June walking - head for Central Europe

With southern Europe getting too hot for hiking, and the mountainous routes not yet open, On Foot Holidays recommends that June walkers head for Central Europe. Here are some tempting June jaunts:

Istria
This self-guided Istria itinerary meanders through meadows, up mountains and via vineyards, stopping at tiny pensions in hilltop villages. It concludes with a descent to the Adriatic Sea for two nights in a pretty harbour town, just reward for your energetic exertions. In June the sea will be nice and warm, but the beaches relatively uncrowded.

Available May-October, the trip costs from £625 pp (two sharing) including seven nights’ good-quality B&B, eight other meals and route information. Travel extra.

Rhine Gorge
On Foot’s trip shows how to hike the 65km-long Rhine Gorge, and avoid its infamous crowds as much as possible. The eight-night self-guided walk focuses as much on the waterway’s lesser-known west bank (the ‘RheinBurgenWeg’) as on the well-trodden east side. This makes for an altogether nicer way to see the Gorge’s 20 castles, watch barges negotiate the sharp bends, potter around fortified, UNESCO-sanctified villages and then head for the lively beer gardens and Riesling vineyards that make this route such fun.

Available May–October, the trip costs from £670 pp (two sharing) including eight nights’ good-quality B&B, one dinner and route information. Travel extra.

Slovenia
Guests on this adventure get to stay on working farms and eat unusual Slovenian delicacies. Where most companies’ Slovenian walking trips concentrate on the Julian Alps, On Foot’s seven-night trip journeys via the unheralded Karst, a much flatter and less touristy area of woods, caves, rivers, villages and vineyards. Those same vineyards produce fiery teran, a red wine which combines perfectly with local prsut (a prosciutto), while the farms make their own hams, sell local honey and grow all manner of fruit. The trip finishes in the lively port of Trieste, to which walkers descend via a scenic funicular train, for some chic relaxation.

Available April-October, the trip costs from £650 pp including seven nights’ B&B, daily luggage transfers, six picnics, five dinners and route information. Travel extra.

Czech Republic
Fancy trotting around an unexplored corner of Central Europe? On Foot Holidays’ six-night, self-guided Czech Republic walking trip fits the bill: it takes in the ‘Bohemian Paradise’: an area of castles, mysterious rock labyrinths, pine forests and a conical-roofed hunting lodge. The accommodation includes a night in a Baroque château, while Moravian wines, local herbal liqueur and beer, for which the Czech Republic is rightly famed, will undo all the good work of each walking day.

Available April-October, the trip costs from £495 pp including luggage transfer between hotels, six nights’ B&B, three picnics and route information. Travel extra.

All of On Foot Holidays’ routes are hand-picked, with special, food-focused accommodation: good nosh (and wine) is very much of a focus of every single itinerary.

On Foot Holidays also features other routes in trips to Austria, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the UK. As a member of AITO (the Association of Independent Tour Operators), On Foot Holidays guarantees its customers’ financial protection as well as complying with AITO’s quality and sustainable tourism guidelines. 

For more information, visit onfootholidays.co.uk.