Traveling on your own expense to Pisa.

(Numerous flights available from the UK from Bristol, London Stansted, London Gatwick, Glasgow Prestwick, Edinburgh…)

1. Day – Arrival

After arriving in Pisa, Tuscany now only a short trip back to Marina di Bibbona by Helloocamp airport transfer.

Accomodation

Our campsite lies on the Tuscan Riviera, only a short walk away from the beach. The Mobile Homes are for 5 people, fully equipped with air conditioning, fridge, and kitchenware and it has a half covered decking area outside with tables and chairs. Numerous small paths leads down to the sandy beach through a tropical pine forest. Once there sunbeds and parasol available for hire. A small electric locomotive is available at the entrance to take customers back and forth to the beach, free of charge.

Restaurant, pizzeria, cocktail bar by the pool, grocery store, newsagent, tabaco shop, laundry, carwash, game room are all to be found within the campsite.

The linen and towels are included in the price. Helloocamp will charge a 40 Euro/House for a final cleaning.

2.Day – Wine tasting in Bolgheri

While we are on holiday in Tuscany, it would be a sin not to visit on of its famous vineyard and olive oil orchard. Here in Bolgheri we can take a closer look on the process of Italian wine making and cultivating technics, olive oil pressing and the ever mezmerizing olive orchard. After a guided walk through the grape covered slopes and the wine celars, finaly we will sample some delicious Tuscan wine and have a traditional lunch.

The menu will contain a charcuterie board, a cheese board, and a Tuscan main dish (wich can be a traditional Tuscan hearty soup or a tortelli maremmani al ragu di chianina, tagliatelle al ragu). The food will be accompanied by a glass of red and white wine from the celar.

After lunch there is a possibility to buy some of this magnificent wine and olive oil to take home for family and friends, now we can spend a couple of hours in the medeival Bolgheri town centre. 

3. Day - Cinque Terre

The Italian Riviera is not short of rugged coastline or romantic towns and villages, but the five fishing communities of the Cinque Terre are its most iconic highlight. The five villages are no longer the isolated hamlets they once were, but there’s still a feeling of remote authenticity, with few roads, perfectly preserved architecture and a network of stunning coastal and mountain trails.

You can explore these villages by train, on foot or by bus but I would truly recommend the rigid coastal path that connects them.

To start our journey we will take a bus to La Spezia then we will sail over to Portovenere by ferry.

After we finished admiring this nearly 2000 years old village we will continue to Riomaggiore which is the easternmost and largest of all five villages and acts as the Cinque Terre’s unofficial capital. Peeling buildings line up down a steep ravine to a tiny harbour. Their pastel glow at sunset, best appreciated from the sea, is one of the Cinque Terre’s most romantic sights. A botanical garden and bird watching centre sits on a rocky promontory up the hill from its pebbly beach.

We then walk on among the grapevines that surround Manarola produce the Cinque Terre wine, Sciacchetrà. The bustling main street and waterfront promenade are still lined with fishing boats and other such reminders of everyday village life. Punta Bonfiglio has fabulous views and a playground with a bar (or a bar with a playground, depending on your priorities).

Our journey continues to Vernazza. Vernazza’s small harbour – the Cinque Terre’s only securing landing place, its sea-facing amphitheatre of pastel houses that brings on the sighs. The village trademark caruggi (narrow lanes) rise almost vertically from here, a maze of stairs and tiny terraces, with big blue sea views popping at every turn.

Monterosso only rates as ‘swoon-worthy’ until you catch sight of the competition around the corner, but it’s the only village that has a proper strip of beach. Known for its lemon trees and plump anchovies served right off the local fishing boats, it’s the furthest west of the villages and the most easily accessible by car.

Corniglia, sitting on the top of a 100m-high rocky promontory surrounded by vineyards.  Corniglia is the only village that lacks direct access to the sea, although steep steps wind from a rocky cove and its waterfront train station far below. Its tranquil, tangled streets lead to a broad and breezy sea-facing terrace, the only vantage point from where you can clock (and photograph) all five villages at once. 

After any free time to spare which we can spend at the local shops or down at the beach, shortly we make our way back to La Spezia and hop on our bus.

4. Day - Pisa

Once a maritime power to rival Genoa and Venice, Pisa now draws its fame from an architectural project gone terribly wrong, but the world-famous Leaning Tower is just one of many noteworthy sights in this compelling city. Education has fuelled the local economy since the 1400s, and students from across Italy compete for places in its elite university. This endows the centre of town with a vibrant cafe and bar scene, balancing an enviable portfolio of well-maintained Romanesque buildings, Gothic churches and Renaissance piazzas with a lively street life dominated by locals rather than tourists.

While the bell tower of the cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces. All complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non profit foundation that operates since the building of the Cathedral (1063) to the maintenance of the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by municipality administration. 

In Lucca, our guide will lead you through the streets of the town, letting you get to know the all the beautiful aspects of this town. Lucca endears itself to everyone who visits. Hidden behind imposing Renaissance walls, its cobbled streets, handsome piazzas and shady promenades make it a perfect destination to explore by foot. Lucca is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls. The town includes a number of public squares, most notably the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, site of ancient Roman amphitheater; but also Piazzale Verdi; Piazza Napoleone'; and Piazza San Michele.

5. Day - Departure

Thank you for staying with us!

Helloocamp will organize an airport transfer free of charge for any customers flying from Pisa International Airport.

Travelling on your own expense: Pisa - United Kingdom