Exploring Italy can be a big mission, especially if you have a limited amount of time and you want to inculde in your travel plan a hiking trip to the mountains. Hiring a local qualified hiking guide (i.e. Mountain Leader) is the best investment you can make to enhance your experience and make it even more enjoyable. Here are four reasons why:
1. Safety first! Minimize risks
The Italian Alps are a wonderland of incredibly beautiful places that should be in every traveler’s bucket list. However, for their nature, the Alps can be a challenging and, at times, hostile environment. Being prepared about the route to follow, aware of the weather conditions, well equipped and phisically fit are all essential requirements to lower the risks connected to outdoor activities but sometimes not sufficient to keep you safe. A qualified Mountain Leader is a professional who has undergone a year-long course and trained to provide a higher degree of safety. A Mountain Leader is educated in multiple subjects, including First Aid (BLSD certification), land navigation, risks management and evacuation proceedures. The expertise of a Mountain Leader, their knowledge of the areas and capacity to assess and prevent risks, are key in ensuring a safer and more enjoyable experience of the mountains.
2. Customize your experience
Not knowing the areas that they’re going to explore makes it quite difficult for firt-time visitors to choose the best itinerary that suits their needs. A local guide can work with you to come up with the best possible plan based on your desires and capabilities. For instance, when heading to the mountains it is fundamental to match the hiking difficulty of a trail (technical grade) to your fitness level. Based on your answers to a few simple questions, considered your target (for example whether you’re a family with kids, a couple or a group of friends) and your interests, an experienced Mountain Leader can taylor your hike choosing from a variety of itineraries that you may not even know they exist. Whether a one day hike, a multi-day trek or a mix of hiking, biking and sightseeing, a private guide can customize your travel plan and make it your perfect getaway experience!
3. Optimize your time and money
When you travel to a new country it can be hard to know how to move around. That happens in a city you’re not familiar with and gets even more challenging when it comes to mountaineous regions. The Alps are never too easy to reach. Public transportation is not so frequent nor always available and driving a car along steep winding roads in a foreign country is an challenge you may not want to face. Quite often the trailheads are not easy to find and the signs tough to understand (especially if you don’t speak the local language). When you’re on vacation every minute counts and you don’t want to waste time, money or even risk getting lost. A local guide can help you make the best out of your visit by taking care of all the logistics such as organizing transport and making reservations at local prices. Also, a local guide will have a backup plan in case the conditions are not good for carrying on the first programme. This will help you save time and energy while making your trip a much better and more relaxing experience.
4. Get an insider knowledge and live like a local!
The best way to explore a destination is always with a local. A certified local guide, born and bred in the area, is a great source of knowledge. She can teach you about the history, geography, geology and wildlife of the areas you’re visiting. A local guide is person who knows the places you’re exploring inside out, who can tell you stories that are not written in any guide book and to whom you can ask any question that sparks your curiosity. A local guide can take you to places that you would never know about, will show you things that you would never notice and teach you all about the culture and customs of her country from a local’s perpective. She can take you off the beaten path and provide you with additional information to enrich your experience and make it even more immersive, more local! Chances are you’ll learn something new and much more than you could do on your own. Last but not least, a local guide knows where they serve the best food and that’s something fundamental when it comes to a country like Italy! A local guide is a new found friend in a foreign country and a contact you may rely on any time you’re coming back.