On this self-guided, 8-night walking holiday, you explore the timeless countryside between picturesque Volterra and the soaring towers of San Gimignano.
You’ll feel as though you’re strolling through history as you discover sleepy hilltop hamlets crowning sun-dappled hills, verdant vineyards and panoramic picnic spots in fields ablaze with sunflowers. You also have the option to visit the eternal cities of Siena and Florence – Tuscan favourites right on your doorstep!
You start in Volterra, a real Etruscan gem with its tangle of alleys home to alabaster workshops and secret chapels, from where you walk through the verdant Berignone Nature Reserve and up to a fantastic panoramic ridge before a final climb to Casole d’Elsa. Your journey then takes you east to medieval Colle di Val d’Elsa, enjoying balcony views across the Elsa Valley. As you move towards stunning San Gimignano, the medieval ‘Manhattan of Tuscany’, the landscape is dominated by vines so there are plenty of wine-tasting opportunities here!
Highlights
Quintessential Italian landscapes: rolling hills, sunflowers, endless vines and hilltop hamlets
Scenic walking on Etruscan trails and pilgrims' paths; wildlife in abundance
Exceptionally friendly hotels with gorgeous swimming pools
Mouth-watering local cuisine; world-famous wines
Possible trips to Florence, Siena and Pisa
Key Information
8 nights hotel-to-hotel accommodation
4 Days walking
All continental breakfasts and 3 evening meals
Route directions and maps
Luggage transfers between hotels
Walking transfers
Countries visited: Italy
What's Included
All accomodation
Route directions and maps
Luggage transfers between hotels
Walking transfers
Breakfasts and 3 evening meals
What's Not Included
Travel insurance
Single accommodation (available on request - compulsory supplement)
Solo traveller supplements (where only one person is travelling on a departure date)
Visas or vaccinations
OPTIONAL UPGRADES
Flights from Heathrow to Pisa with British Airways, including local transfers
Other flights, including regional departures
Business/club/first class fares on request
Room upgrades and extra nights at selected hotels
City break add-ons in Siena, Lucca, Florence and Pisa
Option to extend to 10 nights
4Days of Walking & Trekking
Terrain:
The walking mainly follows flat strade bianche (white roads) with some asphalt lanes and partly shaded forest and valley trails.
Day 2
14 km / 8.7 miles
Day 4
19 km / 11.8 miles
Day 6
16 km / 9.9 miles
Day 8
22 km / 13.7 miles
Responsible Travel
At Exodus we believe in the power of Responsible Travel.
Every time we travel, we are part of a global movement that creates jobs, builds more sustainable societies, encourages cultural understanding and safeguards common natural and cultural heritage. To learn more about what Responsible Travel means to Exodus click here…
Itinerary
Volterra
Volterra
London
London
Day
1
Arrive in Volterra
Arrive at your 4 star hotel within Volterra’s medieval gates, where you have time to relax in the pool before dinner. You stay at Hotel San Lino (breakfast included)
Meals included: Dinner
Day
2
Volterra to Casole D'Elsa
There’s a short transfer (30 mins) this morning to the start of your walk. Forest trails lead east through the Berignone Nature Reserve where you may be lucky enough to see wild boar, deer and fox. As you leave the forest, the ridge opens up giving wonderful valley views out towards Casole d’Elsa where you’ll spend the next two nights. You stay at Hotel Torre dei Serviti (breakfast included)
Distance covered: 9mi (14km)
Activity hours: 4
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
3
At Casole D'Elsa
Casole d’Elsa is a picture perfect Etruscan village atop a panoramic ridge. From the vermillion hued 14th century castle, views stretch as far as Monte Amiata in the south of Tuscany. A leisurely lunch maybe in the medieval piazza, before visiting the small but intact amphitheatre and Etruscan tombs. You stay at Hotel Torre dei Serviti (breakfast included)
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
4
Casole D'Elsa to Colle Di Val D'Elsa
Today’s walk takes you down to the valley floor passing fields of sunflowers and orchid-sprinkled paths, before coming to the small hamlet of Quartaia, a good lunch stop. Continue through the woods along the famous pilgrims’ path, the Via Francigena, where the fossils in the stones beneath your feet bear witness to the time when this area was covered by the sea. A final easy stroll takes you along the milky-blue, limestone-rich River Elsa and to your stunning 4 star hotel. You stay at the Palazzo San Lorenzo (breakfast and evening meal)
Distance covered: 12mi (19km)
Activity hours: 5
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day
5
At Colle Di Val D'Elsa
Take the local bus to Siena (30 mins) or Florence (1 hour). Or stroll into impressive Colle di Val d’Elsa, a fascinating town of two halves with a lift linking the lower New Town with the upper medieval Old Town. You stay at the Palazzo San Lorenzo (breakfast and evening meal)
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day
6
Colle Di Val D'Elsa to San Gimignano
Today you follow in pilgrims’ footsteps along the Via Francigena. Bright with sunflowers and fragrant apple orchards, this historic path skirts tiny hamlets and lonely chapels towards the lazy Foci river. You may like to make a short detour to take in a wine tasting at Montauto, before retracing your steps to rejoin the Via Francigena up to San Gimignano. There’s time for a swim in the pool before dinner. You stay at the Hotel Cisterna (breakfast included)
Distance covered: 10mi (16km)
Activity hours: 5
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
7
At San Gimignano
Visit San Gimignano’s mystical towers this morning built by warring neighbours in the 12th century to outdo one another! Or for a longer day out, hop on a local bus to Siena (30 mins), a perfectly preserved medieval gem with a stunning striped 14th century Gothic cathedral and beautiful square. You stay at the Hotel Cisterna (breakfast included)
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
8
San Gimignano to Volterra
A short taxi ride (10 mins) from your hotel takes you to the start of the walk in Caggio, at the Castelvecchio Nature Reserve. From here you follow a woodland trail dotted with rock roses and wild strawberry plants to reach a panoramic strada bianca, where hawks soar overhead. With open views across cypress-studded ochre fields to Monte Voltraio, you pass through Sensano and Ulignano, historic hamlets with 16th century villas. Perhaps picnic by the era Valley before ascending an ancient mule track back to Volterra. You stay at Hotel San Lino
Distance covered: 14mi (22km)
Activity hours: 7
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
9
Leave Volterra
The tour ends after breakfast in Volterra.
Meals included: Breakfast
Essential Info
Is this trip for you?
Av. daily ride: 18km (11 miles).
No. of days walking: 4
Terrain & route: The walking mainly follows flat strade bianche (white roads) with some asphalt lanes and partly shaded forest and valley trails. Walking boots and poles are recommended. Strade bianche are mainly exposed, affording excellent views – a sunhat is essential.
It is important that you are happy reading maps and following route notes, we make these as accurate as possible and they are regularly checked.
As this is a self-guided holiday there is no group and no leader. There maybe others on the same departure date as you, but you will not be organised together. The route notes contain an emergency assistance telephone number should you need it and in emergencies.
You start in Volterra, a real Etruscan gem with its tangle of alleys home to alabaster workshops and secret chapels, from where you walk through the verdant Berignone Nature Reserve and up to a fantastic panoramic ridge before a final climb to Casole d’Elsa. Your journey then takes you east to mediaeval Colle di Val d’Elsa, enjoying balcony views across the Elsa Valley. As you move towards stunning San Gimignano, the mediaeval ‘Manhattan of Tuscany’, the landscape is dominated by vines so there are plenty of wine-tasting opportunities here!
Joining Instructions
The tour itself normally begins at the start hotel in Volterra on the afternoon of Day 1 of the itinerary. Arrival and departure transfers from Pisa airport are included for those making flight inclusive bookings.
Flights:
We can also book flights for you. The standard flights we usually use are with British Airways Heathrow to Pisa 08:25/11:35 transfer to hotel 75 minutes. Return: Transfer to airport 75 minutes British Airways Pisa to Heathrow 12:35/14:00 Business/club/first class seats are available on request.Please note that the standard flights/trains may occasionally change throughout the season so please enquire for up-to-date details.
Full joining instructions including local emergency numbers will be sent to you as part of our Final Joining Instructions. If you do not receive these at least a week before departure, or require them earlier please contact our office or your travel agent.
Location start: Volterra Location end: Volterra
Transfer Details
Standard transfers
For flight inclusive bookings transfers are included from Pisa airport at 11:35, and back to Pisa airport at 09:00. For land only bookings transfers are available for a supplement.
Alternative transfers
If you require alternative transfers (because you will be arriving at a different time to our standard flights), then we can usually arrange these for you (there may be an additional charge).
Vaccinations and Health
Italy
There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus, rabies and tick-borne encephalitis. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.
Visa
Italy
Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Italy. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.
Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.
Please note: it is compulsory to carry ID with you at all times in Italy.
Food & Drink
All continental breakfasts and 2 evening meals.
Italy’s most famous export is probably its cuisine and the traditional dishes of Tuscany are the most influential and revered. The region’s food is based on cucina povera, ‘poor/peasant cookery’, a rural cuisine based on available natural ingredients: olive oil, unsalted bread, pulses and vegetables, wild mushroom or porcini, and salt-cured meats such as salame and prosciutto. In particular, Tuscan olive oil is renowned for its quality and is the most important ingredient in the region’s cookery. You will find it in almost every dish – as a salad dressing, poured over vegetables and into soups and even as a replacement for butter on bread (very nice with a sprinkling of salt!).
Of course the Chianti region is best known for its regional wine (the very best ones are Chianti Classico and have a black cockerel stamped on the label). Chianti is produced in the vineyards dotted around the Tuscan hills; we actually visit the hills to the north of Siena, where the Chianti Colli Senesi wine is produced. Made from the Sangiovese grape, this is an excellent light, fruity red. Although best known for its red wine, a good white wine is also produced in the Chianti region. Made from the Vernaccia grape, the Vernaccia di San Gimignano is a crisp dry white which has greatly improved over recent years. It is best drunk young.
Weather
April and May departures can expect warm days and although rain is possible, it seldom lasts long. Nights may still be rather cool. We strongly recommend a fleece-lined jacket or warm sweater in these months. June sees the start of summer and July and August can become quite hot by mid afternoon, so this time is kept free for lunch. Although rain is unusual, torrential cloudbursts are not unknown. September and October are cooler and wetter, yet visibility is often better. Swimming is usually still possible at this time.
Weather Charts
Hotels
Our carefully picked hotels, are full of contrasts, from a converted monastery with an impressive 14th century tower, in the medieval town of Casole d’Elsa to the refined elegance of the 4 star Palazzo San Lorenzo in Colle di Val d’Elsa, a magnificently restored 17th century hospital. Chianti is synonymous with excellent food and wine and evening meals are a celebration of the local cuisine. Perhaps try pappardelle alla lepre (fresh ribbons of pasta with a hare sauce) or bruschetta (toasted bread rubbed with garlic and olive oil, topped with sun-ripened tomatoes), all washed down by a glass or two of full-bodied Chianti!
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