Waybound
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Two hikers on a European mountain trail
Home About

Travel Your Way

Self-guided walking and cycling holidays across Europe for people who want independence without the planning burden.

Destinations Plan Your Trip
The idea

There Had to Be Another Way

Organise everything yourself and spend months planning, or join a guided group and travel on someone else's schedule. Most walking and cycling holidays ask you to choose between freedom and convenience. We didn't think you should have to.

DIY Travel

Complete freedom, but weeks of research, unreliable information and logistics that fall to you. The planning can overshadow the trip itself.

Waybound

Guided Tours

Convenient and organised, but restricted by groups, fixed schedules and someone else's pace. Someone else decides how the day unfolds.

Freedom Without the Hassle

We created Waybound so travellers could have the independence of organising their own trip, backed by the expertise and logistics that make the journey effortless.

Waybound founders on a European trail
Our story

It Started With a Walk Around Mont Blanc

Christopher Rían and Astrid Cute Christensen met travelling in New Zealand. In 2014, they walked the Tour du Mont Blanc independently, carrying what they needed and organising their own route between hotels and mountain huts across France, Italy and Switzerland.

The experience was extraordinary. But the planning that went into it. Researching routes, finding accommodation that actually existed, coordinating luggage between valleys took months of work that most people simply don't have time for.

That gap between the freedom of the walk and the burden of the planning became the idea behind Waybound.

Christopher already had a degree in Tourism Management and professional experience promoting Ireland to Nordic travellers. Together, they launched Wild Rover Travel in 2018, later becoming Waybound, to give other travellers the independence they'd experienced, without the months of preparation.

2014
Tour du Mont Blanc
2018
Waybound begins
Today
40+ routes across 12 countries
The people behind Waybound

They Don't Simply Sell Walking Holidays

Christopher and Astrid still walk and ride the routes themselves. New destinations start with their own boots on the ground, testing paths, staying in the accommodation, and working out whether a route genuinely deserves to be on the list.

That's the difference between a company that packages holidays and one that's built by people who actually travel this way. Every route on the site exists because they walked or rode it first and thought it was worth sharing.

Christopher Rían & Astrid Cute Christensen
Co-founders, Waybound
Niall and Cecilie, Waybound co-founders
Why self-guided

What Makes It Different

Freedom

Travel when you want and with whoever you choose. No fixed departure dates, no group schedule.

Flexibility

Set your own pace and shape each day. Finish early, take a detour, stay longer over lunch.

Independence

No group, no guide, no fixed itinerary. The route is yours to follow the way you want to follow it.

Discovery

Stop for the view, take the longer route, find the village that wasn't in the plan. The best moments are rarely scheduled.

Convenience

Waybound handles the planning, booking and logistics before you travel. You arrive and walk.

Confidence

Routes, accommodation, maps and luggage transfers have been carefully researched and organised. The detail is done.

Behind the scenes

The Details You Don't Have to Think About

What looks simple from the trail takes considerable work before you arrive. Every Waybound holiday follows the same preparation process.

Route Research

Walked & tested

Accommodation

Selected for character

Luggage

Transferred daily

Navigation

Maps & route notes

Your Journey

Walk at your pace

The difference

Three Ways to Travel. One That Actually Works.

DIY Travel

You do everything yourself.

  • Weeks of route research
  • Book every hotel individually
  • Carry your own luggage
  • No local support if plans change
  • Complete freedom

Waybound

Independence with everything organised.

  • Routes researched and walked by our team
  • Accommodation booked for every night
  • Luggage transferred between hotels
  • Local contact throughout your trip
  • Complete freedom

Guided Tour

Someone else decides how the day unfolds.

  • Everything organised for you
  • Fixed group schedule
  • Travel at someone else's pace
  • Fixed departure dates only
  • No freedom to change plans

For People Who'd Rather Experience a Place Than Simply See It

We don't describe our travellers by age or demographics. We describe them by how they like to travel.

See how Waybound works
01

They'd rather walk or cycle through a destination than watch it pass from a window.

02

They value independence and dislike being told when to stop and when to move.

03

They appreciate authenticity: local accommodation, village restaurants, quiet trails.

04

They enjoy nature and landscape more than monuments and museums.

05

They want flexibility rather than a fixed schedule decided by someone else.

06

They're comfortable investing in a well-organised experience rather than spending months planning one.

07

They want discovery rather than extreme adventure. The journey matters more than the distance.

The team

The People Behind the Routes

A small team that walks, rides and researches every route before it reaches the site.

Niall Corcoran

Christopher Rían

Co-Founder & Managing Director
Bio

Tourism Management graduate with experience promoting Ireland to Nordic travellers. Co-founded Waybound after walking the Tour du Mont Blanc independently in 2014.

Cecilie Bech Christensen

Astrid Cute Christensen

Co-Founder & Operations Director
Bio

Danish-born co-founder who manages accommodation partnerships and on-the-ground logistics across twelve European countries.

Luca Berardi

Luca Berardi

Route Researcher, Southern Europe
Bio

Italian-born walking guide turned route researcher. Covers Italy, Greece and southern France on foot, testing trail conditions each season.

Anna Lund

Anna Lund

Guest Experience Manager
Bio

First point of contact for travellers from booking to trail. Coordinates route packs, manages date changes and links to local contacts.

Thomas Kruger

Thomas Kruger

Route Researcher, Central Europe
Bio

German-born cyclist and walker covering Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. Formerly a hiking guide in the Bavarian Alps.

Sofia Martins

Sofia Martins

Partnerships & Accommodation
Bio

Portuguese-born, manages relationships with accommodation partners. Personally visits properties each season to ensure quality standards.