You might be right there, though my knees are not what they were!
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Ages ago, I did two trips with Wilderness Travel. My thought process at the time was that I only wanted to pay for logistics where I ABSOLUTELY couldn’t do it myself. They were great at that, but both were camping/backpacking trips in truly out of the way places. (In the same era, we did Patagonia on our own because that seemed “easy”… Much to laugh about now, but a guide would have been helpful!) With that said, they excelled at what they did and I see they are still in business.
Between then and now, I have done a bike trip with Backroads. Definitely nicer accommodations, and I also have a greater appreciation for “just take care of it all”. They did a nice job.
You will definitely pay for the “curation”, so part of picking is figuring out how much you could do on your own and how much you want to pay for someone to do that for you. I think, even decades later and with a much greater appreciation for hassles/dangers, etc., I would still probably do Scotland or Switzerland or Camino on my own but hire a guide for Nepal or extreme wilderness. Not because a guide wouldn’t be nice in Scotland or Switzerland or Camino but because I would probably feel like I had overpaid for stress-removal. You may not feel that way.
The other alternative is to go to a place with great hiking (Palm Springs, Kauai, Park City) and to just hire someone there to do day hikes with you. This is to me much less exciting than point to point walking, but it’s cheaper and outsources the hardest part.
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We had a good experience with Backroads pre pandemic. I’d use them again. All the adventure, none of the logistics. We have tried but H is not much of a planner and the trips are full by the time we look.
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We did a hike, bike and helicopter trip in the Canadian Rockies with Backroads 20ish years ago.
We’ve also done multiple trips with Sojourn, and 1 with Wilderness Voyagers.
This summer we are doing one with VBT.
Backroads “pampers” customers more, and Wilderness Voyage not so much. Sojourn has been the sweet spot for us so far.
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I’ve done a number of hiking trips and one of my favorites was walking the Camino Santiago in northern Spain with my daughter. We didn’t have time to do the entire Camino, but did do about 200-250 miles. We went in 2005–so I’ve forgotten the exact mileage; I think we averaged 8-10 miles per day. We carried our own packs and food for the day. We didn’t stay in the hostels, but rented rooms each night, mostly in private homes and would have dinner at one of the local eateries, where there were other walkers (Pilgrims). There are towns (usually just off the trail) all along the Camino that cater to the walkers, so finding food and lodging wasn’t a problem. We met lots of interesting people, but just one other group of Americans on our trip (a retired couple from CA). At the end of our trip, we stayed at one of the Paradors (these are very nice hotels run by the Spanish government). The Camino has become popular and I’m sure there are many guidebooks, if you want to go it alone and not with a group.
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I’ve heard good things about the train trips thru Canada.
Road Scholar (used to be Elder hostel) uses local guides and is geared toward 55+. It is a non-profit, so cheaper than other groups. We’ve done several active trips with them and have been impressed with the guides and the participants.
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My friend hiked in Oregon with Road Scholar and really liked it. She was supposed to do the Appalachian trial but that trip was canceled because of Covid and I don’t think she rescheduled. She goes alone since her husband doesn’t like hiking and this is a safe an inexpensive way to do it .
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Gosh, y’all, I have a friend who leads these trips and forgot all about Road Scholars! Thanks for the reminders.
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Good luck with your choices, Youdon’tsay! These all sound absolutely amazing and I am def taking notes for the next two years of adventure, myself!
I can only add that Colorado scenery is amazing if you get out there. I’m from the east coast and grew up camping in the Poconos - these mountains are a whole different thing - just breathtaking.
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Thanks all for the Road Scholar reviews. Have be intrigued by them but have never known anyone who has traveled with them.
Also, to add to my “how I would pick” post above, I’d consider how I would feel about taking that trip with others. Sometimes, fellow travelers are the highlight of the trip - especially hiking trips. In other instances, they can insulate you from local culture.
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One of the things I think is cool about them is that they do Grandparent/child trips. My MIL did this with my nephew. It was a great bonding opportunity for them and it was really nice for them to have others in the group in both their age groups.
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Has anyone used Untours? They sound interesting to me. Less structure but support.
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Untours is part of the World Expedition Travel Group, along with Walkers’ Britain and Sherpa Bus. I think many of the trips are the same. We’ve never booked through Untours, but knowing what I know now, based on Walkers’ and Sherpa, we certainly will.
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I like the idea of a walking tour between inns, with luggage transported separately. On lovely weather days. However, the thought of bad weather days is a deal breaker. I’m admittedly a fair weather hiker.
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There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing. 
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Otherwise you’d never go outside for 9 months of the year in Seattle…
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True! We’re in a bit of a rain shower now, but I remember those days from residency!
My son an I hiked in Norway and it was wetter than we’d planned for. Into the sporting goods shop for rain pants and we were good to go!
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Seattle almost native here. 
Hiking in the rain is not bad. Setting up tents in the mud and cooking dinner under blue tarps, OTOH, is a major pain.
Best hiking, in my opinion, is in Kauai.
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1000%!
That’s a large reason why I like the services that transport bags, but you walk from location to location. Days of rain in a row can be a drag though, even if you do arrive to a warm and dry inn. Timing and location are important.
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