Be certain you’re fit enough to go on that fitness vacation

The trip descriptions alone can make you itch to put on your helmet or backpack:

“This year’s exciting route will have you cycling along sun-drenched roads bordered by famous Chianti vineyards, sunflowers, cypress and olive trees.”

Or: “Join us for an unforgettable fall exploration of the coast bordering the Marin Headlands and Mt. Tamalpais, at the southern tip of Marin County. In October the days are still warm, and the fog is rare.”

The first describes a June cycling tour of Tuscany, Italy, offered by Breaking Away Tours of Manhattan Beach; the second is an autumn hike hosted by Coastwalk, a California-based nonprofit organization devoted to preserving the coastline.

Whether the destination is overseas or domestic, fall is an ideal season for hiking or cycling tours, perhaps the perfect healthful vacations. Hiking burns 300 calories or more an hour, and cycling at 10 mph burns nearly 400 calories an hour, according to the American Council on Exercise.

Besides the calorie burn, there’s also the de-stressing effect of being outdoors and away from paperwork, computers and ringing phones, as well as the benefit of socializing with others.

To maximize the health potential of hiking or biking vacations, experts advise paying attention to these three steps before you book:

* Know how much activity is planned, and choose a tour that meets your fitness level.

* Ask the tour operators what the daily mileage will be, what the terrain is and how many hours you will spend each day cycling or hiking, advises Richard Cotton, a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise and chief exercise physiologist for www.myexerciseplan.com, a Web site offering personalized exercise programs and support.

* Figure out whether that’s the tour for you. Misjudging what you’re physically capable of is common, says Wendy Pope, founder of Mountain Trek (www.mountaintrek.com), a Canadian fitness retreat that hosts hiking and other fitness programs.

“Some people will come in and say they are advanced, and they are not,” says Pope, a 13-year veteran of tours.

Mountain Trek classifies the hikers on the first day, putting them all into one group, with a maximum of 14, then seeing where they fall. “We accommodate all levels,” Pope says. But dividing them into groups by ability levels makes for a better time for all, she says, so beginners are not frustrated trying to keep up and advanced hikers don’t feel hampered by slower-paced travelers.

Some tours, such as Backroads’ Easy Explorations, are expressly for beginners or the newly active. Ken Husband of Backroads (www.backroads.com) says the Berkeley-based company added the less active tours this year. Typically, participants will cycle just 10 or 20 miles a day, for perhaps two hours, he says.

Most tour operators will give you guidelines so you can figure out where you fall. To be classified as a beginner on Mountain Trek hikes, you should be able to hike three hours, or about five miles a day, and be comfortable with a 500-foot elevation gain. Advanced hikers should be able to log more than 12 miles, or six hours, with an elevation gain of 3,000 to 4,000 feet.

“We ask people to be in reasonable walking condition,” says Richard Nichols, executive director of Coastwalk (www.coastwalk.org), based in Sebastopol, Calif. That means being able to walk five to 10 miles at a stretch, he says, on flat or mildly hilly terrain. “These are not athletic events,” he says of most Coastwalk tours.

But others, including the Breaking Away Bicycle Tours (www.breakingaway.com), require a higher level of fitness. “Our trips are pretty challenging,” says owner Greg Hogan. The tours don’t stress speed, but participants need good bike handling skills, such as being able to maneuver around potholes, and good endurance. On the Web site Hogan offers guidelines: Intermediates should be able to ride 30 to 50 miles a day over rolling to hilly terrain.

* Train appropriately the last few weeks before the trip. At home, try to hike or cycle three-quarters of the total miles you expect to put in for the same number of days the tour will last, advises Cotton of the American Council on Exercise.

“Don’t cram for it,” says Hogan, citing a familiar mistake that some of his cycling participants make. He says many people try to ride every spare minute before they depart, and they arrive at the tour exhausted.

Instead, he tells them, do a few back-to-back days of the mileage you will do on vacation. Fill in with shorter rides.

* Pay attention to equipment. Find out what is provided, what you are expected to take and how heavy a load you’ll be carrying.

“Are you going to be carrying your lunch or your house on your back?” Cotton asks. It’s important to know; you can do some trial runs at home carrying the same weight during a workout.

Ask specifically about footwear for hiking trips. Some tour operators specify above-the-ankle hiking boots; others say good walking shoes are OK, depending on the terrain. Some tour operators provide backpacks and hiking poles; others expect participants to bring them.

Hogan tells participants to take their bikes to a good bike shop for a tuneup before the trip and to tell the service person the miles they expect to log.

A first-aid kit for scrapes and blisters is good to take but might not be necessary. Mountain Trek, for instance, has a morning “blister patrol,” Pope says. Anyone who has a blister from the previous day’s hike is bandaged before setting out.

Healthy Traveler appears twice a month. Kathleen Doheny can be reached at kathleendoheny@earthlink.net.