How to plan
From “which trail?” to a plan that holds.
A repeatable way to plan a long-distance walk: choose the route, set honest stages, book in the right order, and know what to check before you fly.
Most failed long walks were badly planned, not badly walked. The order below matters: each step constrains the next, and doing them out of sequence is what leads to 30 km days you cannot sustain or huts that were full three months ago.
Start with your days, not the photos
Count the days you genuinely have, minus travel at each end and at least one buffer day. That number rules out more routes than fitness does — and it tells you whether you are walking a whole trail or a well-chosen section.
Fix the season before anything else
Every route has a window when huts are open, passes are clear and water is flowing. Choose your dates inside it. Shoulder season means fewer people and more risk; high season means crowds and beds booked far ahead.
Set stages you can repeat
Plan around the distance you can walk comfortably on day five, not day one, and read ascent rather than kilometres — 900 m of climbing over 14 km is a longer day than 22 km of flat. Build in rest days on anything over a week.
Book beds in walking order
Reserve accommodation in the sequence you will reach it, so a full night in the middle does not silently break the itinerary. On popular routes and mountain refuges this is the step with the earliest deadline.
Solve the ends
Getting to the trailhead and away from the finish is where plans quietly fail. Check the last bus, the transfer times and whether anything runs on Sundays before you commit to your flights.
Prepare for the day it goes wrong
Note the exit points, the nearest road heads and the emergency number for each country. Download offline maps and the GPX, and tell someone your itinerary.
Before you fly
- Confirm every night’s accommodation, in walking order
- Confirm any permit, park fee or compulsory reservation
- Check hut opening dates for your exact window
- Download offline maps and the route GPX
- Save the official trail authority page and emergency numbers
- Check the last transport of the day at both ends
- Break in your footwear properly
- Arrange travel insurance that covers mountain walking
- Tell someone your itinerary and check-in points
- Take some cash in local currency
Frequently asked
How many days should I allow?
Take the trail’s typical duration, add travel at both ends and at least one buffer day. If that exceeds your holiday, walk a section properly rather than rushing the whole route.
How far can I walk in a day?
For most reasonably fit walkers on a multi-day route, 15–22 km with moderate ascent is sustainable. Judge by ascent as much as distance, and plan for less on the first two days.
How far ahead should I book?
Mountain refuges on popular routes open months ahead and fill within days. For albergues and guesthouses in high season, several weeks is usually enough; off season, often nothing at all.
Do I need a guide?
On well waymarked routes, no. A guide becomes worthwhile on glaciated or technical terrain, where permits require one, or if navigation in bad weather is beyond your experience.
What if the weather turns?
Build a buffer day in, know each stage’s exit points, and be willing to take a valley route or a bus. Every route we document notes where sections become unsafe in bad conditions.
Apply it to a real route
Each trail guide gives you the stages, the season and the permits to plug into this method.