The Rising Trend in Walking Tours: Reasons and Tips


If you want to see and learn about things, you can do it online. If you want to experience things, you have to live them. Walking tours put you on the spot and let you hear, see, feel and taste your destination. We will walk you through the tours and outline a few key reasons behind this growing trend.

The Best Way to Experience a New Place

One of the most prominent benefits of a walking tour is how it allows you to really experience a new destination, as much as a tourist can, within a couple of days. You get to feel your surroundings, and walk the same streets and paths the natives do. Be it on an Aboriginal trail, or walking the streets of Barcelona, you will be able to spot every little ally, building and monument, eat from the street carts, and see the people. This can tell you a lot about their lifestyle, culture, and diversity.

The Physical Aspect

Walking tours help you stay active on your holiday. Walking is a great type of physical activity for everyone, it relaxes you and helps you sleep better at night. There are different types of tours which are designed for various levels of physical shape. For example, there are tours aimed at pensioners and they adjust their pace so everyone can find them enjoyable.

The Social Aspect

Not only do walking tours allow you to meet the locals, but they also let you meet other holidaymakers. This is well suited for those traveling on their own. You will spend a reasonable amount of time surrounded by other people with at last one similar interest. The period spent together could result in friendships and provide company for the rest of your holiday, when needed.

The Price

Depending on who organizes your tour, you could be paying anywhere between $10 for a tip and $600. To be fair, the $600 include the tour, accommodation, meals and possibly other related activities. The $10 tip is an approximate price for free walking tours where a guide earns money only based on your satisfaction and how much you decide the tour is worth.

Walking Tours Save You Time

Even though everyone has an idea of an itinerary for their trip, going on a walking tour will help you save time you would otherwise spend on making the right route. Also, the tour guides know the best and the shortest ways of getting around, so without them, you may miss out on valuable content between two sites. Furthermore, you can show up completely unprepared in the center of any major city and find an interesting tour so it does not have to involve a lot of planning.

Where Can You Go?

Pretty much any country in the world offers walking tours. The difference is that with some you have them readily offered in city squares, while others you have to book, or you have to ask around once you get to your destination and find a local guide. Walking holidays usually last for a couple of days and allow you to get to know a region. They mostly involve nature and trekking.

Countries which have recognized the importance of tourism are trying to realize their full potential by finding ways of exploiting natural, social and cultural resources. Some of the commonly found walking tours involve traditional cuisine and wine tasting, while others dip into more specific attractions such as mafia and anti-mafia walking tour in Palermo, Sicily. Many entrepreneurs have made an art out of these tours and use their imagination to give you a unique perspective of a place.

Walking Tour Tips

There are two main things to think about when considering a walking tour. You need to check the weather and be prepared for all weather conditions. If it is possible, take a walking tour or a walking holiday during dry mild weather, not too cold, nor too hot. However, since you cannot be certain, pack as if you were about to spend time outdoors in every weather condition. Comfortable waterproof shoes are a must. Also, pack a PVC raincoat, sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, insect repellent, as well as, any other tools or equipment required by organizers of the tour.

Author Bio:

Aside from primary area of interest and expertise in blogging, Lena could be tagged also as a passionate traveler, nature and photography enthusiast, always trying to keep up to date with the latest trends in design and architecture. This article was created with the help of the award-winning walking tours specialist from Life is an Adventure who were kind enough to introduce her with the walks trough Australia.