For each tour, we indicate the level of physical fitness necessary to comfortably participate in the tour’s walking and/or hiking – according to the scale below. When assessing your fitness level according to this scale, keep in mind that while a regular program of exercise is key to a healthy lifestyle, fitness is also augmented and maintained through choices like preferring stairs over elevators, walking between stores as opposed to driving, making a vigorous attack on the weeds, etc.
We can call activities like these “spontaneous” exercise, as opposed to “programmed” exercise like power-walking, working out at the gym, etc.. When rating your fitness level according to our scale, do take into account both kinds of exercise. After all, strolling through the Italian countryside for 3 to 4 hours is not much different than doing a full morning of vigorous shopping all on foot and using stairs. Well, at least not quantitatively…
| rating | amount of daily activity |
|---|---|
| 1 | you average less than 30 minutes of spontaneous exercise each day |
| 2 | 30 minutes to 1 hour of spontaneous exercise each day |
| 3 | 1-2 hours of spontaneous exercise, OR around 30 minutes of programmed exercise |
| 4 | 1-2 hours of spontaneous exercise, AND 30 minutes to 1 hour of programmed exercise |
| 5 | 2+ hours of spontaneous exercise, AND 1+ hours of programmed exercise |
Also keep in mind that doing one morning stroll in the countryside is different from doing six strolls over six consecutive mornings. While the first walk may leave you feeling fine, the third and fourth may have a different effect. However, if in your regular daily life you do a walk each day augmented by other forms of spontaneous exercise, you should be able to comfortably complete any of our walking tours rated for level 3.
Wherever we indicate a range of fitness levels (e.g. 3-5), this means that it is possible to select activities and/or trails that are suitable for each of those fitness levels. Our guides are local to the areas they guide in and know the trails of their regions inside and out. Consequently, they can adjust the amount of activity required each day according to your preferences by selecting an appropriate walk from their repertoire of possible walks. Note that this is not true for certain of our more rigorous hikes, like the Garfagnana Hike, which follow continuous trails that require the participants to press on regardless in order to make it to that night’s accommodation.