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7 day Self-guided Inn to Inn Walk |
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photos
by Ingo Olie Hans
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General
Information
This is a relatively
gentle tour that is suitable for those who are new to walking tours. More
experienced walkers will also enjoy the classic Tuscan landscape of small
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. There is also an opportunity to visit
Pisa with its famous attractions and if you decide to extend the tour
by a day or two you can visit the celebrated city of Florence. The walking
takes in classic Tuscan landscapes and as most days are not too long,
you will have plenty of time to sight see, or picnic.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 and half hours,
with a change en route at Pontedera. The bus service runs 4 times per
day (not on Sundays.) Details are given in our route notes.
Clients could
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 - 2002 price for
this is around £80 Sterling Equiv for up to four people plus luggage 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 branch line to Salinas de Volterra) or
to Pisa or Pontedera (for bus from Pontedera to Volterra). Seat reservations
are advisable 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 change buses.
As
an extra service; we can normally arrange
an economical transfer to the start of the walk from either Pisa (55 Euros)
directly to Volterra, or from Certaldo (50 Euros) that is on the railway
via Pontedera. Please note that this transfer is an additional cost and
should be pre booked.
End
of Tour: The tour ends after breakfast
on day 7 in Siena. Train, changing trains en route at Empoli to Pisa.
The train fare from Siena to Pisa is around 6 Euros (£4.50). For land
only clients who are flying out from Rome airport it is possible to travel
by train from Siena to Rome (changing trains en route at Chiusi) without
returning to Pisa. Seat reservations are available, but only essential
on certain trains between Chiusi and Roma Termini.
Season:
April to late October
Level
of Difficulty
Grade: Easy. There are nonetheless
some hills, some fairly steep but short ascents and some paths with rough
gravel and stony surfaces.
Fitness:
High standard of fitness is not necessary but clients should be able to
walk for up to 5 hours a day in hot sun on dusty or stony tracks.
Waymarking:
Part of the route is waymarked with red and white signs; elsewhere it
is necessary to follow the route descriptions provided together with the
maps. Most clients find the route finding quite straightforward.
Accommodation
& Meals
Accommodation is on a bed and breakfast basis in 2-3 star
hotels, and at a Agriturismo or guesthouse with en suite facilities when
available. Two evening meals are included: Normally one in Volterra and
the other in San Gimignano. The other four evening meals can readily be
obtained locally without pre-booking. Please note that we will supply
you with a recommended restaurant list so that you can sample the best
cooking in the area. Night 5 (in or near Monteriggioni) is normally spent
either at a small unclassified guesthouse with private facilities or at
an unclassified agriturismo (farm guest house). 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 or pass through. 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. The alternatives 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.
Night
3: We stay at San Gimignano where our first
choice is a 3-star hotel set in the pulsating heart of this town of towers,
little changed for 600 years.
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.
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.
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 TV. Dinner, Bed & breakfast
Extra
nights
Siena is certainly a beautiful city, yet despite its size,
it has something of a village feel to it. There is so much to see and
so many good places to eat that it is worth an extra day. We can arrange
extra nights here or in Florence which is only about an hour away by bus.
It is possible
to include extra nights in any of the towns en route or in Florence where
we provide other possible walkings; if you would like to relax on the
best Tuscan beaches or do more walkings why not head off to the beautiful
Tuscan island of Elba? more details.....
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 2003
Please note: on the escorted departures night 5 will be spent
in Siena, not at Monteriggioni; the walking itinerary will be the
same as on the self-guided tour, except that from Colle you will be transferred
directly to Monteriggione to start the walk to San Columba (then bus to
Siena). And you will have a full day in Siena . You thus miss the day
walking between Colle and Monteriggione. Your guide will give you an a
bridged tour of Siena so that you will be able to return and spend more
time at places that you want to see in more detail. 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.
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ITINERARY
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| Day
1:
Arrive Volterra via Pisa. Either a 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 12.5 Euro (£7) 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 or railway
station at cheap fares: check
our offer.
Day
2: By road to Pignano, walk back to
Volterra. (8.75 miles/14 km) 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 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 paleontologist'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. 4 - 5
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 the
taxi at yesterday's starting point, Pignano, can
drop you off 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 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.
4 hours' walk (7.5 miles / 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 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 away along a white road. In the latter case
we provide full directions on how to reach the
agriturismo. (Note that on escorted
departures you do not stay at Monteriggioni,
but have two nights in Siena. Thus 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 programme. 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. Colomba. 4 hours'
walk (8 miles /12.8km). From Monteriggioni we
walk uphill past farmland and descend through
woods to the small village of Fungaia. We continue
on small peaceful farm tracks through farms to
the village of Santa Colomba. A magnificent villa,
now almost derelict and a beautifully frescoed
church, 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 medieval 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: Return to Pisa by train, changing
at Empoli (fare around 6 Euros/£4.50 per person,
not included in price).Our team provides transfers
to Pisa airport or railway station at cheap fares:
check
our offer.
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Photos
made by Ingo Olie Hans
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