Italy Client Favorites Bike Tours

“We were very happily rewarded with our choice of boat , direction, and timing for this bike & barge trip across Italy. This was our 4th bike and boat trip and the best! Each of the crew from tour leaders to cooks and boat captain and technician—each fantastic—warm, helpful, supportive, and with good humor. The mix of riders—kismet and wonderful. While we did encounter a few rainy days spirits stayed high and gregarious. And it was far better fir us than extreme hot temperatures of earlier in the year options. The food deserves an award for creativity and top notch flavour, presentation, creativity, and variety. The boat accommodation was very comfortable and in excellent condition. Common space was ample and comfortable. Our biking leaders were fantastic pros—always supportive, knowledgable, and perfect in their guidance of riders. Stefania and Francesco—totally delightful.” Less

“This was my first experience with a bike and barge trip. The tour operator did a first class job. The crew were very professional. The food was delicious. Our guides were very knowledgeable about the history of the places we visited. They kept us safe in areas where the terrain was challenging or where there was a bit of traffic. The cycling was as described as level 1. The experiences along the way were educational and highlighted the Italian culture. Overall a wonderful experience!” Less

“Great ride, E Bikes, 3 adults in their 70's and 80's.
We had a wonderful self-guided ride about 220 miles on mostly- paved wide bike paths using the GPS tracks which we had previously downloaded and riding on our Girolibero bikes (which were in perfect shape). The travel guide emailed to us by Bike Tours was excellent, giving cultural information as well as the daily mileage requirement and tips on how to shorten our day using the local trains which we never found to be desired or necessary. The guide also included all the necessary vouchers for our hotels, ferry ride and free ice cream as well as travel info on getting to Bolzano. The ride itself was spectacularly beautiful, especially starting near the Dolomites and following the River Adige with mountains on the other side all the way down to Lake Garda.
There was a detour programmed into our GPS tracks and also a surprise one which was not. We navigated that short detour pretty well for not speaking Italian thanks to the very helpful/understandable signage. We had selected three star hotels which we might change to four star for our next ride. The first three days the hotels and the breakfasts were top notch but after that got progressively more like 2 star hotels ending in Venice/Mestre where we were escorted to a refurbished garage behind the main hotel, not what we had hoped for on our last and only night in Italy. In terms of the bike route itself we found the 4 hour ferry ride on Lake Garda unfortunate as there is a bike path around the lake which we would have preferred. The ferry ride was totally fogged in so we could not enjoy the beautiful sights and there was no food or drink available on board -a long 4 hours to think about a glass of wine. On the whole, we loved the trip and would do it again- the mountains, the exercise, the cuisine, the history, the people. Getting to Bolzano when our flights landed in Venice was our biggest problem - we had trouble trying to decipher the train system. But then the Bolzano funicula ride and the adventure on the ridge line overlooking the city and the Dolomites in the distance made up for getting bogged down catching trains. Looking forward to our next self-guided E-bike adventure.” Less