• Walking off the beaten path to Tuscan hillside towns, giving you an intimate experience of authentic Tuscany
  
• Seeing the sights of Siena and Florence
  
• Savoring delicious Tuscan cuisine, including truffles, pecorino cheese and Italian wine
• Experiencing Tuscan farm life during a stay in an agriturismo
  
• Learning the art of Tuscan cooking during a cooking class

Tuscany, home to famous artwork, superb cuisine, and impressive medieval towns, is widely regarded as one of the loveliest regions in Italy and a wonderful place to explore on foot. Hiking through a timeless landscape along paths that wind through vineyards and past ancient farmhouses, shopping for locally produced specialties, relaxing in romantic outdoor cafes, or exploring the art and architecture of the well known towns of Florence and Siena, Tuscany is truly a feast for all the senses.
This trip is currently full. Please contact us if you would like to be on the waiting list or would be interested in a second trip.

women who want to combine hiking the Tuscan countryside with visits to some of its most famous sites and cities. Tuscany is very hilly and women should be comfortable walking up and down hills on well-marked paths, with occasional steep uphill grades, for five to six hours a day (usually split between the morning and afternoon). Rating: 1  2  [3]  4  5

• modern tourist class hotels and agriturismos. Agriturismos are working farms that accommodate guests and provide the opportunity for a close up view of rural Italian life. All offer double rooms with private bathrooms.

• an Italian and an Adventures in Good Company guide
• ten nights lodging, including one night in Rome and one in Florence
• all meals from dinner on May 9 to breakfast May 19 except for four lunches (see the detailed itinerary below)
• all ground transportation within Italy
• a cooking class and two wine-tastings

Arrive in Rome anytime on May 9

Depart Florence anytime on May 19

the complete trip information can be downloaded here

May 9- Meet in Rome at 5 pm. If your flight arrives in the morning, Rome is an easy place to find your way around and there are many sites to visit after dropping your luggage off. We will be spending that night at the Papavista Relais, a charming B&B within a 5 minute walk of the Vatican Museums. Regardless of when you get here, we meet at our lodging in Rome in late afternoon to start getting acquainted before going out for our first dinner together. While we plan an early evening so that those of us with jet lag can get to bed early, undoubtedly some of will go in search of our first creamy taste of gelato. Overnight in Rome (D).

May 10- Rome/Montepulciano/Pienza Today we will leave Rome on a morning train and head to Chiusi through the beautiful Tuscan countryside. We will meet our Italian guide in Chiusi for a  shuttle to the ancient walled city of Montepulciano, a medieval and renaissance hill town of exceptional beauty. From there it is about a 5 hour hike to Pienza. A dirt road takes us from the San Biagio church on the outskirts of town to Montichiello, a charming village immersed in the Crete (Crete meaning Clay). The vistas along the way are the archetypal Tuscan landscape, with rolling hills crowned by cypress trees. We will work up our appetite as we turn steeply uphill to reach the town and a wonderful cafe for lunch with a magnificent view. After lunch we continue our hike to the town of Pienza. Pienza, rebuilt in 1462 from a village called Corsignan, was intended to be an ideal Renaissance town. It represented the first application of urban planning concepts, creating an impetus for planning that was adopted in other Italian towns and cities and then eventually spread to other European centers. We will have an opportunity to visit the town, which is also well known for pecorino cheese and truffle production. Our hotel that night is Hotel Pienza Residence San Gregorio in the center of Pienza. (B, L, D)

May 11 - Pienza/San Quirico d'Orcia/Bagno Vignoni (about 5 hours walking time) As we leave Pienza we walk down from the town with a view of the rolling Tuscan landscape always before us. The hiking today is across a beautiful region of rolling hills, oak woods, and quiet, pleasant villages. It ends in Bagno Vignoni, where we find both ancient and modern natural Roman thermal bathing pools. Once arriving in the village you are free to explore, sit in outside cafes and sample their wines, or indulge yourself with a dip in a private thermal bathing pool. Our hotel tonight is a wonderful family owned hotel, Albergo Le Terme in Bagno Vignoni. (B, D)

May 12 - Bagno Vignoni/Sant'Antimo/Montalcino (about 6 hours walking time) This is our longest day, starting with a tough uphill (now you know why the towns are called Tuscan Hilltowns). After achieving the high point of our day we are rewarded with the descent. The descent towards the Orcia river is shaded and a rather untouched environment. It leads us to St. Antimo, a lovely abbey isolated in the middle of a pastoral landscape surrounded by grazing herds that add to the serenity of the scene. This picturesque spot can be seen long before arriving and gives us a feeling of peacefulness before even setting foot on the grounds. On our way there will be an opportunity to sample local gelato or cold beverages to refresh us from our hike. There will be ample time to explore the Abbey grounds and enjoy the beauty of the interior of the Abbey before being driven to Montalcino. We will have a wine tasting tonight in an "Enoteca" with a superb view. Our hotel, Hotel il Giglio, is situated in the center of Montalcino and serves a wonderful dinner. (B, D)

May 13: - Montalcino/Pieve a Salti (about 5 hours walking time) Today's hike takes us through the Crete Senesi,  "Siennese clays," which gives the soil a distinctive grey colour and the landscape an appearance often described as lunar. This characteristic clay, known as mattaione, represents the sediments of the Pliocene sea which covered the area between 2.5 and 4.5 million years ago. From Montalcino the path takes us through some famous local wine estates and scenic meadows for sheep farming, and plots of land for crops like corn, tobacco, wheat and barley.  Overnight at Pieve a Salti, a beautiful farmhouse. This agriturismo, known for its pastas and its olive oils, is the perfect place to relax. (B, L, D)

May 14 -Pieve a Salti/Monte Oliveto Maggiore/Pieve a Salti (about 3 hours walking time) - The Monte Oliveto Maggiore, an imposing brick building in a rugged landscape, is the mother house of the Olivetians, or White Benedictines, a congregation of monks founded in 1313 by Blessed Bernardo Tolomei of Siena. The abbey's hours are usually morning and evening with a midday closure, so we will shuttle from our hotel in Pieve a Salti to the Abbey in the morning. We visit the beautiful cloister with Signorellis frescoes before we start our hike back to Pieve a Salti.   (B, L, D)

May 15 - We give our legs a bit of a rest today as we visit famous Siena, the best-preserved medieval city in Europe. We have a tour of town, visiting the Duomo and Piazza del campo, and then enjoy a gelato while looking at the tourist crowd. After some free time for shopping, we visit the Fattoria Dievole for a wine-tasting before ending the day at Poggio Alloro, an organic farm with a farmhouse that faces the San Gimignano towers. (B, D)

May 16- Colle di Valde Elsa/San Gimignano. We start our hike today after being transferred to Colle di Valde Elsa, a  fascinating old town that occupies the crest of a ridge high above the valley of the Elsa. This is a pleasant rolling hike among vineyards with stunning views of the San Gimignano towers. Our hike ends in San Gimignano, a lovely little town with lots of interesting shops, friendly people, and fabulous gelato. You will have ample time to explore all the wonderful things that the town has to offer before transferring to Fattoria Valle, a lovely and welcoming manor house just outside the charming town of Panzano. (B, L, D)

May 17- We explore the Chianti countryside today as we hike from Panzano to Volpaia castle, a tiny hamlet with a famous winery. After visiting the winery and enjoying another wine tasting (fortunately our hiking is over for the day), we transfer back to Fattoria Valle. Tonight we will have a cooking class with Alessia. (B, L, D)

May 18- Today we transfer to the well known city of Firenze (Florence), birthplace of the Renaissance. There is more to see here than can be seen in one day! Your guide will make sure you know where the most famous sights are. That night we'll gather for a final farewell dinner as we say goodbye to this beautiful area and each other. Overnight at Hotel Fortezza, a nineteenth century villa equipped with the comforts of a 3 star hotel (B, D)

May 19- The trip officially ends this morning. You may choose to continue your Italian vacation or, if you must, fly home from the Florence airport. (B) If you want to extend your vacation and see the other side of the Adriatic, join us for our Sea Kayaking Croatia trip.