Italy Bike Tour Reviews (page 16)
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★★★★★ Lizk May 23, 2017An Amazing Trip in Beautiful Italy!
· Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
We loved our bike trip from Bolzano to Verona! The scenery was stunning. We were very happy with the accommodations and the breakfasts!
We got lost a few times but the GPX helped to know where we missed a turn. Also when we asked the local bikers they said follow me and got us back on track.We stopped in many of the small towns to some vino Rossa and lunch including Mezzocorona, Olios, and Borghetta!
We were amazed how easy it was to take the boat trip and train with the bikes.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 10-16
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was my first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Nancyhj May 15, 2017Beautiful ride through three countries
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
The scenery was ravishing, the directions got us where we needed to go, the breakfasts and hotels were delightful. We opted to rent e-bikes which allowed us to keep up with the stronger riders on our group. The main drawback was the lack of directions for getting from the train station in Trieste to our hotel. Not knowing the lay of the land, which streets were apt to be steep or major thoroughfares, it took us 3 times what it should have to get to our hotel. Also Bled is a charming little town, but had we realized it is a major tour bus destination we would not have opted to spend the extra night there.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 5-12, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy, Slovenia, Austria
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★★★★★ Jeri April 12, 2017Lovely spring countryside
· Florence to Rome
We did the self-guided version of this tour, and loved cycling through the Umbrian countryside. The routes were well-planned to avoid traffic. Bikes were adequate. Baggage transfer and all such arrangements were handled very well. Trip notes/gps were mostly good with a few glitches, but we were the first riders of the new season, so I would imagine the divergences will soon be cleared up, and we never lost our way. The tour company also uses a system of small trail markers that were very good. What we did not enjoy: the overnights. Towns were generally pretty dead other than touristy things--and not a lot of that. Little along the route days as far as nice places to stop (parks, cafes, or the like) either. Hotels were okay, but nothing special.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 1-8 April 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson April 13, 2017
Thanks so much for your feedback. We're sorry you didn't enjoy the towns along the route. I think you're absolutely correct that touring so early in the season played a role in your experience, as the towns, cafes and other settings are quite lively later in the season. We'll note that for advising future clients. I've done the tour and loved it, but it was early September and quite lively.
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★★★★★ Chloe March 31, 2017A Taste of Italy
· A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Jonathan M March 23, 2017Beautiful ride in an interesting part of Italy
· Umbria’s Green Valleys From the Pilgrimage Town of Assisi
This tour of Umbria combines delicious food and wine, beautiful scenery, and wonderfully preserved medieval towns like Assisi, Spello, Spoleto, and Bevagna. The tour operators (Petra and Paolo) are very organized and personable. A highlight was the guest house (Country House Casco Dell'acqua) operated by Carla and her brother Luigi. Not to be missed!
- What was the date of your tour?
- March 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Sierralover76 January 6, 2017Wonderful Adventure of Gorgeous Beaches, Unique History, and Amazing Food
· Apulia and Basilicata: Alberobello to Lecce
Our adventure through Puglia was unforgettable! This region offers so much history, culture, and beautiful scenery. Every day of the bike tour is unique and different. It's especially nice to explore this amazing region that I imagine most Americans are not familiar with.
To begin, the staff at both Biketours.com and Girolibero (the local operator) are outstanding, super helpful, knowledgeable, and very responsive. Everything was smooth and easy.
Regarding the trip itself, Matera (day one) is just spectacular. Walking through the ancient stassi is a very special experience (we recommend hiring Nadia Garlatti for a guided tour to really get a feel for it (nadiagarlatti@tiscali.it). If you are planning on spending an extra night in either Matera or Lecce, we absolutely recommend you do so in Matera (not Lecce). The hotel is also wonderful, and it's just so special staying in the stassi of Matera.
One of the best parts about this trip is how you get to experience so much. Literally every day is very different. From the ancient stassi of Matera, to the trulli of Alberobello, the unique history of Otranto, the gorgeous beaches, lovely olive groves, vineyards and fig trees, this trip really covers a lot. Beyond the highlights, you will also visit very charming towns like Locorotondo and Gallipoli.
The biggest challenge for us was to see and do everything we wanted to do. It may not seem like much to bike 35-45 miles per day, but there is just so much to see and do. Each day was very packed so that we could enjoy the sites along the way, have a great meal in our destination, and have a stroll to explore our destination as much as we could. The nightlife in each bustling town was awesome as well.
The guidebook offered by Girolibero is very thorough and super informative. Their tips on where to stop and where to eat are spot on. All the restaurants, gelateria, beaches and other specific recommendations were great. In fact, the Pugliese cuisine was the best we had in Italy. Every meal was outstanding (and very reasonably priced). In America, "antipasto" is usually not really memorable. However, do yourself a favor and order the antipasto dishes when dining in Puglia -- for a very affordable price, you get a wonderful assortment of very tasty and unique dishes.
We could go on raving about this trip. We also need to mention the hotels were great as well (especially San Martino in Matera). And you have a complete and delicious breakfast included every morning.
Basically, from start to finish, this trip was just perfect. We have no complaints, and look forward to another bike tour in the near future. This was a wonderful way to experience an amazing region of Italy. Grazie!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Marc October 30, 2016Very pleasant trip in Italy
· Bolzano – Verona – Venice
I had a very great time in this tour, done in solo, in october. The scenery is fabulous, the mountains are wonderful, the roads and paths quiet and well paved. This is an almost always flat itinerary and the two days with an uphill section, there is an alternate route. I'm not used to slope, but I choose the hilly route and there were my favorite days of the trip. The effort was very worth it. Verye great trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- october 8, 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ kiki1970 October 21, 2016· Venice to Trieste and Istria
The overall experience on this bike trip was good. The rain that occurred on 4 of the 7 days of the trip was unexpected. The locals informed us that it hadn't rained in 2 months so it caught up to us. The accommodations and food were excellent. The real problems were the maps that were provided. They need to be more tour specific. When arriving in the destination city, specific directions should be included in finding that hotel. We spent too much time looking for our hotel for the evening. Also the written instructions are a translation from the German guide. In some cases the instructions didn't match what we saw on the ground or what the sign posts indicated. In general, the people that we dealt with in the States and Italy were great. I only wish that we would have taken a day break some where in the middle(Trieste?) to refresh and recuperate. We didn't know we could do it. I highly recommend this before heading into Croatia.
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★★★★★ Jarusha October 20, 2016PERFECT 7 DAY TRIP THROUGH UMBRIA
· Umbria Road Cycling: Loop Tour Through Lush and Scenic Landscape
BEST WAY TO EXPLORE A COUNTRY!
SUCH a wonderful trip!
My husband and just finished a 7 day road bike trip through Umbria and it was fantastic! BikeTours.com hooked us up with the most wonderful local bike tour company (Ecologico Tours) and we loved it! Everything from Paolo delivering and setting our bikes up for us, the the beautiful side roads we cycled on, to the gorgeous hotels every night - all fantastic! We were even well taken care of when we accidentally left our passports at a hotel and had to call Petra for help. I can't say enough good things about our trip with BikeTours.com and Ecologico Tours and will not only recommend them to friends but we are already planning another trip with them :)
Thank you so much!Jarusha + Colin
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 29- Oct 6, 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- this was my first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ kirbymom October 19, 2016
Great Effort but we were frequently lost
· A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna
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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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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
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★★★★★ Curt October 18, 2016
Great trip
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
First bike trip like this for my wife and myself. The route was spectacular. Had everything from mountain scenery, beautiful river valleys, charming village, seaside rides, and ended in the wonderful city of Trieste. Got a taste of 3 countries and their cultures and food. Met lots of great people along the way who were doing the same trip as us. Everything went fairly seamlessly from the hotels to the transports to the bikes and the information provided. On a few occasions had some confusion with the directions, but nothing that wasn't able to be figured out.
All in all an excellent trip and would do another trip with this organization without question.- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/24-10/1/16
- How many tours have you completed?
- None
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy, Slovenia, Austria
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★★★★★ Timr October 18, 2016
Fascinating Rides Through Medieval Towns and Beautiful Countryside
· Florence to Rome
Every day the itinerary took us to multiple medieval cities with storybook characteristics and fascinating histories. Accommodations were very good. Navigation (self guided) was reasonably easy, with thousands of stickers on signposts to help confirm the written instructions. Bikes provided were good, sturdy touring bikes without problems. All went smoothly for a wonderful tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Catlover October 17, 2016Absolutely fabulous
· · Venice to Mantua by Bike and Boat (and reverse)
The barge was small and intimate,comfortable and well maintained,the meals were to die for ,thank you Sylvie and Irene. The whole trip was wonderful,bikes were fine,so much to see,our guide was so much fun,he worked tirelessly to make the trip memorable,and made us a video at the end.Thank you Hugo.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 17 to Sept 25 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Cycletourer October 16, 2016Go when it is Sunny!
· Piedmont Region by E-Bike: The Italian Garden of Eden
The sunny moments were heavenly, the hotels, food, wine all excellent. We went too late in the season (Oct 8-18) and the weather was mostly cool and rainy. Our few sunny breaks were heavenly, and if you go in September, you will do fine.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 8-15
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ JPeter October 3, 2016History seen
· Venice to Florence: From Rialto across the sea to Ponte Vecchio
The accommodations were satisfactory to good (hotel in Choggia was wonderful). The trip was as expected and explained in the brochure. For the most part the directions and markers were decent except in Florence. Little to no markers seen and the directions to the parking garage given were incorrect for Florence, frustrating.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 09/17 to 09/23
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 including this one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Louise October 1, 2016
Excellent trip
· Apulia and Basilicata: Alberobello to Lecce
We had a great time . Hotels were great and charming . Self guide tour was enjoyable . Arrows showing pretty well except the last day. It was not only cycling it was a cultural trip at the same time . Your documentation was excellent . Very satisfied
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 17-24
- How many tours have you completed?
- At least 12
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Izzz October 1, 2016
Pulia heel of the boot Italy
· Apulia and Basilicata: Alberobello to Lecce
We 4 seniors really enjoyed our bike trip. The second last day was more challenging than we expected. Route was well signed with small arrows except into Lecce. Bikes heavy but reliable and comfortable.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Spring 2015 Belgium
- How many tours have you completed?
- Over ten
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Retired Teacher September 28, 2016Great Scenery, but... poor bikes
· Bicycle Paths of the Dolomites (based in one hotel)
The rental bikes were NOT up to standards. One bike had defective derailluer and and to be substituted. Pedals and seats were hard to replace with ours, mechanic had to return next day with WD430 and oversized wrenches to get pedals off.
The hotel was very cute and nice, but across plaza from 2 churches that ran LOUD bells. Hotel room had no AC and no screens on windows and we spend time killing flies! The breakfast was good, dinner was good except for one night...do not get venison (2 of 4 of us could not cut with serrated knife!) There was an alternate choice most nights had we know that is better choice.
This is NOT traditional Italian food. Villabassa and Toblach are in the German speaking section of Sud Tyrol. It is an interesting combination of Austrian and Italian 'fusion' food. White table cloths and waiters. Lots of local wines to choose from.
The bike routes were VERY Scenic and for the most part enjoyable. We got lucky and only had rain at night, but bring your rain gear just in case! There is some
gravel surface that gave some of the group tour we bumped into a little trouble, but we had no problems. Most of the rides do not take most of the day, so stop and take all the photos you want. The weather in Dolomites is about 10-15 degrees cooler than Lake Garda because it is about 4000 feet. We started with layers and soon got down to short sleeves on most days in late September.- What was the date of your tour?
- Mid-Late September
- How many tours have you completed?
- Lots
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
