Niche walking tour operator Hidden Italy has appointed PEPR Publicity to promote Italy’s lesser known delights to Australian travellers.
Hidden Italy has been organising walking tours in Italy since 1993 and founder Simon Tancred was one of the pioneers of small group active tourism. It offers both guided and self-guided walks around many different regions of Italy, as well as customised guided tours on request.
“Hidden Italy specialises in exploring places well off regular tourist trails and all our routes focus on a single region to walk, not hike, at a pace relaxed enough to really get to know and understand the places we visit,” said Mr Tancred, who got the idea for Hidden Italy working in Milan for six years, when he would escape for weekend walks in the surrounding countryside.
Guided tour in the Dolomites.
Groups number no more than 15 so Hidden Italy can deliver personalised, flexible service and guided tours are scheduled at the times of year most ideal for walking.
“Sicily, Puglia and the southern regions are best enjoyed in spring when the wild flowers are out, while northern Italy tours are planned for autumn, once the summer tourists have left and temperatures have cooled.”
Simon Tancred
Hidden Italy has been running tours to Sicily for 10 years and that is now one of its most popular destinations, with guided tours of Sicily’s north in spring (1-13 May) and the island’s south in autumn (23 September to 3 October).
Other guided tour options include Puglia, Sardinia, Venice and the Lakes, Trieste and Friuli and Verona and the Dolomites and the newly introduced Piedmont route through the Italian Alps (20 to 28 August).
Sardinia, self-guided tour.
Self-guided tours of central Sicily are offered year-round, along with walks through the Riviera, Tuscany, Umbria, Amalfi, Lake Como, Province and a new Piedmont route around Alba and the Langhe Hills wine area south of Turin.
Independent walkers follow clearly marked paths that have been used for centuries, walking to different hotels each day, while their bags are transported to await their arrival.
Self guided walks start at $1,050 per person for a six day Cinque Terra walk and guided tours start at $3,200 per person for the nine day Piedmont walk. All tours include meals at restaurants chosen to exemplify regional cuisine and mid-range accommodation, where possible in the historical centres of towns.