Oh, this sounds like something we'd like and we're beginning to plan a summer central European trip. I'll be following with interest!

Darn, was hoping this was a GW get together. ;).

Have you been to the Luberon? There are many walks there, as well as trails that connect villages such as the one between Bonnieux and Lacoste. There are also many easy hikes/walks and loops, and it's possible to walk between many of the villages as well (although biking is even more popular).

Gooster, No, my time has been more along the Cote D'azur with a few excursions. As mentioned, I am using a tour company for the routing and hotels and to transport our bags.

Their route is in the area you mentioned.

We would fly into Paris and then TGV or fly into Marseilles or Avignon. Have been to the former years ago but not the latter - which would you choose?

Now looking at 2nd week in June.

Anyone else done a walking tour? I'm a little jittery about sharing roads on a bike - old moped accident and 2 friends seriously hurt in biking accidents. I tend to bike mostly on paths or areas I know have generous shoulders and good site lines. Hence we are looking at the inn to inn hiking.

My DH and I used Follow the Camino (a tour company) this past May. They carried our luggage and made hotel arrangements for us. We just needed a light back pack for our walks. The hotel arrangements (we did not stay in hostels) were okay ... the hotel for our final night was wonderful. We travel quite a bit, and this was one of the most fun trips we have ever taken.

dedtired, me too!

WWbungalow, LOL hostels. There are 5-star walking tours. The one our friends used they called "upscale". I get the sense that you stay in nice hotels when the location has them, but that in some cases there are only simple accommodations avail (converted farmhouses and the like). Where did you go?

We started in Tui and ended in Santiago. We walked 6 days for about 84 miles. We took Day 4 off to rest our feet!! Below is where we stay the last night ... it was perfect.

https://www.pousadasdecompostela.com/en

Everywhere we stayed was really pretty nice but not "upscale" except the one above. We were definitely ready for some comfort at this point. If you can find an "upscale" walk, go for it.

When were you there wwbungalow? I walked from Porto to Santiago in September.

Terricks, we did our walk in May. The weather was nice (no rain and not too hot). We flew into Porto and stayed there two nights and took the train to Tui.

We stayed in Gordes for one week this summer. It was fabulous and I concur with Gooster’s recommendations. I know you plan to fly though Paris but we flew through Montreal to Marseilles, where we picked up a car and drove to Gordes. It was very easy! After a week in Gordes we took the TGV from Avignon to Paris. This was also very easy and Avignon is a bit closer to Paris than Marseilles. The Avignon train station was very nice. However, we did not spend any time in either Marseilles or Avignon. Avignon looked interesting from the car but it was 110 degrees that day and we were not able to face it. Flying home through CDG was easily the most painful part of the trip.

We have had many painful experiences at CDG. The last one in October of 2018 qualified as a nightmare. We will never fly or connect through there again.

If you go to Les Baux and Avignon see if you can include a trip up to Eze. It was charming and the views were incredible!

Donna

MsMeow, I have been to Eze, on a cote d'azur trip!

So glad to hear many of you are mentioning the very areas on our itinerary.

Next question ... for walkers, any specific tips? This should be fairly moderate, eg 10-12 miles a day. Did you "train" in any way? I've been doing 1-2hr walks, but that is only 3-6 miles. I dont think 12 would be an issue.... your experience?

PS in re logistics, I'd prefer taking the TGV to connecting to a flight. Its only 3 hours, and the TGV is pleasant enough. Not sure what everyone else's CDG experience was, but 2 yrs ago we flew CDG to Fez and the security lines were horrific. We would never have made our flight but my DH simply went out of line, passed probably 100 people, and put us at the mercy of French airport security. To my utter amazement it worked.

I have always walked and stay in shape but I got terrible blisters on our walk by the 4th day which was a bummer!! I trained but I didn't walk 15 miles every day for a week. My husband and the friends we went with did not have trouble with blisters. Lucky for me was that our friends were a doctor/nurse couple and helped me care for my blisters. Be sure and get really good socks.

Walking 3-6 miles a day is fine, and you could easily walk 10-12 miles once and maybe the next day as well. But to do that much walking for even 3 or 4 days in a row is definitely a bigger task.

Walking that distance on the same type of surface is important and checking shoes and socks is a necessity.

Are you going to use walking poles?

We take walking tours frequently. We are in the middle of one in Patagonia right now. Mileage per day is not the main consideration. It's more whether the terrain is flat, rolling or hilly. Pavement, tended trails or offroad. We did a 3 mile walk yesterday and it felt like a million. And other 10 mile walks were simple. Training beforehand on at least moderately hilly terrain helps.

And if you are looking at luxury walking tours, look into Butterfield & Robinson. They are great.

I looked at B&R, but the company our friends used has an itinerary that works better for us. Plus B&R seems unnecessarily, even ...discordantly?, fancy for this type of trip, IYKWIM? I can see using them where you need gear, like a bike trip, but how much infrastructure do we need for a self-guided walk? Heck we could prob do it without them.

We are leaving our 3 kids at home (they will be 21, 18 and 17) and so we don't want to be gone any longer than we have to. (that's another thread). A week,tops. Given logistics that means only 4 days of walking, which is probably wise for our first trip.

How do we best prevent blisters? I guess we could try to simulate the trip here, which is ~ 5, then 7, then 9, then 12 miles per day. The terrain is pretty flat save for one day. It is hilly where we walk at home.

How to prevent blisters is the age old question. I have a couple of friends who hike in the Rockies every summer and one uses baby powder, the other puts deodorant on her feet every morning. But the one thing they do each night is to clean their feet and dry them well and let them breath.

I hike on Sundays (6-9 miles) and I wear light hikers with light weight wool socks and I'm hiking on narrow technical trails with lots of roots and rocks. For running the same trails I wear trail runners with copper thread socks for sweat control in the summer.

It's really personal and trial and error. The one thing I would do and I Check this every Saturday is to make sure your toenails are well clipped with no side barbs that can rub against the next toe and to wash and dry and baby your feet each night by letting them breath.

The type of shoes will depend on whether you're on pavement or on dirt and socks is really personal. You can buy small foot care kits with moleskins etc in them which is what my sons always take on their big back country hikes.

Enjoy your trip!

As someone who has done at least one long distance walk each year (500+ miles) the last few years with only two small blisters, I can offer what I do. I use Omnifix tape everywhere that I think that I might get a blister. This tape is thin and flexible and conforms to the shape of the foot better than something like moleskin. It stays on well, but also removes easily without leaving a lot of sticky residue. The rubbing occurs on the tape, not on my skin. The two times that I got blisters on the side of my toe were on days that I neglected to tape my toes. I tend to blister on the balls of my feet. I feel like the strip of tape that I put there is an insurance policy against blisters.

Lots of people who regularly do long hikes on weekends are surprised to find out that their regular blister prevention strategies aren't working when they walk long distances day after day. It's really important to listen to your feet. Every time you stop to take a break check on them. Take off shoes and socks and see if there are any areas where a blister is about to form. If your socks are sweaty, change into dry socks. If you feel a hot spot on your foot immediately stop and attend to it by applying tape.

Other blister prevention strategies that work for people are wearing a liner sock under regular socks - even ankle high nylons can work for this. You can also apply Vaseline all over your feet before putting on shoes and socks, and reapplying when you take breaks. There are also anti-friction products like Foot Glide that can help prevent blisters.

There is an Australian podiatrist who has an excellent blister prevention and care website.

This is why GW is priceless. I googled a fair amount about walking tours and shoe choices etc, without getting anything nearly as helpful. Lots of dumb articles about cute shoes to wear.

Terriks, i was thinking of you when I posted! Very helpful info and good to know. And, umm wow! How many miles a day is that?

I average about 15 miles a day. The most that I've done in one day was around 25 miles. This year I walked over 600 miles in about 45 days.

After you have decided on shoes try to do several long walks on consecutive days to see how they work for you.

I started out using trail running shoes the first couple of years, but have switched to wearing hiking sandals exclusively. I'd recommend bringing a good pair of walking/hiking sandals as back up or primary foot wear.

Yes, terricks had a good idea which is what my kids and I do on on a longer day hike is to take extra socks. Not just because they may get wet or sweaty but because one of the pair may just not be working that day.

I know you're not running but our hike follows our long run day and I used to wear sock liners in my running shoes until I found the copper thread socks. But I'm also wearing different shoes the two days so the comfort factor isn't an issue.

Trail runners are great IF you're not walking on pavement and are instead on dirt.

I have a pair of Rockport walking sandals that I still love which I will wear on a light hike in the summer. Terriks would be more substantial than mine.

@sas - my older son hiked in Patagonia about 4 years ago and loved it.

I have been saved by something called Blister Zone. I got blisters on one trip. It was awful. Now I never go on any trip without my Blister Zone. It goes on like stick deodorant ( except not on your underarms!). My friend got blisters on one of our hikes and I pulled that out of my bag and she finished the hike, no problem.

Thanks for the recommendation for Blister Zone. Thanks dedtired.

Blister Zone sounds promising. I wonder if it is similar to Foot Glide.

The key to a great walking trip is avoiding blisters!