Adventures suitable for children
Hello everyone! I am Marco Peli, a canyoning guide since 2010, and today I want to tell you about some routes we offer in Tuscany, perfect for families with children and for a first experience.
Baby Canyoning: a child-friendly adventure
Canyoning is an activity that offers a unique experience in contact with nature, combining sport, adventure and discovery. If for adults it is an exciting way to explore canyons and torrents, for children it turns into an unforgettable adventure full of educational values.
Why is canyoning perfect for children?
- Stimulates motor development and coordination: Children move around in a natural environment, overcoming obstacles, abseiling with ropes and diving into pools of water. This helps to develop their motor skills, balance and coordination.
- Fosters a love of nature: Immersed in an unusual and unspoilt natural environment, children can observe the local flora and fauna and learn to know and appreciate their surroundings.
- It teaches respect for the environment: Canyoning teaches children the importance of moving respectfully in nature, avoiding damaging the environment and disturbing wildlife.
- Strengthens the sense of adventure and self-confidence: Facing the challenges of canyoning helps children overcome their limits, develop courage and confidence in their own abilities.
- Encourages socialisation and teamwork: Canyoning takes place in groups, under the supervision of experienced guides. This context facilitates collaboration and communication between the children, teaching them the importance of teamwork. In the creek we all go in and come out together.
Baby Canyoning: some aspects to consider
- Safety: It is essential to choose a serious and reliable organisation that offers routes adapted to the age and abilities of the children and that knows how to adapt the descent to their needs.
- Equipment: In addition to the normal equipment for small and light children, it is essential to pay attention to clothing in order to avoid the cold. With their lower fat reserves, children are more quickly attacked by cold and thus fatigue. Adding a lycra jersey and a second neoprene wetsuit is essential.
- Difficulty of the route: It is important to choose a route suitable for the age and abilities of the children. So routes that are not excessively long and watery and do not require any special technical skills.
- Accompaniment: Children must always be accompanied by a responsible adult they know.
Baby Canyoning ITACA
It is important for us to create a pleasant atmosphere during our outings. For this reason, we try not to mix groups that are too different from each other. For example, we would never put a bachelor party and a family with young children together. On the contrary, bringing two families together can turn out to be a fantastic experience, with the children spurring each other on and having fun together.
Among the various routes we propose, two descents are really suitable for our youngest friends: the Turrite di San Rocco and the Rio Buti. The main feature that makes these two canyons suitable is the optional nature of all the obstacles: it is in fact possible to avoid all the waterfalls by circumventing them on foot. This makes it possible for the guide to adapt the descent as much as possible to everyone’s needs, avoiding passages that may be problematic for some. Avoiding blockages and making the descent smooth and pleasant is the job of the guide and is often a guarantee of a successful experience.
Baby Canyoning – Turrite di San Rocco
The Turrite di San Rocco is definitely the easiest route we propose, truly suitable for everyone, even the most timid. Along the course of the stream we find a series of small gorges sculpted by the flow of water. These sunken areas are interspersed with large pools of crystal-clear water. The progression then alternates between walking and diving parts, slides and short swims. Some rope abseils of a few metres are also possible, ideal for getting started and gaining confidence and mastery of the manoeuvre. The jumps are never too high and in any case always optional.
The descent takes place in an isolated and wild valley, but at the same time the impression we get is that of a particularly relaxing and pleasant environment. This feeling makes the descent much easier and helps to avoid unnecessary stress and apprehension.
It should be noted that the swimming areas are never too long and are limited to the exit of the pools, which means that despite the low water temperature the cold is not a problem making the descent more uncomfortable.
Turrite di San Rocco in brief
- Location: Fabbriche di Vergemoli, in the province of Lucca
- Features: Diving, sliding and abseiling in the green heart of Garfagnana
- Best period: April to October
- Distance: About 1 km
- Duration: 2 hours
- Difficulty: Discovery
The descent of this torrent offers a family adventure that will take you half a day, an excellent alternative to a day at the seaside and an opportunity to visit our region.
Just a few kilometres away is the Grotta del Vento (Wind Cave), which through its various underground tourist itineraries will give you an idea of the richness of our territory where water and rocks are fundamental elements
Baby Canyoning – Rio Buti
Rio Buti is a small natural jewel, a real surprise to find such an enjoyable downhill run just a few kilometres from the centre of one of the world’s best-known cities like Florence. A series of waterfalls and pools ideal for canyoning run through the folds of the Calvana. Ideal especially for a first canyoning experience.
The course is excellent for a first approach to the discipline for a number of reasons. The main one is the optional nature of all obstacles, at any time it is possible to leave the stream bed and avoid a particular obstacle by passing through the forest. Note how it is possible to interrupt the descent at various points and easily reach the path.
To these aspects we can add the relative simplicity of rope abseiling, which allows one to initiate oneself into the technique without any particular anxiety, gaining confidence in one’s abilities. Moreover, the water temperature is never too cold and allows the stream to be descended as early as spring.
Rio Buti in brief
- Location: Vaiano, in the province of Prato
- Features: Dives, slides and rappelling just a few kilometres from Florence
- Best period: April to October
- Distance: About 1 km
- Duration: 2 hours
- Difficulty: Discovery
The Rio Buti descent lends itself perfectly to a family activity where everyone can have fun; some of the waterfalls offer the chance to test themselves in higher and more technical dives that will also test parents and older siblings.
All this just a few kilometres from Florence and its infinite beauty, so you can enliven a holiday with a few hours of fun in the midst of nature.
Baby Canyoning – Some notes
The proposed courses are suitable from the age of 8, taking into account some even more important aspects of age. Weight, for example, is a key factor; below 25 kg, fat reserves are very low and the cold quickly attacks the little ones, making the descent tiring and unpleasant.
Furthermore, it is always important for both the family and the guide to feel their state of mind and understand when they are able to overcome fears and limitations and when this is causing unnecessary discomfort and stress. Understanding the mood of the moment is the key to experiencing the activity in an enjoyable and rich way.
Sometimes it only takes a few months (and a few kilos) for the experience to be enjoyed and the desire to repeat it.
Happy ( baby! ) canyoning to all!
What else to do in Florence?
Florence is undoubtedly one of the most famous cities in the world and there are many possibilities it offers to those who visit it. What few people know is that just a few kilometres from Florence, it is possible to practice canyoning, a sporting activity that is fun and accessible to all. Rio Buti is in fact a simple but extremely fascinating route that will give you the opportunity to discover our magnificent territory in a different way. Two hours of diving, sliding and abseiling on ropes in a hidden valley between the slopes of the Calvana.
