Hill Towns of Tuscany

Tour Type:

Slower Adventures | Where walking and cycling meet easy-going exploring, our Slower Adventures are the perfect combination. Most days are filled with picturesque journeys with some free time to dive into the destination and experience the people, local food and culture as you go.

Activity:

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&B’s, inns, and guesthouses.

Activity Level & Terrain

This trip is graded ‘easy to moderate’ overall, however it should be noted that the terrain is hilly and summer temperatures can be high. Most of the route follows dirt tracks and trails and, minor roads occasionally. On days 2, 4 and 5 the walking is graded more towards the ‘moderate’ side as these are more challenging days. There are options to shorten the walks most days by joining the luggage transfer to get closer to your destination. The walk on day 6 is optional.

Navigation

The routes are waymarked in some areas, but not in others. However, we provide the Macs Adventure Smartphone App making it simple to follow the route using a smartphone. Rest assured that by downloading the route maps in our app, that this will continue to work even in areas without any mobile or internet reception. For extra reassurance there are turn-by-turn route notes within the app too for the majority of walks.

• Accommodation in en suite rooms in charming hotels, guesthouses and agriturismos on a twin share basis
• Daily breakfasts
• Transfer as per your itinerary
• Door to door baggage transfers as per your itinerary
• Access to maps, GPX tracks and daily route information with the Macs Adventure smartphone navigation app
• All your trip documents including a detailed information pack provided digitally through your online Macs “My Account”
• Telephone support from our offices and local partner in the event of a problem

• Travel insurance (required) and personal equipment
• Lunches, dinners, drinks, and snacks
• Tourist taxes (charged locally at hotels)
• Travel to and from start and finish points
• Any additional transfers or public transport required to shorten the walks or skip a stage

• Additional nights before, during or after the tour
• Private transfers to the start and from the end points of the tour
• Room upgrades

When To Go

This tour is available to start anytime between April to October, and possibly March, but we will need to check for you that the hotels have opened for the season as several in Tuscany only open at Easter, so it depends when this falls and if they have decided to open sooner.

Peak Season Availability

As Tuscany is a very popular destination, we suggest booking as soon as possible to ensure availability for specific dates.

Time of Year

The springs months of April, May and June offer warm sunshine, fewer crowds, and pleasant walking conditions. May is when most wildflowers are coming into bloom. The autumn months of September and October are also a favourable time of year, boasting cooler weather and a striking landscape made up of autumnal colours. July and August are good months to go but can be very hot for walking and therefore aren’t best suited for everyone. You will have to start early to miss the heat of the day and carry a lot of water (additional weight) with you. Although the towns and villages are buzzing at this time of year which is great to see.

Getting to the Start

We recommend flying to Florence, Rome, or Pisa and catching the train from the city centre railway station to Montepulciano (usually changing in Chiusi).

If landing at Florence Airport, there’s a shuttlebus into the centre of Florence (taking around 25 minutes). It stops beside the main railway station of Santa Maria Novella.

If arriving at Pisa from the airport take the PisaMover to the main train station (takes 5 minutes). Turn left when exiting arrivals and the PisaMover is at the end of the airport.

Rome has two airports. From Fiumicino Airport take a train to the central station Roma Termini (taking about 30 minutes). From Ciampino Airport there’s a bus to Roma Termini.

Montepulciano is on a minor rail line and the station is a few kilometres outside of town. We have included a transfer from the train station to the town centre. We need you to advise us as soon as possible after booking as to which train you will be arriving on in order for the transfer to be arranged accordingly.

Alternatively, if you’d rather not use the included transfer from Montepulciano Train Station then rather than getting off the train in Montepulciano there are buses that run from Chiusi Train Station to Montepulciano Bus Station or you can take a taxi. The journey is about 25 minutes. Please let us know if you don’t require the transfer.

Approx. journey times to Montepulciano are:

From Florence 1hr50 - 2hr15

From Rome 1hr50 - 3hr15

From Pisa 2hr50 - 3hr20

Train timetables are available at Trenitalia. Please note that not all buses run on a Sunday or they may have a reduced timetable.

A private transfer can be requested. Please let us know at the time of booking if you would like to add this option (additional costs apply).

Getting from the End

From Siena take the train back to Florence, Rome, or Pisa. Once again it will be necessary to travel from the central stations in these cities back to the airports (see ‘Getting to the Start’ for further information about this). Please see Trenitalia’s website for timetables.

Approx. total journey times from Siena are:

To Florence 2hr15 - 3hr15

To Rome 2hr15 - 3hr20

To Pisa 2hr00 - 3hr15

Siena Train Station is in the valley below the city centre and there are escalators between the two or there are local buses.

To Florence Santa Maria Novella there is usually a direct train that goes via Empoli and takes around 1 hour 30.

To Roma Termini in Rome it’s normally necessary to change trains in Chiusi-Chianciano Terme.

To Pisa there is usually a direct train that goes via Empoli and takes around 1 hour 40.

Luggage Transfer

One bag of up to 20kg per person will be transferred from each accommodation to the next.

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person.  It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.

General Information

The distances and ascent/descents are approximations of the recommended routes. Please be prepared by packing all necessary items, for example, proper rain gear (jacket and pants), sun hat, sunscreen. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes for the cooler months and lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.

Equipment

The tour information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes, and a day pack.

Travel Insurance

It is a requirement of booking this tour with Macs Adventure that you have suitable travel insurance which covers you for the activity and emergency evacuation and hospital care.