HIKING ADVENTURE IN ITALY

Unwind in colorful Positano, where pink and fuchsia façades blend like a puzzle over a rugged seaside slope. Get a workout on the town’s many staircases, peek into its artisan workshops and get into the easy-going Amalfi coast mode. Join a day trip to magical Capri, an island that has inspired many writers and artists. Admire the monumental Faraglioni rocks, which spurt from the sea, and the Blue Grotto, once the pleasure pool of Roman Emperor Tiberius. Get active on the Path of Gods, a trail suspended between the sky and the sea, with dazzling vistas of the entire Amalfi coast. Travel back in time in Pompeii and learn about this bustling Roman town where life came to a sudden stop with a violent eruption of the Vesuvius volcano. Round off your day with a wine tasting on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius.

Walk the bridge over the Tiber River to get off the beaten path in Rome and tour the Trastevere neighborhood. Wander the labyrinth of its streets, covered in black pieces of basalt called sanpietrini, with buskers, artisan workshops and lively everyday life beaming at you from every corner. Enjoy an authentic Italian dinner prepared at a local chef’s home: specialties, aside from the food, include the famous Italian hospitality. Visit the small enclave inside Rome, the Vatican City, and tour St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, taking in all the splendor and richness of the world’s smallest country.

Learn about the Chianti region and its winemaking philosophy on a private cellar tour of a family-run wine estate. Over delicious lunch in the family villa, sample different white and red from the region and the amber-colored Vin Santo, a dessert wine traditional in Tuscany. Work off your lunch strolling around the walled village of Monteriggioni and the hilltop Castellina. Take a guided hike in the hills of Chianti and enjoy a picnic along the way. Admire the quintessential Tuscan landscape dotted with sunflowers in Val D’Orcia, then delight in the region’s famed Brunello wines and pecorino cheese, at the Brunello di Montalcino winery and cheese farm in Pienza. Join a private walking guided excursion to the walled town of Lucca and marvel at Piazza Napoleone, framed in sycamore trees; the Cathedral of Saint Martin; the 45-meter-tall Guinigi Tower; and the rounded Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro.

Hike the string of five villages in Cinque Terre, passing through landscapes of rugged rocks and Mediterranean bushes to properly immerse yourself in these centuries-old gems. Admire Monterosso al Mare, with the tall colorful houses that fringe the bay; the landlocked Corniglia; the fishing village of Vernazza and the tiny Manarola. Taste the specialties of the region: pasta with the famed basil-based sauce pesto.