Equipment The most essential items of equipment on an independent trek are a
reasonable pair of
walking boots, a waterproof, a fleece and a suitable daypack. If you already do a little hill-walking, you will
probably already have most of the items you need. Our pre-departure information
for each tour includes a
detailed equipment checklist
Route Notes Going self guided is simple and convenient. You can set out when you
like, stop where you want and visit sites enroute that are of
interest to you. The tours vary in terms of difficulty, but route finding is made
easier with our
specially prepared package of maps and notes. On many of the walks
it is simple enough to navigate carefully using the route notes
provided with a cursory glance at the map. As tours reach the higher
grades, you will need to take more care and we would expect you to
have at least some knowledge of using a compass. Maps for
our tours also vary considerably, from up to date GPS
referenced additions, to old map copies which may still be the only
ones obtainable for a particular area. The differences in style,
grade and nationality of our tours are features that make them of
continual interest and delight to our guests.
To view a sample of our these notes now, download one of our PDF files. If you don't have
Acrobat, download it here!
Route Notes ADOBE ACROBAT
The Walking Day You set your own pace as you are not limited by the constraints of group travel. You
are free to shorten or lengthen your walk as the terrain permits and can even take a day
off, although you may need to travel onto your next accommodation by
taxi or public transport in order to do so. As long as you are reasonably active you will be able to find a
suitable tour.
All of our tours are graded to help you choose the right walk for you. Walk Grades
A self-guided Inn to Inn Walk follows a linear or circular route, staying at
hotels or country inns.
As you are walking independently you are free to follow the trail at your
own pace. Your bags are moved on to the next hotel each day there is a move
to a different area, so you can enjoy your walk
knowing that your baggage will be waiting for you at your next night's accommodation.
Note however that on some of our Alpine trips you will need to carry
overnight gear on some occasions, when staying at an alpine hotel,
or when baggage transfers maybe too protracted. On some tours where
you are a based at two or three walking centers such as in Sicily,
Norway or Malta, you may need to transfer with your baggage on
public transport between different centers.
The hotels are chosen for their accessibility to the trail and for the warmth of their
welcome. Many of our hoteliers are keen walkers themselves and take an active
and helpful interest in our clients' progress. Some of the places we have
been using for years and we have a good working relationship with
the proprietors. On most of the tours you will find that accommodations
will vary somewhat within the hospitality quality grades, this is
one of the features that Sherpa customers particularly
appreciate and adds a touch of character to the region or the
country that they are passing through. On the whole and for these
reasons we try to avoid chain and big name
hotels.
Our programme is fully flexible, you can normally start your walk on any
day during the season, and build in extra days where you desire, for resting or
sightseeing.
Some of our inn-to-inn walks are
available as escorted walks at certain times of the year. These walks follow the same routes and stay in the same hotels as the self-guided
independent trips shown above. Click
here for details.
Austria
Cyprus
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Malta
Morocco
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Switzerland
USA
ESCORTED INN-TO-INN WALKS