Responsible walking vacations in Italy


Our Italy walking Vacations
Amalfi Coast walking vacation, Italy
Walk in lemon groves and hillside villages
Tuscany tours, walking and wine tasting in Italy
Walking and wine tasting in Tuscany
Dolomites walking vacation in Italy
Sandwiched between the spectacular peaks of the Dolomites
Piedmont walking vacation, Vineyards of Barolo
A gastronomic gem quietly tucked away
Sicily walking vacation, Sicilian Volcanoes
Discover Mt Etna and the beautiful volcanic achipelago
Snowshoeing vaction in the Dolomites
Michelin recommended cuisine & inspiring walks
Tuscany hiking vacation, Italy
Discover Tuscany hiking from town to town
Cinque Terre walking vacation
Walk the stunning coastal routes of the Cinque Terre
Mont Blanc vacation, Tour du Mont Blanc
The best of the Tour du Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc Circuit hiking vacation
Probably the most dramatic walk in Europe
Puglia and Basilicata walking vacation in Italy
Unique regions between the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas
Walking vacation in Tuscany
A variety of daywalks in the beautiful Tuscan countryside
Sardinia walking vacation, Italy
Superb daywalks amid rich and charming scenery
Italian Alps walking and cooking vacation
Walking in the Italian Alps with Piemontese Cookery Classes
Umbria self guided walking vacation, the North Valley
Along Saint Francis trails through the Green Heart of Italy
Umbria self guided hiking vacation, Italy
Easy hiking tour, through vineyards and cultural heritage
Lake Como family walking vacation, Italy
Lake Como; a panoramic hike, suited to do with children!
Mont Blanc Circuit trek, with hotel accommodation
Classic Tour, using small inns and guesthouses
Prosecco Hills walking vacation, Italy
The Prosecco Road, Italy’s oldest wine route
Amalfi Coast budget walking vacation
The hidden trails of the Amalfi Coast
Bergamo circular walking tour in Italy
Begamo; start hiking at about 5 km distance from the airport
Amalfi coast small group hiking vacation
This walking vacation explores the spectacular Amalfi Coast.
Dolomites guided walking vacation in Italy
Hike the Dolomites in northern Italy
Le Marche biking vacation in Italy, guided
A bespoke bycicle tour, e-bike or normal bikes
Western Dolomites walking tour in Italy
Walking in the shadow of the majestic Marmolada
Italian Alps hiking vacation
Enjoying the high mountains in a comfortable way.
Piedmont self guided walking vacation in Italy
Walking and gastronomic delights in Piedmont
Mont Blanc Circuit classic hiking tour, 8 days
Hearty local cuisine from 3 countries & phenomenal views
Amalfi and Sorrento hiking vacation, Italy
Explore the hidden gems of the Amalfi Coast and Alta Via.
Umbria to Tuscany walking and cooking vacation
Come to discover Umbria, cook and walk just like a local
Wildlife and environment
Mont Blanc – where silence is golden
The Mont Blanc massif is one of the most popular regions for hiking vacations in Italy, and so it is hard to believe that it is not actually a highly protected landscape. It doesn’t have national park status, for example and, consequently does not have a conservation strategy, something that would exist with a higher form of protected landscape designation. What it does have, however, is a strong group of mountaineering, environmental and conservation experts from three countries, who came together in 1991 to form Espace Mont Blanc. Two of its priorities of late are to seek international protective status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and to perfect a management plan for the massif which will be controlled by European judicial statute. Indeed the former won’t be achieved until the latter is put into practice.It is not just the slopes, forests and precious alpine tundra that need protecting around Mont Blanc, it is also the air. And the ambience. Mountain Wilderness, a mountain conservation organisation created in Biella, Italy, in 1987, leads important campaigns to protect wild mountain places. They define these as “any untouched mountain environment where anyone who so wishes may come into direct contact with the wide-open spaces, experience solitude, silence, rhythms, natural dimensions, laws and dangers.”
The most recent campaign is ‘Silence’, launched in October 2014, lobbying to stop the growing number of privately chartered tourists planes and helicopters which are currently destroying this rare natural gift of silence on Europe’s highest mountain. There is now rarely a moment of total silence, without hearing tourist propellers, echoes and engines overhead.
Support the invaluable work of Pro Mont Blanc, the umbrella organisation of various charities and conservationists working to protect Mont Blanc in France, Switzerland and Italy. French speakers might also like to seek out Pro Mont Blanc's book, published in 2002, Le versant noir du Mont Blanc (The black slope of Mont Blanc), which highlights many of its conservation issues. Follow their many projects and share on social media outlets. Hikers are often aware of the issues, but many skiers aren't.
Hunting and hiking – never a happy marriage
If you are staying in a rural area in Italy around the beginning of September, it isn’t unusual to wake up to the sound of baying dogs and church bells on a Sunday, as this is hunting day – and the beginning of hunting season. A season which is long, stretching all the way until the February, hunting big and small, birds and boar. Italian hunters don’t have a great safety record either, with many accidents happening in full on hunting areas. So, if you see a sign that says ‘Zona di refugio. Divieto di caccia’ take it seriously. There are hunters around, and given that in Italy there are over 700,000 hunters in Italy, it’s not a dying sport. If you’ll excuse the pun.A more controversial area in hunting is regarding the wolf populations. The Italians hunted wolves to extinction back in the 1970s, but the depopulation of rural areas has seen the numbers of wolves increase to around 1000 again. Hunting them is illegal, but it does happen, due to human conflict when farmers’ livestock is killed. This is particularly an issue in Tuscany, where farmers kill wolves illegally and then dump the carcasses in town halls in protest.
There are similar issues with bears in the Dolomites. Following near extinction, a group of 10 bears was imported from neighbouring Slovenia in the late 1990s. There are now thought to be as many as fifty bears in the region and although they are protected from being hunted, there is a lot of unhappiness among farmers and small rural communities about their growing presence.
What can you do?
Don’t hunt, and definitely don’t tell a hunter if you see a brown bear. Apart from that, your best bet is to support any tourist initiatives that center on either seeing wild animals in their natural environments, or keeping them happy there. Such as WWF, or if you speak Italian, the anti-hunting league in Italy, the LAC, is pretty active.
PEOPLE & CULTURE
The culture of mountain safety
Mountain safety is like a religion for people who live in and love the mountains. Especially on Mont Blanc and the Dolomites which have seen tragedies and fatalities. Tourists can be guilty of turning a blind eye to the harsh realities of walking and climbing in the mountains, be it the Alps or the Pyrenees, because they are so accessible, by cable car or train, they are packed with pretty ski villages and state of the art mountain refuges, they somehow seems ‘safer’ or that a Panama hat and a bottle of red is all you need to enjoy the exquisite excursions. Talk to the experts, your hosts and guides – they will be switched on to the unpredictability of Italian mountain landscapes.If possible, always go trekking with an International Mountain Leader or IML. These are highly qualified people, who know exactly how and when to tackle different aspects of the mountains, depending on weather, the time of year, avalanche risks and so on. They are also fully trained in emergency procedures and will warn the walking group about dangers and how to prevent accidents. You might fall into the trap of thinking that you do not need a guide or leader in summer but this is not true. Conditions can still be extreme in summer, so don’t take any risks. Or, in early summer, the temperatures might soar early morning, causing ice melt and avalanche at higher levels. Eighty per cent of rescue operations are due to exhaustion, and are usually preventable with better preparation.
Make sure you are fit and well prepared before your trip. Safe walking boots, the right amount of layers, waterproofs, water and an emergency kit are key. Ensure that you are walking with an internationally qualified mountain leader, particularly when hiking at higher levels. The UIMLA International Mountain Leader and the IFMGA Mountain Guide are the only internationally recognised qualifications in the mountains worldwide.