FAQs
Whether you have booked your trip or are still thinking about it, below we have curated some of the most popular questions people have about their journey.
Choosing a trip
On a self-guided holiday you will not be part of an organised group. Start dates are flexible so you can choose your own date to book. You will not have a guide with you.
Yes, with some exceptions. Send us a special request per email or call us: contact us.
Besides the activity and the destination the most important thing about choosing your trip is making sure it suits your background and physical abilities. To help you select the right trip we’ve classified our self-guided walking tours into the following grades: Easy, Moderate and Challenging. The grade is clearly shown on each brochure and web page at the top of the block listing departure dates. You find about more details in the Walking grades section.
Yes, you can add pre or post days to your trip. Please tell us if you call or contact us.
Yes, you can add extra nights in any town to your trip but please tell us to customize the trip by writing a special request for that or calling.
The time of year will depend on which trip you are doing. Generally the most popular and pleasant months are April-June and September. July and August can be a little hotter but are still very popular months. From the end of October to March temperatures can be cool and there is a greater chance of rain. In winter months there may be snow. However some trip can be doing just during summer (Tour of Mont Blanc or Luberon). If you would like more information, please contact us.
We emphasise that whatever the grade of the walk it is important that before you start the trip you must be in good physical shape and both your feet and your footwear must be accustomed to walking the distances indicated in the dossier for the particular tour. The best way to ensure this is to go for a number of walks during the weeks immediately preceding your departure, wearing the boots that you will wear during the trip. Further hints on getting and staying fit are given in the ‘What to bring’ section leaflet which is sent to you with confirmation of booking.
We made a list of some things to bring here. Please see it before you go to your trip.
We do not book or include flights but will try to assist you with information regarding the best airport to fly to/from. See in each trip section for more details about the best option.
Please refer to the ‘How to get there’ tab on your trip section to find out about the best airports to fly to/from and how to get to the starting point of your holiday.
Accommodation
If you will be arriving at your hotel after 8pm please let the hotel know in advance. Check in is usually after 12noon and check out is before 12noon so if you arrive earlier your room may not be ready. You will find contact information for the hotels in the voucher.
All hotels provide bed linen and towels. It is not necessary to bring a sleeping bag.
Some hotels may offer laundry services. It is best to ask on arrival or check with the hotel in advance when you receive your hotel information.
Some hotels will have Wifi or Internet access but not all. You can check with your individual hotels online or by contacting them directly when you receive your holiday pack a few weeks before departure.
En-suite means private bathroom.
All rooms are booked with a private bathroom unless otherwise specified.
A single room has one bed, a double room has one double bed and a twin room has two beds. (In some hotels a double room may in fact be twin beds pushed together). Some hotels have sometimes triple or even quadruple rooms if you travel in group.
We work with a number of hotels and guesthouses in each town. Your reservations will depend on availability at the time of booking, so we cannot tell you which hotels you will be staying in before you book. We will send you vouchers and hotel information approximately one month before your trip begins.
The hotels and guesthouses we book are located in towns along your trip. Unless we specify otherwise, the hotels are easy to reach on foot.
It depends of your trip. When you choose you have two options: standard (generally book 2* but sometimes 3* hotels and guesthouses) and comfort (a mix with 3*, 4* and luxury Hotels private en suite bedrooms). We may book a different grade if local availability requires it. All accommodations have been specially chosen by our staff based on their location, services, pricing and food.
Meals
If you have any special dietary requirements or allergies please let us know at the time of booking so that we can inform your hotels. If you are celiac or gluten intolerant it can be a good idea to bring some of your own bread as not all hotels/guesthouses might be able to facilitate you.
We can however only request dietary requirements to our suppliers for the following diets:
- Diabetic Suitable for reduced sugar, hyperglycaemic, hypoglycaemic and carbohydrate controlled meal requests.
- Gluten Intolerant/Celiac also known as low gliadin, non-tropical sprue, Celiac disease, low wheat, wheat free, gluten restricted diet. A Gluten Intolerant Meal eliminates all foods prepared with wheat, rye, barley and oats.
- Vegetarian No meat – no fish. Nuts may be used as a protein substitute.
No, lunch is not included unless you request it with your booking. Some hotels can organise picnic lunches (a sandwich, fruit and a chocolate bar). Please ask to the reception of each hotel.
The sure way to know when and what to expect to be open is to go to the tourist office. But generally dinner is usually served from 7pm or 8pm at the earliest until 10pm but times may vary in individual hotels and restaurants.
We book mainly B&B hotels but sometimes we have to book half-board hotel contingent on each trip (for example in refuges in the Tour of Mont Blanc). So, all of the accommodation are in B&B except in some stage.
Half-board includes breakfast and dinner. In most hotels a menu of the day will be offered. It generally includes 2 courses with a few choices for each. If you have any special dietary requirements please let us know when booking so that we can inform your hotels.
This is bed and breakfast.
Luggage / Airport transfer
Luggage is transferred on the days that you are walking to a different hotel.
Luggage must be left at reception at 9.00am at the latest. If you want to stay longer in bed, don’t hesitate to leave your luggage and keep in your room the essential gear for the day. In addition, we also recommend that you use luggage tags. Ideally, write the name of your trip reference and the group leader’s name so our luggage handler can identify your luggage straight away. You can also add a mobile phone number (or our emergency phone number) to the luggage tags if you wish. Please note that the hotels are not committed to bring your luggage to your room so it will be up to you to carry it to your bedroom. In some case, accommodation may not have a lift and you may have to carry the luggage through the stairs. It is usually delivered to your next hotel by 6pm.
If you have additional bags they can be transported for an additional €10 per bag per transfer depending on the tour.
The luggage transfer is limited to 1 bag per person with a maximum weight of 20kg per bag. Additional bags can be transferred for and extra €10 per bag per transfer.
The majority of luggage transfers are made by independent contractors and occasionally by the hotels themselves. In some places the hotel may not be familiar with the system because we will organise it independently of them.
At the airport, look for our driver at the meeting area of the terminal. He will be holding a sign “One Foot Abroad” and/or your name/booking reference.
My booking
The price includes your accommodation (hotels/guesthouses with private bathroom), meals as specified on your itinerary, luggage transfers (if you chose it) on walking days and your roadbook
Table of Cancellation Charges – The following charges which are expressed as a percentage of the holiday cost will be made:
* More than 60 days before the starting date of the holiday – the deposit.
* 8 days or more before the starting date of the holiday: 50% of the holiday cost.
* 7 days or less before the starting date of the holiday: 100% of holiday cost.For more information please read our Terms & Conditions.
Once your booking has been made there will be a fee it you change it. Please read our Terms & Conditions.
The full payment is due 2 months before departure. If you have already supplied credit card details, we will automatically use these for the full payment unless you request otherwise.
The deposit amount is 30% of the total holiday cost.
The deposit must be paid at the time of booking in order to secure the booking. Please include the payment method on your booking form. Deposits are non-refundable.
When you book your trip, we contact all the hotels to confirm your accommodation. Your will have so an answer in the three days after your booking.
You have 2 options: you tell us that per email or call us to do it together: contact us.
Of course, you have 3 options to make a quote. First you can do that yourself on each trip section here, in the Dates & Prices tab. Then you can tell us what exactly you want (which trip, number of people,…) per email Internet or call us to do it together. Please go to contact us section.
No, there are no ‘hidden’ extra charges. We would only charge extra for services that you specifically book, for example airport transfers, taxis, extra nights, etc.
Please refer to the “How to get there” tab on your trip section to find out about the best airports to fly to/from and how to get to the starting point of your holiday.
We cannot usually make changes to bookings within 14 days of departure. It is not possible to make changes to bookings once you are there as it is too short notice. If there are exceptional
circumstances please ask us and we will assist you where possible.
No, we do not provide a support bus for walkers. If you are tired or feel that a particular walk will be too long for you, ask your hotel or tourist office about local bus/train services between towns or local taxis. It is also an idea to take the number of a local taxi driver from your hotel.
Yes, if you know in advance of travelling where and when you would like to take a taxi, we can arrange this for you. If you are not sure, it is best to wait until you are there and find a taxi or ask your hotel to book one for you.
In most places there are facilities for snacks/drinks along the trip, but please bear in mind that some may close in quieter months. Your walking notes will tell you where there is a cafe/restaurant/shop along the way to stop for a snack or a drink. It is also advisable to ask at your hotel if local bars/shops will be open along the way as it will vary from place to place.
You can exclude luggage transfer or airport transfer when you book your trip. For the meals, all your accommodations are B&B (except in some stages of some trips because it’s very small town or refuges like in Tour of Mont Blanc). If you want to book the dinner at your hotel you must be tell that at the reception when you arrive.
My Roadbook
The Roadbook is your self-guided book. It includes information about the trip, towns you cross and places you can visit all around your walking, information about special feature of the region (food for example) or the region’s particular historical background, walking notes and maps.
If you want to have any idea what it looks like, we put a roadbook at your disposal here:
But this roadbook is a mix about some parts of all roadbooks and it is just an insight of the roadbook you will receive (your roadbook will have between 30 and 40 pages). It is absolutely not entirely completed in each section. It particularly depends on the number of your trip. Because each region is specific, we make a focus on the special features in your roadbook.
If you need more information go to Self-Guided Tour section.
You should receive your roadbook as soon as you pay the trip, generally 3-4 weeks before departure. If you are leaving your home on an earlier date please let us know and we will send the pack to you sooner.
We send 1 roadbook per email address.
We will send your roadbook to you or the person who made your booking, unless there is not enough time to do so, in which case we will either send it to your first hotel or email it to you. Please ask us which method is best.
The roadbooks are sent per email.
We can send roadbooks to your first hotel and can also send the majority of the details to you by email.
We provide either specially designed walking notes that have been written by our own staff or guidebooks by other writers specific to the trip you booked.
We provide the best maps available for each section. In some cases these are printed maps, in other cases they are online satellite maps that have been included in your walking notes. Most routes are well marked and it is virtually impossible to get lost.
In the event of a serious emergency, then you should call local emergency services just as you would at home. These numbers will be provided to you with the roadbook we send you after you book. You can call us for any problems at the office too.
Administrative formalities
Although not compulsory, the Company strongly recommend its Customers to purchase a travel insurance covering the following: holiday cancellation, luggage loss and theft, personal and third party injuries and repatriation. The Company does not in any circumstances take responsibility for the previously mentioned.
Delay and cancellation: the departures board is awash with cancellations, at least you can spend your extended holiday in the airport with some of your expenses covered by your travel insurance.
You should obtain a free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before leaving your country. The EHIC is not a substitute for medical and travel insurance, but it entitles you to state provided medical treatment that may become necessary during your trip. Any treatment provided is on the same terms as French nationals, so if a French national is required to pay a fee towards their treatment, you would also have to pay the same fee. The EHIC will not cover medical repatriation, ongoing medical treatment or non-urgent treatment, so you should make sure you have adequate travel insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment and repatriation.
You must hold a valid passport to enter France, Spain, Italy,… For stays of up to three months your passport must be valid for the proposed duration of your stay; you do not need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this. However, it is always sensible to have a short period of extra validity on your passport in case of any unforeseen delays to your departure. You do not have to wait until your old passport expires to apply to renew it. Any time left on your old passport when you apply will be added to your new passport, up to a maximum of nine months. For stays of longer than three months, contact the Embassy of the country to which you are travelling.
Please take into consideration that now children must have their own passport to travel.
Citizens of the twenty-five European countries which are signatories to the Schengen Agreement, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK only need a valid passport to enter in France, Spain, Italy… However, other nationals can apply for a single visa – a Schengen visa – when travelling.
If you need a Schengen visa, you must apply at the consulate or embassy of the country. You may then stay up to a maximum of 90 days in the entire Schengen area within a six-month period. Once your visa has expired, you must leave the zone and may only re-enter after three months abroad.