On Foot Holidays - Liguria Traveller Reviews

Our first time with On Foot Holidays. Friendly and personal unlike other companies we have been with for independent walking. Easy to follow and informative directions and well chosen hotels. Would travel with them again

Friendly and personal. Well organised

On Foot Holidays organised for a group of 6 of us to walk about 100 miles in Liguria, staying in small hotels en route. They made the bookings, and arranged for luggage to be carried from one hotel to the next, and - most importantly - supplied excellent instructions telling us exactly where to walk, sometimes on small paths and nearly all in areas without signposts.

All arrangements were efficiently made, including some special arrangements for one member of the party who had to join 24 hours later than the others.

OnFootHolidays has created another one of its very special walks with this new hike in the Ligurian hills of Italy. It is certainly not for the slow of foot or faint of heart, since the shortest day is 17 kilometers, but the hard work is worth it, I don't remember ever having as much FUN as I did on this walk (and I've been doing OnFoot walks for nearly 10 years), probably because I met so many wonderful amusing people on the way, even in the woods. Usually by day three of my walks I think to myself, "Why can't I be a normal person and spend my holiday lying on a beach somewhere reading a bad romance novel drinking gin and tonic. Why I am struggling up this hill with another fifty hills ahead of me before I get supper?". Then I get to the top and a panorama of the Italian hills fills my vision and the clouds are scudding by and there is the smell of mown hay and the buzzing of insects and the singing of birds and yes, this is why I take these fantastic walks with OnFoot. Surreptitiously eating purple grapes off a local vine, hearing church bells far far away ringing in the village where I started two hours ago, reading Italian poetry at night in my farmhouse room, eating the most stupendous food night after night, getting lost at a crossroads and asking an ancient old man and his ancient old dog for assistance, walking in mountain woods where the side of the path is a steep, terrifying drop and the path is barely wider than my boot, bumping into two elderly well-dressed ladies early one morning searching for mushrooms in the forest way up in the middle of nowhere--I mean nowhere--and giving them directions to the path back to civilization, reaching the sea at last and wishing I could do it all again. It was truly glorious. The memories that come flooding back will sustain me all winter. This part of the world is a hidden treasure,something to savor slowly and that is what an OnFootHoliday always lets you do.

What OnFootHolidays does is organize your walk so that you do the hiking and leave everything else to them. They prepare everything and OnFoot is meticulous in its planning. You receive detailed information about the walk itself and the places you will be spending the night, as well as maps, instructions, notes about flora and fauna to look for and a host of other details, including information on maintaining safety precautions when hiking, which is very important. They want you to enjoy yourself but they want you to be safe as well. The pension or hotel where you spend the night takes your luggage to the next place you will stay. It may take the driver only 45 minutes to drive there but you are going to hike it, and that might take you 8 hours or more, through woods, over rivers and streams, through ancient villages (sometimes abandoned), up mountain paths, the landscape changes with the hour and it is always glorious. What OnFoot has done is design a walk that is challenging but fun and a feast for the eyes and ears, made even more wonderful by the destinations they have chosen where you arrive at the end of the day. Pension, B&B, hotel or private home, the welcome your receive will be delightful and the food will be outstanding, even in a hamlet you think is in the middle of nowhere. I've eaten meals fit for a 5-star restaurant in Paris. Every location has its own ambiance, and there is nothing like opening your bedroom window and seeing Mt. Blanc in the distance, or hearing a rooster crow in the morning, and smelling the fresh bread cooking in the farmhouse kitchen. All of this is because OnFootHolidays has selected host establishments that have the high hospitality standards OnFootHolidays is looking for for their clients. Hikers and walkers get hungry and tired. They aren't looking to be entertained at night in a nightclub or a dance hall. They don't need palatial accommodations but they need comfort, quiet, and fresh, healthy food. All this is an integral part of an OnFootHoliday walk. On top of all this, OnFootHoliday pricing is incredible value for money. I get brochures from other walking, biking and hiking companies and am incredulous at the prices they charge. Every year I look forward to deciding which OnFootHoliday walk to take. I have never had a disappointing walk, ever, with this firm.

A week walking from Voghera, south of Milan, to Carmogli on the Mediterranean. Extremely well organised by On Foot Holidays, and a most enjoyable trip.

Well priced, very well organised, and a pleasure to deal with - nothing is too much trouble.

We thoroughly enjoyed the walking each day - achievable, but challenging enough to feel we had earned our excellent dinner! The scenery was breathtaking with some especially memorable viewpoints along the way. It was a delight to be in the unspoiled countryside, away from urban pressures. Some days we saw no other people - only cows! The food was fantastic - we didn't know how many courses to expect and the food just kept arriving - bliss! The hosts were delightful and made us very welcome. An excellent holiday and one we would recommend to anyone with a love of walking.

Well researched, well described and well organised walks. Excellent pre-holiday information and service - our slightest query was answered thoroughly and with courtesy. On Foot had taken a great deal of trouble to choose unusual and welcoming places to stay, with excellent food and attention to detail throughout. It was very reassuring to know that we had a local contact who was keeping in touch with our hosts each night, so that we would have been missed had we failed to arrive! This was our third holiday with On Foot, and we look forward to booking more.

This was the fourth self-guided walking holiday that we have had with On Foot. It comprised 6 days of mainly high ridge walking through the Apennines to the Ligurian sea. As always the places we stayed at were very varied but at all we were welcomed most warmly and looked after most carefully by a variety of very different and interesting hosts. Some of the days were long, but with consistently good paths and wonderful views the kilometers sped past. The careful design meant that there was a clear progression with no detours to add unnecessary distance, and no significant walking on roads. We became aware that the local representative was in touch with all our hosts to ensure that all our foibles were satisfied!

On Foot were initially introduced to us by a friend, and from the very beginning we became aware that we were receiving a very personal service. The On Foot office were always responsive to requests for information and advice with this, and our three previous, self-guided walking holiday. Once in country the local representatives kept in touch with us and our hosts throughout our stay. The maps and walking notes are carefully made (and as we know are carefully checked by On Foot staff in the field) and the hosts seem to be selected because of their enthusiasm for the area through which we walked and in some cases for their mild eccentricity.

independant walking holiday x 2 with on foot holidyas.

On Foot Holidays staff were knowledgeable, efficient and went the extra mile to answer promptly all questions and concerns. Highly professional in all regards.

Our holiday was wonderful because it embodied everything we look for in a walking holiday: A route that is interesting because of its terrain and history, beautiful scenery, not touristy, good lodging and wonderful regional food. Of course you can have all of these things, but the tour operator is what really makes the holiday memorable, and on this trip, we felt very well looked after.

From our initial contact with On Foot Holidays, they were very quick to answer in detail, all the questions we had. Before we left, we received by courier from London, their package of information. This included maps (waterproofed for rain...which we never had), very detailed route notes for each day as this route was not signposted, GPS tracking information, schedule of accommodation and meals, emergency phone numbers, and a booklet of general information about the area, the route, the history and helpful points about Italian culture, as well as a small language dictionary. The host at our first night's stay was extremely helpful and paved the way for our very enjoyable walk, as well as our time afterwards in Italy. To us it was impressive that some people on the staff of On Foot Holidays had walked the route and could answer particular questions about it. We also liked the fact that they asked for feedback. We suspect that they listen to any concerns very closely. We were very impressed with the overall organization and staff of On Foot Holidays and would recommend them to anyone who is planning an independent walking holiday.

All luggage transferred from hotel to hotel without any hassle. Excellent local food, wonderful scenery and great exercise

Always helpful on the phone, we have taken 3 holidays with them and are returning again next year. Highly recommended.