From Idea to Adventure: The Journey of Creating Our Trips

Ever wondered how one of our trips comes to life? Do you know what happens before an itinerary finally makes it to our website?

Here's a sneak peek: it's a process that requires time, a lot of passion, and meticulous attention to detail. It involves several crucial stages and doesn’t end once the trip is published. 
In this article, we'll take you through the journey from an idea to the perfect walking holiday. 

Destination Research 

It all starts with an idea—or rather, a place. We find places that intrigue us, whether they’re iconic or lesser-known spots we’d love to take you to. We study them thoroughly to see if they’re suitable for one of our walking holidays, identifying the best routes and views, and sometimes even creating new paths to include the highlights. Even well-known routes are reviewed from our perspective to ensure they meet our clients' needs. Some routes are entirely our creation—like our trip along the Salento Coast, designed by our CEO Tullia, who fell in love with the area and knew it would be perfect for our travelers.  This phase often begins with a tip from a local, a glimpse of a landscape during a personal trip, or a conversation that sparks our curiosity.
Sometimes a loyal customer suggests a path, or we’re inspired by a local tradition, a historical route, or even a particular season that makes a place truly shine. Curiosity is always our starting point.

Selecting Suppliers 

We find local ambassadors who can host and welcome you: hoteliers, transporters, guides—we contact them to understand their vision of the area they inhabit. We carefully select hotels that align with our hospitality standards and reliable drivers for you and your luggage. Establishing a strong relationship with local suppliers is crucial, so we visit them in person to ensure they’ll be able to assist you in case of need. But we’re not only looking for comfort — we’re looking for people who share our values: genuine hospitality, love for their territory, and a deep desire to make you feel welcome.
Our dream is that you feel the authenticity of the experience not just through the path, but also through the people who greet you along the way.

Creating the Package

At this point, we create a “provisional” package: we combine the chosen itineraries and other services into a package we think will suit our travelers. It’s called “provisional” because it will be tested in the next phase. We start organizing our “scouting” trip to explore the area and verify the package’s suitability. The scouting trip is one of the most exciting parts of our work: it’s when the idea becomes real.
We walk, explore, sometimes get lost — and find hidden corners we didn’t expect. If needed, we redesign the route.
Every journey is like a puzzle that comes together, step by step.

Scouting and Mapping 

This phase is essential: a team member or one of our trusted guides visits the area with our itinerary in hand. They explore the location and meet the suppliers, visiting every hotel to ensure it meets our (and your!) standards and introducing themselves to the hoteliers. Then, they walk every single route, as putting ourselves in your shoes helps us understand and perfect the journey. While walking, we “map” the route, recording the GPS track for our app and taking notes for all the documentation we’ll provide you. This step is crucial to making the new trip truly perfect for you.  

This is when we really put ourselves in your place, and figure out how to make the journey just right.

During this visit, we also pay attention to what may seem like small details: the presence of water fountains, shaded sections, the condition of the path, and even the accessibility of certain segments.
These details help us create reliable route notes and offer helpful tips to ensure your walk is safe, smooth, and enjoyable.

Creating the Documentation 

Back at the office, it’s time for processing: we review our notes and new insights, making any necessary adjustments to the package. We create the documentation for you, organize the GPS tracks and add the itinerary to our app, and brief our team so they’re ready to answer all your questions. We write engaging descriptions of the new holiday and finally publish the trip on our website. And of course, we celebrate, because it’s always exciting to add a new trip to our catalog! It’s not just about sharing information — we want to inspire you.
Our descriptions are written to convey emotion, to help you imagine a sunrise over the hills or the scent of pine trees after the rain.
Every word is chosen to walk beside you — even before your journey begins.

Recycling and Rewalking 

What’s next? We keep a close eye on all our itineraries: we read your feedback carefully and are ready to step in if there’s an issue with the route we designed for you. If a problem arises, we personally visit the location to find an alternative solution for that specific section. Even if everything is going smoothly, we regularly revisit the itineraries for what we call “rewalking”—walking the routes again to ensure they’re still perfect. This also allows us to update our app with the most current information: if a bridge is closed, a path temporarily blocked, or a new viewpoint added, we’re on it — so you always have the latest, most accurate route.

This is the process we follow for the packages we create entirely ourselves — which is most of what you’ll find on our website.

In some cases, we rely on trusted local partners who know the area inside out.
This is especially true for our international trips, which are often created by other S-Cape offices in Europe or by long-standing partners we trust completely.

Every journey, for us, is like a story: it begins with an idea, takes shape through research and experience, and comes to life through you.
And when you walk it, there’s a little bit of you in the journey — and a little bit of us, too. That’s what makes our work so meaningful.