Tuscany horse riding holiday, Italy
| country: | Italy |
| location: | Tuscany |
| departures: | 2010: 8 May, 22 May, 5 Jun, 19 Jun, 11 Sep, 25 Sep, 9 Oct, 23 Oct |
| price: | From €1300 (8 days) excluding flights. |
| more info: | Price includes 7 nights accommodation, full board and riding. Price based on two people sharing, single supplement €145. Maximum 8 riders, suitable for medium and above level riders |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Montaione is a wonderful part of Tuscany, known for its history, charming small villages, fortressed castles, natural sulpharic pools, and regional foods. The particular beauty of its picturesque landscape of Tufo cliffs, abandoned convents, cultivated fields, and its wild and mysterious forests make the area an unforgettable and little-known destination for travelers.
This trip is an exciting week of adventure equitrekking for intermediate and above riders staying on a 200 hectare farmily owned estate, which was once a mineral quarry during the Medici Dynasty.
Highlightsof the riding include visiting ruins of antique baths from the time of the Romans, abandoned medieval hamlets hidden in old mysterious forests, bubbling sulphuric springs set amongst a unique landscape of multi coloured earth and fields, and two of Tuscanys most famous old convents with spectacular veiws out to the Etruscan town of Volterra.
Riders can experience these hidden locations the way monks and pilgrims have visited them for centuries - on the back of a steady equine friend. Have a go at horseback river fording,enjoy long canters through sensational rolling fields, and perhaps take a revitilizing swim in the farms own natural thermal springs. For foodies, not to be forgotten of course is the excellent Tuscan cuisine and wines every evening.
All in all, a great adventure ride through some of Tuscany's most spectacular scenery. Groups are small, hospitality is great. What more can one ask for?
This trip is an exciting week of adventure equitrekking for intermediate and above riders staying on a 200 hectare farmily owned estate, which was once a mineral quarry during the Medici Dynasty.
Highlightsof the riding include visiting ruins of antique baths from the time of the Romans, abandoned medieval hamlets hidden in old mysterious forests, bubbling sulphuric springs set amongst a unique landscape of multi coloured earth and fields, and two of Tuscanys most famous old convents with spectacular veiws out to the Etruscan town of Volterra.
Riders can experience these hidden locations the way monks and pilgrims have visited them for centuries - on the back of a steady equine friend. Have a go at horseback river fording,enjoy long canters through sensational rolling fields, and perhaps take a revitilizing swim in the farms own natural thermal springs. For foodies, not to be forgotten of course is the excellent Tuscan cuisine and wines every evening.
All in all, a great adventure ride through some of Tuscany's most spectacular scenery. Groups are small, hospitality is great. What more can one ask for?
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Afternoon transfer from Pisa airport 16.30. Apertif at 19.30 followed by dinner in the village centre. |
| Day 2: | Villamagna and Volterra Hills.Challenging day ride through the Village of Villamagna stopping off for a fabulous local Tuscan lunch before carrying on through the foothills of poppies and sunflowers surrounding the imposing city of Volterra. We also visit the “Pozzaie” a sulphureous water spring famous from Medieval times.Before heading back to Iano. |
| Day 3: | Castalfalfi and Tonda Medieval Borgos. Full day ride north to the ancient castles of Castelfalfi and Tonda.Castelfalfi and its castle were founded around 700 by Long bards.During the renaissance the Castle of Castelfalfi was transformed from a fortified city into a lavish villa. The hamlet of Tonda and its castle dates back to 1212 .Acquired in 1267 from the town of San Miniato and subjected to the Medici Lords of Tuscany and Florence in 1370, the walled castle of Tonda,has inside a church with a tower, and an cistern for collecting rainwater.We lunch at Castelfalfi, taking in the stunning panoramic veiws around us, before riding home through the rolling fields filled with wildflowers. Dinner in Iano. |
| Day 4: | Bagnino Ride: Full day ride along the trail of the Sulpharic thermal pools of the region, including those at Bagni di Mommialla. We ride past the ancient Church of San Ferdiano dating back to the year 1000. The thermal pools of this region have been used for centuries to cure different ailments. In the last century special baths around the source of some of these springs, were used to bath animals with skin problems. The countryside today is diverse, alternating from rolling chalky red hills, to silver tinged olive groves, and lush green vineyards.We lunch in a well chosen picnic spot, while the horses quietly graze nearby, returning in the twighlight in time for a hot shower before dinner at the restuarant. |
| Day 5: | Free day to explore world famous San Gimignano and its eleven medieval towers.Dinner in Iano. |
| Day 6: | The sanctuary of Pietrina Half day ride to the ancient Sanctuary of Pietrina, passing through the farms soft rolling fields,olive groves, and Tufo rock faces before riding up to the sanctuary of Pietrina and then onwards to the ruins of an old watchtower between the two lakes of Montaione before returning for a Tuscan style picnic at the farms own natural sulpharic pools.Dinner at Iano. |
| Day 7: | The Roman Cistern and village of Montaione Trail.River riding, wild forests, Roman ruins and a gorgeous medieval village are all highlights of this full day ride.Leaving Iano via the "Red springs" you will ride through both Iano and Marradi, passing the farmhouse "Orcia" where there is a spectacular panoramic veiw to take your breath away. Riding on, we pass the "Pozzo Diago", an ancient stone wall that has now created a ten metre high waterfall. Eventually we come to the Roman cistern (II century BC) where we take our picnic lunch.In the afternoon we ride through the river Egola into the national park "Poggio all' Aglione" before we ride to the San Vivaldo convent on our return to Iano. |
| Day 8: | Departure at 10.30 for Pisa airport, or you will be dropped off at the train station to Florence if this is preferred. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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The Equitrekking stables of Kiwi / Italian hosts Jess and Paolo is located 35 km west of Florence, and offers authentic & unique horseback trails and riding vacations through one of the most beautiful parts of Italy. We use horses that have been specifically chosen for the job at hand, tack that is designed for those who spend time in the saddle, and both our guides and ourselves have years of international experience in the equine industry. For us responsible travel also is all about the treatment of our most valued assets- our much loved horses . Our equine friends live out in established herds during the summer and the winter as we believe that it is important for our horse’s mental and physical well-being that they get time to 'be a horse' they need time to play, groom, roll and interact with other horses at some point during every day - this is the horses way of relaxing.
We do not keep our horses stabled 24/7 for convenience, they live as close to nature as is practical and this is what makes them happy, relaxed and a pleasure to handle and ride. Environment
Responsible Travel is important to us. We have an environmental policy in place to make sure that the eco-system here is not damaged in any way. Our staff are trained to uphold this policy and are fully briefed on appropriate/responsible behavior whilst riding through wilderness areas. Our “Leave No Trace” ethic is applied to all trips. We are proud to be recommended by the Rough Guides "Clean Breaks" 2009 edition earlier this year. One of the greatest benefits that you will enjoy when you choose one of our rides is the intimate, exclusive experience that is not often found with trekking centres, pack outfits, working ranches or other trail rides where 12-50 riders are common. A smaller group means more personal attention, more privacy ,more individual space and minimizes the impact of horses on the environment. You won’t get lost in a crowd with us; group size is limited to 8 enthusiastic riders per ride. We use only locally owned transport, restaurants, shops and accommodation on our tours. The atmosphere at the farm is inspired by a genuine love of the local traditions of the places, people and culture that surrounds it. It has recently been completely restored and divided into country style apartments preserving original, rustic and farm-like characteristics. Community
Many riding stables prefer to keep large strings of unhappy horses, their overhead dictating that each ride must be as large as possible in order to stay afloat. To us, that's not a good ride. So, we based our whole business on using great horses, well treated and well trained, and on giving great responsible travel service to the people who come ride with us. We use only locally owned transport, restaurants, shops and accommodation on our tours. The atmosphere at the farm is inspired by a genuine love of the local traditions of the places, people and culture that surrounds it. It has recently been completely restored and divided into country style apartments preserving original, rustic and farm-like characteristics. Food produce is local, and where possible organic and specialized to the area. Wine is produced on the very terrain you ride across, and is of a very good quality. Local staff that know the area well are hired. During this holiday you will meet real people, and experience the culture that many larger tourism outfitters neglect. |
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. |