Abruzzo: Sulmona, the Gran Sasso and the Hill Villages

1. Day 1: Rome to Sulmona across the Apennines

   Rome Fiumicino Airport or Roma Termini station to Sulmona

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Sulmona
   Day 1 details

   Your driver meets you at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) or at Roma Termini station, and your See Sight Tours guide rides with the group from the first pick-up. We confirm the latest arrival time and the pick-up times with your final itinerary. The drive east takes about two and a half hours on the A24 and A25 motorways, climbing out of the Roman countryside into the Apennines. We stop for coffee and a snack where the road crosses the Fucino plain, the flat bed of a large lake that was drained in the 19th century, then drop through the mountains into the Valle Peligna. Sulmona, our base for three nights, sits in that green valley under the Majella and Morrone ranges. After check-in there is time to rest. In the early evening your guide walks you down Corso Ovidio, named for the Roman poet born here in 43 BC, to Piazza Garibaldi and the arches of the medieval aqueduct, and we sit down together for a welcome dinner of local dishes.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) or Roma Termini station
   • A coffee stop on the way across the Apennines
   • Evening walk in Sulmona: Corso Ovidio, Piazza Garibaldi and the aqueduct
   • Welcome dinner in Sulmona

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Sulmona before the evening walk

   Activity: Most of the day is travel; the evening walk is about an hour on flat paving.

   

2. Day 2: Sulmona's confetti, then Scanno and the Sagittario gorge

   Sulmona to the Sagittario gorge and Scanno, and back

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Sulmona
   Day 2 details

   The morning is in Sulmona on foot with a local guide. We start at the Santissima Annunziata, a hospital and church complex whose facade mixes Gothic and Renaissance work, then walk the old centre to Piazza Garibaldi, where the 13th-century aqueduct runs along one side. Sulmona is known across Italy for confetti, sugared almonds given at weddings and christenings, and still made here by family firms. We visit a confetti maker and its small museum to see the old copper pans and the flowers and bouquets the makers shape from the sweets, and taste a few. Lunch is together in town. In the early afternoon we drive about 40 minutes south into the Sagittario gorge, where the road squeezes between limestone walls beside the river, and take a short walk in the WWF reserve below Anversa degli Abruzzi. We continue past Villalago to the lake of Scanno and up to Scanno itself, a village of steep stone lanes where a few older women still wear the dark traditional dress. Time to wander and buy local filigree jewellery, then back to Sulmona by about 7 pm.

   Included

   • Sulmona with a local guide: the Santissima Annunziata, the old centre and Piazza Garibaldi
   • A confetti maker, its museum and a tasting
   • Lunch in Sulmona
   • A short walk in the Sagittario gorge reserve
   • The lake of Scanno and Scanno village with your guide

   Easier option: Skip the gorge walk and wait at a cafe in Villalago or Scanno; the van brings you on.

   More active option: Walk the Sentiero del Cuore above the lake of Scanno, about an hour's climb each way, to the viewpoint where the lake looks like a heart.

   Free time: Free time in Scanno; evening free in Sulmona

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot in Sulmona, then about an hour in the gorge on a dirt path and steep lanes in Scanno.

   

3. Day 3: Chamois and wolf country in the national park

   Sulmona to Civitella Alfedena in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, and back

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Sulmona
   Day 3 details

   We leave at 7:30 am, one of the few early starts on the trip, because the animals are most active in the first hours of the day and the trailheads fill on summer weekends. The drive south takes about an hour and a quarter over the mountains to Civitella Alfedena, a stone village inside the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, which was founded in 1922 and is home to the Apennine wolf, the Marsican brown bear and the Abruzzo chamois. With a park-authorised guide we walk up into the beech woods and meadows of the Val di Rose or the Camosciara, depending on access rules and conditions, watching the slopes for chamois and reading the signs of wolf and bear on the path. We say plainly that wolves and bears are shy and rarely seen; the chamois are the likeliest sighting. We come down for a late lunch together in the park, then visit the wolf museum in Civitella Alfedena, which explains how the wolf came back from near extinction in Italy. We are back in Sulmona by about 4:30 pm, with the rest of the day free.

   Included

   • Guided wildlife walk with a park-authorised guide in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park
   • Lunch in the park
   • The wolf museum in Civitella Alfedena

   Easier option: Walk the flat Val Fondillo track along the river near Opi with your guide instead of the climb, and meet the walkers for lunch.

   More active option: The full climb towards the chamois grounds: about 8 km and 600 m of ascent on a mountain path, with your park guide.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Sulmona

   Activity: The active walk is about 4 hours on a steep mountain path; bring boots, water and a warm layer. Wildlife sightings are never certain.

   

4. Day 4: Bominaco and Navelli to Santo Stefano di Sessanio

   Sulmona to Bominaco and Navelli, then Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Rocca Calascio

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Santo Stefano di Sessanio
   Day 4 details

   We leave Sulmona at about 9 am and drive north on the old state road through the Aterno valley. The first stop is Bominaco, where a custodian opens the small Oratory of San Pellegrino, its walls and vault covered in 13th-century frescoes, including a farming calendar of the months. A few minutes on, Navelli sits on a hillside above a plain where saffron has been grown for centuries; we walk up its lanes and stop for coffee. By late morning we reach Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a stone village at about 1,250 m inside the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, once a wool town of the Medici. Many of its houses were empty for decades until they were restored as an albergo diffuso, a hotel spread through the village, and you sleep here two nights. Lunch and the early afternoon are free. In the late afternoon we go up to Rocca Calascio, a ruined castle at about 1,460 m with the octagonal church of Santa Maria della Pietà below it, as the light turns gold over the valley. Dinner together in Santo Stefano, with the village's small lentils on the menu.

   Included

   • The Oratory of San Pellegrino in Bominaco
   • Navelli village
   • Santo Stefano di Sessanio with your guide
   • Rocca Calascio and Santa Maria della Pietà in the late afternoon
   • Dinner in Santo Stefano di Sessanio

   Easier option: Ride the van up to the car park below Rocca Calascio and walk the last 15 minutes, or wait in the hamlet at the foot of the castle.

   More active option: Walk from Santo Stefano to Rocca Calascio on the old mule path, about 4 km and 1.5 hours with a steady climb, and meet the van there.

   Free time: Lunch and early afternoon free in Santo Stefano di Sessanio

   Activity: Santo Stefano is car-free inside: lanes are cobbled and stepped, and bags are carried to your room. The walk to the castle is steep and exposed to wind.

   

5. Day 5: Campo Imperatore under the Gran Sasso

   Santo Stefano di Sessanio to Castel del Monte and Campo Imperatore, and back

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Santo Stefano di Sessanio
   Day 5 details

   Campo Imperatore is a high plateau about 20 km long, at roughly 1,500 to 1,900 m, under the Corno Grande, at 2,912 m the highest peak in the Apennines. We leave at about 8:30 am, because cloud often builds on the peaks after midday, and drive through Castel del Monte, a village of shepherds' houses and covered passages, up onto the plateau. Herds of horses, cattle and sheep graze the open grassland, and in June the meadows are full of flowers. We drive the length of the plateau to the old hotel at about 2,130 m where Mussolini was held in 1943, and from there you choose: an easy stroll with views over the plateau, or a climb of about an hour on a mountain path towards the Duca degli Abruzzi refuge. In summer the alpine botanical garden beside the road is open. Lunch is at a plateau ristoro where lamb arrosticini, small skewers grilled over coals, are the local meal, with bread, cheese and wine. We are back in Santo Stefano by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours.

   Included

   • Castel del Monte village
   • Campo Imperatore plateau with your guide
   • Arrosticini lunch on the plateau

   Optional experiences

   • The alpine botanical garden at Campo Imperatore, when open in summer (paid locally)

   Easier option: Stay on the plateau for a level stroll near the van, with the Gran Sasso views and a coffee.

   More active option: Climb about an hour from the old hotel towards the Duca degli Abruzzi refuge at about 2,390 m, with views down both sides of the range.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Santo Stefano di Sessanio

   Activity: Altitude around 2,000 m; walk slowly and bring a warm, windproof layer even in summer. The road onto the plateau is normally open from about May.

   

6. Day 6: The Orta valley and a trabocco lunch on the coast

   Santo Stefano di Sessanio to the Orta valley, then the Costa dei Trabocchi and Vasto

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Vasto
   Day 6 details

   We pack up and leave the mountains at about 8:30 am, driving east past Popoli and along the Pescara river to Bolognano on the edge of the Majella. Here the Orta river has cut a deep, wooded gorge, and a short path in the Valle dell'Orta reserve leads to viewpoints over the green water below: a last walk in the mountains. Another hour brings us to the Adriatic and the Costa dei Trabocchi, south of Ortona, where wooden fishing platforms called trabocchi stand on stilts over the sea, joined to the shore by narrow walkways. Lunch together is on one of them: the fish and seafood of the day, cooked simply, with the nets hanging overhead. Afterwards we stop at the abbey of San Giovanni in Venere above Fossacesia, a Romanesque church on a headland over the sea, then drive half an hour south to Vasto. After some free time, your guide takes you along the Loggia Amblingh, the old town's balcony over the gulf, and we end the trip with a farewell dinner in Vasto.

   Included

   • A short walk in the Valle dell'Orta reserve
   • Fish lunch on a trabocco on the Costa dei Trabocchi
   • The abbey of San Giovanni in Venere
   • Evening walk on Vasto's Loggia Amblingh
   • Farewell dinner in Vasto

   Optional experiences

   • A ride on the Via Verde, the cycle path along the old coastal railway (bike hire paid locally, on request)

   Easier option: Stay at the first viewpoint in the Orta valley rather than walking further along the gorge path.

   Free time: Free time in Vasto before the evening walk

   Activity: Trabocchi are reached by narrow wooden walkways and steps; tell us if that is a problem and we arrange a lunch on shore.

7. Day 7: Punta Aderci, then Pescara

   Vasto to the Punta Aderci reserve, then Abruzzo Airport (PSR) or Pescara Centrale station

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 7 details

   A gentle last morning by the sea. After breakfast we drive ten minutes north of Vasto to the Punta Aderci nature reserve, where a path runs along low cliffs above sandy coves and the clear water around the Punta Penna headland and its lighthouse. Walk as far as you like for an hour or so, with time for a coffee and a swim in summer. In the late morning we drive north up the coast road and the A14 motorway to Pescara, about an hour, and drop you at Abruzzo Airport (PSR) or at Pescara Centrale station. Pescara airport has a limited number of flights, and buses and trains connect the city with Rome in about 3 to 4 hours, so plan a flight home from Rome for the next day. If you would rather end the trip back in Rome, ask us and we quote a drop at Fiumicino or Termini. If you want more time by the sea or in the mountains, we can add nights in Vasto or Sulmona.

   Included

   • A morning walk in the Punta Aderci reserve
   • Drop-off at Abruzzo Airport (PSR) or Pescara Centrale station

   Activity: Book a flight from Pescara after about 2:30 pm: we leave Punta Aderci in the late morning and the drive to the airport is about an hour and a quarter. For a flight home from Rome, plan it for the next day.

   

Wildlife and weather: May and June bring green meadows and wildflowers on Campo Imperatore, with snow still on the Gran Sasso peaks. July and August are warm on the coast and pleasant in the mountains, but the park and the plateau are busiest at weekends. September and October are calm and clear, with autumn colour in the beech woods and the chamois easier to watch. Wolves and Marsican brown bears live in the park but are rarely seen; we never promise a sighting.

• Sulmona3 nights
• Santo Stefano di Sessanio2 nights
• Vasto1 night