5 Reasons We All Need a Walking Vacation

As a reader of Outside, you already know that staying active is good for body and soul. And there’s no doubt you know the value of travel: horizons broadened, relationships deepened, spirit rejuvenated. But you should know that putting the two together is uniquely rewarding, multiplying the benefits of your hard-won PTO. Active travel, like a walking and hiking tour, allows you to connect to the place, culture, people, and yourself exponentially more than you would lounging at a beach resort or driving to check off as many sights as possible.

Book a walking and hiking tour, like the options from Gate 1 Travel, that allows you to explore the planet’s most awe-inspiring routes. Discover the trip of a lifetime by experiencing Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher, Peru’s Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, or the magic of Utah’s Bryce Canyon, step by step. The first step, of course, is to commit to a plan. Consider the following reasons why you need to book an active tour and put those PTO days to use in the best possible way.

1. Get off the beaten path (with minimal effort)

A walking and hiking tour booked with a seasoned company like Gate 1 offers deeper experiences, even in the most popular destinations. With 40 years of expertise planning and coordinating trips around the world, Gate 1 uses only knowledgeable and professionally trained guides who lead every trip—from the Amalfi Coast to Marrakech, Teton National Park to the Himalaya—and provide access to roads less traveled and unique insights on iconic locations. Gate 1’s small group sizes also mean personalized attention while catering to all levels of fitness. You’ll walk or hike by day in places like Germany’s Salzkammergut treetop path and then stay in unique luxury accommodations before continuing your walking or hiking journey the next day. Everything is taken care of for you, including meals. Simply show up ready to walk and discover.

2. Immerse yourself

Walking while traveling, as opposed to driving or staying put in one resort or hotel, allows you to truly immerse yourself in your surroundings. While walking and hiking, you notice the details—the smells and sounds—you’d otherwise miss. Walking and hiking simply allows you to take in the full surroundings. Add expert tour managers and hiking guides to keep you pointed in the right directions, and you’ll keep making those closer connections with the landscape you’re discovering by foot.

3. Connect

Walking facilitates connection to a place, its culture, and its people. With each step, you’re physically connecting to the ground beneath you and its history, while also establishing closer bonds with your fellow travelers. There’s a reason hiking, running, and walking buddies become so close—bonds strengthen when we walk and talk. We tend to share things with each other comfortably; the trail becomes a safe space. And walking grants you the time and headspace to reconnect with yourself, which can offer a greater sense of fulfillment and added perspective than traveling by traditional means.

4. Move your body

Whether you count your daily steps or are constantly training for the next thing—a summer summit, a fall running race, your next triathlon—active travel allows you to both take a break from your regular training routine and not fall completely out of shape. Walking and hiking tours by Gate 1 are generally designated as Easy, Moderate, or Challenging and range from just a few hours of leisurely walking to a full day of six-plus hours of hiking with significant elevation gain or loss. Choose the level that’s right for you and either use the trip for active recovery from a major athletic feat, as training for something bigger, or just as a fun way to move.

Whatever your goal may be, you’ll reap the great health benefits of walking: It’s low impact yet still weight-bearing and strengthening. It provides a gentle cardiovascular challenge—more if you increase the pace. Walking also reduces joint pain and stiffness while improving circulation and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your joints.

5. Move your mind

Exercise is good for the brain—that’s a fact. Walking, in particular, has been proven to help ward off ailments like anxiety, depression, dementia, and Alzheimer’s—plus it can improve self-esteem and increase dopamine levels. Do it outside to multiply those benefits. Numerous studies have linked time in nature to gains in happiness and overall well-being. The appreciation of our natural surroundings, reports the Mental Health Foundation, has a direct relationship to keeping us “emotionally, psychologically, and physically healthy.”

What better way to foster a relationship with nature—and your travel partners, the place you’re discovering, and yourself—than by walking somewhere amazing?

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For more than 40 years, Gate 1 Travel has been helping customers immerse themselves in different local cultures. Embark on our hiking and walking tours and get the best of both worlds by engaging with locals while hiking some of the most famous trails around the world.