This was an excellent well planned tour. I found the pace busy but not overly strenuos or hectic. You have plenty of variety, Mt Etna seaside towns and harbours, quaint old towns as well as the ancient sites. What made this trip so good was the guide, Vanessa,, who often went the extra mile to help the group, and the group itself, 15 very different people who got on well. We stayed on for 4 nights after the end of the tour for rest and relaxation near Taormina and this was certainly the right decision. Taormina itself is very crowded and touristy with the side streets and the public gardens offering a welcome relief. Palermo was the best big city with plenty of character.
A perfect mix of walking, wine tasting and sight-seeing This was my 10th trip with Exodus in 4 years so I am already a fan and it almost provided us with what we'd hoped for. There was a good balance of walking, wine tasting and sight-seeing. The days spent in Florence, Siena and San Gimignano were not at all rushed and we had ample time to do all that we planned. It was also great to be driven in by Simon our wonderful guide. It meant that we spent very little time travelling. Villa Casalta accommodation was simple in a traditional way and our room was beautiful and very clean. We were given a very warm greeting from Roberta on our arrival and she waved us off on our departure however for the rest of the week we hardly saw her. The swimming pool was lovely to sit around but very cold to swim in during October although I did mange it one afternoon. The location is lovely with a pleasant 20 minute walk to pretty town of Castellina along a gravel road.
highlights of the Dolomites This walking holiday was excellent, We were very well situated in the Val de Fassa for the local bus and all the gondolas and chair lifts. Most of the walks started at the top of a lift so the scenery was spectacular all of the time. We were very lucky with the weather but even so it would be difficult not to be impressed with the area.
We had a choice of a grade 3 or grade 5 walk each day and we chose to stick to the grade 3 which was strenuous but without any scary bits! Every walk was different in scenery and terrain so always interesting. The shortest walk was 7 miles and the longest 11 miles but it was not rushed. The hotel good and had everything you need and their food was great and plentiful. It was situated in the centre of the small town of Campitello which had a supermarket and quite a lot of outdoor shops (handy if you forget to bring and important bit of kit) and quite a few bars and restaurants.