There’s something quite primal about walking where the land meets the sea. It’s partly because they’ve been a natural and relatively unchanged since the time explorers set sail, but there’s also something about the sea air that makes us feel alive. If you’re looking for coastal walking holidays, below are five of the best options!
Italy
The Cinque Terre and its walks have become something of a cliché in travel writing. But, clichés tend to exist for good reason. It’s a pastel-laden five-village stretch of Ligurian coastline that gets over two million visitors each year, yet the trails themselves remain intimate. Yes, there are crowds, but head off early and you’ll see an undisturbed golden hour from 300 meter high cliffs.
It’s ridiculously photogenic. Not just outward to the sea, particularly at sunset, but inland to the staggered colorful homes. The coastal trails are what medieval monks used and what WWII partisans hid along.
South Africa
The Otter Trail along South Africa’s Garden Route is famously tricky to book. With only 12 people each day, the five-day trail spanning a little of 40km fills up months ahead and is one of the most exclusive in the world. The exclusivity isn’t to create artificial scarcity – it’s there to preserve one of the planet’s most biodiverse coastal walks. You’re hiking through fynbos, which is a vegetation type that exists nowhere else. At any given moment it can look like a bouquet of flowers from your local florist. On this trail, you’ll cross rivers and spot dolphins. South Africa actually has plenty of other coastal trails worth walking that are far less exclusive, too.
Portugal
Portugal’s Rota Vicentina is often described to embody “saudade”, something that is quite untranslatable, but roughly means a deep, melancholic longing. It’s a 450-kilometer trail system along the Alentejo and down to the Algarve coasts. It’s a great way to see the country, and it’s well trodden, meaning you have plenty of local cafes and fellow walkers around.
Off-season, though, you can go long periods of the route only seeing storks and the odd shepherd. Portugal has many trails, and some lead north as part of the Camino de Santiago trails.
England
The South West Coast Path is over 600 miles from Minehead to Poole, and while it’s far from the only coastal trail in England, it’s considered one of the best. The UK more broadly has almost 8,000 miles of coastline, with prehistoric forts and sandy beaches all around.
The Cornish sections of the Great West Coast path have 60 meter granite cliffs that have been weathered for long before humans ever arrived on these islands.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s geological youth means that its landscapes have a unique, raw quality that feels unpolished and different to other places. It’s also, like the UK, entirely made up of coastline, only it hasn’t been there long enough to be worn smooth.
The Abel Tasman Coast Track is a great place to start. It has incredible beach after incredible beach, punctuated by amazing coastal forests. Just make sure to check tides because they really matter in New Zealand, where you can get caught short.
These fives countries have some of the best coastal routes on offer. Either because of their raw landscapes, but sometimes, because of their naval and fishing history, meaning much of their best architecture and culture can be found here.