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Our small-group walking tour of the Cinque Terre & Tuscany is a journey of diversity between land and sea. Explore the historic hill-towns of Etruscan Tuscany, admire fresco paintings in their original settings and look up at the skylines of medieval towers. Walk on an ancient system of footpaths connecting fishing villages snuggled into coves, past churches clinging to the rocks, through terraced vineyards, lemon orchards and olive groves overlooking the azure Mediterranean sea.
SCHEDULED DATES
23 – 25 May 2023 > click here to BOOK this tour
DURATION: 8 days
PICK UP: Florence Airport
DROP OFF: La Spezia station or Florence Airport* (*by prior agreement)
Our small group walking tour to Tuscany & Cinque Terre combines the leisurely footpaths and undulating hills of Tuscany between the walled medieval cities of San Gimignano, Volterra and Lucca and the breathtaking coastal hiking between the five tiny villages of the Cinque Terre.
A week of diversity between land and sea: historic Etruscan hill-towns, fresco paintings in original settings, skylines of medieval towers, fishing villages snuggled into coves, churches clinging to the rocks, an ancient system of footpaths through terraced vineyards, lemon orchards and olive groves.
The beautiful land of Tuscany is rich in culture and heritage and a man-made garden of vineyards and olive groves. Etruscan, Roman and Medieval cultures have left indelible marks on the architecture of towns like San Gimignano, Volterra and Lucca.
The Cinque Terre is like a balcony with an endless view of the Mediterranean Sea, running along a narrow curved stretch of coastline of northwest Italy, known as Liguria. Faced by the sea and protected by the Maritime Alps, this region includes gems like Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso and Portovenere and is fondly known as the Golfo dei Poeti.
There are many special features which capture the diversity of these two regions and a wonderful variety of gourmet delights; the traditional country cooking and fine red wines of Tuscany and the coastal cuisine of Liguria for fish, pesto and crisp white wine.
Join us for a wonderful variety of hiking, sightseeing and dining in central Italy.
If you would like to speak with us to know more about our Cinque Terre & Tuscany Walking Tour, please write us an email.We would be happy to hear from you and help you planning your next adventure!
We meet at 12.30 in Florence airport and travel to the Vernaccia wine country for a picnic and a panoramic walk, arriving mid-afternoon in San Gimignano. You will love the beauty of this little town, without any doubts the most picturesque medieval hill town in Tuscany with 14 medieval towers silhouetted on the skyline.
Settle into your hotel and then head out into town at dusk for a stroll after all the tourists have gone. Get to know the others in your group at the welcome dinner.
Meals: Dinner Walk: 2hrs / 8km
We follow gravel roads across open country with olive groves and vineyards leaving San Gimignano behind us on the skyline.
We arrive for a tasty lunch of local fare at a small family run winery.
Then a shady wooded trail follows an ancient path to the ruins of an abandoned fortified medieval village hidden in the forest and through a national park towards Volterra arriving in time to enjoy a well earned gelato!
Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner Walk: 4 hrs / 14.5 km
Walking tour of the historical heart of Volterra with free time to enjoy the many art galleries and alabaster workshops.
A short drive up the Tyrrhenian coast to a small hill town overlooking the sea for lunch and then on for a visit to Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli and Leaning Tower.
We arrive late afternoon at our hotel in the charming walled city of Lucca. Tonight is totally casual – traditional local food!
Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner Walk: 1.5 hrs guided city walk
Free time to enjoy Lucca after introductory walk around the city walls. A graceful Tuscan city of intriguing and discrete charm, Lucca is a city of music and the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). Encircled by a 4 km ring of renaissance walls which act as an elevated garden boulevard you can stroll or bicycle along, with a bird’s eye view all around. The streets and squares are pedestrian and there are many Romanesque churches, hand-made products and classy boutiques to enjoy.
We meet early evening to enjoy an aperitif, an hour of opera music and dinner in a local restaurant.
Meals: Breakfast / Dinner Walk: 1 hr / 4 km walk on city walls
We leave the verdant Lucca valley behind and head into the mountains to tour the exciting Fantiscritti marble caves & museum where Michelangelo found a perfect white slab for his ’David’! They are still active and situated at 1000 meters above the sea! ”new in 2020”.
In the afternoon we climb the quiet trail from the coastal town of Levanto and go over a magnificent headland to admire extensive panoramas before descending on foot into the most northern village of the Cinque Terre, Monterosso. On arrival, take off your boots, cool your feet in the sea or change in our nearby hotel and swim. Then sit and a enjoy a gelato or a glass local Sciacchetra wine.
Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner Walk: Elev. +/- 315 mt / 4 hrs
Today the magic of the Cinque Terre begins, with a breathtaking succession of land and sea. Man and nature have worked together for thousands of years. The exhilarating Cinque Terre is made up of ancient stone stairways linking high, terraced vineyards.
We begin in Monterosso and walk to Vernazza, a picturesque, bustling town where you can explore before lunch. In the afternoon we can reach other towns by train. Manarola has long, narrow streets with fishing boats resting on the pavements. Corniglia is a village with Roman origins and sits on a high promontory overlooking the sea. Back in Monterosso’s charming old town in the afternoon, you are free to relax or walk out for dinner to taste the local dishes in the atmospheric restaurants in town.
Meals: Breakfast / Lunch Walk: Elev.+/- 250 mt / 3-5 hrs* (*depending on erosion)
We walk a beautiful section of the high trail above the Cinque Terre with pine, oak and chestnut woods, remote villages and churches overlooking the sea. The trail undulates as it snakes along the contours and then descends steeply (incredible views) to reach the Roman-Byzantine town of Portovenere, a picturesque town and a delightful place to stroll around. In the evening we get together to enjoy a farewell dinner party.
Option: If you do not wish to walk today you can take the ferry to Portovenere* (*weather permitting) or simply enjoy the views from the minibus.
Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner Walk: Elev. +100/-600 mt / 5 hrs
10.00 scheduled drop off at La Spezia train station to continue your journey. On request, we can usually also drop off at Florence airport before midday. If you wish, we can help you to extend your stay or make other independent departure arrangements such as early taxis to Pisa/Florence airports.
Meals: Breakfast
©️ Caspin Journeys LTD
Get lost in the beauty of Tuscany
Discover the Cinque Terre breathtaking paths
A nice hotel and a good night’s sleep are an important part of your overall travel experience!
When considering a hotel, we look at more than just the rooms. We look for hotels or bed and breakfasts which are committed to ensuring their guests are well looked after and pay attention to detail, for example offering locally sourced breakfast produce, or a special selection of toiletries, or tea and coffee making facilities in the room. Wherever possible your hotel* will be perfectly positioned for exploring and will have a historical charm or maybe a new and innovative design. We choose the best possible places to stay ensuring that each night you are comfortably settled in a place that is welcoming and full of authentic local charm. We are on a mission to find the ingredients you need to wake up feeling rested and looking forward to each day of your Caspin Journeys tour!
Take a closer look at some of the places we have chosen for you…
*Hotels may vary
Sleep elegantly
A seaside feel
Vertical stylish hotel
Click here to send us an email with your enquiry. If you prefer us to call you back, please provide also your telephone number and the best day and time suite you to receive a call from us.
Yes, it’s possible.
Once you have chosen your tour, click on the Book Now button. It will redirect you to our online booking form. Once you have payed a 25% deposit out of the total tour price, you can consider your booking confirmed.
Feel free to decide the best payment method for your needs! We accept credit/debit cards and bank transfer.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any other requirement.
When it will be time to pay the balance, we will send you an email with the payment request. We will assist you through all the steps and we will be available to answer to all your questions.
Absolutely, no problem! Request our bank details:
We will be happy to assist you with your booking!
Pick up and Drop off for this tour are at Florence Airport.
If you plan on arriving a few days early to visit Florence, take the new electric tram which runs between the Florence (Firenze) airport terminal and the railway station.
We love our jobs and personally lead all our small group tours. Italy, Spain and England are our homes and our passion. We bring that excitement with us on all our tours so that you too share our favourite places.
We are very experienced and handle all the logistics while you relax and become immersed in the local culture, history and traditions.
We know the locals on all our trips and they love meeting our groups. We are small enough to get into private homes, chat to villagers, fit in small restaurants and enjoy all kinds of unexpected events that aren’t accessible to large groups of tourists following a red umbrella.
Our customer reviews say that Caspin Journeys takes the best care of you. We are a sustainable travel company and the only thing we leave behind is our footprints!
Read more about Caspin >
We believe that where you sleep is an important part of your overall travel experience. So we put a lot of effort into carefully choosing the hotels for each tour.
We always look for attractive, clean and quiet rooms with private bathrooms. But, our priority is also to find the best possible accommodations to make sure that each night you are comfortably settled in a place that is welcoming and full of authentic local charm.
The result is a fabulous selection of delightful hotels, medieval palaces, family-run hotels, country residences, manor houses, historic inns, luxurious alpine hotels – sometimes with a spa, sauna or swimming pool facilities – and all with character, good food and a friendly atmosphere.
You will have to keep coming back to experience them all! Sweet Dreams!
Getting out and about on foot is a wonderful way to slow down the pace, relax and get some healthy exercise.
When we walk we see so much more – grapevines, wildflowers, ancient oaks, wheat fields, avenues of cypresses and pine, time resistant hills and valleys.
As we stroll through historic towns we learn about the culture of the people; as we stand in the splendour of the countryside, beneath the soaring columns of ancient temples, abbey walls and turrets of medieval castles we marvel at man’s ability to conceive of and construct such monuments.
Food is an all important part of each and every one of our journeys. We are foodies, we love to savour the authentic flavours of each destination we visit. And let’s not forget the wine “the drink of the gods” which will accompany every meal, even picnics!
Picture yourself eating Buffalo mozzarella from a farm in Amalfi, tasting a Sicilian cannolo with fresh ricotta cheese, home-made pasta, organic vegetables, fresh fish and so on.
Or why not consider a Gourmet Cooking Holiday in Tuscany, where you will learn directly from the locals?
If all this sounds mouthwatering then look no further, you are in the right place 😉
On our small group tours we use a combination of gourmet restaurants, local trattorias, traditional pubs, tapas bars and farmhouse meals, to give you the best overall experience!
Each adventure combines fantastic hikes and authentic cultural experiences which make for a phenomenal and enriching travel experience. – admire Giotto’s frescoes in Assisi – walk in the Castle gardens of Henry VIII – stand at the tomb of St James in Compostela – gaze at and touch the columns of a Greek temple – visit the birthplace of Napoleon Buonaparte – see how a Duke lives at Blenheim Palace – tread the streets of Pompeii – admire mosaics in a Norman cathedral – understand more about the Roman Empire Travel in the richest artistic heritage in the world, many of which are part of UNESCO. What are you waiting for? Don’t miss out on an unforgettable trip.
Our travel style attracts a similar type of people, outgoing, interesting, adventurous, cultured and curious.
You’ll enjoy the company of your fellow travelers on our small group tours. Italy’s food and wine, England’s local pubs, and Spain’s meditative and spiritual pilgrim route are best experienced amidst the camaraderie of the group.
Guests who join our small group tours become our friends. They return again and again to share new adventures as we explore these unforgettable destinations with like-minded travellers and build ever-lasting memories together.
