|
|
|
|
 |
11 day self-guided Inn to Inn
Walk |
|
Photos
by Ingo Olie Hans
|
General Information
This is a relatively gentle tour which is suitable for those
who are new to walking tours. More experienced walkers will also enjoy
the classic Tuscany landscape of small (although sometimes steep) hills,
olive groves and vineyards. We pass close to the classic wine growing
region of Chianti, and visit the historic towns of Volterra, San Gimignano
(with its famous towers) and Siena. From Siena, we walk on through the
Chianti region to Radda and Gaiole passing fortified villages and castles,
then on to Greve/ Panzano and finally on to Florence where you have a
free day before transferring to Pisa for your flight home. There is also
an opportunity to visit Pisa with its famous attractions (the field of
Miracles Leaning Tower, and Duomo).
Travel Information
Arrival: The tour starts in
Volterra, which is reached by bus from Pisa, the nearest city with an
international airport. The bus ride takes 2.5 hours, with a change en
route at Pontedera. The bus service runs 4 times per day (not on Sundays)
and costs about 9400 lire. Details are given in route notes. Clients can
also take the train from Pisa or Florence to Pontedera and continue their
journey to Volterra by bus. On Sundays it is necessary either to
take a taxi from Pontedera (or from Pisa) to Volterra - Our team provides
transfers from Pisa airport and railway station to Volterra at cheap fares:
check our
offer- or to travel by a different route, taking
the train from Pisa or Rome to Cecina, then a branch line train (or railway
bus) to Salinas de Volterra and finally a bus to Volterra itself. The
restaurant of our preferred hotel in San Gimignano is normally closed
on Tuesdays, so this is another reason for not starting the tour on a
Sunday. Land-only clients arriving via Rome airport should change trains
at Roma Termini and continue by train to Cecina (on Sundays, for the branch
line to Salinas de Volterra) or to Pisa or Pontedera (for bus from Pontedera
to Volterra). Seat reservations are advised on trains between Rome and
Cecina/Pisa. There is also a three times daily (including Sundays) bus
service from Florence to Volterra via Colle Val d'Elsa where you have
to change buses.Our team provides transfers from the main airports and
railway stations of Italy at cheap fares: check
our offer.
End of Tour: The
tour ends after breakfast on day 11 in Florence. The return to Pisa is
most easily made by train and the approximate journey time is 1 hour.
For those land-only clients flying from Rome there are frequent direct
trains from Florence to Roma Termini. Transfers from Florence are not
included in the tour price.Our team provides transfers from the main airports
and railway stations of Italy at cheap fares: check
our offer.
Season: April
to late October
Level of Difficulty
Grade: Easy.
Fitness: Super-
fitness is not necessary but you should be able to walk for 5 hours a
day in hot sun on dusty and stony tracks. There are some steep hills on
this tour, but nowhere is the terrain mountainous.
Waymarking: Part
of the route is waymarked with red and white signs;Yellow and blue marks
have been recently added to give a further help. Elsewhere it is necessary
to follow the route descriptions provided together with the maps. Most
clients find the route finding straight forward.
Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation is on a bed and breakfast basis mostly in 3
star hotels with en suite facilities when available. Five evening meals
are included. The other evening meals can readily be obtained locally
without pre-booking. Night 5 (in or near Monteriggioni) is normally spent
either at a small unclassified guest house with private facilities or
at an unclassified agriturismo (farm guest house). On 2 nights in Radda-in-Chianti
we use an unstarred but very welcoming agriturismo (farm guest house or
B & B). Picnic lunches are not included in the tour price, but materials
for picnics can be purchased in each of the towns and villages where you
stay. As the walking days are quite short clients may in any case reach
their destination in time for a late lunch. According to Italian Law,
all hotels must close their restaurants on one night each week, so it
is not uncommon for clients to be given a voucher to eat dinner at a nearby
restaurant, or be given the equivalent amount of money to eat in a restaurant
of their own choice.
(Subject to variation. This is a very popular route
and we sometimes have to use alternatives to the hotels listed below.
These are however of a comparable standard.)
Nights 1 & 2 : These are spent at Volterra, one of the oldest cities in
Italy, in a welcoming and comfortable 3 star hotel, which is in fact a
villa from the late 17th century that has been restored. It is situated
in a peaceful area near the Medieval town-wall. The hotel commands a magnificent
panoramic view. All rooms have their own shower and toilet. An Evening
meal in Volterra is included on the first night, normallly at the hotel.
Night 3: We stay
at San Gimignano where our first choice is a 3-star hotel set in the pulsating
heart of the town of towers, little changed for 600 years. Dinner is included.
Night 4: This night
is spent in the town of Colle di Val d'Elsa, normally in an historic building
dating from the 15th century in the old Upper Town (Colle Alta). It is
a 3-star hotel with 32 en suite rooms. Rooms on one side of both this
and of our alternative hotel in Colle can suffer from traffic noise. Bed
and breakfast only.
Night 5: Either
a small guest house within the mediaeval walled village of Monteriggioni;
once the day-visitors have gone it is a haven of peace; the rooms (limited
in number) are simply furnished, but all have private facilities; or (if
all the rooms in the guest house within the walls are fully booked) at
an agriturismo (farm guest house) 2km away from the walled village along
a white road. We provide full instructions on how to walk from the walled
village to the agriturismo and back. On escorted departures (see below)
night 5 is spent in Siena. Bed & Breakfast.
Night 6: In the
lively and sophisticated city of Siena we stay at a small, comfortable
hotel in rooms with en suite facilities, telephone, and colour TV. Bed
and breakfast and evening meal.
Nights 7 & 8: We spend two nights in the small hill-top town of Radda in
Chianti. A clean friendly welcoming B&B. Cosy room with en suite facilities
and private entrance. Possibility to have breakfast in the garden. Evening
meal is included in local restaurant on night 7 only, night 8 eat out
at own expense..
Night 9: In Panzano
we stay in a small but comfortable hotel near the centre., bed and breakfast
only.
Night 10: The last
night is spent in Florence at a well located 2* hotel. Evening meal is
included.
Extending your Tour
It is possible to include extra nights in Pisa, Siena, Florence
or, if you would like to do more walking, in the "Elba Island" a beautiful
island located just in front of Piombino Harbour. Details and prices on
request.
On Self Guided Tour we provide you with . . .
Route notes, maps at 1:25,000 scale and the green
'Michelin Guide to Tuscany'.
Escorted Departures
Please note: on the escorted
departures night 5 will be spent in Siena, not at Monteriggioni;
you thus get one days less walking than you do on the Self guided tour.
The day missed is the day walking from Colle to Monteriggione. This gives
time for the tour guide to show you the sites of the city and for you
to have a good look round under your own steam afterwards. Dates are now
as follows
09/05/2003 (full), 15/05/2003, 18/09/2003,
24/09/2003.
These are both 7 day guided trips terminating
in Siena with the possibility of adding on the 4-night Chianti (Siena
- Florence) extension self-guided as per JTT11. Many customers have chosen
this combination. The extension starts with a transfer from the hotel
in Siena on the morning of Day 7.
|
ITINERARY
|
| Day 1: Arrive Volterra via Pisa. 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 is around 12,500 lire (£5.50)
per person. It is possible to reach Volterra by
public transport on Sundays, but by a more circuitous
and expensive route. Our
team provides transfers from Pisa airport and railway
station to Volterra at cheap fares: check
our offer.
Day 2: By road to Pignano, walk back to
Volterra. One option for today, involving about
four hours walking, is a short bus or taxi ride
(2000 L 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 centre, 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. 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.
4 hours' walk/ 12km. 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 watch-towers.
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 away along a white road. In the
latter case we provide full directions on how
to reach the agriturismo.
Day 6: Monteriggioni to S. Columba. 4 hours'
walk/ 11km. 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 centre 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.
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/4.5hrs walking). Overnight Radda-in-Chianti.
Day 8: A circular walk of about 12km/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. [On occasions we make use of agriturismo
(farmhouse) accommodation about 3km outside Radda,
in which case it is normally possible for clients
to get a lift into town at the start of day 8.]
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; while 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 centre 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, with an overnight
stay here too! Overnight Florence.
Day 11: Train from Florence to Pisa (approx
1 hour) for your flight home [approx 2 hours].
You can check in for your flight at the train
station in Florence before catching the train
to Pisa.Our team provides transfers from Florence
to Pisa airport and railway station at cheap fares:
check
our offer
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
