Best and worst walking holiday providers

Two walking holiday titans top our table of providers, with nearly 200 years experience organising trekking trips for British travellers between them.  Both offer carefully curated trips worldwide and, astonishingly, both are run on a not-for-profit basis - putting customers first.

Our survey of more than 8,000 holidaymakers found it impossible to separate the scores of HF Holidays and Ramblers Walking Holidays. Both were rated highly for customer service, organisation and value for money. And both received an excellent customer score of 87%, from holidaymakers who enjoyed both guided and self-guided trips all over the world.

The two specialists out-performed big-name tour operators like Virgin Holidays and Tui (who only offer holidays with self-guided walking, rather than group treks). Travellers loved the expertise of their guides and their itineraries that are tailored to different levels of fitness and experience. You can compare customer scores and prices in the table below. 

For extra peace of mind, both HF Holidays and Ramblers have our WRP status and guarantee that they won't apply surcharges in 2024 – so the price won't go up after you book.

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Best and worst walking holiday companies

Should I take a guided walking holiday?

There are lots of advantages to walking as a part of a group with a dedicated tour leader. But it’s not for everyone. We’ve rounded up the pros and cons below. 

Both of our walking holiday WRPs also offer self-guided trips. And if you don’t fancy group travel, you should also check our reviews of the best and worst self-guided tour providers. 

Pros

• All the route planning and refreshment stops are arranged for you, so you can just enjoy the walking.
• A good guide will have expert knowledge of the local area and can take you to places that you are unlikely to find by yourself, or point out plants and wildlife that may not be obvious to the untrained eye.
• Invariably, you will be surrounding yourself with a group of like-minded individuals.
• Group trips can be great for single people who will not feel alone in a group atmosphere.

Cons

• They are usually more expensive than self-guided or self-organised trips.
• The  walking speed of the group may be too fast or slow, (though both HF Holidays and Ramblers offer different walks that cater for different levels).
• You’ll need to be prepared to compromise at times to fit with group plans. 
• Your group could be too large, which may mean a lot of hanging around and waiting for stragglers

Walking holidays UK

For British breaks like walking the Wye Valley, exploring Exmoor, or trekking in the Trossachs, you’ll need to either organise the trip yourself, or choose a package from a specialist operator. 

HF Holidays and Ramblers Walking Holidays are experts at organising trips in the UK. HF even has 16 of its own country houses throughout the UK, that are used as a base for walking and special interest holidays with full-board dining. 

Other Which? Recommended Providers that offer walking holidays in the UK are Inntravel, the slow holiday expert, which received a customer score of 89% for its self-guided tours, and Exodus, which received a customer score of 86% for its escorted tours. 

Which walking holiday companies are recommended providers?

HF Holidays – 87%

HF Holidays is all about activities, from cooking in Puglia to painting in the Peak District but the travel company’s bread and butter is its guided walking holidays.

HF Holidays was commended for its well-organised itineraries across multiple difficulty levels, and for providing very good customer service across the board.

UK walking holidays are based at one of its 16 country houses, while holidays abroad tend to use small family-run hotels as a base.

Which? verdict: HF Holidays offers a walking holiday with the attention to detail and customer service to make it an excellent choice for hikers.   

Read the full HF Holidays review or visit the HF Holidays website.

Ramblers Walking Holidays - 87%

Ramblers Walking Holidays covers six continents, with itineraries range from ‘lowland ambles’ to ‘high mountain trekking’. 

Customers gave it a vote of confidence across the board and praised the variety of its itineraries and knowledgeable guides.

As a social enterprise, Ramblers channels a portion of its profits back into the more disadvantaged areas it visits.

Which? verdict: Its great customer score explains why customers come back again and again for walking holidays with Ramblers. 

Read the full Ramblers Walking Holidays review or visit the Ramblers Walking Holidays website.

How we researched holiday companies

In August 2022, we asked 8,361 Which? Connect panel members and the public to complete an online survey about their experiences of booking and going on holiday in the past two years. We reported on companies only when we received at least 30 responses about them.