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Trek For Troops - 3 Volcanoes Italy 2019

Challenge level: 4 out of 5

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When can I go?

21 April - 26 April 2019 On Sale
Duration 6 days

What does it cost?

Registration fee (payable today) Info £299
Remaining amount
Total commitment Info

Trek For Troops - 3 Volcanoes Italy 2019

Take on three of Italy’s iconic volcanoes on this five-day trek in support of military and veteran charities. Starting in Pompeii with a climb up Mt Vesuvius, we go on to tackle the island volcano of Stromboli and top off our challenge by summitting the 3345 m Mount Etna.

Trek For Troops

For this volcanic Trek For Troops challenge, you can support a UK-registered military or veteran charity of your choice and give something back to all the heroes who've done so much for the UK and other countries across the globe.

You can either fundraise or self-fund with a personal donation to your chosen charity. The Dream Challenges event team will be here and on hand to answer any questions that you might have to help you achieve your challenge of a lifetime. 

Your itinerary

Day 1
London - Naples

After a flight from London to Naples, we transfer to our hotel in the beautiful coastal town of Sorrento in southwestern Italy. There, we have a delicious dinner of Italian cuisine, before our tour manager gives us a briefing of the volcanic challenge ahead.

Day 2
Sorrento – Naples - Stromboli | approx. 4 hours walking

This morning, we transfer to Pompeii for a guided tour of its famous burial site. An eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 left the city and many of its citizens preserved in ashes. We then travel to that very volcano and trek to the summit at 1,167 m above sea level, where we’re rewarded with staggering views of the crater and the surrounding area. On the way, we also ascend the nearby Mount Somma. We end the day with a coach transfer back to Naples for a well-deserved dinner, before taking an overnight sleeper ferry to Stromboli.

Day 3
Stromboli | approx. 5. 5 hours trekking

Our ferry drops us off this morning in Ginostra, a small town on the island of Stromboli, just North of Sicily. Here, we have breakfast, before meeting our licensed volcano guides to climb our second volcano, Mount Stromboli. This 924 m beauty is, unlike Mt Vesuvius, still active, but there’s no need to worry: our guides will ensure a safe trek. To quote the troops we’re trekking for, just keep calm and carry on. At the summit, we tuck into a picnic lunch and take in the stunning panoramas of the surrounding sea, before descending to our hotel.

Day 4
Stromboli – Sicily

Today, we have a chance to rest our legs on our beautiful transfer from Stromboli to Sicily. After breakfast at the hotel, we take a ferry to Milazzo, a large town on the mainland of Sicily. There, we have lunch and then transfer by coach to our hotel in the fascinating town of Randazzo. This is the closest town to our third and most challenging volcano, Mount Etna, and is made entirely out of lava.

Day 5
Randazzo – Giardini Naxos | approx. 8 hours walking

Our last day of trekking is tough but well worth it. We start with a coach transfer to the North-East side of Mount Etna at 1,900 m above sea level, where we meet our Volcanologist guides and Mount Etna experts. This side of the mountain has much better scenery and has less tourists than the South side, where the cable car is. We pass extinct craters and lava flows as we climb around 1,400 m to the summit at 3,345 m above sea level. To put this into perspective, Ben Nevis in Scotland, Britain’s highest mountain, is 1,345 m above sea level! On our way up, we stop to enjoy lunch and see the Mount Etna observatory. Once we summit, we take some moments to marvel at our great achievement and the unforgettable views, before trekking back down through an awesome pine forest to our coach. We then transfer to the coastal town of Giardini Naxos, where we have a celebratory meal and a well-deserved rest, having completed a truly extraordinary challenge.

Day 6
Giardini Naxos – Catania – London

We transfer to Catania airport for our flight home to London.

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Funding options

Sponsorship

Pay a non-refundable registration fee and then commit to fundraising a minimum sponsorship amount for your chosen military or veteran charity.

£2,390

Minimum sponsorship target

  • Pay a non-refundable registration fee and then commit to fundraising a minimum sponsorship target for a military or veteran charity of your choice.
  • Your charitable funds must be paid in 10 weeks before your challenge starts.
  • In return, everything for the challenge is provided – flights (not including airport taxes and the fuel surcharge), food, accommodation, transfers, guides, medical and technical support.
  • The more money you raise for the challenge, the higher the percentage of funds that directly support the work of your chosen charity.
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Self Funded

Cover your tour costs and the registration fee yourself and then fundraise as much as you can for the military or veteran charity of your choice with no minimum target.

£1,195

Pay the balance

  • Pay a non-refundable registration fee, which is used to administer the challenge and secure your seats with the airline.
  • Pay the challenge costs (plus airport taxes and fuel surcharge) yourself, 10 weeks before your challenge starts.
  • Choose to fundraise as much as you can for the military or veteran charity of your choice, or make a personal donation.
  • In return, everything for the challenge is provided – flights (not including airport taxes and the fuel surcharge), food, accommodation, transfers, guides, medical and technical support.
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FAQs
Trek For Troops - 3 Volcanoes Italy 2019

This challenge is not designed for Olympic athletes – it is designed for people looking for an amazing goal to train and get fit for. A number of the people who will take part on this challenge will have little or no fitness level when they sign up, but we strongly recommend that you do train for the challenge. We will provide you with an achievable training plan well ahead of time so you'll be ready and raring to go by the challenge start date. It is worth noting that the third climb on Day 5 of this challenge is particularly tough and won't be suitable for people with heart conditions or mobility issues. This challenge is the perfect motivation to get fit, lose weight and have an experience of a lifetime.

Please don't be! The majority of people will sign up on their own. Once the event is fully booked we will send you a contact list of everyone registered for the challenge, as often there will be someone in your local area you can meet up to train or fundraise with.

Absolutely not! One of the amazing things about the challenge is that people of all ages will come together to do something very special. The age range is likely to be from 18 to 75.

You will need a good pair of hiking boots, warm waterproof clothing and water bottles or a camel back type hydration system. Apart from that, no specialist equipment is required. We will supply a full kit list before you go.

We will stay in hotels for the duration of this challenge.

Porters will carry your luggage, food and water so you will only need to carry a small day pack containing essential accessories and equipment.

Yes of course! If you wish to extend your stay you will need to come out of our group flights (and of course we would deduct the cost from your balance).

In addition to paying your registration fee you will need to budget for your airport taxes and the fuel surcharge (should be no more than £150 and subject to change), personal travel insurance, visa, gratuities, optional tours and personal expenses.

You will need to take out your own personal travel insurance covering health, accident, loss and repatriation. Dream Challenges has a recommended policy, which we will send you the details of. You can however take out your own insurance providing it covers you for a charity trek in Italy. Each participant needs to organise their own tourist visa if needed. Currently, UK citizens don't require a visa to enter Italy. If this changes, we will let you know and provide you with all the information you need. 

The Dream Challenges team are here to help you achieve your challenge and will support you all the way. We are on hand from the minute you sign up to answer any questions that you may have about your training or the challenge itself. Once you have registered we will send you a realistic training programme to help you get fit for the event. The programme builds up gradually as the event gets closer.

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