Tuscany Walks & Chianti Wines

A wonderful trip with a great group leader who went above and beyond to make sure we were all comfortable and well taken care of.

The whole week was fantastic! The walks were beautiful, the group was lovely and gelled well, the wine and food were delicious, the hotel staff was gracious and accommodating, and Jordan (our guide) made the whole experience work!

The week was full of many different experiences. Despite a smaller group than usual, the walking was excellent, even though it was very hot. The wine-tastings were very different, and all informative, some with some nice nibbles included. The hotel is lovely with an excellent (ask for a room with a view) with a swimming pool and home made pizzas to die for. City-wise, we visited St Gimignano, Siena (brilliant guided tour included) and Florence. Our guide, Jordan, did a great job keeping us under control.

An excellent tour with sensible walks, great food and marvellous sightseeing.

I had a brilliant experience walking and wine tasting in Tuscany, led by our fantastic guide, Jordan. This trip has a good balance of picturesque walks, wine tasting and city days and offers a great introduction to one of Italy's most beautiful and historic regions. Our itinerary ran seamlessly and there was never a moment where I felt it was too full-on, as we were given plenty of free time between activities. I would do this trip again in a heartbeat!

A very relaxed but full itinerary walking holiday. Challenging walks at times with lots to do but well balanced with down time to enjoy the surroundings and wine.

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

Lovely wine and hill walking with excellent town/city tours. All very well organised.

Brilliant tour leader, lovely group of travellers, excellent hotel, and varied mix of activities.

Wow! Exodus … thank you …we had a fantastic week. The trip was truly amazing. It was a great combination of leisurely (but hot!) walking in the Tuscan countryside, cultural days in Siena and Florence and superb wine tastings. We were fortunate to share our experience with a wonderful group of people and enjoy a few evenings (and bottles!) dining on the lovely terrace of Hotel Le Renaie. The weather was superb and scenery absolutely spectacular.

This was my first solo trip, exodus came highly recommended and so I thought I'd try it! The agent Barry rang me at times I was free and was so so helpful, booking and organising different flight was made far easier with his help. Landed in pisa and was greeted by Rosanna- our tour guide for the holiday. Honestly, I was a tad nervous and she was just lovely, very calming, like sunshine in human form!! Rosanna was very helpful, chatty, bubbly, informative and amusing throughout the whole trip. It was such a happy time!! I'm still laughing at some of the moments we had one week on !

I travelled solo on this trip departing on 12 Sept 2020, having booked it quite late as Italy was one of the few venues Brits could travel to without any COVID-related quarantine requirements either end. I was not disappointed. It is a perfect blend of walking (3 days - with fantastic views) and city tours (2 days with a guided tour of each available). Villa Casalta is a quality hotel with rooms with a view and a fabulous terrace overlooking the vineyards and skyline where all meals are eaten. The pool is also very relaxing.

A fabulous combination of walking the Tuscan countryside, combined with wine tastings and city visits. Alejandro was a brilliant leader. Villa Castalta is a perfectly adequate base for a walking holiday. The meals at the Villa are basic but wholesome. The restaurant used in the village were all different and very good. The best being Il Re Gallo. The 3 main walks are all interesting, each finishing in an interesting town for lunch and gelato! Despite the high temperatures during our week (highs of upper 30s) all the walks were at a a relaxed pace with plenty of stops along the route.

For me, there are three criteria that make a great Exodus trip: the members of the group, the leader, and the location/activities. The members of the group on this trip were wonderful: great company, entertaining, and considerate. Mark was the perfect leader (see below). The location was stunning with beautiful Tuscan villages, towns and cities. How can the combination of wine and walking be beaten? (OK, maybe cycling and wine at a push...)

We had a great of walking and wine tasting in the Chianti region with our excellent guide Alejandro. Our accommodation at Villa Castela was probably the best we have enjoyed with Exodus - great location, tranquil, lovely pool, big room, comfy bed and simple but delicious food.

This trip met all our expectations and requirements and was a really good holiday for us. The daily organisation and all the experiences were excellent, we cannot praise Liz enough for her competence at making the week so good. The walks were amazing, just at the right level for us and we felt spot on with the leisurely/moderate rating. The hotel was beautifully situated, traditionally furnished, clean and homely, the staff were very nice, helpful and pleasant. Just a few quibbles that have prevented us awarding the top rating: the hotel breakfast was good, although a bit more variety would have been nice, but the evening meals taken in the hotel were fairly basic. The meals taken outside in local restaurants were fantastic. Our pre trip information supplied from Exodus gave us the wrong departure terminal at Heathrow, which we realised just two days before departure, however, this was dealt with efficiently and we appreciated how well it was handled. All in all an excellent week, we enjoyed it immensely and are looking at our next adventure!

I'd wanted to go to Tuscany for years and this exactly fitted the bill. Wonderful walks, hilltop towns, visiting Siena, Florence and San Gimignano. Wine tastings were informative. Lovely group too. I can definitely recommend!

We had a fantastic time with a great group of people walking along the beautiful hills of Tuscany - visiting quaint hilltop villages - viewing spectacular scenery and partaking in wonderful food and wine

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

The countryside walks were paced perfectly, with time at the end of each to visit beautiful hilltop towns for leisurely lunches and sightseeing . Visits to Siena and Florence provided a taster for these beautiful cities. The wine tasting, particularly the Siena Wine School, was enjoyable, as was the Chianti imbibing throughout the week. Everything at Villa Casalta was very relaxed, owner and her staff friendly and helpful. I appreciated the tea and coffee making facilities set up in the sitting room for Exodus customers. I loved having day off mid week when I spent a leisurely day in Castellina.

This trip is a good mix of walking, city culture, great wine tasting and good food. The walks are leisurely - undulating - through lovely county side and vineyards. Not too long but long enough to know you have done something. Local guided tours had been arranged in Siena and Florence which made it more focused since there is really only time for a taster! - definitely go back for a longer trip to see all they both have to offer. The arranged wine tastings were very informative especially the one at the Tuscany wine school in Siena - we will be on the look out for the wines we tasted. The local restaurants used all served excellent food as did the Vila Casalta where we stayed. We also took part in an italian cooking lesson run by Edith on our free day. Well worth going to - but she only takes cash. Our guide Liz - was very experienced, very informative and knowledgeable. All in all an excellent holiday.

A well balanced holiday betwern sight seeing and walking. Excellent accommodation.

The Chianti Walking and Wine Tour was truly incredible. It was a vacation for my personal sensory system....to touch the ground that leads to...….the smell of the crisp Italian forest air, the taste of the locally sourced wine and fresh cheese, to see the vineyards, the cypress trees and the villas and to hear the sound of silence and peace, that can only be found walking the Tuscany Country. The tour was about being aware and in the moment, then taking those memories and sharing them with friends.

This holiday is ideal if you are not sure if you want a walking or a sight-seeing holiday. There are three walks, all of which are well within the capabilities of a reasonably fit person. These walks take in the vineyards, olive groves and woods of this part of Italy and also go via small towns with plenty of opportunity for good lunches or shopping. There are also visits to Sienna, Florence and San Gimignano. In the first there is a guided walk included, the second also has the choice to do a guided walk and the third is a lovely small town for wandering or looking at the frescos in the Duomo. The three wine-tastings are all very good, and there is plenty of opportunity to do more either local to the farmhouse where the trip is based or on the visits to the small towns along the way. For food lovers the meals were all very good and vegetarians are well catered for.

This was our first holiday with Exodus. Usually we are independent travellers so we were both a bit nervous about a group 'organised ' trip but we needn't have worried. We had a great group of people; different backgrounds and nationalities which made for an interesting week of getting to know each other. Our fabulous guide Mark was absolutely brilliant, patient, helpful and very accommodating, keeping us out of too much sun, well watered and well informed about the various places we visited. Roberta, our host at the villa was absolutely lovely and looked after us wonderfully with the help of Margarita. We really had a great week and as well as being very impressed with our trip we've also been inspired by the experiences of Exodus from our fellow travelers; definitely food for thought for future trips.

Wonderful week - three lovely walks through the Italian countryside and some delicious wine tasting! The wonderful Hill top towns we walked to and through were beautiful and, Siena and Florence were amazing. However, the latter was very busy, but that I suspect is due to the place.

One week of great walks , great hospitality and great food .. superb leader in Mark and combined with the warmth of the late summer sun we couldn’t ask for a better way to spend a holiday than to walk the vineyards and taste the grape 🍇

This trip is a superb blend of walking, culture and fun. The villa is wonderful and in a great location a short walk from Castellina in Chianti; I especially liked the outdoors breakfast area but everything about it is so quintessentially Tuscan. The scenery is stunning and visits to Siena and Florence gave the balance of walking and culture with the bonus of the wine tastings which added the fun. The walks were well graded and much as I expected in terms of length, but there was also plenty of free time to enjoy the area. The Chianti flowed at dinner time and made for great evenings for the lovely group I was in even if some nights there was just a tad too much Chianti in Chianti!

The walks were more challenging than we anticipated from their description

Wonderful combination of walks, wine , villages and cities, with a nice group of people. Weather sunny but not too hot, allowing half day hilly walks in comfort and the scenery was even better than anticipated, thanks to previous spring rain. The planning was excellent, but there was enough time to do our thing .

A very enjoyable week away. Comfortable rustic accommodation with friendly staff set in the beautiful surrounding Chianti countryside. A relaxed balance of healthy moderate walking, interesting wine tasting and well planned city visits.

We had an amazing time walking and sampling wines that we had never tried before but are now fans of. Our leader Liz Proctor was excellent, knowledgeable, tirelessly helpful and made our first walking holiday a pleasure. The villa Casalta was rustic and beautiful. The only problem that we had was the plumbing in room 22. The shower diverter was broken. we reported it and they said yes it is broken and did not fix it, also no hot water in the evening after a long day walking. This needs to be rectified. Meals were good apart from the first night where the main course was a sla b of cold pork with gravy!

This eight-day trip to Tuscany took place in the Chianti hills some 2,000 feet above sea level, just outside Castellina. Our base was Villa Casalta, a beautiful converted farmhouse which boasts extensive views in all directions and an unheated swimming pool that provided invigorating dips at the end of the day. There were three lovely walks during the week, ranging from five to seven miles in length, over a variety of terrain, all finishing at local mediaeval villages, such as Greve, Radda and San Gimignano, and there were day trips to Siena and Florence, which were enhanced by excellent local guides. On each of the first three days there were also fascinating wine-tasting sessions at different locations. On our final day we had three hours to explore Pisa before our flight home.

This was a wonderful trip through the countryside of Tuscany. The Villa Casalta owner and her staff member was friendly and caring.

From sign up to last day this trip was fabulous. Our guide worked tirelessly to insure that our group of 16 was always taken care of on the hike and at the villa. Liz Procter was a completely professional guide who made everyone feel comfortable!! The scenery in Tuscany was gorgeous, and Villa Casalta was a treat to have as a base for the entire week! Hope to use Exodus Travel again and soon!

Exodus tours were recommended to me, and as someone who knows little about wine but loves to drink it I was keen on this trip. I also fancied some exercise and activities thrown in. I was slightly dubious about going alone but soon realised when I got there that exodus caters for people like me. I would say the trip is scaled correctly in terms of activity level, I particularly enjoyed the panzano and San gimignano walks. There's also loads to do on your free day, I rented a vintage fiat from castellina, some of the group went riding and others cooking so plenty of options. Couldn't recommend this trip enough.

Just returned from a really enjoyable trip. Stunning scenery, picturesque hillside towns, delicious food and wine and a great group of travelling companions. Mark our group leader was a lovely guy, whose 'can do' approach, knowledge and personality added to the overall enjoyment.

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.

Great combination of walking, sightseeing and sampling the local food and wine.

Another excellent Exodus trip. Some good walking through Tuscany combined with other activities such as a guided tour of Siena, visit to Florence, visited to wineries and much more. Accommodation in Villa Casalta was good on the above scale.