The E5 Alpine Crossing (Extended)

This extended tour is perfect for experienced Alpine hikers looking for their next challenge. With an extra three nights on the trail, this itinerary is perfect if you want to enjoy all of the E5 whilst taking your time crossing the Alps. Despite the shorter hikes, the E5 is a high alpine route and requires a level of alpine experience, a head for heights, surefootedness and is not suitable for beginners. As a result of this, the shortened walking days have you spending more overnights in alpine huts, allowing you to experience waking up in the mountains and a wonderful sense of camaraderie with your fellow walkers.

Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way, Tour Du Mont Blanc and the Passau to Vienna Danube Cycle Path, to name but a few!

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&Bs, inns, and guesthouses.

Groups > 10

We have graded this trip as moderate to strenuous. Crossing the Alps on the E5 is not suitable for beginners as it crosses high mountain passes over rocky, rough and exposed terrain. The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, making progress more difficult if it becomes wet underfoot. Some sections include rope which is bolted into the rock face to aid ascent/descent. Despite being the relaxed version, this itinerary still includes long hiking days with times ranging between 4-6 hours of walking each day and average daily ascent/descent is 1000m.

Please be aware that there may be some residual snow lying in patches on the highest passes, but this will not require any special equipment or skills; just a steady foot and experience. The highest point of this tour is 2,995m. It is likely, even in the height of summer, that you will walk over late-lying patches of snow or snowfields. Walking poles are essential for this tour. To get the most of this trip, you should be in good physical shape and be an experienced walker, having already done Alpine walking.

Minimum Age

The minimum age for this tour 18 yrs. This is due to the remote nature of the route.

Crossing the Alps on the E5 is an extraordinary experience. The hikes on this relaxed itinerary are shorter than on the classic version. Nevertheless, the individual daily stages are demanding and expect walking times of approx. 4 -6 hours a day. It would help if you had a high level of fitness to enjoy this unique experience. We recommend you train regularly before travelling. Expect the alpine paths at high altitude to run over scree, rock and alpine pastures, some of which are very exposed to the elements and have rope fixes in place to assist you. Furthermore, the E5 is not suitable for children.

If you have no previous alpine hiking experience, we recommend a less technically demanding tour such as our Across the Swiss Alps: Klosters to Tirano or Tyrolean Alps Garmisch to Innsbruck.

Stay 6 nights in high-quality, friendly 3-star standard hotels and guesthouses and 4 nights in comfortable mountain huts (1 x private room and 3x dorm rooms). Please be aware that twin & double rooms in Austria and Germany (Doppelzimmer in German) are typically 2 single mattresses side by side in one double bed frame with two separate duvet covers and pillows. Furthermore, baggage transfer is not available every day as the mountain huts are too remove to receive them. Therefore you will have your bags only on your overnights in the valleys.

In Oberstdorf, we cannot guarantee you will be staying in the town centre as it is such a popular base for walkers and many hotels have a two-night minimum restriction in the high-summer months. In this case, we will accommodate you in the surrounding areas. This also applies to Meran. Accommodation in the city itself is quite hard to come by, so in these cases, we will accommodate you in Meran’s environs; Naturns, Rabland, Algund or Vernago/Vernagt. Some examples of accommodations we typically use are listed on the itinerary. If unavailable, then we will book you into accommodation of the same or a higher standard.

Single Rooms & Solo Walkers

The trip is not suitable for solo travellers due to the nature of the tour. Single rooms are on request, and a supplement is payable.

Hotel Upgrades

Hotel upgrades are available at each overnight location (with the exception of the mountain huts) to a 3 or 4* hotel. Please see the itinerary for the upgraded options.

Meals

10 continental breakfasts are included. This is usually in buffet form, and there are many filling breakfast items available which are perfect for hikers; e.g. boiled eggs, ham, cheese, fresh bread and muesli. Lunch is not included and can be picked up at local supermarkets or ‘Backerei’ along the way. If you are staying in a remote area, most accommodations will also be able to provide you with a packed lunch for the day, ask upon arrival (payable locally). There are also various lunch options along the way in typical alpine chalets and huts.

Dinner is included in all of your overnights in mountain huts and consists of three courses. The Explorer Hotel in Oberstdorf does not offer a full restaurant service. There is a Bistro-Bar where you can pick up small dishes like Flammkuchen (pizza-like, but without the tomatoes!), Sandwiches and Salad. For more dinner options in Oberstdorf, we recommend a short walk into the town itself where there is a large choice of restaurants.

In Bavaria, sausage is king, so be sure to try one of their specialities like ‘Weisswurst’. ‘Käsespätzle’ is a kind of eggy pasta topped with melted cheese and sometimes crispy fried onion– it’s the ultimate comfort food! Typical Austrian dishes include the classic ‘Schnitzel’ (can be made from chicken, veal mutton, but usually from pork) and be sure to try some ubiquitous home-made ‘Apfelstrudel’. Tiroler specialities include ‘Tiroler Gröstl’, a bacon, onion and potato fry-up topped with a fried egg, or ‘Kiachl’ a fried yeast dough pastry that can be served sweet or savoury. If you have any dietary requirements, please let us know at the time of booking.

The E5 is well way-marked, and together with detailed route notes and the Macs Adventure Smartphone App enabling you to follow the route using your phone's GPS, you will have no problems finding the way. Although the E5 Alpine crossing follows well-maintained mountain paths, sometimes forest or alpine paths, and is usually well marked, you will need to be able to orientate yourself in the terrain at certain points. 

This walk is available to start on any day of the week from July to the middle of September.

The Alps have generally warm and sunny summers and cold and snowy winters. Storms can develop rapidly in the Alps and hiking trail becomes prone to landslides, avalanches, or flash floods due to the swelling of nearby water sources. If rain is forecast make sure that you are prepared with extra gear and footwear that is mud-friendly. However, the weather in the Alps can change very quickly, particularly at altitude. You should be prepared for all weather eventualities as even snow can fall in the summer in the mountains, regardless of the time of year.

Fly into Munich, Stuttgart or Zurich Airport and then take a train to Oberstdorf (2.5, 3 or 4 hours). The national railway of Germany is operated by Deutsche Bahn. 

From Meran you can travel by train to other Italian destination, or to Venice or Milan Airports (both about 5 hours). You can also travel to Munich Airport by train which takes approximately 5 hours. The national railway of Italy is Trenitalia. We can book a transfer back to your starting point in Oberstdorf. Please contact your Adventure Specialist for details.

Bag transfer of one bag per person (up to 20kg) is included as standard. Bag transfer is only possible on the following days; from Oberstdorf to Zams, from Zams to Sölden and from Sölden to Meran. On the days where bag transfer is not possible, you will need to carry your overnight things in your day bag and then you will be reunited with your main bag the following night.