Italy Bike Tours - page 2

“The route, the bikes, the hotels. All received an A+ grade. Except the part of arriving in Pienza and leaving Castellina. The topic “How to get there”, part of a e-mail sent by you should be improved. The option TAXI from Chiusi train station doesn’t exist. No taxis there. There is only one bus/day to Pienza that departures in the morning. And we arrived in the afternoon. After asking four different people we realized that the only way available would be to take a bus - a city bus, not prepared for the transport of passengers + luggage - to Montepulciano and then find a way to arrive in Pienza. We thought that we could take a taxi there. But no taxis either. Fortunately, cel phones were charged and with internet access, so we contacted the local operator, explained the situation and they went to “rescue us”.
The same uncertainty happened by the time we left Castellina. We had 4 bags (it was a 20 days vacation trip, with different activities, including a meeting in between - with a “social” dressing code). It would require a considerable effort to carry the luggage until the bus stop, to take another city bus until Siena and then find a way to go to Florence (the place where we would continue the trip). The lovely cities that we visited in Tuscany are in fact villages. There are no taxi services overthere.
Again, the tour operator helped us passing the contact of a private driver who led us from Castellina to Florence.
My suggestion: include the transfer to the starting point and from the finish point in the “to do list” for the local operators when cities have such a limited options of transportation.” Less

“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 our second tour with biketours.com. While we did enjoy this itinerary, we preferred our first one, Switzerland Geneva to Lucerne. That being said, I was certainly happy with this trip, the Dolomites region was great, I particularly liked Dobbiaco, Travisio, and Cividale. We had an extra day in Dobbiaco at the start of our trip, which was a good decision. We opted for only one day in Bled, which we also think was a good decision - the lake and town, while beautiful, are a little too touristy for our taste. The optional climbs, leaving Oberdrauberg and entering Bled, were not as difficult as we had imagined and we were glad to have done them. We also chose the hinterland route into Trieste, which was good. Some of the hotels where we stayed in were in cities that were quite small with not much to do, or in the case of Gradisca, was on busy roads and we had to get back on our bikes to get to a walk-able area of the city, which was not great. Especially once in the flat, wine regions of Italy, it felt like we were on more roads and gravel than bike paths than we would have liked. Regarding navigation, the app was excellent, we had no issues whatsoever. Do pack an extra battery bank to charge your phone. We also brought shoe covers for when it rained which we were grateful to have brought. Despite some caveats, overall a great trip!” Less