Losing the way? (InnTravel)

Member Name: duncantorr

Product:	InnTravel
Date:	08/09/09 (256 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good holiday concept for walkers (and cyclists and others)

Disadvantages: No longer quite what it was

Inntravel is a company that in the past I often used for walking holidays. They pioneered an excellent idea for such holidays, which, in my original review of their services posted six years ago on another website, I described with the help of the following piece of family history:

* The Inntravel concept *

My grandfather would go on walking holidays with just two changes of clothes. Each night, he would have the outfit he had worn during the day laundered overnight at the hotel or pub at which he was staying. In the morning he would wrap it in a parcel and stop at the Post Office to mail it onwards to his next stopping-place, where it would of course be waiting for him by the time of his arrival that evening. He could thus enjoy his walking with clean clothes every day but without encumbrance.

This was between the two world wars, in the early part of the last century. The post and hotel laundry services are no longer what they were then. But we do have Inntravel.

People who enjoy walking (or cycling) holidays usually face a dilemma. One option is to stay in one place and use it as the base for a series of circular or there-and-back outings. This has the benefit of simplicity in booking and obviates any need to pack light in order to heft your belongings around with you, as well as worries about running out of clean dry clothes. Against this, the best local circuits are quickly exhausted, and if the base hotel, inn or campsite is a disappointment, you're either stuck with it or faced with a big upheaval in moving on.

The other option is to travel light, taking only what you can carry. That way, you have variety in terrain covered and sights seen, and the sense of achievement in travelling a long distance. Against this, you have the burden of carrying your gear, and the bother of finding new places to stay each night.

Inntravel aims to resolve this dilemma by taking the chore of booking accommodation and transporting luggage out of the walker's (or cyclist's) hands, at the same time as offering flexibility in choice of route and timing. The company is not the only one selling packages of this type (Headwater and Alternative Travel Group have similar offerings), but it is, perhaps, the most prominent in the field, as well as be the only one I have experienced personally.


* Benefits and drawbacks *

The benefits of Inntravel that appealed to me and kept me coming back for more, six times in all, were these:

1. The practical arrangements for travel and for luggage-forwarding generally worked with trouble-free efficiency.

2. The routes were scenic and interesting, and often off the beaten track.

3. You walked (or cycled) independently, at your own pace and with your own variations on the recommended route, not as part of a group.

4. The hotels (and, where applicable, chambres d'hôtes - like B&B with an evening meal) were usually independent and often characterful, generally with good food too. Very few were from formulaic chains.

5. Value for money was mostly very reasonable.

The only drawbacks I found at that stage were relatively minor ones:

6. The route-planning and options suggested for the actual walking stages could sometimes be improved upon.

7. The "walking notes" provided as guidance were often imprecise and sometimes hard to follow.

To compensate for these foibles, an ability to do your own navigating was more than useful. Fortunately for me, I quite enjoy pitting my wits and compass against ambiguous notes and occasionally imprecise maps, but I did sometimes meet other Inntravellers who found this aspect of the walks a significant irritant.


* Range of holidays *

The range of Inntravel offerings has grown in recent years. When I first posted this review, their main brochure listed 87 holidays, including walking, cycling and other; their current one has more than that, even though cycling holidays have now been segregated into their own brochure, as have holidays outside Europe. Indeed there are now seven brochures: -

- "Walking and more": mainly walking within Europe, but some 'discovery' holidays, fly-drive or similar without luggage transported. The main countries are Italy, France and Spain, but many others are also represented.

~ "Cycling and more": similar, but essentially cycling-based.

~ "Skiing and more": winter sports, with a focus on cross-country skiing.

~ "A Taste of Inntravel": short breaks, some walking or cycling or even horse-riding, some city breaks.

~ "Villas, cottages and more": self-catering holidays, often in locations suited to be bases for walking or cycling.

~ "North America": tours and places to stay in New England and Eastern Canada.

~ "A Indian Adventure": walks and tours in Northern India and the foothills of the Himalayas.

Apart from the hotels used as staging posts on the walking/cycling holidays, the brochures also list hotels suitable for adding as optional extras (for example, if you were walking in the Mediterranean Pyrenees and wanted to spend a few days in Barcelona to round off the holiday).

Both within Europe and without, more of Inntravel's offerings go beyond their original staple walk-with-luggage-transported-for-you fare. In many ways it is admirable that Inntravel have so increased the range they offer. Moreover, in many ways the choice on offer is greater than the number of holidays alone reveals. It encompasses a wide variety of regions and landscapes, including some out-of-the-way areas. It encompasses walks on terrain of differing degrees of difficulty. And it encompasses various types of hotel or stopping-place, mostly characterful. Compared with the average "summer sun" package holiday tour operators' catalogue of myriad seemingly identical hotels in seemingly identical resorts, the Inntravel brochures are a treasure-trove of variety.

Moreover, although there is usually a recommended timescale and itinerary for each holiday, Inntravel are - or, at least, used to be, of which more below - very responsive to varying what they offer by adding days in different places or adapting routes to suit customers' requirements.


* Walking the Walk *

There is no such thing as a typical Inntravel holiday. Even within the walking range - the only ones that I have experienced - there is a variety in terms of physical challenge and degree of difficulty, which they grade as follows:

- Grade 1: easy, low-level walking but can have long days.
- Grade 1-2: generally easy walking with some short ascents and
descents.
- Grade 2: moderate walking, on good surfaces.
- Grade 2-3: mountain walking, so more ascents and descents.
- Grade 3: high mountains, long days, daily ascents and descents.

You would be unwise to take on a Grade 3 unless you were very fit and experienced. I have done a couple of Grade 2-3 (Cévennes and Apennines) and found them stiff going in places. Sometimes, the grading is a bit of an uneasy average; the Amalfi coast walk, graded 2, is often easy, but anyone looking for a moderate stroll would find some of the climbs challenging. As with their route-planning and notes, I feel that Inntravel could usefully review their gradings. But again, this is a minor niggle.

The Inntravel walks I have experienced are these: -

i) The Cévennes. Wonderful wild country. 7 nights mixed hotel and chambres d'hôtes, some of which we liked a lot, some less so (though I notice the one we liked least has now been replaced on the schedule). With dinner every night and picnics every walking day this now costs between £715 and £908 per person, depending on dates and mode of transport to reach the walk - see note on pricing below.

ii) Dordogne Valley. Pleasant scenery, excellent food. No longer available in the form I took it, but in a less strenuous (grade 1-2) alternative. 7 nights mixed hotel (all good in my experience) and chambre d'hôte (not on the route I took), dinner every night and 3 picnics, currently £665-£895 pp.

iii) Apennines. Tough climbing, but worth it for some exhilarating, unspoilt landscapes. 7 nights hotels (varying quality, but mostly welcoming and with tasty food). 6 dinners and 6 picnics, currently £530-£575 pp, excluding transport to get there - see note on pricing below. Extra night in Bologna recommended.

iv) Costa de la Luz (approx. Gibraltar-Cadiz). Inntravel no longer seem to do this route, which is a pity, since it had much to recommend it for those who like walking along a shoreline, including the opportunity to take a day-trip across to Tangier from Tarifa.

v) The Amalfi Coast. Some spectacular views seaward as you thread your way through the hills behind the coast. This one of the more expensive Inntravel holidays, reflecting mostly higher grade hotels in a sought-after area, currently £862-£910 pp, excluding transport to get there - see note on pricing below. Can be extended from Positano round the headland to Sorrento.

vi) Cognac Country - the Charente Valley. Another option that Inntravel seem to have discontinued. Not a huge loss in this case, though the river is an attractive enough one to amble along beside, and one of the places to stay - the Hotel Karina at Jarnac - is full of character, good food and great fun.

Of the six holidays I took some were excellent and none was less than good. And mention of the Karina reminds me that even if you don't follow an Inntravel itinerary, their brochures are often a valuable source of ideas for good, interesting hotels. The Casa do Visconde at Chanceleiros and the Molino del Santo at Benaoján are among several favourites I have discovered in this way.


* Travelling companions *

You can never predict with complete reliability what sort of person you are likely to meet on holiday. Our concern when we first booked with Inntravel is that we would find ourselves among hearty rambling types - superannuated scoutmasters in khaki shorts who would want everyone to march off in a group or even a crocodile, and whose attempts to corral us we would have to resort to outright rudeness to resist.

In the event, nothing could have proved further from the truth. We have encountered no one on an Inntravel walk remotely conforming to this stereotype, but we have met engaging and congenial people of all ages. When you find you are walking the same route with others, the initial contact tends to be a bit wary on all sides. These are people who have chosen to walk independently, and they don't want to be stuck with you any more than you do with them.

Indeed, we have hardly ever actually walked alongside those met in transit, but we have often found that the evenings become increasingly cheerful social occasions as the week wears on and the same faces appear in bar or restaurant. After all, at the end of a day's walking, everyone is thirsty, hungry for good food, thirsty, eager to exchange comments and experiences, thirsty and generally ready to enjoy some convivial relaxation.


* Prices and pricing *

There are, of course, cheaper ways to holiday, but my own view is that, given the standard of accommodation and service - and the organisational complexity - Inntravel's prices represent pretty good value. If I have a grumble it's that they're less straightforward and transparent than they used to be.

For a start, Inntravel appear to have ceased to quote prices inclusive of air travel where this is applicable. Instead, you can either book your own flights or ask them to do so on your behalf, but it is quite likely that asking them to do so will prove more expensive (this was the case when I was recently looking into a trip to Portugal). To someone brought up to expect booking through a tour operator to be cheaper because of their ability to secure discounts, this comes as a bit of a shock. Either way, it is no longer easy to see at a glance what you will be paying. The current prices I have been able to quote above are based on either rail or self-drive (with Inntravel booking, and including the cost of, the ferry) transport; but these don't apply to most destinations, for which air is the most practical means of reaching the walk.

Similarly, transfer costs to and from airports are now shown as extras to be added rather than included in an overall cost, and they can be significant. Also, as the fewer of the routes are sequential place-to-place treks of the company's traditional kind, more and more of the gaps seem to need to be filled with local transport to be paid for locally. These extras not only add to the total price, but add to the suspicious impression that the final total is usually going to be above what it seems at first glance.


* Disappointments *

Why, you may be wondering, having had such good experience with the company's holidays have my wife and I not used them for any of our numerous holidays since 2004. Well, since then, we have rung Inntravel to enquire about holidays at least four occasions that I can remember, with the following results:

1. Walk in the French/Swiss Jura Mountains. My wife and I were interested in going with some friends, who could not quite make the same dates. Would it, we therefore wanted to know, be possible for them to catch up with us on the second day of the walk, with separate transfer arrangements (for which they were quite prepared to consider paying extra)? But it all seemed too difficult for Inntravel to contemplate. Since we had previously thought (and spoken) highly of the company's flexibility, this was a let-down.

2. Trans-Pyrenean Holiday, involving train from Toulouse to Barcelona, stopping to walk in the mountains en route. Great idea, but the brochure arrangements assumed one would fly to Toulouse and fly back from Barcelona, with the only train journey being the bit in between. We fancied doing the whole journey by train, which shouldn't be too difficult - both are served by TGVs. I rang Inntravel to enquire and was told they'd look into it and come back to me. They never did.

3. Walk in central Sicily, down from the mountains to the sea. Very appealing, and the route read like a true Inntravel itinerary, with a chain of five interesting-sounding places to stay and all the intervening distance to be covered on foot without any irritating gaps to be filled by "taxi - pay locally". At first glance, too, the price didn't look too daunting, until one read the small print and found that transfers to and from the airport in Sicily were going to cost well over £100 per person, which put an entirely different complexion on the value of the whole, and we decided to go to Portugal instead.

4. Porto and Douro Valley. This we very nearly booked through Inntravel, because our initial phone contact displayed all the traditional virtues of adaptability and interest in our individual requirements. When it came down to it, though, we found we could arrange what we were looking for more cheaply independently, and that's what we did.


* Conclusion and recommendation *

I wouldn't want to overstate my disappointment with Inntravel. After all, I haven't actually holidayed with them recently, whilst friends who have done so reported that everything went smoothly and satisfactorily. However, I do have a lurking suspicion that, perhaps as an unfortunate by-product of their success, Inntravel are in danger of losing their way. Maybe they've expanded too quickly to keep up standards. My recent contacts with the company have shown less consistency in their courtesy and responsiveness, while their new pricing structure suggests that some of the work of arranging the holidays is either being charged extra for or delegated to the customer.

I'd still recommend Inntravel, but more cautiously, with reservations. In a way, I suppose I ought to take another holiday with Inntravel to put my misgivings to the test, but it's from seeking to take another holiday with them that my misgivings have arisen. Maybe next time I pick up the phone to Inntravel it will all fall into place, and I'll be able to revise this review again after a happier experience.



© First published in its original version under the name torr on Ciao UK, 2003; updated 2009.

A review of the Inntravel walking holiday along the Amalfi Coast may be found at: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/sightseeing-international/ amalfi-coast-italy/1321045/

Summary: Used to be great for walking holidays; may be less so now