'Country Walkers' -anyone used them? taken their guided tours?
 

Just got an interesting brochure from a company called "Country Walkers". They provide guided tours with group sizes limited to 18, offering walking itineraries on 6 continents. Has anyone used this company & taken one of their "walking adventures"? Their website is www.countrywalkers.com - it looks/sounds lovely, albeit a bit pricey. But firsthand experience is always the best recommendation. So, anyone who's been there, done that?

Robin, <BR> I can't give you first hand info on Country Walkers.But, I am planning a trip to Italy and I consulted a friend who just did the Tuscan Miracle trip with Country Walkers.She RAVED about it. Infact, she signed up for a second trip while still on that one. It sounded wonderful...unfortunately it is a bit too pricey for me...otherwise I'd do it too!She told me of incredible lodging and food, and hiking through fields of sunflowers...If you have the dough.. Go for it!Maggie

I went on the Nova Scotia tour last summer. I agree it is a little pricey. I loved the guides, but was disppointed that the trip was hiking in National forests -- with little or no cultural contacts. Being on Cape Brenton Island I expected to hear great music. This particular tour was way off the beaten track. I'd ask lots of questions about the amount/kind of hiking vs other activites before signing up again.

See reply to the misnamed "you know those ads in the New Yorker" thread (it's really all about walking tours)

We ran into a group on one of their walks in Italy. We rode the train with them to the Cinque Terre. The couple we spoke with said while they were enjoying the guide and the scenery they were running into the usual group tour problems and some unprepared walkers. They had taken three day hikes by the time we met them and one fellow in the group had yet to stop talking. We could hear his booming voice from the lower part of the train car and the couple said he was just as loud throughout all the walks, making dumb jokes and telling stories. The previous day they had walked to Portofino and got caught in a thunderstorm then steady rain. Some people had not brought good rain gear and a change of hiking shoes so they were complaining a lot. The guide was altering the walk that day to give a short alternative to those in wet shoes. <BR>

For the person with a question about walking tours and traveling alone.

Try HF Holidays in England. They're much, much less expensive - have gone on 5 of their walking trips and enjoyed each one. Besides, you'll be walking with mostly Brits, and enjoy learning more about the country you're walking in through their eyes!

Footpath Holidays, http://www.footpath-holidays.com/, has small groups (12 - 18) and is reasonably priced. HF Holidays is nice and inexpensive, but their groups are much larger and the emphasize is on walking longer distances.