Time requested: half or 1 day

A one-day or half-day itinerary, the discovery of the coast and the first hinterland to the west of Savona.

Starting from Savona, take the SS1 Aurelia in the direction of the west crossing the coast towns of Spotorno, Finale Ligure, Pietra Ligure and Loano.

Overlooking Loano, let's decide whether to continue along the coast (recommended for half a day) to Ceriale, Albenga and then Alassio, famous for the shopping "budello", the Muretto and the fine sandy beaches or if you deviate from the Riviera in Toirano direction. (Recommended for the whole day)

Once in Toirano, it is worth a visit to the "Toirano Caves", a complex of karst cavities, known for the variety of stalactites and stalagmites, for their extension, to find traces of "Homo Sapiens Sapiens" Of over 12,000 years ago and remains of Ursus Spelaeus of about 25,000 years old. In the Toirano caves there are imprints of prehistoric men and beard bones who took refuge to escape the last glaciation dating to 30,000 years ago.

After the visit to the caves, Toirano gives us a last sense of excitement: take the SP1 in the direction of Bardineto, a fantastic road all to drive with the wind in the hair, which with breathtaking views will bring us quickly to the 801m slm of Toogo yoke, A passage of the Ligurian Alps between the Padana basin rich of beech and the basin of the Ligurian sea, warmer and arid.

Once at Giogo and then at Bardineto, vegetation and climate change radically. It seems to be in the mountains! Bees, pines, birches and fir trees accompany us on a plateau with a typical mountain flavor and we believe we have abandoned the sea from so few kilometers.

In Bardineto a stop is a must. First to visit the "mushroom houses" and then to enjoy the typical mushroom-based cuisine, fresh local cheesecake and game cheeses.

Our journey now proceeds from Bardineto again towards the sea (Albenga), on the SP52, via the "Scravaion" hill (814m s.l.m.) The trail winds up to the hill in a narrow valley of fir trees and then opens towards the sea following the winding shapes of the Ligurian Alps crossing the Castelvecchio,  Erli and Zuccarello, to reach the vast Albenga plain.

Once we reach the sea, we find the SS1 Aurelia, which we are heading back westward, towards Alassio.

Our tour now brings us back to the state Aurelia in the opposite direction, taking Savona.

The adventure ends on the way back to the Slow Drive Office to Savona.

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