Explore the charm of inn-to-inn trekking with our handpicked routes across Europe's most magnificent landscapes. From the dramatic peaks of the majestic Berner Oberland to the rugged Pyrénées, each adventure... read more →
Italy represents the magnum opus of trekking destinations. Whether you are traveling through the alpine summits of Northern Italy, or enjoying coastal walking in the Tyrrhenian Sea, you will notice the consistent Italian commitment to quality.
Commitment to a delicious variety of food, to excellent accommodation – even in the most remote huts in the Alps, and finally a commitment to maintaining one of the world’s largest and most scenic trail systems.
Ryder-Walker offers tours in three major regions of Italy. The Italian Dolomites, our island tours on the Tyrrhenian Island of Capri and the Aeolian islands surrounding Sicily, and finally in the heart of the Italian Alps along the border with Switzerland – where the Mont Blanc and Matterhorn sit proudly.
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Italy offers the absolute best in terms of mountain accommodation, set in a breathtaking landscape.Nowhere on earth has a more committed hospitality industry with the Italian Alpine hotels representing some of the absolute best in the world, regardless of whether they are trailside inns or world-class hotels.
Culturally the Italian Dolomites are a unique setting, home to the Ladin culture – a language and lifestyle that harkens back to the Roman empire. The Dolomites also drip with history, with the rugged ridgelines along the Austrian border still bristling with ruined encampments and vertigo-inducing military trails called Via Ferrata, or iron pathways. Ryder-Walker offers three distinct guided tours through the Dolomites. The Via Ladinia takes you through the Ladin heart of the Dolomites, visiting some of the region’s most remote and serene villages. The Dolomiti di Brenta trek explores the unique Brenta Dolomites, an isolated limestone group, home to the famous Via delle Bochette – one of the world’s most impressive Via Ferrata. Finally, our Italian Dolomites Trek is perhaps Ryder-Walker’s most classic offering, visiting only the most tried and true locations in Italy. For our self-guided clients we offer the Italian Dolomites Trek, the Dolomiti di Brenta, the Via Ladinia: Heart of the Italian Dolomites, as well as the Ambiance Italian Dolomites and Via Ladinia Pastorale which are our gentler variations on the the self-guided Italian Dolomites Trek. Finally, the Italian Dolomites Rifugio Trek is a fresh take on the region that spends extra nights high in the mountains in Italy’s magnificent Rifugio system.
The islands of Italy have no shortage of fame, and all of it deserved. While the Italian coast may be known for its elegant reputation and stylish living, it also offers some of the most relaxed and scenic hiking in the world. In Capri, Ryder-Walker’s self guided Isola di Capri trek explores the island known as the Jewel of the Tyrrhenian. Home to the Azure Grotto, the Villa Jovis which belonged to Emperor Tiberius, and the village of Anacapri situated atop the island’s precipitous summit. Back on the Napol coast self guided clients can explore the colorful Cinque Terre. The Sicily Aeolian Islands trek, which we offer self guided as well, is a true island-hopping experience, which explores the volcanic archipelago that runs towards the sea from Sicily. If you’re looking for warm water and fresh fish cooked in a traditional Italian style, these trips should be at the top of your list.
The Alps along Italy’s Northwestern border are the most impressive mountains in Western Europe. Giants like the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, and Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) rise up with awe-inspiring relief, and from a much quieter and more forgotten angle than the villages below the same mountains in Switzerland and France. Ryder-Walker’s Tour du Mont Blanc and shorter self guided TMB Vitesse visits all three countries, circumnavigating the truly gigantic Mont Blanc massif. On this world-famous adventure, you will explore legendary mountain towns such as Courmayeur and Chamonix, as well as tackle some of the highest passes in the Alps. The Matterhorn Trek explores both the Italian and Swiss sides of the Matterhorn, visiting Zermatt while contrasting it with the truly sleepy and mysterious mountain towns on the Italian side of the mountain. While you may be visiting to see the Matterhorn, the Monte Rosa might steal the show with its gargantuan glaciated face towering over the Italian valleys below.
Finally, we offer a couple of new self guided outings: our Italian Lakes District: Como & Bellagio trek explores the hills above the lively and lavish Italian Lakes District. Our Tuscany: A Path Through History hike explores the pastoral landscape and medieval villages surrounding the historic city of Florence.
Outside Magazine named Ryder-Walker's Tour du Mont Blanc trek one of the 25 Best Hikes in the World. Hike across the borders of France, Italy and Switzerland during our ten-day Tour du Mont Blanc. Taking advantage of some little-known variations to the standard route, we lead you from the mountain-chic cafés of Chamonix, to remote mountain hamlets en route to...
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$6000*
From across the aquamarine waves, their call can be heard for thousands of leagues. Ulysses surely wasn’t the first to hear their sound as he crossed the Adriatic, Aegean, and Tyrrhenian seas on his Odyssey, but he definitely was a notable visitor – Sicily's Aeolian islands, home of the sirens. When speaking of Sicily, or the Aeolian Islands, it is...
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$4800*
Towers of vertical limestone, tinged pink in the evening light, loom above the rolling green meadows and intriguing castles, ruins and onion-domed church steeples of the Alto Adige region in northern Italy. This may be the most beautiful mountain region on earth; regularly attracting photographers and mountain enthusiasts enamored of the incredible light and topography of the range. The Dolomites...
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$7180*
The Pusteria Valley on the Italian/Austrian border is where the Alps morph into the Dolomites. The northern flank of the valley is pastoral, with undefined walls of limestone and gentler summits. The southern flank is where the Dolomites find their personality, as jagged summits skyrocket above you. Ryder-Walker’s trek begins in the calming town of San Candido. The magnificence of...
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$5250*
The Highlights of Italy Trek was designed to showcase three of our favorite villages in the Val d’Aosta region of Italy, as well as provide exceptional hiking with a broad range of physical challenge. For those who prefer to unpack and stay unpacked for a few days at a time, this trek is for you. We begin our trek in...
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$5300*
The highest mountains in Western Europe, the Pennine Alps, offer hikers an opportunity to explore a spectacular alpine world. This hike begins in Italy beneath the Matterhorn, one of the most iconic peaks in the world. The tour also partially circumnavigates the Monte Rosa, the highest mountain in Switzerland and the second highest peak in Western Europe. The Tour de...
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$5900*
If Lake Como is best known for its lavish Villas, authentic Italian cuisine, and romantic lakeside views, then its best kept secret is the accessible alpine beauty of the dramatic surrounding mountains. Glacially carved over 10,000 years ago and forming the shape of an upside-down Y, Lake Como’s “Middle Lake” offers exquisite accommodations, genuine culture, historical perspective, and surprisingly remote...
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$5750*
Outside Magazine named Ryder-Walker's trek one of the 25 Best Hikes in the World. Mont Blanc (15,781 feet) rises more than 12,000 vertical feet above the famous resort village of Chamonix, France. The epitome of everything that is “alpine” in the Alps, Mont Blanc beckons hikers and climbers from around the globe with its snow-white glaciers, sheer cliff walls, and...
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$3615*
Let the sirens tempt you with captivating coastlines, sapphire waters and a laid-back Italian lifestyle that the locals call “tranquillo.” It is no coincidence that Homer chose Capri and the Amalfi Coast as the home for his fabled sirens in the epic tale, The Odyssey. Once you experience the enchanting life of southern Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, you won't want to...
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$4600*
The soaring limestone spires of the Dolomites make a stunning backdrop for a number of quaint villages, expansive mountain meadows, and a highly developed trail system. The region is culturally diverse, and on this self-guided tour you visit the German speaking Tyrolean villages in Val Gardena with their onion-domed chapels, Corvara in the Ladin speaking Alta Badia, and the busy...
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$4355*
If Lake Como, Italy is best known for its lavish villas, authentic Italian cuisine and romantic lakeside views, then its best kept secret is the surrounding mountains and the myriad hiking trails that explore them. Glacially carved over 10,000 years ago, and forming the shape of an upside-down Y, Lake Como offers remote and beautiful day hikes, exquisite accommodations, and...
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$3350*
Towers of vertical limestone tinged pink in the evening light loom above the rolling, green meadows and intriguing castles, ruins, and onion-domed church steeples of the villages in the enchanting Alto Adige (Südtirol) region of Northern Italy. The Dolomites are one of the earth’s most dramatic ranges, and a paradise for hikers who come to enjoy the startling, vertical topography...
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$3370*
The Pusteria Valley on the Italian/Austrian border is where the high Alps morph into the Dolomites. The northern flank of the valley is pastoral, with undefined walls of limestone and gentler summits. The southern flank is where the Dolomites find their personality as jagged summits skyrocket above. Ryder-Walker’s trek begins in the calming town of San Candido. The magnificence of...
View trip detailsPrice
$3150*
Towers of vertical limestone tinged pink in the evening light loom above the rolling, green meadows and intriguing castles, ruins and onion-domed church steeples of the villages below in the enchanting Alto Adige region of Northern Italy. The Dolomites are one of the earth’s most dramatic ranges and a paradise for hikers who come to enjoy the startling, vertical topography...
View trip detailsPrice
$3800*
The Pusteria Valley on the Italian/Austrian border is where the Alps morph into the Dolomites. The northern flank of the valley is pastoral, with undefined walls of limestone and gentler summits. The southern flank is where the Dolomites find their personality, as jagged summits skyrocket above you. Ryder-Walker’s Via Ladinia begins in the calming town of San Candido. The magnificence...
View trip detailsPrice
$3150*
The highest mountains in western Europe, the Pennine Alps, offer a sensational opportunity for hikers to explore a spectacular alpine world. This itinerary starts and finishes beneath the Matterhorn, the most iconic peak in the world, and circumnavigates the Monte Rosa, the Alps’ second highest peak. The Tour Monte Rosa has become a much sought after achievement in recent years,...
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$3500*
For those who want to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc, but have a limited amount of time, we offer the Tour du Mont Blanc Vitesse. Vitesse means "speed" in French, and this shortened TMB itinerary covers the greatest highlights of our standard itinerary in five hiking days instead of eight. Our abbreviated TMB begins in Courmayeur, Italy, hikes around...
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$2780*
This self-guided trek links the villages of the Mont Blanc region and the western Swiss Valais, crossing through the highest mountain range in western Europe, the Pennine Alps. You hike through two distinct cultural regions, the French speaking and German speaking Alps. Starting in the bustling alpine center of Chamonix, France beneath the dramatic flanks of Europe's highest summit, Mont...
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$3280*
The Tuscan sun has nurtured one of the most vibrant landscapes on earth. Thick forests of low lying Mediterranean foliage, sweeping sunflower and lavender fields, historic vineyards, and castle- dotted ridges will mark your progress across this pastoral land. There are few places more peaceful than Tuscany. This unique opportunity to see it on foot will bring you through both...
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$2110*
Towers of vertical limestone tinged pink in the evening light loom above the rolling, green meadows and intriguing castles, ruins, and onion-domed church steeples of the villages in the enchanting Alto Adige (Südtirol) region of Northern Italy. The Dolomites are one of the earth’s most dramatic ranges, and a paradise for hikers who come to enjoy the startling, vertical topography...
View trip detailsPrice
$2625*
Hear It From Our Guests
“Excellent accommodations and coordination of the trip. Wide variety of options. Everything well organized. I have no other adventure companies to compare Ryder-Walker to, but I have no reason to change. I have been extremely satisfied with both our Engadine and Dolomite trips.” (Guided Dolomites Trek)
“The Cinque Terre was a beautiful hike, and for me it was a very successful trip, Next year I will take my husband to the Amalfi coast to do the hike there. I will definitely use Ryder-Walker again.” (Self-guided Cinque Terre)
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