The Dolomites, the Langhe, the Val d’Orcia, the lakes, the coast. Days outdoors built for groups who want to be in the landscape, without a walk that asks anything of them.
A walk through the vines with the grower who farms them. A boat crossing, so the lake is seen from the water. A trail in the Dolomites measured in an hour, not a morning. Routes are selected for even ground, shade and distance, so that the whole group can do them: no equipment, no fitness requirement, and a shorter option for anyone who would rather wait nearby.
In most itineraries these days sit between the cities, and they are what gives the week its change of pace.
Mule tracks, pilgrim routes and ridge paths covered at walking pace, while luggage, transfers and lunch move separately. Distances chosen so that the day ends in a village rather than a car park.
Coves, lagoon islands and abbeys approachable only from the water, on small boats with skippers who grew up on that coast. Often the quietest hours of the whole itinerary.
Bicycles and e-bikes on flat valley floors or rolling hill routes, with a support vehicle for anyone who would rather watch. The distance is set by the group, not by the map.
Private and historic gardens visited outside public hours, often with the owner or head gardener walking the paths. Italian formal geometry, English romantic planting and centuries of decisions about what to cut.
Wildlife biologists, foresters and shepherds explaining how these landscapes are actually managed, from wolf tracking in the Apennines to transhumance routes still walked every year.
Splendido private tours
