Best walking holidays in July 2027

July can get a bit jammed in certain parts of the world, although we do have a wide array of ambles that take you into cooler, calmer hiking terrain. You could swap the Amalfi Coast for the Alpe-Adria Trail, or the South of France for the South Downs Way. As the likes of Prague packs out, head for Poland, and when school’s out the Lake District is a much-loved family adventure playground. We also highly recommend travelling by train in July, or throughout the year of course, so we have some great ramble and rail suggestions in our list of best walking holidays in July below.

Best hikes in July in the UK

We have close to 50 walking holidays in the UK in July, but these are ones that are jumping out as favourites for families, with a couple of lesser-known ones to international visitors. In general, the school holidays start around the third week of July, so if you’re travelling without school-aged children, you’re best to book before that if you want quieter trails.

South Downs Way, England

The South Downs Way is a revelation to many and it’s ravishing in early summer. The starting point of this 160km National Trail is in the cathedral city of Winchester in Hampshire, just an hour from the capital by train, then crosses the South Downs National Park and finishes in the East Sussex coastal town of Eastbourne. The trail is a natural playground of unbroken, undulating utopia, where you follow a route through the many ages of English history. One of the highlights for many is the last section, which takes you along a series of iconic chalk cliffs called the Seven Sisters. Although there are actually now eight, due to erosion. From here it’s downhill, with a few ups too, to Eastbourne, where you can also catch a train back to London. Although our holiday does include a night there to enjoy a well-deserved rest by the sea. See our more detailed blog on The South Downs Way.

The South Downs Way has carpets of poppies that start to emerge in July.

Fife Coastal Path, Scotland

Less busy than the iconic West Highland Way and Great Glen Way during July, the Fife Coastal Path in the east of Scotland covers 174km between Kincardine, north-west of Edinburgh, up to Newburgh, walking between the Forth and Tay estuaries. To hike the path, you can choose from a variety of sections that dip in and out of historic towns and villages such as St Andrews and Culross, as well as Fife’s East Neuk traditional fishing villages. This is a fine way to immerse yourself in Scotland’s eastern peninsula, where woodland paths and nature reserves are peppered with castles and coves. As well as an array of traditional Scottish guesthouses and hotels. You can choose to just walk one or two sections of the Path, as you can see from our various Fife Coastal Path walking itineraries. All just a stone’s throw from Edinburgh and easily accessible by rail.

Family walking holiday in the Lake District, England

England’s largest national park at over 2,362km², its lakes, tarns and peaks are a thing of poetry, art and music. Our family adventure holiday is based in the national park town of Keswick where hiking, paddleboarding and canyoning are all part of the fun. Spread over eight days, start the school holidays with a real adventure, based on the shores of Derwentwater where there is some superb hiking, as well as walks up to Castlerigg Stone Circle and Catbells. And if you tire of dry land, there are lots of aqua adventures to throw into the mix, to suit all ages and abilities. If you’re not travelling en famille, but your dogs are part of your family, we also have two dog-friendly holidays for adults: our Keswick-based walking holiday and a hotel-to-hotel itinerary, walk from Pooley Bridge to Coniston.

Take family time out in England’s Lake District. A great way to start the summer holidays off in a sustainable and slow way.

Best places to hike in July off the beaten path

High Tatras Mountains, Poland

As crowds hit the coastal lowlands, it’s a perfect time to head into Poland’s High Tatras Mountains, a limestone landscape of great gorges and great gorgeousness. Trek up to the likes of Kopa Kondracka (2,005m) on this self-guided walking holiday, which also has plenty of easier trails. You also get to stay in a mix of three-star hotels with spas and traditional remote chalets. This trip leads you into the dramatic wonders of Dunajec River Gorge, then hops over the border to trek in Slovakia’s Pieniny National Park. So, it’s two for the price of one, in the sun. Starting and finishing in Kraków, this is also one European city where the flight prices don’t soar too much in summer.

places to travel in July — Dunajec River Gorge runs through Poland’s Pieniny Mountains, creating a natural border with Slovakia.

Carpathian Mountains, Romania

It’s amazing that so many of us have to ask ‘where are the Carpathians?’ given that they are one of the major mountain ranges in Europe, covering nearly 1,500km. Romania is home to half of the range with its highest peaks holding court in the Făgăraș sub-range. We have three hiking holidays here, open for travel as early as April through to late October, but July sees temperatures in their mid-twenties, and a lot less rain. Romania’s famous castles can get busy in July, but these hiking trips take you into top Romanian remoteness. If you’d like to aim a little higher, and keep things cooler in the height of summer, check out our Transylvanian Alps holiday, where you can hike to one of the range’s big beauties, Vânătarea lui Buteanu (2,507m), which features in the featured photo of this blog, starting out from the glacial wonders of Balea Lake and Waterfall.

The Alpe-Adria Trail, Europe

If you want a three-country trek, go for the Alpe-Adria Circuit, an eight day, moderate-level walking holiday that’s open between June and September. Starting in Villach in Austria, it follows the ridges of the Carnic Alps in Italy, touches the jewels of the Julian Alps, takes you trekking in Triglav National Park, and then back to Austria. Although Austria’s highest mountain, Grossglockner (3,797m) in Hohe Tauern National Park, is the starting point, this route is designed with ramblers rather than scramblers in mind. You also don’t have to do it all, but just start Slovenia’s Kranjska Gora ski resort and trek through Vršič, Slovenia’s highest mountain pass and finish at the UNESCO town of Cividale del Friuli, which is the starting place for the third section, following a trail all the way to the elegant port city of Trieste.

Planica Valley near Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, with the Julian Alps and Triglav National Park in the background is part of the Alpe-Adria circuit.

Where to hike in July travelling by train

Airports can get a bit chaotic at this time of year and, as responsible tourism providers, we always recommend combining rail travel with your rambling when possible. Which is why we have a filter on our search facility that shows you all holidays that are reachable by rail. Here are all our walking holidays in July that you can access by train. You can link up with a fine tapas of train trails in Spain, have a dreamy adventure when you take a sleeper train, travelling by train in Switzerland is alway eco-fantastic, or you can ditch the plane to Provence, the Pyrenees or the Camino le Puy, and many more in France. And, with Germany’s Deutschlandticket great value pass, there is much wanderlust to be had along the Moselle or in the mountains, the Rhine or other winelands.