A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna

Traveler photos

• ★★★★★ Moira Quigley 2 weeks ago

  Interesting part of Italy

  Well organised, GPS system worked well for us most of the time, person greeting us and setting us up was fantastic, bikes excellent. Loved the parmesan and balsamic vinegar factory tours - wonderful hosts. We did not enjoy the route as much as other tours we have done. There were more main roads and traffic than we were expecting and have experienced on previous bike tours. The agritourismo accommodation was so nice we did not want to leave.

  What was the date of your tour?

  October 2023

  How many tours have you completed?

  Three

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Do you recommend this tour?

  No

  • 4/5 Value
  • 3/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 3/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 3/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Cathie Macmillan 4 weeks ago

  Enjoyable trip through the food bowl of Italy

  This tour was well organised and easy to follow using the Ride with GSP App. It was great to spend 2 nights at each destination and not rush from one town to the next. The e bikes were very well maintained and comfortable to ride. Unfortunately one of my drink holders broke as I cycled down a hill!
  The route was a mix of bike paths, main roads and smaller roads. We didn't enjoy the main roads as the traffic was quite busy and passed us very quickly which was scary at times. I wouldn't recommend the tour to first time bike tourists or families as it was a bit dangerous on so many main roads.
  Most accommodation was comfortable and met our needs. Our favourite accommodation was definitely La Razza Agritourismo! Hotel Button was our least favourite as it didn't have a fridge or tea making facilities in the room.
  Cycling through the food bowl of Italy gave us the opportunity to see how Parmigiano Reggiano and Balsamic Vinegar are made. Tasting the products was even better! We took the dinner options but in hindsight probably would have preferred to organise our own dinners.
  On reflection, we probably should have chosen a tour with a harder rating and more hills. The route was very flat so we didn't experience many good views of the scenery. We enjoyed the loop ride into the hills of Reggio Emilia. We didn't do the loop ride from Modena due to illness and poor weather so perhaps missed one of the good scenery days.

  What was the date of your tour?

  Oct 23

  How many tours have you completed?

  3

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Much easier

  Do you recommend this tour?

  No

  • 4/5 Value
  • 3/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 3/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Desmond Barnett 2 months ago

  Nice way to see parts of Italy

  Self guided, hotels generally good but thought the hotel in Reggio Emilio was poorly sited. One restaurant fully booked little opportunity without taxi’s. Accomodation needs to be located in a town.

  What was the date of your tour?

  September 2023

  How many tours have you completed?

  4-5

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat easier

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 1/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Chris MacMillan 3 months ago

  Hot in Italy in August

  Enjoyable cities and food. Bike routes a bit bumpy but easy. Unfortunately very hot 🔥 this year in Italy. Tour operator helpful with flat tires.

• ★★★★★ Daniel Serventi 5 months ago

  An Exquisite Way To See Italy!

  To be honest we did not fully know what we were getting ourselves in to - but this trip checked every box and surprised us with how well thought out it was. Each hotel was beautiful in accommodations and city placement. Dinner and activity recommendations were on point. And most importantly, the bike support and GPS were perfect. I would recommend this tour to everyone and anyone! Would recommend that you purchase the additional cooking class- It was the highlight.

  What was the date of your tour?

  June 2023

  How many tours have you completed?

  This is our first!

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
  • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
• ★★★★★ John Hastie 6 months ago

  Wonderful trip!

  Evrything was great, but we didi have a couple of issues:
  * The Garmin GPS unit was programed for an incorrect departure hotel. Destpite our attempts to join up with the route, it constantly told us we were off course. We ended up abandoning it and using google maps to get from point to point.
  * Our hotel in Parma informed us that our reservation didn't include breakfast, which was unexpected.

  Other than that, the trip was wonderful.

  What was the date of your tour?

  May 2023

  How many tours have you completed?

  many self-guided. two through tourig companies.

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 2/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 3/5 Local tour company services
  • 3/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Francisco Averhoff 7 months ago

  great riding, great food

  Great way to see and feel the country and the food was amazing. the restaurants selected by the tour company were all excellent, just a little too much food. the bike paths were also wonderful with very little street riding and when we did need to ride on the street, the traffic was light. The tour company could have given us better instructions regarding use of the GPS and odometer. We were never able to get the odometers to work. we missed the parmigiana tasting since the GPS instructions were not clear. the GPS loop rides were also not clear and we missed the turn offs on a few occasions.

  What was the date of your tour?

  April 2023

  How many tours have you completed?

  4

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 4/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ csilva September 30, 2019

  Best Bike Tour even 3 plus years passed

  Best way to see the most underrated area of Italy!

  What was the date of your tour?

  11/2016

  How many tours have you completed?

  3

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ MarkE November 12, 2018

  Great 1st self guided tour - mixing cycling and culinary experiences

  Mostly flat terrain so easy riding at moderate pace which allowed plenty of time for stops, photos etc. Each of the towns had unique architecture/character. Great selection of hotels in the old town sections. All meals excellent whether part of package or self selected. A little challenging following directions out and back into towns in order to avoid major roads. Each of the tours very educational (and tasty) - we learned so much.

  What was the date of your tour?

  10/13/18

  How many tours have you completed?

  1

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat easier

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 4/5 Scenery
  • 3/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ TomS June 18, 2018

  the combination of biking and food was excellent

  This was our third time out with biketours and each has been unique and fun. The Taste of Italy was well-named. Stops to see the production of parmesan cheese, gelato, and especially balsamic vinegar were terrific. Loved the cooking class! Level of difficulty was not bad--although some of the hills on the first day required us to dismount. The night at the Agritourismo was memorable.

  What was the date of your tour?

  June 3

  How many tours have you completed?

  3

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 4/5 Scenery
  • 3/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ DeniseCS October 19, 2017

  By Far, the Best Bicycle Tour Ever

  We encourage any cyclist with a spirit of adventure to take this tour. We call it a self-guided tour with training wheels! We have used other companies (Back Roads, VBT) but by far BikeTours.com and the local tour company (CycleEurope) was the best experience we ever had.

  Even though this is a self-guided tour, the local representative, Giovanni, spent over two hours with us at the inception, going over every detail. They provided us with a huge binder with everything needed: maps, written instructions; points of interest; restaurant recommendations; info on each city we visited.

  Their titanium framed bikes looked brand new and were maintained beautifully.

  Giovanni informed and reassured us that if we had any trouble along the way, he could reach us within two hours maximum wherever we were.

  Do take advantage of their provided GPS. It was the first time we used one on a bike and it was a blast.

  The hotels were all 5 Star and our suites in Modena and Reggio Emilia were incredible. The cooking class included with Manuel was one of the best experiences. We learned so much and will use our new cooking skills at home. The included dinners were at top restaurants in that particular city and the food and staff were phenomenal. The included meal at the Agritourismo was one of the best we have ever had. The steak was truly the best beef we ever ate. The owner, Paolo and his wife Cecelia treated us like family.

  Please do not miss this experience. The staff at BikeTours.com will make your self-guided tours the most fabulous trip of a lifetime.

  What was the date of your tour?

  9/22/17 to 10/1/17

  How many tours have you completed?

  9

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Chloe March 31, 2017

  A Taste of Italy

  What was the date of your tour?

  3/9-3/16

  How many tours have you completed?

  2

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat harder

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 4/5 Scenery
  • 3/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 3/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ kirbymom October 19, 2016

  Great Effort but we were frequently lost

  We had titanium bikes and a very intro. Unfortunately we were lost so often that instead of enjoying time at q location, we were biking around asking locals and using our compass. I think Bike Tour tried too hard to use route with less traffic or a bicycle trail. This made it very hard to get in and out of cities. We had both a bike gps with the routes inputted and the written instructions. Just give us the most direct route out of the cities.
  The hotels were nice and mostly well located. Sometimes they weren't well located like the one on the farm. We very much enjoyed the cooking class, the visit to the balsamic vinegar producer, and the gelato machine making -- that ws great. Also the dinners and breakfasts were very good to excellent.
  I would recommend this tour IF the routes were adjusted and the visit to the farm was eliminated

  What was the date of your tour?

  10-4-16

  How many tours have you completed?

  thousands of miles w/o guides

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Do you recommend this tour?

  No

  • BikeTours.com staff reply from Lindsay Nash October 20, 2016

    Hi, thanks very much for sharing your experience! We're so glad to hear that the cooking class, hotels, and food experience on this tour was wonderful. However, we're sorry to hear of your problems with the directions and route. We'll share your feedback with the local tour operator and work together to make sure this experience is improved. Thank you again for your review and for helping us share in the joy of bicycle touring!
    Kind regards,
    Lindsay

  • 3/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 4/5 Scenery
  • 1/5 Ease of navigation
  • 3/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 2/5 Route selection