8 dream vacations based around walking tours

For millennia, pilgrims have set off by foot to sacred places and come to realize that it was the journey, not the destination, that was the most profound part of the experience. This was certainly true for the French stylist and set designer Christèle Ageorges and her husband, Hubert Delance, who were walking the legendary Camino de Santiago—a network of medieval pilgrimage routes through western Europe leading to the tomb of the Christian apostle Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain—when they spotted an abandoned 18th-century tannery in the village of Lectoure in southwestern France. On a whim, they bought it and, after a three-year renovation, opened it as a small inn, La Manufacture Royale de Lectoure, complete with five unique rooms and suites, plus simple and affordable lodgings for pilgrims of the Camino.

While this route is one of the most well-traveled pilgrimages in the West, another that is just as revered in the East is the Kumano Kodo, a network of trails connecting three ancient Shinto shrines in the Kansai region of Japan. The Kumano Kodo and the Camino de Santiago are the only two pilgrimage routes designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Walk Japan offers both a seven-day self-guided journey, which includes most meals, luggage transfers, and accommodation in traditional ryokan and minshuku inns, and a fully guided nine-day version.

In Italy, a modern pilgrimage might focus on food and wine instead of shrines. The Maremma Safari Club curates five-day walking trips throughout the country, including one in Piedmont that features truffle hunting and Barolo vineyard excursions from base camp at a four-star hotel in the medieval hill town of Monforte d’Alba.

Culty Malibu wellness retreat the Ranch is known for its more austere, health-centered approach and rigorous daily schedule. Guests embark on demanding four-hour hikes, receive deep-tissue massages, and eat modest portions of plant-based cuisine. An Italian outpost of the Ranch recently opened in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains east of Rome. Another branch in New York’s Hudson Valley, at an elegant historic lakefront mansion surrounded by 200 acres of forest, opened in 2024.

For those who prefer the road even less traveled, there’s Great Walks of Australia, a collection of 12 guided walking tours in spectacular protected landscapes that span from the desert canyons near Alice Springs to the beaches and forests along the coast of western Australia. Nights are spent in safari tents, eco-cabins, and ocean-view villas.

And while trekking village to village through the remote Indian Himalayas with private tour company Shakti, guests stay in renovated traditional houses, meditate in ancient Buddhist monasteries, and explore markets. No matter which road less traveled by you choose, it will make all the difference.
 

This article was originally featured in the August 2023 Issue of Harper’s Bazaar. It has been updated since publication.

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