Walking and hiking in Italy are great ways to experience culture, landscape and local traditions.

Here are some tips about walking and what to take:


- WHAT TO TAKE
- FOOD AND WATER
- ACCOMMODATION
- TOUR OPERATORS
- INDEPENDENT WALKING
- MAPS
- DESTINATION

WHAT TO TAKE
As little as possible goes without saying. Packs somehow seem to weigh more at the end of the day than the beginning. Try and stash non-essentials in a place you can return to at the end of the trip.

FOOD AND WATER
Check your route before you leave. If clean water and essential food supplies are not available on-route then you need to hike them in. There are enough packet foods around now that make quick and easy meals. Fruit is great but it is heavy as are tins. Take a trail mix for nibbles along the way. This can be made up of anything (nuts, chocolates, sweets, dried fruit etc).

ACCOMMODATION
Bring your own tent for the most budget of walking trips, otherwise investigate on options along the way – there may be small villages, refuges or cheap places to stay. We recommend the Lonely Planet’s “Walking In…” series available through www.amazon.co.uk
We have a list of other accommodation that you can book online through www.hostelworld.com

TOUR OPERATORS
Feature tours throughout Europe including Italy, France, Spain.
Tel: +44 (0)1252 760000 Booking/Tour Enquiries
Tel: +44 (0)1252 760100 Brochure/Dossier
Requests Fax: +44 (0)1252 760001.
email: info@exploreworldwide.com General Inquiries
email: res@exploreworldwide.com Booking/Tour Enquiries.

INDEPENDENT WALKING OPERATORS
If you are planning an independent walking holiday trip through Italy you need to be prepared. Here are some handy hints and absolute essentials:
- comfortable, well cusioned footwear suitable for the terrain you will be walking on and that you have walked in before over some distance (don't bring new shoes!)
- extra snack food and water (it can be a long way between towns in some parts, particularly if you get marooned with an injury or lost).
- pack light! You can buy extra food as you go and you really only need basic walking gear and a change of clothes for evenings in town.
- maps (detailed for side roads and routes that you might take)
- itinerary - give someone a copy of your itinerary and check in with them every few days so they know you are okay.
- helpful hints - there are lots of people that have walked through Italy and a lot of them have put up details on websites. Check the useful links below for some stories and advice.

MAPS
A range of maps are available through stores like www.amazon.co.uk in the Lonely Planet series for example. Take a good map with you and make sure you know how to read it.

DESTINATION

Read below for some walking holiday suggestions.
Please email your walking tips, stories and tales to italy@backpackglobe.com

Abetone
This alpine region of the Alpi Apuane is used for skiing in winter and hiking during the summer months when flowers and greenery grace the slopes of the mountains. Tracks are not well marked so maps are recommended and informing people where you are going. Good walking shoes, water and food should be carried as well as warm clothing even during the summer months.
Abetone is reached by bus from Pistoia which is only a short one to two hour train ride from Florence. If you are travelling alone or even as a group inform a third party of your intended route and time. Check in if you can every few days. A first aid kit and backup food is a good idea and wet weather gear. Check weather forecasts before you go and the usual climate for the time of year.
Your tales:
We were waiting for the bus to Abetone when an old Italian approached us and told us he used to be a marathon runner. He even produced some identity card and said he ran in three Olympic marathons. The buses were really difficult to work out and we spent about an hour waiting at the wrong stops. This old man ended up being at one of these and every time a bus rounded the corner he would say "Eccolo" which means "There it is" and a lady behind him would say that no, it was actually 29 or 19 or whatever the number happened to be. The bus itself was interesting with one man who kept shouting at the driver that he was late. Abetone was lovely but cold even in summer. We did several hikes and got lost once or twice so make sure you have a good map and don't take short cuts. Most peeter out and and I actually fell on a narrow slippery track and hurt my hand. But the region is beautiful. (Joel, USA).

Cinque Terre
This coastal walk linking the five villages along the Cinque Terre coast is famous and delightful. The walk starts in Riomaggiore and ends after passing through Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, lovely fishing villages with markets, winding streets, excellent restaurants and refreshing gelato. The walk can be completed in a day. The hikes inland between the villages are also recommended as they take in some of the dry walling vineyards with the terraces sweeping down to the sea. For readers tales...

Mt Etna, Sicily
Mt Etna is an active volcano and is often off limits to visitors. It erupted again earlier in 2001 and the current status of the hikes is unknown. When it is open to hikers there are interesting craters to be checked out on the lower slopes. Ski lifts service the upper regions during season or it is possible to hike up near to the craters. Care should be taken as snow storms can hit suddenly. For readers tales...

Castel Vecchio, from San Gimignano in Tuscany
This is a full day walk from the closest gate of San Gimignano and the Lonely Planet's Walking in Italy guide or a good hiking map are advised as the track is not always clear. This is a lovely walk in spring and autumn and passes through lovely old medieval towns, past the vineyards and olive groves Tuscany is famed for and to one of the old castles that once formed the defensive belt around San Gimignano. It has been long since abandoned but it is possible to make out the towers, churches and other grain and well deposit areas in the ruins.