Italy is an amazing country and one which offers a variety of history, culture and great food to anyone visiting. And, as a country with a strong tourist industry, there are plenty of tour options available. While it is possible to see the country through the window of a tour bus, the benefit of taking a walking tour is that you can really immerse yourself in your surroundings – and being able to explore on foot gives you a lot of freedom to see the best of the country. There are plenty of different walking tours available across Italy, but during my visit I joined some great Walks of Italy guides to taste the best of Rome’s food, and see the historic sights of Pompeii and Positano.
Why Choose Walks Of Italy?
One of the reasons that I opted to join a Walks of Italy tour during my visit is that you know the tours will only have a limited number of people on them – so when a question comes up, you know the guide can spend time giving a thorough answer. I’d read the recommendations before I arrived in Italy, and when I contacted them to confirm the arrangements for the tours, they were a great help and offered some good advice for other parts of my Italian trip too. Having been on a few walking tours over the years, I know that guides can vary. But both the guides on my tours were very knowledgeable and spoke with a real passion for their country.
The Highlights Of The Rome Food Tour
Getting to taste and explore the local cuisine is one of the great attractions of visiting any new country. And, for me, Italy is one of the best places to visit for the food lover.
This Rome food tour offers an amazing insight into the food in Rome. We started off by visiting a food market to see where the professionals would purchase their ingredients, and then headed to taste some of Italy’s famous meats and cheeses at the nearby stores specializing in these foods. The tour culminated with a visit to a local pizzeria, where I turned my hands to actually making one of the great authentic Italian foods. And while my dough rolling skills still leave something to be desired, we all enjoyed the pizzas we made with a lovely cup of coffee.
Seeing Pompeii On Foot
The legend of a city buried by the ash of Mount Vesuvius is one that I had heard plenty of times, but to really experience the amazing condition of the city that was rediscovered centuries later? It was something I had to see for myself. From the preserved bakery to the open space of the forum, the guide brought the site to life, and provided the context to some of the smaller details that might not have been noticed if I’d been on my own. One of the more eerie aspects was the collection of plaster casts taken of the people who were still in the city when the volcano erupted, and even just seeing the position they were in showed what a terrible experience it must have been.
A Visit To Positano
After our visit to Pompeii, we headed down a beautiful road along the Amalfi Coast before reaching the medieval port of Positano, which saw its fortunes revived after being hailed by writer John Steinbeck. Looking up from the beach, the homes seem precariously perched on the hillside, while the upmarket shops really caught the attention of some of my friends on the tour. This was an excellent culmination to a wonderful day, and as we headed back to Rome I understood the romance of the town that had captured Steinbeck’s heart, mostly thanks to our wonderful guide.
If you don’t have a lot of time, a tour to Pompeii and Positano from Rome is a great option for anyone visiting Italy.
Walks of Italy provided the tours to me and paid me to produce the videos for them, but my opinions are my own and… you can see for yourself in the videos, the tours are great.
If you’re headed to Italy (or anywhere in Europe, really), and are taking the kids along, check out Tots Too to find a place to stay.
You’ve got such a great eye for video! I hope I can work towards doing better with it.
Many thanks!
The videos are amazing; sounds like a great tour!
So nice of you. Thanks.
Very cute videos! And great advice about walking tours – much more pleasant than spending your time piling on and off buses if the option is available. Pompeii, of course, you can only see on foot, and it’s advisable to use a guide recommended by a trusted source as those hawking their services out front can be dubious with rather “touristy” tours. If you want to go back and spend a lot of time with details, by the way, the headphones they rent there are good, too.
Yea, we had a guide, so didn’t do the headphones, but that would have made a lot of sense if we didn’t have that. Thanks!
great post, and love the photos/videos too
Nice post! Problem is walking around Italy in August, its so bloody hot! Pompeii is very open too so you need to time your tour so you miss midday. Also never do it with a hangover 🙂
I Love to walk, to know Rome on foot sounds like very cool to me