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Travel
Information
Travel: Our air travel package price includes the flight to Pisa
using the scheduled services of British Airways from London Gatwick to
Pisa. Alternatively Ryanair & Easyjet fly direct to Pisa
from London.
Arrival: The tour starts in Siena, which is easily reached by bus from
Rome in 3.5 hours or by train from Pisa, 2 hours and from Florence in a
little over 1 hour.
End of Tour: Try to avoid a Sunday finish as returning can be a little
slow and
buses often don’t run. The
tour ends after breakfast on day 8 in Montepulciano. Clients can take a
bus to Chiusi Scalo, which has good connections by train to Rome (2
hours), Florence (1.5 hours) and Pisa (3 hours).
Season: April to November.
Level of Difficulty
Grade: Moderate.
Fitness: Clients should have a reasonable level of fitness and
should be able to walk for up to 5-7 hours a day in hot sun on dusty or
stony tracks, a couple of days are around 25km.
There are a couple of cross country sections lasting between 1.5 and 2.5
km where care is needed to follow route notes, as you will be crossing
farmland.
Waymarking: The route is waymarked with red/white signs or, when
missing with blue/yellow signs.
General Information
Hotels:
The hotels described are our usual choice of accommodation, however if
these are not available then alternatives are used and if these are of a
different standard you will be informed at the time of booking.
Baths/showers: Many rooms with ensuite/private
facilities have a shower rather than a bath, usually because of limited
space. Some hotels/guesthouses may however have a separate room in the
house where a bath is available to guests.
Breakfasts:
in countries such as Italy usually consist of coffee and croissant;
sometimes, bread rolls, yoghurts, ham and cheese as well. If you want more
for breakfast then we would suggest you purchase some food the night
before.
Special
Dietary Requirements: It is important
for you to tell us if you have any dietary requirements when you book your
holiday so that we can inform everyone that you are staying with.
Single
Supplements: are payable on most of
our tours. The single
supplement guarantees the privacy of your own room, however, rooms can at
times be small and in some places may not enjoy the same facilities as
double/twin rooms.
Solo
Traveller Supplements: are payable
when the cost per bag of moving luggage increases.
Language:
When
travelling in less frequented areas you will not necessarily come
across people speaking English. Remember you are experiencing a different
culture, buy a phrase book and try to learn a little of the local
language!
Luggage:
When staying in hotels, sometimes your
luggage will have been taken to you room awaiting your arrival. However
don’t be surprised if your luggage is waiting for you to take it up to
your room. Please politely ask someone if you need assistance.
Route
Notes: Please note that one set of
route notes per room booked is included in the cost of the holiday. If you
require more sets of notes then there is a charge of £25 per set ordered.
Insurance:
All clients must have appropriate cover for the activities included for
the duration of our trip.
Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation
is on a bed and breakfast basis in 3 star hotels with en suite
facilities. No evening meals are included. Picnic
lunches are not included in the tour price, but materials for picnics can
be purchased in each of the towns and most villages where you stay or pass
through.
Note that all pools may be closed at any time and except at Bagno Vignoni,
hotel pools generally are not open early and late in the season (e.g.
April and October/November).
q
Nights
1: In the lively and sophisticated city of Siena we stay at a small,
comfortable town hotel in rooms with en suite facilities, telephone and
colour TV.
q
Night
2: Our 3* hotel in Asciano also boasts a swimming pool and a nice back
garden.
q
Night
3: In Buonconvento we stay overnight in a renovated 3 star
hotel, which is located in the center of the town or an ultra modern
sister hotel in the modern part.
q
Night
4: In Montalcino our hotel is 3 star rated, all rooms
have private bath, TV and telephone. You will get magnificent views and
the hotel also has a swimming pool. This is a wonderful town with lots to
do and see and we would recommend an extra night here if you wish to
extend your holiday.
q
Night
5: In Bagno Vignoni we
stay in a 3 star hotel overlooking the ancient thermal pool. The entrance
fee for the thermal bath is included, although you will be asked to buy a
swimming cap (E3).
q
Night
6: In Pienza we stay in a 3* hotel in, or just out of the town center, which
has been restored. Modern room comforts make the stay a high
point of the tour.
q
Night
7: The last night of our tour in Montepulciano is spent in a 3* family
run hotel, there are several we use in the centre.
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Outline
Itinerary
q
Day
1:
Arrive
in Siena by train from Pisa or Florence via Empoli, where you change
trains. From the train station the hotel is a 10-minute walk or you could
take a local taxi available in front of the station (not included). You
can travel by bus from Rome or Florence. If you arrive at Rome Fiumicino
airport take the train to “Roma Tiburtina”. In front of the station
from the bus terminal take the “Sena” bus for Siena. In Siena get off
at Piazza Gramsci. The Hotel is a 5 minute walk.
After
settling into the hotel you will find all the famous places of the city
within walking distance, with the Duomo, the
huge Pisan Romanesque and Gothic cathedral, the Palazzo Salimbeni, (the
ancient head-quarters of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest bank of
the world, founded in 1472 and still today one of the biggest banks in
Italy) and The Piazza del Campo, the
shell like square, centre of the medieval city, where twice per year they
hold the “Palio” horse race. You can easily get lost in the warren
of streets of Siena! Overnight Siena.
q
Day 2: Take
a bus from Siena to Taverne d’Arbia (20 mins). Its then an approx
25km/15.5 miles, 6 hours through Crete Senesi to Asciano. You will have
some views back on the city as you arise through a string of hamlets in a
largely sheep farming area, before you undulate along to Asciano, a
tightly packed mediaeval walled town with Sienese architecture.
q
Day 3: Asciano to Buonconvento
(5h walk, 13.5 miles/22km). The day starts with a train ride to Asciano.
From Asciano you continue crossing the fascinating area of hills called the Crete Senesi
and you reach the Monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, built in the 14th
century by the Olivetan monks. Surrounded by a forest of cypresses, this
place is world-famous for the frescoes in the courtyard painted by the
15th century painters Signorelli and Sodoma. Even the library and the
church of the convent are architectural masterpieces. Crossing olive tree
fields along woodland tracks and white roads, you will eventually reach
the small town of Buonconvento, where the Emperor Henry VII died in 1313. The
old section has a perfect embrace of walls, and there are little alleys
running off the main street waiting to be explored.
q
Day 4: Buonconvento
to Montalcino, (6 hours walk, 12 miles/19.5km). A general gentle up &
downhill walk passing some great villas, e.g. Castelrosi and Castles,
e.g. Bibbiano. You will then cross the Ombrone River and come into the
wine producing area of Brunello de Montalcino. The last part of the walk
will lead you up to Montalcino, a 328m climb. The walk is steep but
panoramic and reaching the gate in the town-walls, it will feel like a
conquest! Overnight in Montalcino.
q
Day 5:
Montalcino to Bagno Vignoni (7/8
hours walk, 14.9 miles/24km). This is the longest walk, crossing one of the most
remote areas. Today you have a long downhill walk to the Romanesque abbey
of Sant Antimo, one of the most beautiful in all of Tuscany and now lived
in by the French Gregorian friars. Their prayers and songs give the
ambience a special mystic atmosphere. From here we make a visit to the
medieval town of Castelnuovo dell’Abate, with great views across to
Monte Amiata, a former volcano, which is still important for its thermal
water. From here you continue and cross the canyon of the Orcia River. On
your side of the canyon is the castle of Ripa d’Orcia and on the
opposite side there is the castle of Rocca d’Orcia. You then reach Bagno
Vignoni, which was built in the 13th century to permit Lorenzo de’Medici
and the popes to relax in healthy thermal water. In this small village,
instead of the usual central square, there is a large pool! Especially on
cooler days the effect of the rising steam is incredible. Overnight in
Bagno Vignoni (included is the entrance to the more modern thermal pool,
so that you don’t have to go in with the pope!).
Extend
your stay, after yesterday’s hard walk, relaxing in the baths and
walking to S.Quirico & Rocca d’Orcia.
Note that the pool has
occasionally been closed due to different reasons and we cannot guarantee
its status for the date of your visit.
q
Day
6:
Bagno Vignoni to Pienza (5
hours walk, 14.5km/9 miles). A steep hill brings you to the village of Vignoni,
the view is quite unique. From here you walk on to S.Quirico d’Orcia. A
small town surrounded by some 15th century town-walls, topped with 14
turrets. Things to see there include the 13th century Romanesque
Collegiate Church, with the “Horti Leonini” - an unusual Italian-style
garden. To reach Pienza your walk crosses open countryside. Instead of the
vineyards, many sheep populate this area that it is known for its good
“Pecorino cheese”. Pienza, built by Pope Pius II, (Piccolomini), who
was born in Siena, is the perfect Renaissance town. Overnight in Pienza.
q
Day 7:
Pienza to Montepulciano (4
hours walk, 8.4 miles/13.5km). A gentle up & downhill walk to reach
Montepulciano another wine area. On the way you can stop at Montichiello,
a surprising small village located on the top of a hill with a marvellous
surrounding view, before you reach your last amazing bastion, the medieval town of Montepulciano. This has one of the most impressive
Renaissance buildings in Italy: the church of San Biagio.
q
Day 8: End of
tour, by bus or train back to Pisa, Florence or Rome.
Extra nights
Siena
is certainly a beautiful city, yet despite its size, it has something of a
village feel to it. There is so much to see and so many good places to eat
that it is worth an extra day. We can arrange extra nights here or in
Florence which is only about an hour away by bus from Siena.
We
would also recommend a full day to really discover Montalcino and to
sample the best “Brunello” wine and why not have an extra night in
Bagno Vignoni relaxing in the baths and visiting the nearby hamlets of
S.Quirico & Rocca d’Orcia?
We
can also recommend our extension to the Cinque Terre for a complete change
of scenery. Details and prices on request.
Route
Notes
On Self
Guided Tour we provide you with route notes and maps at 1:25.000 scale.
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