fun to do a “dry run” of the walk by looking at the satellite images of the trail. Using all of these resources I’m able to map out a rough itinerary before I start booking.
Tour vs. Solo
As stated before, I’ve done trips both solo and as part of a tour group. This really comes down to personal preference and also the location of your travels. There are definitely pros and cons to each form of travel and you need to do whatever you’re most comfortable with. When I went to Peru to hike the Inca Trail in 2019, I went solo but as part of a tour group. This was my first international hiking trip with pretty tricky logistics so the tour group was the way to go for me. And it was nice! I just had to book my flights to and from Lima and they did EVERYTHING else. And I got to spend two weeks with some pretty great people. They only offered this tour each July so I had to make it work with my schedule.
The next year, I planned to walk the West Highland Way and do the planning and booking myself. Using the resources mentioned above, I mapped out the stages of my hike and decided where I wanted to stay each night. I then pulled out my calendar and decided when I wanted to go. Booking my accommodation was a combination of Booking.com and emailing each location requesting a reservation. Now, this was the year of the pandemic so I got to do this two more times when pushing the dates back to when I could actually travel to the UK. And everything went smoothly! All the work was done before I left so once I landed I knew exactly where I was going and staying each night. There are tour companies that could have done this for me, but I actually enjoy the process.
It’s pretty easy to figure out the pros and cons. With the tour company everything is done for you but you’ll be paying for that service. For me, it would have meant not going to Peru due to the logistics and me just being too intimidated to try it. When booking yourself, you have all the freedom to do what and when you want. I’m a planner, so I LOVE getting all my resources together and building my vacation. And it’s a great sense of accomplishment when you get on the plane to head home after a fabulous vacation and you’re already starting to plan the next great adventure!
Where are you heading next?