There is no escaping the fact that walking vacations are becoming increasingly popular, with some 366,000 international visitors taking walking holidays each year.
Not surprisingly due to the beautiful scenery and varied landscapes of Ireland, it is a top destination for walking holidays and currently throughout Ireland there are now 43 National Waymarked Trails, which includes 120 looped walks. 21 of these walks are in County Cork, and in particular one area of the county that is often frequented by walkers on their vacation in Ireland is the wonderful region of West Cork.
An area of outstanding natural beauty and rugged coastlines, with seven inhabited off-shore islands; if you have not yet visited West Cork as part of a walking group tours to Ireland or an independent vacation in Ireland, then it is definitely an area worth visiting, and once here, easy to see why it has the potential to become the country’s premier walking destination.
In fact, West Cork has 2 of the top 5 walking routes in the country and a recent West Cork Walking Study commissioned by West Cork Development Partnership, outlined that the area’s existing walking trails and supported services have the potential to encourage more walking enthusiasts to the area year-on-year, through agreed access, maintenance, developed trails and walking guides, making it a place that international walking devotees will want to visit!