100k road to Rome, hiking along the Via Francigena
Experience Nature, Culture, History and Spirituality along the final section of the Pilgrims Path
The way to Rome, Via Francigena (or Via Romea) led the pathway from Canterbury (UK) to Rome (Italy) and was one of the most important routes in European history for 7 centuries. A thousand years later the interest and devotion was reawakened, alongside a desire for unity in Europe.
From volcanic ridges, lakes and gorges to hazelnut forests and white wine, witness a multitude of churches and villages, an amphitheatre, necropolis and fortress. Feast on local culinary delights and stay in welcoming, family run accommodation.
We offer this as an 8 day self guided walking tour
or a shorter trip to take in the city of Rome.
March to October
Self Guided
Duration: 8 days
Grading: Moderate/Challenging
Nearest Airport: Perugia, Rome or Florence
Starting point: Orvieto
Dog friendly
Days 1 - 2
Arrival in Montefiascone (Lazio, central Italy), a stunning hill top location overlooking the Bolsena lake. Wander around the medieval monuments and churches in this Papel town.
Descend into Viterbo, stopping at old drinking fountains along the way before dining in one of the many restaurants.
Days 3 - 4
Explore the hollow roads and immerse yourself in the typical Etruscan countryside along the way to Vetralla, where dinner is included at the accommodation.
A longer day walking along the side of a volcano, (the crater used to be occupied by Lake Vico).Continue through the countryside to reach the tiny village of Capranica. From here you walk down to a tuff gorge by following the stream – a very striking track. Upon arrival at your accommodation in Sutri you can enjoy a nice dinner.
Days 5 - 6
The first section of the route moves across fields and open countryside until Monterosi, where you reach the Monte Gelato waterfalls – a park where you can rest and have a bath! Then you walk along a panoramic excavated street leading to the Campagnano doors.
n.b. To shorten the day’s walk it is possible to pre-arrange a morning transfer to the picturesque village of Monterosi, from where you walk to Campagnano di Roma.
The day’s excursion is along the Roman countryside. The itinerary is quite flat with dirt roads or country trails, with some hills during the final section. The stream crossing could be difficult in adverse conditions.
Days 7 - 8
After breakfast, you set off for the last leg of your modern day ‘pilgrimage’ along the Via Francigena to Rome. Walk the final 22k to Rome or take public transport if you prefer to maximise your time there. Part of the walk to the city is through the Insugherata park, a beautiful natural reserve on the outskirts of the bustling city.
As you approach the ‘Eternal City’ you can stop for a triumphant photograph at the Monte Mario Belvedere. From here you can see a glimpse of the famous dome of Saint Peter’s, before descending to Piazza San Pietro, your end point and that of many pilgrims throughout the centuries. Discover the city’s magnificent history, monuments and archaeology, treat yourself to amazing restaurants and traditional cuisine.
Arrivederci Rome! The trip ends after breakfast, unless you want to pre-book an extra in night in Rome or other Italian destination.
Read about the northern section of the Via Francigena here.
Need To Know
Accommodation
All accommodation is carefully selected based on the location, atmosphere and/or unique services.
We choose comfortable 3* hotels, farmhouses (agriturismo) and B&Bs where all rooms have private en-suite bathrooms. If a hotel is fully booked, then we will book a similar one for you and inform you about the change.
Extra stays: You can book additional night(s) at any of the accommodation along the way.
What’s included
- All accommodation
- All breakfasts
- Packed lunches
- Optional half board on request
- Luggage transfers
- 1:50 000 map, GPS coordinates and information guide
Throughout the trip there are plenty opportunities to taste both the great local food and a wide array of prestigious wines of the region.
Guides
This is a SELF GUIDED trip, however should you prefer to have the expertise of an International Mountain Leader then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We adopt an excellent guiding ratio meaning we can cater for differing levels within the group:
One Guide: 1 – 7 clients
Two Guides: 8 – 14 clients
Booking and Price
1/3/2023 – 24/3/2023
Single Room €921
Double / Twin Room €731 pp
Triple Room €639 pp
3/7/2023 – 24/8/2023
Single Room €1135
Double / Twin Room €745 pp
Triple Room €653 pp
25/3/2023 – 2/7/2023 25/8/2023 – 31/10/2023
Single Room €1173
Double Room €761 pp
Triple Room €662 pp
Dog friendly €11 per day
We manage every booking independently to ensure attention to detail and provide a personalised service.
Terms & Conditions
Terms and Conditions (updated November 2020) – All trips are sold subject to these Terms and Conditions (hereinafter T&Cs).
1. Insurance
All clients need to be adequately insured for all activities they are taking part in. Insurance must include repatriation and details should be provided at the beginning of each trip.
All European clients should obtain a European Health insurance card (EHIC), however, this is not a substitute for travel insurance.
2. Health and fitness
Trip members have the responsibility to select a trip appropriate to their abilities and interests. In order to assist with this, all trips are graded and we welcome the opportunity to discuss trip details/answer questions in advance of your reservation. Trip members must be in sufficiently good health to undertake the trip, and if unsure seek medical advice in advance. For your own safety, you need to inform us of any medical conditions in advance or at the start of the trip. Trip members are also required to bring adequate clothing/equipment as advised in the pre-departure information.
3. Dietary Requirements
We endeavor to work with clients and accommodate their dietary requirements. However such is the nature of adventure travel we may be limited to specific menus e.g remote Mountain Huts, Tea Houses in the Himalaya’s etc. We fully encourage you to contact us in advance to discuss your requirements then we have every opportunity to explore options thereafter.
4. Cancellations and Fee Schedule Per Person
91 days or more prior to departure – €250 cancellation fee
61 – 90 days before departure – 25% of the trip cost
46 – 60 days before departure – 50% of the trip cost
45 days or less: 100% of trip cost
Fees are calculated from the date we receive written cancellation notice which can be via email. If clients are unable to access email and cancel over the phone we will confirm in writing the cancellation.
If you cancel 91 days or more prior to departure, it may be possible to transfer to another trip without occurring any fees. Please discuss this with us in the first instance.
With specific departures, there may be an increase in cancellation fee if the accommodation provider T & Cs mean we are liable for payment.
4.1 Cancellation due to COVID travel restrictions.
If your chosen destination country or the country where you reside have restrictions in place due to COVID, meaning you are unable to travel, you have three options:
4.11 Postpone your trip until a later date.
4.12 Take a credit note and use against a future trip with LBH.
4.13 Request a full refund.
If any other reasons prevent you from travelling, including quarantine measures then our normal (4) T&Cs will apply. We recommend that you check with your travel insurance provider to fully understand your level of cover.
5. Complaints
If you have a complaint, please contact us as soon as possible, in the first instance your leader is often your obvious point of contact. This ensures we have every opportunity to explores solutions to the problem(s) arising and we will do all we reasonably can to resolve the complaint. You must tell us within 4 weeks after your holiday of any complaints that you feel have not been dealt with properly.
6. Alterations By Us
We will tell you as soon as reasonably possible if we must make any alteration to your holiday. Most alterations are minor, but very occasionally we might have to make a major alteration. A major alteration is a change of location or to a lower standard of accommodation for a substantial part of your holiday, a change in start/finish dates or necessary price rise in your holiday caused by rises in costs (e.g. exchange rates, internal transport etc). You may then choose as follows:
- To accept these alterations
- To withdraw from the holiday, in which case we will repay all monies paid to us including your deposit and this is the sum of our liability to you
- To accept an alternative holiday that we may propose to you, in which case if the proposed holiday is a lower price we will pay you the difference and if it is a higher price we may ask for the difference.
You must inform us of your choice as soon as possible after we contact you.
7. Group Leadership
On a guided holiday your leader is responsible for the safety and enjoyment of the whole group and has sole discretion, on behalf of Live Breathe Hike, to exclude temporarily a participant from the group. They may also choose to terminate the participants holiday without the possibility of a refund if the leader thinks the participant is likely to endanger the group safety or spoil its enjoyment.
8. Your Responsibility
Mountain holidays by their very nature are adventurous, with a certain level of risk is undertaken. Individuals need to conduct themselves in a safe and responsible manner at all times; responding to advice, guidance, and instruction that may be given by the group leader / experienced professional and take all reasonable actions to eliminate accidents or injury.
9. Our Responsibilities
We will take all reasonable care to ensure that the information we give to you is accurate, including on our website, in your schedule and information pack. We will do all that we can to provide the service as described in the information we give to you. We are not liable if any failure is:
- Attributable to anyone other than us
- Attributable to a third party unconnected to us, and unforeseeable or unavoidable
- Due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control and could not have been avoided even if all due care had been taken
- Due to an event which even with all due care we could not foresee or forestall
10. Cancellation By Us
Live Breathe Hike reserves the right to cancel any trip prior to departure for any reason whatsoever, including insufficient signup or logistics problems that may impede trip operations. The refund of all land payments received shall relate Live Breathe Hike from any further liability.
Live Breathe Hike must normally make substantial payments to its suppliers far in advance of the scheduled trip departure date. If a trip is canceled due to force majeure; (acts of God, war, strikes, earthquake, flooding etc), Live Breathe Hike will promptly refund the portion of the trip cost not already advanced to suppliers and use its best efforts to recover and refund the balance as promptly as possible. However, Live Breathe Hike does not guarantee recovery of any or all of the advance payments made.
11. Additional Costs
Live Breathe Hike shall not be liable for (a) expenses such as additional nights and meals not specified in the individual trip itineraries, but which may required to get to from a trip start or end; expenses due to the delay of a trip for any reason (e.g. bad weather, trails conditions, land slides, flooding, sickness etc); (c) expenses occurred in recovering lost luggage by airlines, belongings left behind on a trip or in shipping purchases or other goods home from abroad; (d) visa and other incidental costs.
Live Breathe Hike reserves the right to take photographic or film records of any trips, and may use any such records for promotional and/or commercial purposes without payment.