Chianti Walking & Wine

Our first Exodus trip and it won't be the last. A very good taster for finding fitness levels and gauging whether or not this holiday type is for you.

A good all round trip with a good balance between low key leisurely walking, wine tasting and exploring old medieval towns and cities.

A really enjoyable and varied week in Tuscany. Three lovely walks through forests and vineyards. Stunning hilltop villages and market towns. Excellent wine tastings and winery visits, each a little different, and we certainly drank a lot of local Chianti. Liz, our guide, was efficient, knowledgeable, capable and so friendly. We had plenty of time to explore the cities of Siena and Florence at our own pace, and on our free day most of us opted for a cookery class at a local restaurant. Enormous fun and the lunch we helped produce, was amazing. The family run farmhouse where we stayed was full of character, and they made us so welcome. The evening meals were generous and based on local produce and served with their own estate wines.

A great mix of walking, wine tasting and touring Tuscany towns. Scenery just as advertised.

The setting in the converted farmhouse is absolutely idyllic - but remember that September is the beginning of autumn and the altitude is high, so you really need to pack something warm for the evenings. The staff are really friendly and very helpful and the accommodation is clean. I did find the twin beds narrow and the shower a little cramped : but then you get used to it. The meals at Castella were excellent, especially the antipastas, and the buffet on the first night was to die for - but overall I was disappointed at the vast amount of meat and the lack of fresh salads/vegetables. We found the same trend even when eating out ..... meat, meat , meat. Perhaps the wine compensated for it? I'm sure I got my 5 -a-day from the wine alone!! it flowed! Oh, and don't forget the gelatos! I must say we had a fantastic guide- nothing was too much for him. We'd slog away at the "undulations" (the in-word on our tour)and spent 2-3 hours relaxing in the town, while he'd WALK back again to pick up the minibus. And the wine-tastings were brilliant: we've all learnt about chianti classico. Fantastic cheeses and delicious olive oils were provided. No tasting was the same! Honestly, we all got on so well. Thanks Mark for making our tour so enjoyable and such fun.

A very well put together trip.

A really good balance between sightseeing, walking and wine tasting from an excellently located villa

great mix of a holiday, fantastic scenery, walking 95% off roads, great sight seeing too!!

We had a thoroughly enjoyable varied trip though the walking was more challenging than we anticipated. The uphill and down dale rocky walking was harder for us as we are both in our 70s and these days we have not done so much of this type of walking. Nevertheless, we had an excellent guide in Liz Proctor who made sure that we paced our walking and with her knowledge of the countryside and terrain through woodland, olive groves and vineyards combined with a good humoured small group of 6 persons made our walking very enjoyable. The wine tasting and classes were very informative and fun. On the city days in Sienna and Florence we had excellent guided walks and an in-depth insight into the culture and history ofthese 2 beautiful cities both of which we have visited twice before. The weather was more chilly than expected and the farmhouse although welcoming was not warm enough in the morning or when we came home each evening.th

As a frequent Exodus traveller I was yet to try a walking holiday. The Chianti Walking and Wine seemed to be a good mix of walks, wine tasting and sightseeing and I was not disappointed with my choice. Having only had a few days in Rome before I really enjoyed getting to know this part of Tuscany.