Penguin Travel

This is the Tuscany that you always have dreamt of. We will walk in the rolling hills very often portrayed in renaissance paintings and filmed in today’s movies, a landscape with a deep blue sky, golden ochre and lush greens. From the famous vineyards of Vino Nobile and Brunello to walled medieval and renaissance boroughs, visiting superb churches and abbeys with comfortable accommodations and typical restaurants and locandas.

Tour Highlights
• Montepulciano: a medieval walled town built on a limestone ridge. Renaissance style Palazzi and Chuches.
• Pienza:  a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• S.Quirico d’Orcia: nice little medieval town on the Via Francigena (pilgrim route).
• Bagno Vignoni: roman and Renaissance thermal baths; thirty-six springs rise from 100 m below ground at a temperature of 50oC.
• Abbey of St. Antimo: founded by Charlemagne in 781
• Montalcino: Medieval hilltop town famous for its Fortezza, the Brunello red wine and the honey
• Monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore: founded in the 1313 by a sienese nobleman, benedectine monastery with outstanding frescoes by Sodoma and Signorelli.
• Siena: the best preserved medieval city in Europe, ”the Medieval Pompeii” a true masterpiece of art and architecture with its gothic duomo, the museums and famous buildings

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Departure dates:
01 April 2010 - 31 October 2010 every day

Country region:   Tuscany

Price without flight ticket:    795 EUR

Trip plan:
Day 1. Arrival at Montepulciano by public transport. Introduction meeting and overnight.
Day 2. Today's hike is interesting for its varied and green landscape. You will pass through small plots of land with olive groves, vineyards, the typical Mediterranean woods, heather, broom and agriculture lands. The trek ends in Pienza which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Walking distance: 15km; walking time: 3-4hrs; uphill walk: 150m; downhill walk: 200 m
Day 3. The beauty of this unique landscape has been quite often portrayed by Hollywood movies. Here you have the typical Tuscany landscapes with lines of cypress and hilltop country houses. The trek ends at Bagno Vignoni in the Orcia river valley.
Walking distance: 14km; walking time: 3-4hrs; uphill walk: 220m; downhill walk: 200 m
Day 4. This is the hike with most of trees along the way. The area is quite rich of wild life like wild boar, roe buck dears, foxes, badgers. You will do several uphills and downhills, cross a river and reach the centre of S. Antimo, where you stay overnight.
Walking distance: 13,8km; uphill walk: 300m; downhill walk: 225 m
Day 5. From the vineyards and olive groves around the Abbey you will move towards the holm oak (Quercus ilex) woods that cover the hills between the Abbey and Montalcino. Further on up the road you will pass by some archeological excavations of remains of a 4th C B.C. Etruscan fortress. You will reach the beautiful Medieval town of Montalcino where today's trek ends.
Walking distance: 10 km; walking time: 3,30 hrs; uphill walk: 350m; downhill walk: 115m
Day 6. Varied hike through some local wine estates and lands under cultivation. The area is greener than the Val d’Orcia thanks to the river Ombrone, Arbia and water reservoirs. You'll arrive in Buonconvento for overnight.
Walking distance: 16 km; walking time: 4,30hrs; uphill walk: 100m; downhill walk: 300 m
Day 7. The hike starts on a dirt road in an open field with some agriculture lands and then becomes narrow path submerging into a large forest area. After one/two hour’s walk through the forest, you reach the Monte Oliveto Maggiore Abbey. Transfer is arranged to the beautiful city of Siena where you stay for the last night of this lovely walking trip.
Walking distance: 13.2 km; walking time: 3,30-4hrs; uphill walk: 200m; downhill walk: 130 m
Day 8. Departure by public transportation on your own.

Accomodation and food:   You will stay 7 nights at 2-3 star hotels, most of them are family run; they are all centrally located (in the days you are supposed to stay in town). Breakfast is included on all days as well as 4 evening meals (days 1,3,5,6).

Price of extra services:   Single supplement: 225 Euro/person

Included in the price:   luggage transportation on each of the days (except for day 8); accommodation in 2-3 star hotels with en-suite facilities with mealplan as per itinerary; detailed roadbook and map in English; transfer to Siena on Day 7

Excluded from the price:   flight tickets; tickets for the public transport; alcohol drinks; personal expenses.

Practical information:    Tour organizationOn the 1st day you will be met by our representative who will give you a detailed introduction on how the tour will be like. He/she will give you also all the route notes and maps necessary for the walk, with useful contacts (like taxi drivers’ phone number, recommended restaurants and sites etc.) and also extra maps on sale and walking poles (the latter to be rented or bought). Every day in the late morning a driver will take care of your luggages and deliver them to the next inn. The trip generally runs between 150-600 m a.s.l.Terrain:Most of the routes will follow minor gravel roads, “strade bianche”, and mule tracks (70%) rarely attended by cars and some paths (30%).

Recommended travel period of the year:   May – June, September – October

Links to additional information:   
http://www.solowalks.com

 

Tour difficulty:   A  - B 

No special experience is needed; everyone who is in condition to cope with long Saturday walks in the forest can also cope with these tours. As a rule, the trips are short and at a low altitude. Often, it is your choice to join or skip a day-tour. The routes follow a hilly terrain without steep ascents and descents. Normally we walk 3/5h a day.

Most of you, who are used to walking/cycling during a long weekend, will be in condition to cope with a tour of this level. You should be in a good health condition. We have successive days of longer and more difficult walking and days of lighter walking/cycling. Some parts of the day routes are done at a higher altitude. The paths are in good condition. We walk/cycle for 5/7h a day.

Group Size:   Min. 2

Vacation Extensions:
The Cinque Terre Self-guided Trek (Liguria, Italy)

Reservation System Code: ITTERRASELF

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