Have heard RS and Cassandra Overby speaking very highly about pilgrimage trail in Spain, hikes around Mt.Blanc. Any Forum contributors with experience or guidance regarding the “Way of St. Francis” trails from Florence to Rome. Thinking of planning this pilgrimage hike for future post RS Tour, to extend Italy stay. Your help, much appreciated.
Thanks!
This blog may of be of help in planning all or portions from Lucca to Rome. Pick the sections you want to do and train or bus to connect them.
https://caminoways.com/via-francigena/via-francigena-in-tuscany
Macsadventures.com offers St Frances hikes... luggage transfers, app directions, etc. We have used this company on several hiking trips in Scotland, England, France, Ireland.
here's a link to Stage 1, (you can find more options for start and end on their site) https://www.macsadventure.com/us/tour-1279/via-francigena-stage-1-bourg-st-pierre-st-martin/
The nice thing about using a company like this is all your accommodations are booked for you in advance, you have a phone number to call with any issues ( like getting injured on the trail) and they transfer your luggage from place to place, you just get up, have breakfast, get on the trail and when you get to the next location, your luggage is waiting for you.
Gerri and Ellen,
Thank you both for the web sites. Checked them out, among others and considering options.
About a year ago, my wife and I did a RS Sicily tour, adding eight days independently along the Ligurian coast. Porto Venere, Manarola, then Sestri Levante. Did some of the lesser known hikes in the Cinque Terre… marvelous, especially early in the morning! We then plugged into a non-RS Pilgrimage, Venice, Padua, Ravenna, Assisi, Rome. The month of June was beautiful, but very hot, 100F+, arriving in Rome. Overall we could not have been more pleased with our itinerary, but would have suffered quite a lot in the heat if we were on the trail late June.
May 2024 we are “go” and locked in for RS “Best of Italy”! We opted to add three days in Varenna on Lake Como, before “Best of Italy” starts. Don’t think we will be disappointed with that decision. Beginning a longer hike on the back end of our RS Tour might be “pushing” it. However, spending a few extra days in Rome relaxing after the Tour and saving the Pilgrimage hike (with its different character and purpose) for a different trip, may make more sense.
I know Rick cautions about adding too much into an itinerary. Thanks for your response and comments.
Blane
