Via Francigena: Orvieto to Rome

A truly memorable holiday which enabled us not only to see parts of the wonderful Lazio countryside that we wouldn’t normally see by car, but also to soak up the atmosphere of the various villages and towns where we stayed.

About 1/2 of the walking legs were too far. I think 6 to 8 miles per day is optimum. Two of the stays were not hotels but rather rooms with no reception. I prefer a small hotel with a receptionist.

As usual great organisation and great walking. Accommodation and supplied meals, as expected, but all functional.

We completed the last stage of the Via Francigena at the start of November 2024. Overall we were very satisfied with the planned itinerary and got to enjoy the good accommodation in some marvellous towns especially in the old sectors . After recent rains the countryside was very lush with many pleasant views along the way. Our baggage delivery was flawless- always waiting for us. The map app for guidance was good and just followed the dot on screen and not the directions. It was only required on stage 1 from Orvieto to Bolsena and the final stage into Rome to the Vatican. The other sections were well sign posted. The stages are longer than published averaging about 25 km per day. The longest we had was 32 km as accommodation was before and after designated sector start and finish towns. This didn’t allow us to see the old Roman ruins at Sutri as we had to navigate a very busy main road with no footpaths in near dark conditions- not a problem in months with longer daylight hours. Apparently there is a path around this section of main road but it wasn’t on our designated route. For any person with sore knees I would advise the use of walking poles especially on the downhill of old Roman cobblestone roads . The only disappointing part to our trip was the rubbish dumped often in big bags at the side of minor roads and tracks once we were south of Sutri- not a problem to the north - or in other areas such as Tuscany. Rome has problems also with litter and the parks are not well cared for - but we did spend 4 days admiring the wonderful sights and food that Rome is famous for. The dinners we had on the walk especially the last 3 days were some of the best ever. Overall a very good trip.

All went well, thank you very much. The tour was on the whole adventurous. The hotels were satisfying. The luggage transfer was superb. The overall itinerary was good.