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Treasures of Tuscany - 11 days

Travel Information
Arrival: Thetour starts in Volterra, which is reached by bus from Pisa, the nearest citywith an international airport. The bus ride takes 2.5 hours, with a change enroute at Pontedera. The bus service runs 4 times per day (not on Sundays). Details are given in route notes.

Alternate arrival airports are Florence or Rome.

Clients can also take the train from Pisa orFlorence to Pontedera and continue their journey to Volterra by bus. On Sundaysit is necessary either to take a taxi from Pontedera (or from Pisa) toVolterra - 2005 price for this was around US$180 for up to four people plusluggage or to travel by a different route, taking the train from Pisa orRome to Cecina, then a branch line train (or railway bus) to Salinas deVolterra and finally a bus to Volterra itself.

The restaurant of our preferred hotel in SanGimignano is normally closed on Tuesdays, so this is another reason for notstarting the tour on a Sunday. Clients arriving via Rome airport should changetrains at Roma Termini and continue by train to Cecina (on Sundays, for thebranch line to Salinas de Volterra) or to Pisa or Pontedera (for bus fromPontedera to Volterra). Seat reservations are advised on trains between Romeand Cecina/Pisa.

There is also a three times daily (includingSundays) bus service from Florence to Volterra via Colle Val d'Elsa where youhave to change buses.

As an extraservice:We should normally be able to arrange an economical transfer to the start of the walk from either Pisa (65 Euro/approx US$86)directly to Volterra, or from Certaldo (60 Euros/approx US$79) which is on therailway via Pontedera. Please note that this transfer is an additional cost and should be pre booked. Payment is made locally.

End of Tour:The tour ends after breakfast on day 11 in Florence. Fly out of Florence Airport or alternatively, departures from Pisa(easily made by train and the approximate journey time is 1 hour). For thoseflying from Rome there are frequent direct trains from Florence to RomaTermini. Transfers from Florence are not included in the tour price.

Season:April to November

Level of Difficulty
Grade:Easy to Moderate. There are nonethelesssome hills, some fairly steep but short ascents and some paths with roughgravel and stony surfaces.

Fitness:Super- fitness is not necessary but you should be able to walk for 5 hours aday in hot sun on dusty and stony tracks. There are some steep hills on thistour, but nowhere could the terrain be described as mountainous.

Waymarking:Part of the route is waymarked with red and white signs; elsewhere it isnecessary to follow the route descriptions provided together with the maps.Most clients find the route finding straightforward.

Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation is on a bed and breakfastbasis mostly 2-3 star hotels and guesthouse/agritourismos with en suitefacilities when available. Two evening meals are included (normally one inVolterra and one in San Gimignano). The other evening meals can readily beobtained locally without pre-booking. Night 5 (in or near Monteriggioni) isnormally spent either at a small unclassified guest house with privatefacilities or at an unclassified agriturismo (farm guest house). On 2 nights inRadda-in-Chianti we use an unstarred but very welcoming agriturismo (farm guesthouse or B & B). Picnic lunches are not included in the tour price, butmaterials for picnics can be purchased in each of the towns and villages whereyou stay. As the walking days are quite short clients may in any case reachtheir destination in time for a late lunch. According to Italian Law, allhotels must close their restaurants on one night each week, so it is notuncommon for clients to be given a voucher to eat dinner at a nearbyrestaurant, or be given the equivalent amount of money to eat in a restaurantof their own choice.

(Our standard accommodation is subject tovariation. This is a very popular route and we some times have to usealternatives to the hotels listed below. These are however of a comparablestandard.)

Nights 1 & 2 : These are spent at Volterra, one of the oldest cities inItaly, in a welcoming and comfortable 3 star hotel, which is in fact a villafrom the late 17th century that has been restored. It is situated in a peacefularea near the Medieval town-wall. The hotel commands a magnificent panoramicview. All rooms have their own shower and toilet. The hotel also boasts an outdoor swimming pool.

Night 3: Westay at San Gimignano where our first choice is a 3-star hotel set in thepulsating heart of the town of towers, little changed for 600 years.

Night 4: Thisnight is spent in the town of Colle di Val d'Elsa, normally in an historicbuilding dating from the 15th century in the old Upper Town (Colle Alta). It isa 3-star hotel with en suite rooms.

Night 5: Eithera small guest house within the mediaeval walled village of Monteriggioni; oncethe day-visitors have gone it is a haven of peace; the rooms (limited innumber) are simply furnished, but all have private facilities; or (if all therooms in the guest house within the walls are fully booked) at an agriturismo (farmguest house) 2km/1.2mi away from the walled village along a white road. Weprovide full instructions on how to walk from the walled village to theagriturismo and back. On escorted departures (see below) night 5 may be spentin Siena due to lack of accommodation in Monteriggioni.

Night 6: Inthe lively and sophisticated city of Siena we stay at a small, comfortablehotel in rooms with en suite facilities, telephone, and color TV.

Nights 7 & 8: We spend two nights in the small hill-top town of Radda inChianti. A clean friendly welcoming B&B. Cozy room with en suite facilitiesand private entrance. Possibility to have breakfast in the garden.

Night 9: InPanzano we stay in a small but comfortable hotel near the center.

Night 10: Thelast night is spent in Florence at a well located 2* hotel.

Extending you Tour
It is possible to include extra nights in Pisa,Siena, Florence…in fact, we can book up anywhere on the route! If you wouldlike to do more walking why not try our coastal extensions in the "Cinque Terre"a beautiful coastal region centered at Monterosso or why not go to the Tuscanisland of Elba?. Details and prices on request.

On Self Guided Tour we provide you with . . .
Route notes and maps at 1:25,000 scale.

ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrive Volterra via Pisa (or optionally, Florence or Rome). Either bus or train is taken from Pisa to Pontedera, where you change onto a local bus service (not Sundays) to Volterra. Journey from the airport to the first hotel is not included in the tour price. The combined train and bus fare from Pisa is around 13 Euro (US$16) per person. It is possible to reach Volterra by public transport on Sundays, but by a more circuitous and expensive route.

Day 2: By road to Pignano, walk back to Volterra (8.75 miles/14km). One option for today, involving about four hours walking, is a short bus or taxi ride (1 Euro approx by bus, not included in tour price) to the hamlet of Pignano, from where it is an easy walk back to Volterra, mostly along white roads which follow a broad winding and panoramic ridge. Halfway through the walk there is normally the opportunity to stop for a welcome drink at a retreat center, from where you can contemplate exploring the steep and somewhat overgrown Monte Voltraio- a mysterious attraction on account of its peculiar truncated cone shape. A palaeontologist's dream as the ground appears to be scattered with fossils. On a hot day the less adventurous will be more inclined to continue on to Volterra. Overnight Volterra.

Day 3: Pignano to San Gimignano. About 4 hours' walking (8 miles/12km). The hotel arranges for a taxi to take you to the starting point of the walk at Bivio di Castelvecchio (taxi fare included in price of holiday). Alternatively you can be dropped off by the taxi at yesterday's starting point, Pignano, from where it is about 30 minutes' pleasant walking to Bivio di Castelvecchio. This extra half hour would enable you to cover the whole distance between Volterra and San Gimignano on foot in the course of days 2 and 3. You walk between vineyards and through oak woods with wild cyclamen in flower in autumn and fine views of the old ruined fortifications of Castelvecchio. You continue to the pretty village of San Donato and the small hamlet of Montauto with fine views of San Gimignano, before continuing by farm track and / or road to San Gimignano, known as the town of the beautiful towers and has dominated the hills south of the Elsa Valley since Etruscan times. There is much to explore in this small town, in particular the narrow streets and squares of the medieval quarter. Overnight in San Gimignano.

Day 4: San Gimignano to Colle Val d'Elsa. 3.5 hours walking/ 10 miles/16km. You follow a white road along a broad panoramic ridge with fine views back to the towers of San Gimignano. On either side are vineyards (source of the local dry white Vernaccia), olive groves and cypress avenues. Later we climb up through shady woods to the small village of Montecchio and across level fields to Borgatello, and on into Colle Val d'Elsa, where the fascinating old town occupies the crest of a ridge high above the valley of the Elsa. Overnight Colle Val d'Elsa.

Day 5: Colle Val d'Elsa to Monteriggioni. 6 hours walk/ 12miles/20km. After walking out of Colle through a small industrial zone you cross a broad and mostly treeless agricultural plain, with farming hamlets such as Scarna and Acquaviva. As you approach the base of the densely wooded Montagnola Hills you reach the attractive village of Strove, with the nearby manor house of Castel Petraia. At the village of Abbadia a Isola you should stop to see the abbey church. Eventually you arrive at the base of the little hill, clad with vineyards, on which is built the mediaeval walled village of Monteriggioni with its famous watchtowers. Overnight either within the walled village Monteriggioni or, if the very limited accommodation in the village itself is fully booked, at an agriturismo (farm guest house) 2km/1.2mi away along a white road. In the latter case we provide full directions on how to reach the agriturismo.

Note: On the 7-day Escorted departures due to limited accommodation, you may not stay at Monteriggioni, but have two nights in Siena instead. In this case you will be transferred to Monteriggioni directly and do tomorrow’s walk today, giving you a whole extra day in Siena compared to the self guided program. For those who do not want to spend a whole day in the city there is the opportunity to have a good escorted half day walk to the south of Siena.

Day 6: Monteriggioni to S. Columba. 4 hours' walk/ 8miles/12.8 km. From Monteriggioni we walk uphill past farmland through forests and descend through woods to the small village of Funghaia. We continue on small peaceful farm and forest tracks through farms to the village of San Colomba. A magnificent villa, now almost derelict, is situated here. From here we can take a taxi or bus into Siena (not included in the tour price). After setting in to the hotel you will find all the famous places of this city within walking distance, with the Palazza il Campo being the famous center of this medieaval city. There are many museums, churches, and the huge Pisan Romanesque and Gothic cathedral. You can easily get lost in the warren of streets, all arranged into areas called "Contrada," as they have done for hundreds of years and where the Sienese population gain their group loyalties and rivalries. Overnight Siena. (Note that on the escorted tour there are two nights in Siena and the escorted segment ends here).

Day 7: Starts with a taxi ride to the village of San Sano (included in tour price). From here we walk on white roads, farm and woodland tracks across undulating hills, covered with a patchwork of oak woodland, olive groves and 'Chianti Classico' vineyards to the hill-top town of Radda-in-Chianti (13km/7.8mi/4.5hrs walking). Overnight Radda-in-Chianti.

Day 8: A circular walk of about 12km/7.2mi/4hours from Radda-in-Chianti to Gaiole-in-Chianti and back, taking in the attractive villages of Vertine and Selvole. You may be tempted en route by the plentiful, luscious vineyards and succumb to the delicious local Chianti, for which the region is famous. Overnight Radda-in-Chianti.

Day 9: Today there is a choice of 3 routes of differing lengths, all finishing at the delightful hill town of Panzano. Starting in each case at our accommodation in Radda the longest of the three routes goes through the fascinating borgo (fortified village) of Volpaia and across the heathland and pine forest of Monte San Michele, the highest hill in the Chianti region, before a long descent past several delightful hamlets to the valley town of Greve-in-Chianti, from where you can either walk or catch a bus to to the well-known hill-village of Panzano-in-Chianti, with its inspiring church and castle.

The shortest route takes a direct line past the pieve (isolated church and sanctuary) of S. Maria Novella and the vineyards of Castelvecchio to Panzano. From Panzano it is only a short bus ride or 1.5 hour walk to Greve-in-Chianti, another center of wine-making and the birthplace of Giovanni di Verrazzano who first circumnavigated Long Island, New York.

The intermediate route includes both Volpaia and Panzano, between which you cross some high ground with fine views on the flank of Monte San Michele. Overnight Panzano.

Day 10: Bus from Panzano to Florence; about 2 hours' journey (fare not included). You will need to take your luggage on the bus with you. The rest of the day is free for you to explore this beautiful city at your leisure. Or you can do a walking excursion from Fiesole to Settignano (6-7km/3.6-4.2mi/2 hours). This is a panoramic walk through olive tree fields overlooking Florence and some of the most beautiful villas surrounding the city. Fiesole alone is worth visiting as it is an important archaeological site and has a Franciscan monastery. Overnight Florence.

Day 11: Depart after breakfast from Florence airport or train from Florence to Pisa (approx 1 hour) for your flight home. You can check in for your flight at the train station in Florence before catching the train to Pisa.

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