Volterra to San Gimignano Walk
Volterra to San Gimignano Walk
Volterra to San Gimignano Walk
9 Days Starting and ending in Volterra
Visiting: Italy
Tour operator:
Tour code:
W08TY
Group Type:
Independent
Guide Type:
Self Guided
Age range:
18-99
Special diets catered:
Please inform Exodus of specific dietary requirements
Tour operated in:
EnglishTrip Styles:
Interests:
Tour Overview
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!
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1 : Arrive In Volterra
Meals Included: Dinner
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)
Day 2 : Volterra To Casole D'elsa
Meals Included: Breakfast
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)
Day 3 : At Casole D'elsa
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)
Day 4 : Casole D'elsa To Colle Di Val D'elsa
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
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)
Day 5 : At Colle Di Val D'elsa
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)
Day 6 : Colle Di Val D'elsa To San Gimignano
Meals Included: Breakfast
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)
Day 7 : At San Gimignano
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)
Day 8 : San Gimignano To Volterra
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
Day 9 : Leave Volterra
Meals Included: Breakfast
The tour ends after breakfast in Volterra.
What's Included
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Meals
8 breakfasts, 0 lunches, 4 dinners.
* All accomodation
* Headwater Wine Collection Service
* Route directions and maps
* Luggage transfers between hotels
* Walking transfers
* Breakfasts and 4 evening meals
What's Not Included
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Travel insurance
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Room upgrades and extra nights at selected hotels
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OPTIONAL UPGRADES
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Option to extend to 10 nights
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Single accommodation (available on request -compulsory supplement)
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Visas or vaccinations
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Flights from Heathrow to Pisa with British Airways, including local transfers
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Other flights, including regional departures
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Business/club/first class fares on request
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City break add-ons in Siena, Lucca, Florence and Pisa
Food
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.
Accommodation
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!
Check out our Q&As
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Are vaccinations required for this tour?
There are no specific health risks.
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Are airport transfers included in this tour?
Only Luggage transfers between hotels
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Are children permitted to take part in the tour?
8+ age people can go on this tour.
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Are the local guides on the tour English speaking?
Yes
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What is the standard of the hotels on this tour?
4 star
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What happens if I need to change my holiday date once I’ve booked?
If you wish to make any changes to your booking, particularly if you need to alter any flights booked through us, please let us know as soon as possible. There is a booking or flight amendment fee of £40 per change and flight amendments often incur extra airline costs depending on the changes to be made and if the ticket has been issued or not.
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How long has the tour company been trading?
Exodus has been trading since 1974
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What documents will I receive before I travel?
Your final joining instructions and flight details, if booked with us, will then be sent out 2 to 3 weeks before departure. If you would like a hard copy posted, or if you require these any earlier, please contact the customer operations team. We advise that if you are booking connecting travel before receiving these, please ensure you leave plenty of time.
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Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?
Travellers are welcome to opt to share a room with a tour member of the same gender for no additional charge. If you'd like your own room, we can request a single supplement so that you will have your own room throughout.
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Can I join the tour once it has departed?
You are welcome to meet the group after the tour has departed however there is no reduction in rate for joining a tour after the departure date.
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Transfer as credit to Future Tours
Exodus Adventure Travels allows you to transfer existing payments to a future tour to avoid cancellation fees if you can't travel and inform exodus adventure travels, 43 days before departure.
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Low Deposit
Exodus Adventure Travels requires a minimum deposit of 25% or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 90 days before departure.
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Cancellation Policy
We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of exodus adventure travels charges.
Up to 70 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.