Would like to plan a trip for some not too hard hikes this summer with two teens. A toss up of europe or Killimanjaro.Any suggestions for the european hikes.

I went on "Swiss Alpine Trails" which I booked through www.adventurecenter.com. I met someone on that trip who had hiked Killi and she said the views are not as great as what we saw in Switzerland. So whether you are with or without an organized hiking group, I highly recommend the Swiss/French Alps.

How about a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela?

If you want "not too hard" then don't do Kilimanjaro

As for the "views not being as great" it's probably becasue Kilimanjaro is the highest FREE-STANDING mountain & therefore there aren't any other mountains to look at apart from Meru.

alan Row-I've hiked only the presidential range on the east coast of the usa. Think it's harder than Mt Washington, New Hampshire?

Pegontheroad- I was thinking of that hike for my daughter. Do you know anything about that hike?

Kili's not too hard - ask over in the Africa forum. I summited in 2005. Just a cold slog. But afterwards you can go to the Serengeti and so on.

Take care

Matt

Switzerland has hikes with gorgeous views for any intensity level desired. This would be my first choice.

The Camino de Santiago is amazing and not too hard. Some of the day stages can a bit long and since you go through a lot of rural areas you might have to stick it through. Be prepared for cows.

Kilimanjaro can be hard - a lot harder than most European walks of the same duration,

Remember you are gaining some 3000' per day (which isn't too bad) with a near 5000' ascent on the last ascent day (which is a swine) - and that's from 15,000'. Then there's the danger from altitude sickness which afects different people and no level of fitness guarantees that you won't be affected.

With Switzerland and France, you can probably plan some hikes where there is access to a funicular or ski lift that will take you part of the way up the mountain. (Of course, someone would say that's cheating.)

If you're an experienced hiker, then it would be easy to organise the activities yourself. If you're not, you might be better off booking an organised tour. You can join a group, or some agencies can organise self-guided tours (where they set up the hotels and luggage transfers, supply detailed route maps, etc). We used Sherpa.co.uk last year for a hike in Morocco, and enjoyed it a lot.

My husband and I just got back from a long weekend in the Maritime Alps, about a 90 minute drive north of Nice. We stayed in St. Martin Vesubie, a charming village that serves hikers and skiers. There are lots of hiking options within an easy drive of the village, and the routes are very well-marked.

We took our 2 teenage daughters to the Alps for a hiking trip last summer---Bernese Oberland, Valais region, and Chamonix. We hiked almost every day. Everyone had a wonderful time, and we are going back next summer.

You can't compare Mt. Washington at Kilimanjaro. Mt. Washington is reputed to be a tough hike because of the weather---they proudly call it "home of the World's Worst Weather." But it's only 6200 feet---the effects of altitude barely kick in. Kilimanjaro is over 19,000 feet.

If you are interested in Kilimanjaro, read this guy's trip report. He posted the link in the Africa forum.
http://walktheearth.us/tanzania/kilimanjaro.htm
It's a great read and should answer some Kili questions.

His Fodors posting is here
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...&start=300

Michael Crighton wrote a book called Travels. One chapter he describes in great detail is climbing Kilamajaro. His prepartation: giving up smoking for one day!

lbruns01:

I haven't done it myself, though I'd like to do it. I think it's pretty rigorous if you do the whole pilgrimage, but many people just do part of it.