Winter Hiking and Wolf Tracking in Italy

I can't speak highly enough of this trip! This was my first much better adventures trip, and my first hiking and rewilding experience too and it couldn't have been a better introduction to both. It was well organised and the perfect mix of challenging hikes and more relaxed walks and I particularly enjoyed the focus on the wildlife and history of the Abruzzo national park. Our guide Umberto couldn't have done enough for us, and was so knowledgeable, answering every question in detail with so much enthusiam. As a zoology graduate it was amazing to learn about the environment you were standing in and really fed my love for information! We were lucky enough to see lots of wildlife, including seeing a wolf and hearing them howling one morning which was just incredible. But I would say that I would have had an amazing time regardless of this due to our Umberto's knowledge and the scenery surrounding us all weekend. Our group was a lovely mix of people, solo travelers/couples of all ages, and we got on well from the beginning. The hotel was great and provided everything we could need at all hours of the day (5. 30am breakfasts and all important post walk beers included!) and I was so happy with the vegan options which is always a bit nerve wracking when traveling. I thoroughly recommend anyone who has an interest in the natural world and exploring the appenine mountains to go on this trip!

The trip was wonderful and very well organised from start to finish. Umberto was a great guide, very knowledgable and very patient with all the questions we all had. He knew all the best spots and made getting up very early every morning worth it! Such a beautiful part of Italy, with lots of wildlife to spot.

I had a wonderful time wolf tracking in the italian mountainswith Much Better Adventures. Our guide, Umberto was excellent. His knowledge of the area, the wildlife (and particularly wolves) was extensive. He was helpful, attentive and filled us all with confidence whilst hiking and driving around on the ice roads and hevhrlped our groupvof strangers grab together. Scenery is beautiful and diverse and the hotel warm and friendly. Would thoroughly recommend to anyone looking for a fun wild life hiking holiday.

A really special few days.

Umberto was the most amazing guide. You asked him a question and he knew everything about it and connected to it, and in far more detail than you could imagine. Clearly a brilliant park ranger. He was fabulous at gauging and understanding the group, with good breaks and well planned hikes. He gave us options, but made his suggestions clear but said if we wanted something easier we could. He knew us so well, on the final push to the top of the snowshoeing hike, he said it would take us 10 minutes and he was seconds off!

The hikes and walks were all beautiful. They were not easy, particularly the snow shoeing when we did the extra part to the top of the ridge, but also not unmanageable by anyone. We took it slowly and the views and surroundings made it easily worth it. We did some hiking, so walking through snow and some snowshoeing so a great mix.

The wildlife was not necessarily on our side, but the watching was still great. Despite being cold, and it was cold at 6am but with layers manageable, it was very calm watching the sunrise and waiting in anticipation. How nature works, and that was fine.

Overall, a great trip and would fully recommend.

I loved the look of all the rewilding trips by Much Better Adventures. I didn’t want to wait until the summer and thought this winter one looked unique! I had a fabulous time and it exceeded expectations. Valeria, our guide, was so knowledgeable and kind and really went above and beyond during the 4 days. The itinerary was flexible depending on weather etc, so for example on the last day it rained and through group consensus we went to the wolf museum and had our planned picnic indoors with wine and conversation instead of going for a final walk! Other days we were out and about from dawn until dusk. The wildlife watching sessions were great (involved sitting still in the cold for 1-2 hours so need to be wrapped up warm) and there’s no way I would have seen everything I did without a guide to know where to look and point things out. We saw wolves, red deer, roe deer, wild boar, chamoix, red fox, griffon vultures, and golden eagles. Valeria also showed us different tracks and explained them to us (and what we can learn from wolf scat!). I am aware we were really fortunate with the amount of wildlife we saw and that it’s not guaranteed, nature will do what nature is going to do and even the best guide can’t magically produce a sighting. However, I genuinely believe the trip is worth it even if you don’t “tick off” every animal you hoped. It’s more important to just immerse yourself in the environment and enjoy. The walks were really beautiful and getting to try snow shoes was great fun! What I didn’t expect was the opportunity to learn more about the culture and communities in the towns and villages in the mountain region - we often stopped for a warm drink and toilet break in a local village in the tiniest of bars/cafes. Valeria explained to us the history of the villages and the work that had been done to try to support local people to think differently about living alongside wolves and bears so they could be protected. The local shepherd dogs are amazing and one even quietly joined us on one of our walks as if to protect or herd us! The hotel was clean and comfortable and the staff could not do enough for you. They made sure there were additional vegan options for breakfast and dinner, and had soya milk for all important cups of tea. This was my first trip with Much Better Adventures and my first time solo travelling in quite a few years. I would 100% recommend it to anyone as you will be well looked after.

I really enjoyed thus trip despite the scarcity of wildlife. We managed to see a magnificent red deer stag, a pine marten and a fox curled up fast asleep (courtesy of Filippo's powerful zoom lens). Filippo was a superb guide and tried very hard to take us to places where we might see wolves or chamois but sadly both were elusive. We were luck enough to wake up to snow on 30th November and went on a wonderful snowshoe hike through the forest. The national park are is stunning. Hotel was cosy and we were well fed although it was hard to do justice to breakfast at 5. 15 am! Lovely people, amazing scenery. If you are considering this trip, do it!

Had a wonderful trip to Abruzzo National Park, despite being pretty unlucky with spotting pretty much any wildlife. The views were stunning, the food plentiful and the group were great, all topped off with magical snowy scenery and the opportunity to go snow shoeing. Filippo was a fab guide with a wealth of knowledge of the ecosystem and made the hikes and observations fascinating despite our visibility issues and poor success rate. Really appreciated the efforts Filippo and Valeria went to to try and help with finding wildlife by doubling up in different locations to try and increase our chances as well and honestly think they were both more gutted than the group that they hadn’t managed to help us spot wolves (or bears!) Would go back to this area on another for more wildlife spotting based on their passion and enthusiasm.

What an amazing adventure I had with Valeria! The trip was perfectly organised from airport pick up to drop off, the accommodation was well located and comfortable and Valeria's knowledge of the Abruzzo mountains and its special wildlife was exceptional. We were lucky enough to see an Apennine wolf, along with a lot of other wildlife. Tracking was fun and finding evidence of wolves and other wildlife all around made it wonderful to know they are about, even if we cant see them. The landscape and scenery is stunning and the daily hikes were at a great pace to allow for enjoyment and relaxation but also cover a lot of ground. Highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting something a little different and connection with nature.

A great trip - wonderful to discover this part of Italy with such a great guide in Valeria. We were really lucky and saw the Apennine wolves, as well as Golden Eagles, Chamoix, Wild Boar, Vultures. The hikes were also great and really rewarding - stunning views! The pace was also well judged - a 'good tired' feeling afterwards. And the advantage of Italy - the food was delicious. :)

I had the best time on this trip! It was so well planned and thought out, and our guide, Valeria, was just amazing! She has so much knowledge of the local area and animals and was so passionate about sharing this with us. The hikes were so fun and through the most beautiful places with incredible views. We were very lucky to see wolves on two occasions, as well as their footprints and scat! We also got to see evidence of bears in the area, as well as saw wild boar, deer, and red foxes. The hotel and transport were great and we all enjoyed the yummy food! As my first solo adventure, I cannot wait to book another one, and would recommend this trip to anyone wanting to experience the amazing Italian mountains.

Great few days hiking and wildlife spotting. Our guide Valeria was great and super knowledgeable (turns out you can get a lot of information from wolf poo!). Lovely bit of the world and all the food was great.

Excellent trip with amazing guide, Valeria, passionate, knowledgeable and kind- even made us cake to eat up the mountain. No snow shoe-ing as not enough snow but saw beautiful wolves, wild boar and chamois and stunning views from the various walks. Definitely need layers and good gloves and hat for wildlife watching and good boots for walking above the snow line. Hotel Iris was comfortable and clean, delicious food, huge breakfast, cosy fire and friendly staff.

We had a wonderful experience. The weather was great, even though there was no snow, clear sunny skies made up for that. Sunrise high in the mountains, beautiful hikes through the woods to a wonderful valley where we saw Chamois and deer. What a wonderful area Abruzzo! Sadly we did not see any wolves but our wonderful guide Andrea tought us alot about them and the surroundings and the national park, and it was exciting to see the wolf-scats and traces to show that they are really there!

Great guide, some lovely animals, great group, a pity about the lack of snow (and wolves). I was looking forward to snowshoeing, but the hiking through beautiful scenery was good.

Very luck to have two hours of ‘ wolf watching on first morning’. Also to see two golden eagles on day three. Valeria was an excellent guide.

I had a great weekend looking for wolves, we were lucky enough to see a few, and hiking into the mountains using the snow shoes. Our guide, Andrea, was brilliant, so much knowledge and enthusiasm, I could easily have spent an extra week learning from him. Definitely take lots of layers, it gets cold sitting looking through binoculars early in the morning but we'd all stripped down to t-shirts when hiking the mountain! You do need to be quite fit and determined but if you're in two minds, I'd say go for it, you'll love it even if you don't manage to spot a wolf.

Amazing trip! Our guide, Valeria, was incredibly kind as well as being informative and passionate about the rewilding efforts in Abruzzo National Park. We didn't see wolves on our hikes, though we did see loads of tracks thanks to a heavy snowfall on our arrival day. We did manage to see four wolves in the town we stayed in, and even heard them howl (spectacular!). The area is gorgeous, and we had stunning views as we hunkered down to spot wildlife (highlights were a golden eagle, red deer, buzzards, and white-backed woodpeckers). I was also lucky enough to have a great group of people on the trip, so debriefing on the day over dinner and drinks was as fun as being out on the hikes. Overall, a fantastic trip with fantastic people--highly recommend!

Overall a great trip. The hikes were quite challenging in the snow, but rewarded with the stunning landscape and scenery. Would have been nice to have had an extra day or so to explore the area further. Valeria, our local guide, was excellent. Would recommend this trip to others - be sure to pack extra layers and especially extra socks!

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip - the Abruzzo's are a stunning region and well worth the trip out. We were unlucky to not see wolves; however they are elusive wild animals so nothing is ever guaranteed. We did hear them howling though, which was both eerie and beautiful. We also saw chamois, deer, foxes, hares and many signs of wolves (tracks, scat etc).

Our guide Valeria was excellent, full of knowledge and passion for the region, and so helpful with extra tips for what to do / where to eat, and coming to my rescue with tape when the sole of my trusty hiking boot suddenly gave up on me.

The hiking (both regular and snow shoe) was through some amazing scenery and should be manageable for anyone with a reasonable level of fitness. Overall, I would definitely recommend the trip - whilst seeing wolves would have been the icing on the cake, not seeing them merely gives me a reason to go back and explore further.

I can not recommend this trip highly enough. I’m not generally good with strangers so going on a trip with seven others I didn’t know pushed me out of my comfort zone a lot. But I needn’t have worried. The group were fantastic, Valeria the guide was great. I learnt so much about the Apennine wolves and other wildlife, the ecology of the area and conservation efforts that have brought the national park to the wonderful haven it is now. The iris hotel was great comfortable rooms, great food and friendly staff. We didn’t see any wolves on the hikes (luck of the draw dealing with wildlife is always a gamble) but however on two nights of my stay I did see three directly outside the hotel from my balcony crossing their territory. I would advise people to pay for extra days to make the most of Pescasseroli, it’s a beautiful place and you really can spend hours just wondering around admiring the charms of the town whilst stopping for the occasional espresso also take the time to pop up to the castle ruins so you can see the breathtaking views. Already planning to head back for another round.

What a gem of an area at just 2.5 hours of Rome. The hikes and wildwatching are truly special and can differ a lot from each other eventhough they are all pretty close to the hotel. Although seeing wolves is by no means guaranteed, if you love hiking in mountains and learning about all local animals, this trip is for you!

I loved the trip to Abruzzo in Italy, the scenery was stunning, the wildlife was amazing as were the guides who were super knowledgeable and engaging. They are part of a brilliant organisation trying to protect, restore and connect habitats to support a range of wildlife including bears and wolves. This holiday helps ensure this work continues by donating a small % of the trip - so worthwhile and a great way to give back while still having a holiday

I really loved this trip to the Abruzzo National Park. We had some amazing wildlife sightings, including chamois and two bears, which was incredibly lucky. Thanks to our guides who were brilliant, their love for nature and being so accommodating. The trip is physically challenging which I enjoyed, the views and privilege of being in totally untouched nature totally worth it.

Thanks to Valeria for helping with organising covid tests! Also the local restaurants are amazing 👌