Choosing the right trip
RATINGS EXPLAINED
To help you choose the right walk, you’ll find several ratings on all our guided and self-guided trips. These ratings are intended to give you an approximate point of comparison across RAW Travel trips. They apply across our range of walks, not those offered by other companies or destinations we don’t offer. We hope you find them useful.
- Physical difficulty
- Nature immersion
- Cultural interest
Our gradings
Physical difficulty
We offer a range of multi-day walks for complete beginners through to demanding treks that will satisfy and thrill even veteran adventurers. We have graded each RAW Travel trip from 1 (introductory) to 10 (tough). See chart below.
We have used several criteria to assess the difficulty of each walk we offer, including the number of hours walking required each day, terrain and conditions underfoot, weather, gradient, altitude, signage and facilities. Basic accommodation and food in remote areas will contribute to a walk being graded more difficult.
Keep in mind that if a walk is graded moderate, it doesn’t mean you will never feel tired. Our multi-day walks require a suitable level of physical preparation. More detail is provided in our essential free guides to getting walking fit, available for each of our destinations.
Camino Routes (Europe)
- Camino Francés (Spain) | 3–6 Moderate to Challenging
- Portuguese Coastal Camino | 4–5 Moderate to Challenging
- Via Francigena (Italy) | 4–5 Moderate to Challenging
- Camino de Finisterre (Spain) | 4–6 Moderate to Challenging
- Le Puy Camino (France) | 4–6 Challenging
- Camino del Norte (Spain) | 5–7 Moderate to Challenging
- Camino Primitivo (Spain) | 6–7 Challenging to Strenuous
Japan
- Okinawa | 4 Moderate
- Nakasendo Way | 4–6 Moderate to Challenging
- Kumano Kodo | 6–7 Challenging to Strenuous
- Michinoku Coastal Trail – Central | 4 Moderate
- Michinoku Coastal Trail – Northern | 6–7 Challenging to Strenuous
European Alps
- Switzerland | 4–5 Moderate to Challenging
- Slovenia | 4–9 Moderate to Tough
- Tour du Mont Blanc | 7 Strenuous
- Italian Dolomites | 7 Strenuous
- Walker’s Haute Route | 7–9 Strenuous to Tough
Scotland
- Arran Coastal Way | 4–6 Moderate to Challenging
England
- South Downs Way | 2–3 Introductory to Moderate
- Cotswolds | 4 Moderate
- Hadrian’s Wall | 4 Moderate
- Cornish Camino | 6 Challenging
- South West Coast Path | 6 Challenging
- Coast to Coast Path | 6–7 Challenging to Strenuous
New Zealand
- Queen Charlotte Track | 4 Moderate
- Abel Tasman Track | 4 Moderate
Australia
- Great Ocean Walk (VIC) | 3–4 Moderate
- Mornington Peninsula (VIC) | 3–4 Moderate
- Cape to Cape Track (WA) | 4–6 Moderate to Challenging
- Grampians Peaks Trail (VIC) | 5–6 Challenging
Understanding the ratings
Nature immersion
If your primary interest is to escape and connect with nature on a hike then you can quickly and easily see our trips that rate highly for that. If a trip involves hiking through forests, lakes and mountains, it has a higher rating than one that goes through primarily the countryside and towns. There may be differences in the rating of sections of the same route. For instance, a lengthy Camino trip will involve walking through the outskirts of cities and towns as well as mountains and countryside. So overall, it will have a lower rating than perhaps a shorter section of the same Camino that might primarily be walking through mountains and countryside.
Understanding the ratings
Cultural interest
If what most excites you when you travel is interactions with the people, history and culture, then we think it’s useful for you to understand how our particular trips might deliver on that. Guided trips that involve talks and special visits have a higher rating than a self-guided trip on the same route as you are unlocking more of the local culture and history. Trips that add in cities like Madrid (Spain), Siena (Italy) and Kyoto (Japan) have a higher cultural rating because of the many cultural attractions you’ll find there.