Aussie hikers are turning their backs on traditional Euro summers

Europe’s recent summers may have been hot, but walkers, a hardy bunch, aren’t giving up their love of putting sole to soil.

It just means they are starting to change not only where they take walking holidays, but when they go.

For UK-based Responsible Travel, new figures show some of the biggest increases in interest are for Europe’s traditionally cooler destinations, lending that rather awkward travel Franken-word, “coolcation”, some legitimacy.

Enquiries for Finland walking holidays rose 90 per cent between January and August this year compared with the same period in 2025. Finland has 41 national parks and “Everyman’s Rights”, giving walkers extraordinary freedom to roam and camp in the country’s wilderness. Expect birch forests, fells, stunning lakes and dramatic rapids.

Slovenia was also up 67 per cent and Sweden 43 per cent.

Australian walkers aren’t necessarily abandoning the Mediterranean for Scandinavia. Instead, they’re shifting their trips away from the hottest part of the European summer.

Australian walking and cycling specialist UTracks says May and September are now the most popular months for its travellers walking in Italy and Spain. August has long been avoided for hiking in much of Italy, and even June and July are becoming quieter.

Concern about European heatwaves also now regularly comes up in conversations with UTracks’ customers when they’re deciding where and when to travel.

At the same time, demand for cooler walking destinations is growing. UTracks recorded a 20 per cent increase in bookings for the Alps, particularly the Dolomites, in 2026, while Sweden and Iceland continue to grow at about 10 per cent year-on-year. As is the case with Responsible Travel, UTracks says Slovenia is another strong performer, with hiking in the Julian Alps among its drawcards.

The Julian Alps are spectacularly beautiful and set up for hut-to-hut hikes – the country has a strong traditional mountaineering culture – and the huts range from basic to lodges, with hearty fare including goulash cooked by welcoming locals for those arriving after a long day’s hike.

UK walking holidays have also grown by about 15 per cent for UTracks this year.

But don’t write off Southern Europe just yet. Walking holidays in traditional favourites, including Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal, are still growing by at least 5 per cent annually among UTracks customers, reflecting a broader appetite for more active holidays.

Responsible Travel is seeing a similar contradiction. Despite the dramatic growth in cooler destinations, Spain, home to the perennially popular Camino de Santiago, remains its most popular walking destination overall. Turkey is also bucking the cooler-climate trend, with inquiries for walking holidays there, particularly along the Lycian Way, up 28 per cent year-on-year.

How we walk is changing too.

UTracks was an early Australian adopter of self-guided European walking and cycling holidays, starting with about 40 itineraries two decades ago. It now offers almost 600, with demand for self-guided trips growing by at least 7.5 per cent annually and by as much as 35 per cent in some years.

The format allows travellers to walk independently between hotels at their own pace, with routes and accommodation organised and their luggage transferred ahead of them.

The Camino de Santiago, Mont Blanc and Italy’s Via Francigena remain among UTracks’ most popular walks with Australians, although less familiar trails are attracting attention, too.

One lesser-known route is the Pieterpad, a long-distance walking trail through the Netherlands, while UTracks is also seeing strong interest in Slovenia and its Julian Alps.

Responsible Travel, meanwhile, is detecting another shift beyond Europe. Interest in walking holidays in Morocco and Patagonia is increasing for departures between September and November, while a self-guided journey along Japan’s historic Nakasendo Trail is its most-booked trip this European autumn.

These strategies clearly show walkers aren’t giving up the places they want to explore. They’re changing the calendar – or looking a little further afield.

See utracks.com.au; responsibletravel.com