FLIGHTS

You are in charge of your own transportation — whether it be flights, train, bus, car, etc. — to our starting city, and your return transportation from our departure city.

For your arrival, we ask that you try and arrive early on the first day, as our first meeting is before lunch.  This exact time and place will be confirmed at a later date but do plan ahead adequately to leave you enough time to get to our meeting place by that time.  Even better is arriving one or more days before.  This would provide you with a chance to take care of jetlag and visit the town.

Please note that your transportation to our first meeting point is not included.

VISAS

For citizens of western countries (i.e., USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.), no visas are necessary for a stay of 90 days or less in the Schengen Area, of which Italy is a member.   Other European citizens do not need a visa to enter Italy.

TRAVEL/MEDICAL INSURANCE

Medical travel insurance is mandatory on our trip. We need to have assurances that you are fully covered in the event of a medical emergency, including repatriation.  You will need to send us your policy detail and emergency contact number before the trip’s start date.

Trip Insurance (trip cancellation, lost baggage, etc.), on the other hand, is entirely up to you, though we highly recommend purchasing it.  It often comes packaged along with medical travel insurance, or you may get coverage simply by paying for the trip using a credit card (inquire with your card supplier).

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As we are not a travel agency or booking agents, we can’t book any flights or ongoing travel (i.e., hotels, transportation, etc.) for you. However, we can surely help with recommendations, suggestions and tips as you look into flights, or extending your holiday. It never hurts to ask, so don’t hesitate to contact us with any queries whatsoever!

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We’ll be heading to Italy in the Spring, so expect cool to warm daytime temperatures, nice and tolerable, with cool evenings.  We are most likely to experience good days with pleasant average temperatures that fall between 15 degrees Celsius (60°F) and 23 degrees Celsius (73°F), although occasionally this could spike to 30 degrees Celsius (86°F)

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While we don’t have a luggage restriction on this trip, we recommend you not to bring more than 1 suitcase per person. You will need to carry your bags only from the bus to the hotel twice (plus the trip to our meeting place) but you should still make sure you can lift it by yourself (ie. it’s not too heavy).

We do have a laundry unit in the villa, so hopefully this can help in not over-packing.

In terms of clothing, it’s a good idea to bring some early-summer garb, such as light cotton pants, shorts, t-shirts, etc.  A hat is a good idea to block off the sun.  Our villa has a pool and we will visit the hot springs, so do pack a swimsuit!

A sweater or light jacket for the cooler evenings is a good idea. A rain jacket or a small umbrella could prove useful at this time of year.

Do bring some comfortable, but sturdy, shoes, as we have many walking tours and light hiking opportunities.  You probably don’t need rugged hiking boots.  Hiking shoes or runners with decent grip should do the trick.  You can always bring a 2nd set of comfy shoes/loafers to wear in the evening, for dinner and also afterwards when we’re relaxing with a nightcap.

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If you are coming from outside of Europe, then yes, your mobile phone should work, but do check with your carrier to make sure. It is highly recommended to turn off global roaming unless you carrier can offer you a package for your stay in Italy. Otherwise, you risk being charged exorbitant fees upon you return home!

If you are a UK or other European citizen, your phone should work as usual as Europe no longer has borders when it comes to mobile phone usage. However, do check with your carrier to ensure your package qualifies.

If you are coming from the US and your phone is unlocked (please check with your carrier directly) you can also purchase a local Italian SIM Card when you arrive in the country (usually sold at airports). You can sometimes find SIM cards on Amazon, for example the Orange Holiday Europe prepaid SIM card.

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Our villa does have WIFI, but it may be limited.  It may not work in some rooms, but it’s available in the public areas (especially outside), and then connection is a bit sporadic and uneven.  Having your own phone with a data plan is definitely recommended.

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We provide all accommodation, transportation and meals. All expenses during our included activities are taken care of, including tips for guides and drivers.

You will then only need cash for extra purchases such as souvenirs, alcoholic drinks during meals and at the villa, extra snacks, etc. There are ATMs in every town and credit cards are accepted in most places. This mostly means Visa and MasterCard, with American Express having quite a lower acceptance rate outside of hotels and higher-end restaurants.

The tour leaders will be carrying extra cash. If you decide to go on an optional activity at the last minute but don’t have enough money, we will be able to help you out and you can simply pay us back when we find an ATM.

For drinks during meals: we include non-alcoholic drinks, but alcoholic beverages (beer and wine) will require you to pay the suppliers (i.e. hotel, restaurant) directly. We will make it very clear what is included before each meal.

Tipping  your guides or the restaurant staff is not necessary and entirely up to you.

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All food on the trip will be vegan, delicious and WFPB. We are unable to accommodate gluten free.

For other allergies or food sensitivities that you might have, please email team@wfpb.org before booking and get our confirmation in writing that you can be accommodated before booking.

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We do have a personal trainer in our villa and you will be enjoying the opportunity to have his expertise and apply it to your own lifestyle.  You can create a program for yourself and apply it when you get back home.

We also have quite a lot of walking activities on this trip, with a fair amount of uphill and downhill walking, since most Italian towns are built on hilltops. A certain amount of physical fitness will provide for a happier trip.  Having said you can always opt to skip these visits, but this would somewhat dampen your enjoyment of the trip.

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Youth above 12 years young are welcome.    We are currently not accepting any younger children. ​There’s no upper age limit, though do note that there is a fair amount of walking on this trip.

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We will provide water, juice, coffee, tea, some non-alcoholic cocktails and kombucha during our time at the villa and during meals when on excursions.

Alcoholic beverages are not included.  You can pay for those on the spot or sign it to the room and pay when checking out.

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