Volterra to San Gimignano Walk

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9 Days from

USD 2,399

Walking & Trekking

Ways to Travel :

Self-Guided Holidays

Activity :

Walking & Trekking

Activity Levels :

2 out of 7 - Leisurely / Moderate

Ages :

18+

Trip Code :

W08TY

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 4 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 4 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

4 Days 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

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 and evening meal)

Meals Included: Dinner

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)

Meals Included: Breakfast

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

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)

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

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

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)

Meals Included: Breakfast

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

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 (breakfast and evening meal)

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

The tour ends after breakfast in Volterra.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Essential Info

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.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/italy
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/italy
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/entry-requirements
• USA:  www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Italy.html

Please note: it is compulsory to carry ID with you at all times in Italy.

Vaccination

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.

Eating and Drinking

All continental breakfasts and 4 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

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!

Covid-19 refund commitment

You will get a refund if you have to cancel your trip due to COVID-19.

Availability

This departure is guaranteed to go ahead and is now fully booked, although we may have people holding spaces without payment. Please contact our Sales team for further information.

Volterra to San Gimignano Walk

On this self-guided, 8-night walking holiday, you explore the timeless countryside between picturesque Volterra and the soaring towers of San Gimignano.

4 Days of Walking & Trekking

Responsible Travel

Itinerary

Essential Info

Visa

Italy

Vaccination

Italy

Eating and Drinking

Weather

Weather Charts

Is this trip for you?

Hotels