The Italian Way
Next Tour: June 22-30 2024
Nine day Adventure Tour through the beautiful mountains of Northern Italy and into Slovenia
Tour OVerview
Packages start from $3200 (USD)
Professional pilot Zion Susanno will guide you along the mountains of Northern Italy and Slovenia as this 9-day tour takes you from Lake Garda to Monte Grappa and into Slovenia to fly in Kobarid and Tolmin.
Each location along the way provides you with different flying sites, allowing you to work on different manoeuvres and skills in each place. Expect to practise your maneuvers over Lake Garda to warm you up for thermal flying and XC as the tour progresses.
Your Guides
Get to know the fun and qualified crew that will be guiding you in the air and on the ground as you tour along the beautiful South Pacific coast of Costa Rica
ZION SUSANNO
Owner and Founder of Zion Paragliding, APPI Paragliding Instructor and APPI Pro Tandem
XC and Paragliding World Cup Pilot
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Zion has been flying since the age of 15, giving him a total of 12 years flying, over 10,000 flying hours and has flown with more than 2000 passengers in tandem. Zion is a qualified instructor through APPI, which offers the highest standard of instructor training international. As an instructor and a Costa Rican, you are in the best hands when it comes to local flying knowledge combined with expertise for teaching and in-air guidance. Outside of teaching and flying tandems, Zion enjoys XC paragliding, competing and hike and fly missions - what can we say except the guy loves to fly and that’s why he’s the World record holder for the fastest ground speed on a paraglider, and longest distance and triangle in Central America.
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Owner and founder of Zion Paragliding
APPI Paragliding Instructor
APPI Pro Tandem
Number 1 ranked pilot in Costa Rica
First Aider
Bilingual in Spanish and English
Second to none local knowledge of flying sites and weather
Next Clinic Dates
Coming for summer 2025
9-Day Tour ItinerarY
Travel to Malcesine, Lake Garda
Fly to Milan, Verona and Venezia for easy transfers to Malcesine.
Our team will help coordinate your transfers to Lake Garda in a private shuttle or by train (price not included). Italy has good train services from major cities to the south towns of Lake Garda such as Desenzano and Peschiera del Garda. Our tour shuttle will be available to pick up at the local train stations and bring you to Malcesine.
Day 1 | Welcome Dinner
PM | Meet in Malcesine, Lake Garda where the paragliding adventure tour will start:
Meet your instructor, Zion and the other pilots on the tour.
Share your experience, flying level and goals for the tour with your instructor to get the best out of your time.
Organise passes for the gondola to the take-off :
With Zion as your guide in the air and ground, he will assist the group to organise lift passes to the take-off, allowing more time to fly in the morning. (Cost of the gondola pass is the responsibility of each pilot)
Group Welcome Dinner
Get to know the tour group over a traditional Italian dinner
Day 2 | Lake Garda
AM | Meet early for the first flights of the day
Site introduction and weather briefing, as the group gets a lesson on how to check the weather and flying conditions.
The tour starts with morning flights over Lake Garda from Monte Baldo. Pilots have the chance to practise their manoeuvres over the water.
PM | Group Lunch
Listen to the post-flight debrief at lunch. Have the opportunity to ask questions and share what you have learnt from the days flights.
Afternoon Flight Or Free Time
Go up to the take-off for some afternoon flying or take the afternoon off to relax by the lake, explore the town of Malcesine or rest in your accommodation.
Day 3 | Malcesine to Monte Grappa
Today after flying, the tour travels from Malcesine in Lake Garda to Monte Grappa. The group needs to be packed, ready and checked out of their accommodation before the morning flights and ready to leave after lunch.
8.30 AM | Meet early to go flying
Morning flights from Monte Baldo over the lake.
PM | Group Lunch
Eat local cuisine and hangout with the group and your instructors before the drive to Monte Grappa
Drive to Monte Grappa
Travel together in the group shuttle vehicle to the next location, the beautiful mountains of Monte Grappa
Once arrived, there’s time to get settled in to your accommodation and familiarise yourself with the town
Group Dinner
Experience the local food of the area with a group dinner at Garden Relais
Day 4 | Monte Grappa
9AM | Landing Zone Briefing at Garden Relais
Pre-flight briefing of the landing zone and weather conditions for the day.
The Monte Grappa area has three take-offs. Based on the weather conditions and goals of the flying group, an appropriate take-off will be chosen for the day
Daily flights and XC guidance for the group
PM | Post-flight group lunch
Share your experience of the day and what you’ve learnt in the group debrief over lunch.
Free Time for the remainder of the day
Free time for the rest of the day to relax, visit the day spa at Garden Relais or explore the local area.
Day 5 | Monte Grappa
9AM | Meeting Time For Shuttle To Take-Off
Pre-flight briefing of the weather conditions and flight plan for the day.
The Monte Grappa area has three take-offs. Based on the weather conditions and goals of the flying group, an appropriate take-off will be chosen for the day
Daily flights and XC guidance for the group
PM | Post-flight group lunch
Share your experience of the day and what you’ve learnt in the group debrief over lunch.
Free Time for the remainder of the day
Free time for the rest of the day to relax, visit the day spa at Garden Relais or explore the local area.
Day 6 | Monte Grappa to Slovenia
Today in the afternoon the tour travels from Monte Grappa to Kobarid in Slovenia, the group needs to be packed, ready and checked out of accommodation before the morning flights.
9AM | Shuttle Pick-Up To The Take-off
Pre-flight briefing and group assessment of the weather conditions for the day.
Based on the weather conditions and goals of the flying group, an appropriate take-off will be chosen for the day
Daily flights and XC guidance for the group
PM | Post-flight group lunch
Eat lunch in a local restaurant with the group and have the chance to share your flying experience for the day and listen to the flight debrief.
Drive to Tolmin in Slovenia
After lunch, the shuttle will bring the group to the next flying location, the small mountain village of Kobarid in Slovenia
Take the evening to check-in to your accommodation, explore the village and have something to eat
Day 7 | Slovenia
9AM | Landing Zone Briefing and Shuttle to Take-Off
Landing zone briefing and check the weather together using the different apps and tools available
The area has several take-offs to choose from, the appropriate take-off for the day’s conditions will be chosen in the morning.
Daily flights and guided XC as a group
PM | Post-flight group lunch
Flight debrief and question time as the group relaxes at a local restaurant
Free time to explore and relax
Take a dip in the glacier river, explore the town of Kobarid or rest in your accommodation.
Day 8 | Slovenia
9AM | Shuttle pick-up to take-off
Landing zone and weather briefing before heading to the take-off.
The area has several take-off to choose from, the appropriate take-off for the day’s conditions will be chosen in the morning.
The final day of flying together with Zion guiding the group XC
PM | Post-flight group lunch
Tour debrief, question time and share what you’ve learnt on the tour over lunch.
Free time to explore and relax
Explore Kobarid or relax and pack your bags ahead of leaving tomorrow
Final Group Dinner
As the adventure tour comes to a close, celebrate your achievements with the group as we share a final dinner at a local restaurant
Day 9 | Return to Milan
Check out of accommodation before flying today and be ready to drive back to Milan after flights.
9AM | Shuttle Pick Up For Local Flights
Landing zone and weather briefing before heading to the take-off.
The area has several take-off to choose from, the appropriate take-off for the day’s conditions will be chosen in the morning.
The final day of flying together with Zion guiding the group XC
PM | Post-flight group lunch
Enjoy a tasty meal before the car journey back to Milan.
Shuttle Back To Milan
Enjoy the scenic views as the tour shuttle heads back to Milan for onward journeys. Our team are available to help advise on travel plans.
Tour Details
What’s Included
9 days of adventure and 8 days of programmed flying with our tour guides
8 Nights Accomdation
Daily site and weather briefings
In-air radio guidance
1-to-1 time with an instructor to discuss your current level and any goals you are working towards
Shuttles between the different flying sites and areas
Daily shuttles to the launch site, landing zone pick-up and XC retrieve
Ground transport following the group on XC flights
What You Need
Minimum IPPI ParaPro2 paragliding certification or national equivalent such as USHPA P2, with minimum 40 hours of flying time.
Paragliding Equipment
Certified paraglider (EN B or above)
Certified harness
Reserve parachute
Helmet
Unlocked dual-band VHF radio – we recommend the Yaesu FT-270 or FT-65R.
Ability to confidently take off and land on your own.
Basic fitness level – ability to sustain a 15-minute power walk
Warm clothes – you will feel the cold once you’ve thermalled to cloud base
Comfortable and sturdy shoes
USHPA does not cover third-party insurance outside of USA. Find out more about travel imsurance
Who is the 9-Day Adventure Tour Right For?
IPPI 2, 3 and 4 Pilots or national equivalent license holders, who want to learn and improve their thermalling technique and XC skills - From experience, we have noticed that all pilots learn more when in a group of mixed abilities.
Pilots who want to explore the paragliding in
Italy with a guide who knows the local area.Pilots who can launch and land confidently on their own.
Not Included
Airline flights or travel to the destination of Italy
Food and drink (except where breakfast may be included in the hotel stay, our detailed itinerary will let you know once you’re booked)
Gondolas and additional transport costs to the take-off when it’s not possible to go in our shuttle
Cost of any additional or optional activities
Insurance
Any additional nights accommodation if you arrive early or leave late
Covid-19 tests for travel
Additional tour information will be sent out once your space is confirmed, such as the hotels we will be staying at on the tour and a more detaield itinerary. Please note the tour route and flying plans are subject to change due to flying conditions and what the instructors deem as the safest flying plan of the day.
Tour Locations
Discover more about each location on the Italian Way Tour as you travel across the Italian Northern regions of Lombardia and Trenitino, Veneto and Friuli, before crossing the boarder into Slovenia.
Malcesine
This small Italian town is tucked away in Lake Garda on the northeastern side and a popular holiday destination for good reason. The town has many historic buildings and plazas to explore with great restaurants and food whilst also delivering big on the outdoors. The Monte Baldo gondola takes you up from the lake side to the top at 1750m. Up top you will find hiking and biking trails, cafes and restaurants, and of course the all-important paragliding take-off, amongst the tourists and the real locals, the cows.
Monte Grappa
Monte Grappa is a renowned paragliding location due to the annual Monte Grappa Trofey taking place every easter at the location. As the tour comes through this area the group will stay in the town of Borso Del Grappa located at the bottom of the mountain. This area is known for many regional foods including, grappa, a liquor made of the leftover stems, seeds and skins of grapes from wine making.
Kobarid and Tolmin
The close-by towns of Kobarid and Tolmin are positioned along the same stretch of the Soča Valley, both offering excellent paragliding. Depending on the wind direction the tour will use the take-off in either of these locations. This valley is all about being outdoors, with beautiful, turquoise glacial rivers and canyons, ridges for kilometres and small mountain towns serving up Bavarian style food.
Pricing
All prices are subject to local tax at 13% for card or paypal payments
$3200 Shared Room
What’s Included
9 Day Tour
8 Nights Accommodation in a shared room
Includes everything listed under tour details
