Walking holiday in Abruzzo, Italy
| country: | Italy |
| location: | Abruzzo |
| trip type: | Moderate walking holidays |
| departures: | 2010: 2 May, 30 May, 27 Jun, 18 Jul, 22 Aug, 12 Sep, 10 Oct |
| price: | From £830 (8 days) excluding flights. Price based on two people sharing. Single supplement £23 per night. Price includes B & B accommodation, lunches and local transfers. We can book train tickets or help research flights from the UK. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
In the heart of Italy’s spectacular and little known region of Abruzzo, the beautiful Majella National Park encircles the mountain massif of Monte Amaro, which at 2793m, is the second highest peak in the Apennine range. Mountain streams tumble down deep gorges and hidden valleys, where secluded rock hermitages from the Middle Ages can be found, and alpine meadows and forests of beech give way at the massif’s highest reaches to an almost desert landscape, with pockets of year-round snow. The Park is home to deer, chamois, wild boar, wolves, otters, and a very small number of bears.
Spend a week exploring the Majella on a small group walking holiday, from a comfortable single-centre base. Holidays include accommodation, all breakfasts and lavish packed-lunches, 3 days of organised walks, a handbook of local information and self-guided walks, the support of a knowledgeable manager, airport transfers to/from a designated flight, and local transportation.
Accommodation: Stay in the small spa-town of Caramanico Terme, which is stunningly situated on the lower flanks of Monte Amaro, at the 3-star Hotel Pescofalcone. The attractive en-suite rooms have been recently refurbished and the hotel is on a quiet street 3 minutes walk from the town’s central piazza and shops.
Walking: The itinerary allows for great flexibility, as each guest is free to walk as much or as little as they like. Three days of organised walks alternate with days of self-guided walking, and on any day guests can choose to take an alternative self-guided walk or simply to relax and explore independently. The organised walks may be subject to change depending on current conditions and guest enthusiasms.
Spend a week exploring the Majella on a small group walking holiday, from a comfortable single-centre base. Holidays include accommodation, all breakfasts and lavish packed-lunches, 3 days of organised walks, a handbook of local information and self-guided walks, the support of a knowledgeable manager, airport transfers to/from a designated flight, and local transportation.
Accommodation: Stay in the small spa-town of Caramanico Terme, which is stunningly situated on the lower flanks of Monte Amaro, at the 3-star Hotel Pescofalcone. The attractive en-suite rooms have been recently refurbished and the hotel is on a quiet street 3 minutes walk from the town’s central piazza and shops.
Walking: The itinerary allows for great flexibility, as each guest is free to walk as much or as little as they like. Three days of organised walks alternate with days of self-guided walking, and on any day guests can choose to take an alternative self-guided walk or simply to relax and explore independently. The organised walks may be subject to change depending on current conditions and guest enthusiasms.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Transfer from the airport. |
| Day 2: | Join an organised walk to visit a castle, an isolated hermitage and a magnificent Romanesque abbey church (6 miles, 420m altitude gain/loss). Or head out on a self-guided walk – a stroll into the Orfento Gorge, perhaps. |
| Day 3: | Take a self-guided walk across a fertile plateau to the medieval sanctuary of San Bartolomeo (7.5 miles, 360m alt. gain / 590m alt loss). Or relax in Caramanico, and maybe pamper yourself in the town’s spa. |
| Day 4: | Join an organised walk into the dramatic upper reaches of the Orfento Gorge, close to chasms cut by rushing water, and crossing grassy slopes (10.1 miles, 675m alt gain/loss). Or choose a self-guided walk into the hills above Caramanico. |
| Day 5: | Take a gentle self-guided walk to the extraordinary water-carved rocks of the River Orta, where there is time to explore and picnic (3 miles, 210m alt gain/loss). Or roam Caramanico’s narrow alleys - and shops! |
| Day 6: | Your last organised walk can take you from the fascinating village of Roccacaramanico right to the summit of Monte Morrone, at 2061m, with magnificent views (10.3 miles, 1050m alt gain/loss). Or enjoy another self-guided walk, maybe across the gorge to the rural village of Decontra. |
| Day 7: | Today take a final self-guided walk, onto the meadow flanks of Monte Amaro perhaps, and maybe visit the nearby Botanic Garden too, which has some 500 examples of local flora (5.6 miles). |
| Day 8: | Transfer back to the airport. |
travellers' tales
Some breathtaking views and the opportunity to spend time in beautiful unspoilt surroundings with hardly another person ever in sight were the highlights. (more)
award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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One of the main factors in choosing the location of our holidays is the presence of local communities which can benefit from low-impact responsible tourism. We work to bring new income to rural restaurants and small family-run enterprises, and our locally based manager lives as part of this community, in a rural village. They source the majority of packed-lunch ingredients directly from their village neighbours: delicious fresh vegetables picked that day from gardens, and cheese from local shepherds.
We work closely with the Majella National Park to ensure that our presence has positive benefit to the region. Our directors and staff are involved in local projects to assist the Park in clearing and restoring footpaths which facilitate access to areas of natural beauty and historical importance. The locally based Forest Protection League has an otter breeding programme to reintroduce these elusive animals to the Nature Reserve of the Orfento Gorge which lies directly below the town of Caramanico. We arrange organised visits to the Otter Breeding Centre to support the programme and develop understanding of the project. All our local transportation is carbon-offset through a scheme in place with the Carbon Neutral Company. Our brochure production and distribution is also carbon offset through a similar scheme, and we offer all our clients the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions caused by their flights too. We encourage and arrange train travel and provide details on how this holiday can be reached by train, thereby avoiding flying altogether. Our brochure and all other literature and correspondence uses recycled paper, and we operate a rigorous recycling and energy saving policy both at our UK office and all our destinations, as well as encouraging and assisting our local suppliers to do the same. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |