Tour Styles

Each of our tours has been labelled with both an activity and a tour style, to help you understand how the trip works and what to expect.

Walking & biking tours come in many shapes and sizes! And in addition to things like the activity level (how easy or challenging the trip will be) and the accommodations level (what to expect from your accommodation) the actual format of the trip itself can vary a lot.

Self Guided

Self guided active vacations are at the heart of the Macs Adventure ethos as we believe the best way to explore the world is on your own terms. We deal with the logistics, book your accommodations, transfer your bags and map your route on our user-friendly smartphone app. All you need to do is walk or bike to the next stop and have a great time. There is no guide, no set time to get up and going, no group to keep up with, just you and everything you need to make your trip a rip-roaring success. Try the West Highland Way, the Alpine joy of the Tour du Mont Blanc or pilgrimages across Spain to Santiago de Compostela.

Private Guided

Our aim is to make every trip as personal and immersive as possible. We want you to get the absolute most out of your experience and on some of our trips we offer personal, private guides so that you have the experience of completing the journey with a trusted leader at your side. Sometimes you need a guide because the route is too wild to travel alone. Alternatively, there are some areas where a local guide can show you the hidden gems and give depth and context to your experience. We can accommodate a variety of group sizes into our privately guided trips. Whether you want to get a group together to get up to Everest Base Camp, or you want to go solo to reach Annapurna Sanctuary, we will escort your adventure in style.

Small Group Guided

There are some parts of the world where travel as part of a small guided group is the only way to go. For example, if you want to walk the Inca Trail, local regulations stipulate that you hike with a qualified and registered guided. Wherever we offer small-group tours, we maintain the Macs ethos of flexible travel by ensuring we choose the best available local guides and we try to offer as much independence as possible. The porters and guides who transport your packs along the Inca Trail are invaluable, and your guide on the Laugevegur Trail in Iceland will keep you safe and share their knowledge of the wilderness with you.

Independent Adventure

Choose the best of both worlds! Our Independent Adventures offer a mix of self guided freedom and the added insight of a guide. You will still enjoy flexibility and independence, but some activities and visits will be guided to enhance your experience and enable you to visit remote areas or take part in fun but technical activities. For instance on our Cotopaxi Trails tour in Ecuador, you are free to walk on your own and at your own pace, however on the first day we will take you on a guided tour of Quito to introduce you to this amazing city. On the last day, we will arrange for a guide to take you up to the snowline on Cotopaxi, the highest mountain in Ecuador and an active volcano!

Activity

Drive & Hike

Enjoy the best of a large region by car and on foot. Day hikes in the best places and itineraries usually inn to inn, with mapping provided. No bag transfer. Car hire offered as an option or included.

Rail & Hike

Mix the joys of travel by train with the best walks accessible from the rail-line. Travel inn-to-inn by train and enjoy hikes from each stopping point. Allows you to see more of the destination as you are traveling overland but also on foot. A very sustainable way of traveling. Rail fare included - no luggage transfers as you can take bags on the train.

Pilgrim Trail

Follow a traditional pilgrimage trail, usually inn-to-inn in classic Macs style with luggage transfer. For many a spiritual experience rather than an active adventure as the aim. History and camaraderie of other pilgrims is often a highlight. The most famous of all pilgrim trails is the Camino de Santiago.

Inn to Inn

The classic Macs Adventure style - follow a route/trail by walking or biking from place to place each day, over-nighting in characterful accommodations, which is usually a small hotel or guest-house style of lodging (see more about our accommodations levels here). Your luggage will be transferred each day (unless otherwise specified), leaving you to enjoy the day's activity at leisure.

Hut to Hut

Usually in remote mountain areas - hike from hut to hut (often known as "refuges"). Luggage transfer is sometimes included but this is often not available on some days, due to the remote locations. Your itinerary will always specify this. Facilities are often shared, and rooms may be dormitory style. Generally these are harder hikes and suited for experienced hikers in stunning alpine terrain.

Multi Center

Classic Macs Adventure style, very similar to Inn to Inn, but lingering in the best places - staying 2 or more nights in each accommodation to enable more exploration. More relaxed style of walking or biking vacation as you could opt to skip a day's activity, but this format still offers a sense of journey.

Single Center

Stay in one comfortable lodging - no re-packing needed! A relaxed option which will include day walks or bike rides from your hotel, so you can change the order of the daily activities, or spend the occasional day resting in the hotel or exploring the town. Great for less experienced adventurers, or those who want relaxation or flexibility.

Camp to Camp

Move daily from place to place, but with a cook and camp crew who will set up tents each night and provide food and camaraderie. Usually guided.

Bike & Boat

Stay on a comfortable river barge, your floating hotel for the duration of the trip, which means no packing and unpacking as your cabin follows you along the bike path! Ride on a mix of dedicated bike paths and low to medium traffic roads. Often (but not always) these vacations offer a guide.

Road Biking

Routes designed to be ridden on road bikes - all on tarmac, the majority or all of the riding is on roads used by vehicles, longer distances with more ascent and descent.

Mountain Biking

Routes designed to be ridden on mountain bikes - Often on off-road tracks and trails, some of the riding may be technical so experience and skills are required, occasional on-road sections.

E-Biking

Leisure biking routes where we offer the option to hire an e-bike - Enjoy an extra power boost from the battery to assist on hills and if you are feeling tired!

Multi-Activity

Multiple activities will be available to enjoy! This might include kayaking, horse riding, or sailing.

Search for Your Ideal Adventure!

Use our tour search to find a route or destination of choice and use the filters to narrow down your search to the ideal activity and tour style.

Niall Waring 05/03/2020

From the original plan of doing a self guided tour in the UK, Macs Adventures were quick to respond to emails, quotes, tailoring a walk to my groups needs. All documentation arrived well ahead of the walk so planning could be undertaken. The walk was brilliant as the quality of 90% of the accommodation was really good, the luggage transfer company was convenient, cost effective and reliable, whilst the walk is breath taking being in the UK country side, combined with the characters you meet along the way, doing the walk for a variety of reasons. Highly recommend this walk, on average 20km a day with an extra rest stop in Grasmere & Richmond. First couple of days through Lakes district are tough.
Lynda and Paul 13/02/2020

Great B&B’s as always. Challenging walk but wonderful scenery. Two accommodations stood out as exceptional. Silver Cottage in Braunton was so special because of our hostess Sophie. The Clouds in Stoke was a fabulous B&B with a huge shower and slipper tub! Tiny bit off path but well worth it. Paul and Claire made this an exceptional stay and so gracious. Path itself a bit challenging but Mac’s provided tips on transportation for those long days which we used. Also used the website with daily maps they provided.
Sally Bersot 11/01/2020

Terrific maps and offline gps map. Wow accommodations.
Anonymous 03/01/2020

All went smoothly with good hotels and great bikes. Would have liked a more detailed map to cross reference with the GPS most days. We would definitely use Macs Adventures again.
Truda Money 20/12/2019

An excellent itinerary -varied, interesting and strenuous. Places to stay - we appreciated apartment facilities and found the various stop overs all very different, each with their own positives.
Anonymous 19/12/2019

Macs did an amazing job of organizing a memorable trip for us. Their itinerary allowed us to see much of New Zealand's amazing beauty and they worked with me to add in a couple of days so I could take in things that were important to me (such as visiting Hobbiton!) Jess responded quickly if I had any questions or needed things adjusted. The accommodations selected for us were outstanding and we were continually impressed. Macs suggested hikes in each area which were often the most popular (and crowded) and sometimes extremely challenging hikes. We often deferred to the recommendations of our innkeepers or the visitor center rangers to opt for several smaller and equally beautiful hikes in the area that allowed us less crowded environments and more reasonably challenging hikes without leaving us exhausted.
Anonymous 16/12/2019

The service received from Macs Adventures and the Tee Travel was excellent. Hotels were wonderful and the transfer of luggage was excellent. Always on time. One thing I would change is to choose hotels closer to the downtown area rather than so far. Also, being that I went during offseason some hotels did not have their restaurants open. This would have been good to know before agreeing to that particular hotel. And at least 2 hotels did not have an elevator, making it difficult to take luggage up and down the stairs after a long walk.
Anonymous 08/12/2019

Our trip pn the TMB was great! it was the perfect combination of organized and self-guided! Everything went smoothly and when we had questions it was easy to contact the Mac support. Thanks for helping us have an amazing time!
Andrew Sturman 05/12/2019

Each aspect was organised well once the final bookings were made, that is, accommodation, baggage transfer and contacts in Italy for assistance
Anonymous 01/12/2019

Very good service. Just to improve even more, it would be good to have a choice about accommodation. Granted that sometimes there are no options, but if there are, then it would be good to say 'basic' or luxury' to guide the bookers.
Anita Mary Simon 18/11/2019

The directions were outstanding (except for one minor error). The accommodations were superb. Each night was a different experience and really added to the feel of being in old-world Italy with modern conveniences. The baggage was taken care of in an efficient manner. It was always waiting for us at the next stop.
Anonymous 17/11/2019

This was our 4th MacS Adventures trip. Other trips were 5 star experiences. This was disappointing for several reasons. First, Gran Canaria experienced devastating fires a few months ago. As a result, 2 of the original scheduled hikes were not passable. The substitute hikes were very disappointing. We realize that the fires were out of the control of Macs Adventures, we believe they could have provided better alternatives. Additionally the 1st and last accommodation were disappointing. While the facilities were adequate, it was often hard to find any staff to answer questions. Additionally, the dinner at the first accommodation was nearly inedible. On the positive side, the route notes were excellent and the drivers friendly and accommodating. We still are big fans of Macs Adventures, but would not recommend this trip.
Sarah Salt 17/11/2019

Great holiday, well coordinated and structured and good instructions for self guided walks.
Lawrence Smith 16/11/2019

This was our fourth trip with Macs Adventures and we were very happy with their service and overall attention to detail. We spent 7 days walking in Portugal in the Sintra coastal area. It was challenging in part due to some wet weather. Macs used a Portuguese guiding agency to provide orientation and GPS device to help us navigate the area. Overall the accommodations were very good. We wouldn't hesitate to use Macs again on a walking trip.
Alison 16/11/2019

We stayed in lovely small "hotels" in four villages. The route notes were helpful for all our walks. We also had GPS for backup. On the unscheduled day in Montejaque, we visited the Cueva de la Pileta that was very interesting and well worth the visit. The driver, who was arranged by Macs Adventure, was excellent. He helped with transfers at the start and then the finish of our holiday.
Anonymous 14/11/2019

Excellent walking holiday. Exceptional walking routes & great accomodation.
Anonymous 13/11/2019

I'm a long time, multi-year user of Mac's. They are superb, and their service was impeccable. They sort out problems and are incredibly helpful. It was the Camino itself which was not quite as advertised, and here Mac's has to take some responsibility for the way it's presented. Unlike the Camino Frances, the Portuguese Coastal Way is almost entirely urban, with very little sense of being a spiritual journey. Miles of cobblestones, walking through the backs of villages - even the supposed countryside part is never out of sight of houses and civilization. The walk from Baiona to Vigo, 19 1/2 miles, was particularly awful, ending with 4 miles of trundling through a graffiti-laden, ugly modern city. If you want the real thing, walk the Frances, or perhaps try the more historic Portuguese route that doesn't go along the coast. But we love Mac's.
Annie Barrell 13/11/2019

Wonderful B&Bs, very good guide book and map, efficient luggage service....what more could we ask?
Anonymous 13/11/2019

Macs was fantastic. Well organized and the trip went as advertised. Our route had few options in accommodations, and some were not great, but Macs didn't have alternatives and we were lucky to have the rooms we received (other travelers could not find rooms). This was our 6th Macs Adventure, and we're planning more.
Anonymous 12/11/2019

Well organized and reliable - could have had a more personal touch.