The people of Italy, along with many of their European neighbours, have long enjoyed a pre-dinner drink known as the "aperitivo". Typically these drinks are low in alcohol and more often than not have a dry and bitter or spicy flavour.

The southern part of the Italian peninsula, even in 2017, is much less visited by tourists than the north and remains mysterious and often misunderstood. But to ignore the south is to miss a genuine Italian experience and the warmest possible welcome from the people you will meet there. Hiking...

Many people, on booking tours with us, ask if they really need to buy Travel Insurance and our response is always yes. In fact it is a condition of travel with Hedonistic Hiking and we always ask you for your insurance company details.

The beautiful Hotel La Suvera sits in the rolling countryside of the Montagnola hills just north of Siena and is the first hotel where we stay on our Tuscan Harvest tour. This is one of our more gentle itineraries and...

It seems that the world cannot have too many cookery books and our fascination with the Italian kitchen and Italy's bounty of delicious fresh ingredients continues apace.  More and more books on the subject of food are published each year and here are three that have recently caught our eye...

Every now and again we like to shine a light on some of the places we stay on our hiking tours, and to introduce you to the people who are at the heart of these wonderful hotels.

Rotonda is a small medieval town located in the heart of the Pollino National Park in Basilicata, with a population of around 3,500 people. In 2017 a change to the accommodation on our Southern...

The first stop on our Wilds of Abruzzo tour is Tivoli, just on the eastern side of Rome, and a visit to the world-famous Villa d'Este and its astounding gardens. A UNESCO world-heritage site, this former palace of Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este dating back to the 1500s remains today an incredible...

At the end of our Medieval Umbria tour we find ourselves in the stunning town of Gubbio. Next year it happens that we will be there on the final Sunday in May which means we will witness one of its most historic and spectacular events.

We have updated the itinerary for our Medieval Umbria tour in 2017 to include a guided visit to one of Italy's most famous fresco cycles, painted by Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca. The tour will now start and finish in the attractive town of Arezzo, home to the church...