Why Choose Via Walking?

Why walk with us?

Our unique walking tours are about exploring Tuscany’s rural heart and history in a way that ensures you take in all the treasures of the area, yet still have spare time to follow your own curiosity or just relax.

Shared exploration walking the quiet path ways and hidden tracks, healthy exercise, good food and wine and friendship are our aims.

'I must walk with you….to walk the Chianti hills is to experience the Chianti heart.' Host Monica Radda in Chianti

• To tread lightly, we take groups of no more than eight at a time.
• Via Walking is designed for couples, singles or groups of friends who prefer small non obtrusive travel.
• To avoid constantly changing accommodation we stay inside the medieval walls of our three base towns. This allows time to be part of the daily rhythm and observe the subtleties of local village life.
• We stay in authentic, locally owned three-star accommodation with genuine Tuscan charm. Each room has its own facilities.
• Our locations enable us to either walk directly out or catch local transport to begin the days walk. Environmentally soft and supporting local businesses are important to Via Walking.
• Our walks are carefully planed to follow quiet pathways and ancient mule tracks through woods, hamlets, vineyards and olive groves.
• Our approach begins when we meet you in Florence, where we will take public transport to our destination. There is no special tourist coach, no separating ourselves from the life and soul of Italy. Public transport will be used whenever possible
• We generally arrive back mid-afternoon giving you time to explore, snooze, wash socks or just sit and dream in the piazza
• The directors of Via Walking walk with you. Whether walking during spring or autumn, in sunshine or rain, the countryside and the activities of local rural life weave a different pattern for us to discover together.

Who Are We?

Almost two decades ago, the first of Bowyangs Maps and Travel Guides retail shops was established in Melbourne, Australia. Although no longer involved in the retail world, for Sue and Ralph this love of travel and walking has evolved into walking tours in Tuscany. Via Walking is Australian based with excellent relationships with Italian partners. Via Walking is a company whose directors walk with you. There is a commitment to the quality of the experience. Their depth and knowledge of Italian way of life is strong as Sue and Ralph live in the Chianti region for part of the year.

Living and working for six years in the USA exploring and canoeing its rivers, trekking in Nepal, exploring Syria and Jordan or backpacking in New Zealand walking has become a way of life for the Via Walking partners. To slow down, relax, explore off the beaten track, to see less yet better, to feel the anticipation of what is around the next bend and most of all to share the joy and experience with walking partners are now the most important things for Sue and Ralph.

A unique strength of your guides is their commitment to environmental issues. Over a decade of part time farming, using organic principles, revegetating land and receiving a Trust for Nature permanent protection covenant over restored and significant habitat has also been part of their life.

“Let’s not look out the window, how about together we smell and taste a region, breath deeply slow down and enjoy”.

When should I go and which walk is best for me?

The following points are designed to give a quick overview and help you choose the walking tours that best suit your interests.

May Walking

• Cooler than September although very warm days can be experienced (12C-24C).
• It may rain but it rarely lasts for long.
• Lush green foliage with abundant wild flowers and herbage.
• Acacia blossom is prolific and can cause hay fever.
• Green leaves are emerging on the vines.
• Nights are cooler than September so a light weight jacket needed.

September Walking

• Warmer than May (15C-27C) with hot days.
• As in May there is a possibility of short rain spells.
• The countryside is busy with grape harvest and the bouquet of pressings is evident.
• Autumn colours are beginning to appear in the foliage.
• Sunsets have a lovely soft pink tinge that Tuscany is famous for.
• Even though the nights are warmer than May a light weight jacket is still recommended.

Classic Chianti Pathways

• Chianti region is the heart of Tuscany. Large tracts of forest cover the hills intermingled with cultivated slopes of olives and vines. The blending of forest and farm over the centuries has shaped Chianti into the magnificent harmonious landscape it is today.
• Good examples of the ancient stone terraces are still evident. One of the terms of the ancient feudal system, required one terrace to be built every year.
• The quiet pathways we walk pass through hamlets, past original stone farm buildings, ancient churches, through woods, vineyards and olive groves.
• The walled town of Radda is a warm and welcoming village. It has a good balance of being attractive to day visitors and becoming a quiet rural town in the evenings.
• Our Classic Chianti Pathway walks includes a tour of an olive oil processing plant and a winery housed in a historic hamlet, experiencing local Tuscan food and wine with our host and sharing the experience of preparing a Tuscan meal and enjoying the results over a glass of Chianti wine.

Treasures of Central Tuscany

• A magnificently preserved walled city protected by a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
• We stay within the walls in a quiet hotel with a delightful garden with views of San
• Gimignano’s towers. A great spot to rest your feet after a good walk.
• The fascinating winding back lane ways, streets and historical sites are well worth exploring.
• More open views than the Classic Chianti Pathways walk with the towers of San Gimignano often in view on the horizon.
• Rolling hills, open pasture, forests, pilgrim path ways ancient hill towns and monasteries are the basis for our walks. We visit the medieval hill towns of Certaldo and Monteriggioni.
• As this is a larger medieval town there is a wider range of shops and restaurants. You can sample the fine Vernaccia wine the area is famous for in San Gimignano’s many enotecas.

Hill Town Gems of Southern Tuscany

• One of the best walled hill town and forts of Tuscany sited in a commanding position high above the surrounding country side.  It played a significant role in Europe’s history.
• A town to genuinely experience the daily working life with little change over the centuries.
• Our walks take us though a broader and at times more untamed landscape.
• This landscape includes larger grazing pastures famous for pecorino cheese, river valleys and silhouettes of cypress trees so often associated with Southern Tuscany.
• Our hotel is conveniently situated inside Montalcino’s walls and is run by the delightful Machetti family.
• We enjoy views of the best fortified hill towns including Montapulcino and Pienza knowing that we eventually walk through their gates to explore.
• Less frequented by tourists except for the Brunello wine lover.

Via Walking. 534 Park Street,
Princes Hill, 3054 Victoria, Australia
ABN: 1234 1234 1234 t: +61 3 9387 8045
m: +61 417 590 535 e: sue@viawalking.com.au
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