Best new hiking routes in 2024: top 5

Walking tours can be the best way to see the world. Their pace is slow enough to take in all the new sights and sounds around you.

No crowds, no queues, no delays. Forbes has published a selection of five new walking tours for 2024.

French Alps

MT Sobek's French Alps GR5 Trekking Tour is a historic trek in the Alps along ancient trade routes leading from the mountains to the Mediterranean Sea. The Grand Randonnée 5, or GR5, has been used by traders and soldiers for thousands of years. It begins in the legendary alpine world of the Mont Blanc mountain range. You'll travel through remote valleys and wildflower-filled meadows, and explore three unspoilt national parks in the French Alps: Vanoise, Ceyras and Mercantour.

Canadian Rockies and camping

REI Co-op Adventures has announced that it will return to Canada in 2024. Their trips include hiking and camping in the Canadian Rockies. This trip offers five days of hiking in four Canadian national parks: Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay with glacier hikes.

Seven-day walking tour of Croatia

This walk aims to show walkers "the undiscovered, intimate side of unspoilt Croatia". You will discover the Greek, Roman and Venetian history of the islands of Brac, Hvar and Korcula. On other days, take a stroll around the island of Mljet, home to the national park of the same name.

Spanish walking and hiking tour of Mallorca and Menorca

The party crowd may head to Ibiza, but those interested in the wilder corners of the Balearic Islands can opt for Backroads' Mallorca and Menorca walking tour in Spain. The journey starts in Menorca with hikes along the coast, rocky coves and a visit to the historic lighthouse in the Albufera des Grau National Park with its diverse biodiversity.

Scotland in miniature

This is a seven-day wilderness walk on the island of Arran, the southernmost of all the islands on the west coast of Scotland. The journey begins with a pick-up at Glasgow Queen Street Station and then a ferry across the Firth of Clyde. Highlights include exploring the north coast, visiting the Lochranza distillery and taking a boat trip to the Holy Isle, whose religious history dates back to the 6th century.