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We
pride ourselves for being the specialists for self-guided walking
& sightseeing holidays here in Liguria and along the Italian
Rivieras. We are based here, we breathe the air daily and have
a great passion to share with you our local knowledge to make
your holiday just that little bit special.
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here to VIEW GALLERIES OF CLIENT HOLIDAY PHOTOS. |
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Holiday: A401 - 4x4 CROSSING of the SOUTHERN ALPS |
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Got home safely. Had a good trip. Thanks to the Recaro seat it was in quite good comfort.
Dropped the Land Rover off at the Land Rover dealer's today, hoping they will finally fix the oil leak without spoiling anything else. Guess what kind of car I got as a courtesy car.... a Fiat Panda. For a moment I thought about heading strait back to Liguria to test its off-road capabilities.
We had a great time, thanks again for that Mike. Really enjoyed the tour, the scenery AND the company. Looking forward to looking into your plans for new trips as they grow.
Cheers,
Bernd |
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Bernd Voorsluijs, Gorinchem, Netherlands. |
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Holiday: AA02 - SUMMER ACTIVITY BREAK |
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Hi Mike
We're nearly there - tried sending photos at the weekend but too large so Darrell is picking up a disc tomorrow so we can send them to you.
Feedback from our holiday - our most favourite day of the whole two weeks was the gorge walking. It was fabulous to be totally alone (not that we're unsociable!) in such wonderful surroundings. We loved the scrambling and jumping into pools and your advice to take our time was really good as it really made us slow down, sun bathe and generally relax. We could repeat that day again and again as you never got too hot as you could always cool down in a pool and I'm sure you would find a different route every time.
The cycling was enjoyable but the heat was a bit too intense that day which made it difficult at times. The route was great but a bit more advice about the exact location of toilets and places to eat would have helped. We need to return and enjoy it in cooler weather.
We also enjoyed floating down the river although Darrell found it a bit frustrating at times as he kept getting stuck. You'll be pleased to know that the football that we found en route came in very useful in Pisa when it was used as a way of squashing mosquitos on a very high hotel room ceiling. Darrell was an excellent shot. In retrospect, the evening barbecue would perhaps have been better after the cycling as it resulted in a very long day, as you had told us already. Another option would have been not to include it in the overall 4 night package but have it as an optional extra - so those people who only spend half a day on the activities might go for it but those who are out all day might not.
The hotel was fab - the most comfortable of our whole trip. The only problem was limited space to dry things - I'm sure most people who stay there do not end up in such a wet, sweaty state. We also really enjoyed the town. Your notes about restaurants could be improved by adding names to the numbers and a short piece about food served and price range.
We stayed at a hotel that you recommended in Pisa - Hotel Locanda La Lanterna. Apart from the noisy air conditioner and mosquitos, it was great - the central location was perfect as it meant we could take a break in our rooms in the heat of the day and easily enjoy the Tower when most of the tourists had disappeared. The room for four was very spacious and comfortable. We stayed centrally in Venice as well which again allowed us to enjoy the city when it was less crowded.
Thanks very much for all your help and advice - we certainly learned alot more about the real Italy by talking to you and getting off the beaten track. It was also very useful having an ex-vegetarian providing us with lunches and cooking a barbecue. We will certainly recommend you to friends.
Cheers, Sue |
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Sue and Darrell Marchand, Woodstock, England. |
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Holiday: NP008 - SULZANO LAKESIDE HOLIDAY |
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Hello Mike
Just wanted to thank you for your advice on our holiday to Italy - we went last week and stayed on Lake Iseo, it was amazing and the best hotel I have ever stayed in. It is most likely we will go to a another part of Italy next year so will be in touch!
Thank you once again
Best wishes
Kath |
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Kath Jones, England |
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Holiday: ER002 - PISA AND THE CINQUE TERRE |
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Dear Mike,
I was just sitting down to sending you an email about our holiday when I received your email!!! The whole trip was perfect. I could not believe how close the hotel in Pisa was to the Tower. You were so right to suggest the evening and morning in Pisa... what an interesting city.. we walked our legs off in the evening and the following morning. The hotel staff were great and yes I received the package when we booked in. We took the suggested train to Manarola and WOW.... although we had stopped off 2 years ago for an afternoon in Monterosso, the sheer beauty of the area is overwhelming. Again the choice of the hotel was superb.. very helpful and accommodating.
We started exploring Manarola after a welcome shower and freshen up and Geoff had to try the Gelati.. he considers a day without gelati in Italy is not worth living!!! We walked around, had a pre dinner drink, and then dined looking over the ocean. We found everywhere we went on the Cinque Terre that the people were quite lovely, and nowhere did we feel that they were overcharging the tourists. As you know the seafood is fabulous and we dined everynight on it.. the prices were very reasonable for the quality of the food. That night at 9 oclock we were treated to the local marching band circulating through the various levels of the town..then at 11pm, being the feastday of a local saint, there was a parade which started at the church at the top of the hill, priests, altar boys, choir, candles, marching band, and a sacred relic being carried through the town. They went right past our hotel, and we were very impressed that you had this organized just for us!!!!!!
We spent the second day hiking the trail. We followed your suggestions to the letter since you had done such a great job for Pisa and Manarola. We caught the train to Monterosso and walked in 30 degree heat to Vernazza. Walking the trail in that direction was a stroke of genius, because we got the stair climbing section done before we wilted, and then had a swim in Vernazza. After a stroll around town we headed to Corniglia which is a gem.. quite a different vibe from the other towns.. great lunch there. We then caught the train to Riomaggiore where we swam again, Geoff continued his in-depth study of gelati, and then the Via del Amori home. An outstanding day.
The next day we took the train to Santa Margherita.. another beautiful town with really interesting buildings and a beautiful view of the ocean. We walked around to familiarize ourselves with the town and after some more gelati, took the bus to Portofino. They should advertise that 1 Euro ride as the best deal in the world.. we have ridden the Amalfi Coast local bus and figured we had experienced it all, but the bus to and from Portofino was the best. 100 people in 30 degree heat standing on a bus designed for 50. The bus driver is in training for the Formula One, and the road is only wide enough for 2 scooters, not a bus. The horn blowing at every turn added to the excitement, and the views were marvellous. Portofino is well worth the trip.. we stopped for-yes of course- gelato, and then hiked up through Castillo Brown gardens.. beautiful. The views, the boats, the plants everything was perfect. We arrived back in Manarola in time for another fabulous seafood dinner.
The family at the hotel arranged a wake up call for us and even though they start breakfast at 8 they would not hear of us leaving without breakfast.. We bid Manarola good-bye and headed for La Spezia and the train to Rome.
We can't say enough good things about your plans and suggestions. Every one of our friends will have your website address within the next couple of weeks. Great job.. thanks again for helping us make this memorable journey.. we will certainly be repeat customers.
Stella and Geoff |
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Stella and Geoff, Richmond BC, Canada |
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Holiday: AA02 - SUMMER ACTIVITY BREAK |
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Hi Mike,
We got home yesterday at the end of our two weeks in Italy. It was throwing it down with rain and the temperature was 15 degrees! Quite a change from the 32 when we left.
Thank you again for a wonderful holiday. We did complete the three extra days at Sestri Levante. The hotel was great and in such a unique position. We completed the two trips as detailed and enjoyed very much the activities. Thank you again for the excellent documentation and organisation and also for your personal guidance and support which was very much appreciated by us all.
Jon and Jan send their best wishes and I do expect we will return, that is if you will have us.
Very best wishes.
Colin and family. |
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The Briddick Family, Fordingbridge, England |
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Holiday: NP017 - LAIGUEGLIA SEASIDE HOLIDAY |
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Dear Mike,
We had a lovely week in Laigueglia and the hotel was really pleasant and the family very kind and welcoming. Hopefully, I will have another holiday there at some time...... I just wanted to thank you for all your help and advice.
kind regards,
Louise |
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Louise, Versoix, Switzerland |
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Holiday: WC01 - WALKING the CINQUE TERRE |
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Mike
We had a fantastic holiday and will certainly use Xtrallusion for any future walking holidays in Italy. Train journeys (except for the day we arrived when there were serious rail delays from Genoa) were excellent, both hotels were extremely good, the walking was outstanding, and the weather superb.
We found your walking notes took just a little while to get used to but as soon as we realised that they covered all the walking options we found them generally very good and easy to follow.
The only exception was on the "High Ways to Portovenere" walk. We chose to do Itinerary 3 and had no trouble until leaving the high coastal trail when it meets the asphalt road at the hairpin bend. We took the right hand side of the hairpin bend as instructed and the walking notes then say "continuing down along the road until you arrive at a junction with a road going left to right". But how far away is this? 100m or 2k? Whatever the distance, we never found the convergence point with the inland trail. We carried on walking down the road and eventually ended up in what we assumed was Portovenere but which turned out to be Le Grazie. A couple of suggestions: perhaps paragraph 46 of the walking notes could indicate the approx distance to the convergence point and it would also have been useful to have an area map with the notes so we could have worked out just how far Le Grazie is from Portovenere and whether it's a walk or a bus ride (definitely the latter!). [ Route notes now updated ]
On almost all of our walks we found your walking times for each section pretty much spot on. The only exception was on 2 on the sections of the Mountain Trails of the Cinque Terre where it took us much longer than 45 mins to get to the Chapel of St Mary Magdalene and much longer than 1 hr 15m to get to Reggio Sanctuary (but maybe the wine had been particularly good the previous night!).
I have only been on group walking holidays before but found the self guided walking gave us greater freedom and will certainly choose this type of walking holiday again.
Thanks also for taking time out to meet us at the airport to hand over the hotel details and walking notes etc. Appreciated.
Best wishes
Derek and Val |
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Derek and Val Spicer, Weymouth, England |
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Holiday: ER003 - PONENTE RIVIERA TOWNS |
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Hello Mike
Sorry for delay in responding.
Yes we very much enjoyed the holiday. The Hotel Gandolfo was a bit simpler than I was expecting from the website, but was perfectly fine. Elaine thought it was great. The owners and staff were very friendly and they were very helpful when we had to stay over the extra night. We had a top floor room near a terrace which we used a lot to sit out - we didnt use the beach sunbeds. The itineraries were useful to provide some structure to the day, but we just enjoyed bumbling about.
As to suggestions: a map of Alassio would have been useful on arrival and it night have been easier to walk with luggage along streets rather than along the seafront. We managed to miss the tourist office in San Remo, so didnt find a street map until we had walked most of the town!
After Alassio we went to Apricale - staying at Apricus Locanda. We had booked this directly on their website, and it was only when we got back that we found we could have arranged them through you! We liked the Locanda very much indeed.
We are quite likely to use you again, for the short city breaks or for exploring holidays, particularly if you have trustworthy car rental with companies who wont try to rip us off.
Thanks again
Elaine and Simon Liddle
Dear Simon,
Thank you very much for taking the time to write and provide us with your feedback - it is much appreciated.
Regarding the Hotel Gandolfo, I have stayed there many times and agree that it is quite simple. However, I have visited vitually all the hotels in Alassio, which is one of the most expensive resorts on the Riviera, and it does offer good clean facilities in an excellent location at almost half the price of many others. For this type of holiday in the summer, when it is nice to be by the sea but not wanting to use the beach facilities, it is I feel one of the better options.
The walking and sightseeing itineraries are supplied as a suggestion and as you said, provide a good start for planning your day to day trips. Bumbling around is as you say a great way to see and enjoy the Riviera. Your comment about a map of Alassio is well received and we will in future provide a map to give people a sense of bearings. The train tickets used to be sold for either weekdays or weekends but they changed the system before you arrived and there is just one type of ticket sold now valid for every day of the week - the tickets you had should have been accepted.
I am pleased to hear you enjoyed your stay in Apricale, it is a quite magical place and you chose a very nice place to stay - I like it there very much. As far as car rental are concerned, we try to make our holidays as convenient as possible for taking trains and public transport and for those who do prefer a car, leave this for them to arrange directly since overall, dealing with car rental companies here is often a good source of hassle and admin problems.
Once again, thank you for booking with us and please do keep us in mind for your future travel plans to Italy.
Yours sincerely,
Mike
Xtrallusion holidays for the independent traveller. |
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Simon Liddle, Wokingham, England |
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Enjoy
relaxed, independent walking holidays
in Italy
along the Italian Rivieras using self-guided itineraries. Explore
the beautiful mediterranean countryside and coastal mountains
by foot taking in some of the regions most famous and magnificent
towns and coast - the Cinque Terre, Portofino, Genova (Genoa), Santa Margherita, Rapallo, San Fruttuoso,
Camogli, Chiavari, Sestri Levante, Vernazza, Manarola, Riomaggiore, Monterosso al Mare,
Corniglia, Portovenere, Savona, Spotorno, Noli, Finale, Alassio, Imperia, San Remo and it's national parks to name but
a few. |
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www.xtrallusion.com |
Xtrallusion
Holidays |
info@xtrallusion.com |
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UK
0845 0944 669 |
...with
local knowledge 'in the bag' |
World
+44 1212 886044 |
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Holidays & Adventures
in Italy and on the Italian Rivieras |
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Xtrallusion offers
a selection of self-guided & escorted walking holidays in
Italy. |
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