I personally love traveling, it’s one of my favourite hobbies. But there’s one thing I really struggle with, especially when traveling long term, and it is finding a way to balance my health while on the road. It’s easy to get caught up eating out every meal when you’re traveling, drinking alcohol way more often than you would when at home, and indulging in a few more sweet treats than normal because ‘when will the next time I’ll be here be?’. The fleeting nature of travel makes it easy to get caught up in the here and now which is obviously a lot of fun, but can be bad for your health. Choosing to go on a walking tour holiday is an excellent way to put your health first, while enjoying a ton of other benefits: enjoying travelling at a completely different pace, getting to see a different side of a place or country and indulging in a lot of fresh air. If you’re on the fence about taking a walking tour holiday, check out all the benefits below and give it a go: maybe you will find yourself like me and fall in love with walking holidays.
1. Slower Pace
Our lives are so stressful that most of us now crave holidays that are more in touch with nature. Many of us live in big cities, we are disconnected from nature, living in huge apartment buildings that are stacked next to one another. That means when we go on holiday we want to have a slower pace, less stress and more time to slow down and unwind. That’s one of the benefits about enjoying a walking holiday: it’s a slower pace and the whole point is to immerse yourself in nature to enjoy not only the beautiful scenery, but the slower pace of life. Mickledore walking holidays can provide the slower pace, beautiful tracks and ensure that you will have all the support you need during your fun adventure. There are a range of levels and length trips on offer, ensuring that you can find the perfect trip for your ability and the amount of free time you’ll have. If you want a piece of advice from me? Take as long as you can for your walking holiday. Chances are it will fly by and when you’re home at the end, you will wish you had an extra day to soak it all in, so definitely go for as long as you can.
2. Amazing Photos
Because you’re going to be walking through some incredible natural scenery, you will have plenty of opportunities to take gorgeous photos! You also wont be rushing like you may on a cycling tour or a tour where you are stuck inside a bus the entire time, unable to jump off and take picture when you would want to. Because of the slower pace you will have so many opportunities to take photos, ensuring that you can creating precious memories of you with your loved ones. If you have a drone, GoPro or any other type of camera, this is the time to take it – the shots you will be able to take will be so incredible. Don’t forget to get creative with photos: you can use nature to help you, things such as rocks can make for excellent places to prop up your phones or GoPros in order to use the timers to take group photos.
3. Stress Free
Everything’s planned for you: accommodation is carefully chosen, the map is thoughtfully planned, a waterproof map is included, your luggage is transported between locations so you can easily and comfortably walk between the locations. While it’s obviously possible to coordinate your own walking holiday, there’s no way that it can be arranged to be quite as seamless or comfortable. If you do choose to do an independent walking holiday, I would suggest starting with a shorter length holiday and a lighter pack, that way you wont end up with a sore back from carrying too much weight between accommodations. This is especially important if you are planning on carrying camping equipment. Being connected with nature is shown to lower stress as well, so deciding to take part in a more relaxing type of holiday in a natural setting is a wonderful way to reduce your stress. If you are like me and work in an office environment, then chances are you are hanging out for a holiday and an opportunity to unwind.
4. Healthy Way to Travel
Usually when I’m traveling, I find myself overindulging in sweet treats, enjoying a few too many hearty meals and large portion sizes. Trying new foods is one of the best things about being away from home, especially when you are in a new country. But this can quite easily get out of control especially if you are on an extended holiday that lasts for a few weeks or even a few months. Adding in a walking holiday or two is a great way to burn quite a number of calories each day. You will tone your legs, improve your cardiovascular fitness, improve your confidence and just generally uplift your mood. It’s a great bonding activity to do with friends and family, especially if you choose a course that’s more challenging than you might otherwise choose. There’s heaps of benefits to getting extra vitamin D, and with the cloudy weather we’ve been having lately, I’m sure many of us are suffering from a little vitamin D decency – what better way to get a boost than heading on a walking holiday!
5. Special Way to Bond
It’s unusual that we get a block of time with our loved one, free from the usual distractions such as the TV, cell phones, Internet and work commitments. Going on a walking holiday is a wonderful way to get away from the daily routine that can prevent us from really bonding with those people who we really treasure. As there’s so much time during a walking holiday where you’re just engaging with those who are around you, be prepared to have a lot of time to discuss things you may never usually talk about. During the evenings try to avoid getting stuck watching TV or staring at your phone, and instead chill out playing some card games or connecting around a camp fire. Living a more simple life, even just for a few days, with your loved ones, is a wonderful way to really bond and create a ton of special memories!
Walking holidays are a great holiday for a number of reasons. Have you ever been on one before? Let me know on the comments below!
