About Italy

Almost 40 millions tourists visit Italy each year, ranking it sixth on the most popular list of vacation destinations worldwide. While that tells you something about the popularity of the country, what it doesn’t reveal is most of these visitors never get past the major sites in Rome, Florence, and Venice. Italy is so much more than this.

From the Dolomites in the north to Sardinia in the south, Italy is a fabulous country full of fantastic food, superb wine, interesting towns, and welcoming people. All this is wrapped in a scenic beauty that is hard to beat.

However, our favorite part of Italy is the area in which we specialize: Tuscany & Umbria. In the heart of the country, these two provinces offer the best of Italy’s treasures. From the medieval central piazza of Siena to the small hill town of Montalcino, from the big cultural centers of Florence and Perugia to the religious town of Assisi, Tuscany and Umbria have it all.

Tuscany is famous the world over for its rolling scenery, ancient hilltop towns, and famous wines. The province is often divided into the area north of Siena (featuring Chianti) and south of Siena (also called Terra di Siena). Both areas are beautiful. Umbria, not as famous as its neighbor, nonetheless has the same great attributes. What's more, the flat Umbrian plain makes for much easier biking for those not used to riding up hills.

Whichever area you pick, Tuscany or Umbria (or perhaps a combination of both), you will be assured with a Zephyr Self-Guided Adventure you are seeing the best aspects of one of the best travel countries in the world.