Italy Bike Tour Reviews (page 5)
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★★★★★ Susanne Graham 11 months agoWonderful experience!
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
I can’t think of a better way to experience a trip through Italy, Austria, and Slovenia. The weather was perfect for our trip and the scenery was epic. We loved traveling by e-bike and seeing and feeling the small towns and beautiful and unspoiled territory. We met some wonderful fellow bikers along the way. We do not want to travel any other way.
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★★★★★ Susanne Graham 11 months ago
Wonderful experience!
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
I can’t think of a better way to experience a trip through Italy, Austria, and Slovenia. The weather was perfect for our trip and the scenery was epic. We loved traveling by e-bike and seeing and feeling the small towns and beautiful and unspoiled territory. We met some wonderful fellow bikers along the way. We do not want to travel any other way.
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★★★★★ Juan Pablo Beca 11 months agoA nice and perfect organization
· Tuscany Getaway: 4 Nights in Siena, Montalcino & Pienza
Routes and the booklet given to us were very clear and helpful. We would have liked to receive details of each of our two bikes sot to ask for change. In fact we did not need so heavy bikes for the roads of our tour, and one as 27 and the other was 29" wheels for same height of the two of us.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ John Hastie 11 months agoWonderful trip!
· A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna
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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Christine Comi 11 months agoLovely look at rural Italy
· Florence to Rome: E-Bike through the Heart of Italy
Of the tour group of 15 people, only 3 of us spoke English. We didn't know this tour was actually being executed by Rotalis, a German touring company. It was still a wonderful experience but not what we were expecting. Also, most of the group was using e-bikes. This meant that the cruising pace was much faster than I think it would have been if everyone was riding on their own power. I was one of 3 people riding on my own power and found it a real work out every day.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 20-27, 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- none
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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BikeTours.com staff reply from BikeTours.com June 2, 2023
Hi Christine,
Thanks so much for sharing feedback with us. This tour is run by our local partner and can be booked by anyone, so an international group is likely. Although, we will make a better effort in the future to inform our guests of the group dynamic. There has been a shift in recent years, with more and more people using electric bikes than ever before. Understandably, this puts regular bike users at a disadvantage and we understand it was probably not the most comfortable experience. We’re sorry for these inconveniences and we truly hope you were able to enjoy your vacation all things considered. We will do better about how we advertise e-bikes versus regular bikes. We appreciate your comments immensely.
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★★★★★ ELHoo 11 months agoA good first bike tour experience
· Venice to Trieste and Istria
This was my first bike tour with a bike tour company, so I have nothing to compare it to. That said, it was pretty good. The person who presented the tour at our intro meeting was very nice and honest about what each day's route had in store for us. Bikes were OK, they suited the varied surfaces we rode on. The hotels varied from fine to nice. Luggage delivery was great. The towns we stayed at along the way all had something interesting about them. We were given an app, maps and cue sheets for navigation as well as arrow stickers along the route. We did not get lost, but I would suggest refreshing the faded arrows along the way. I would do another BikeTours.com tour.
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★★★★★ Dantzel Crane 11 months agoBeautiful sights, okay directions
· Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
We absolutely loved our trip to Italy! It was such a treat to be able to be outside and spend significant time in the Italian countryside, seeing the beauty that is there. My only critique is that often times the directions were a bit difficult to follow. It might just be that I am unfamiliar with the Italian road system, but there were several times where we needed to check the map that was given to us by the tour company against Google maps to make sure that we were in the right place and hadn’t missed a significant turn. Otherwise, the hotels were fine but nothing special (we did not pay for upgraded hotels), the bikes were great, and we loved our time in Italy so much!
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Morgan Baumann 11 months ago
Excellent Trails on which to explore a lovely part of Europe
· Venice to Trieste and Istria
Traveling by bike is a wonderful way to enjoy a new place. Our accommodations were Excellent. Our guide, Tony, (with us for the first days), was first rate!- so helpful. A couple of concerns: I would not rate this as a 2 for regular bikes - even with variants, it was a lot of biking and I was disappointed not to arrive in towns sooner. Everyone in our group was similarly disappointed including those on e-bikes. I would have liked a more leisurely pace and instead the days felt rushed. The directions however were my biggest problem. For the most part they were poor. We lost so much time just trying to figure out where to go! Our last stage, into Porec was by far the easiest and so even though the ride itself was more challenging, we arrived in Porec in good time to enjoy the town. This last stage was easier because the red arrows were frequent and well placed all along the route. You only needed to glance at the map and the written directions and then just keep following the arrows. In contrast, on many of the other stages, the arrows were few and far between and often were Not where we needed to make a turn! We spent far too much time studying the map and having to reverse direction to get back on the route. It would also help if the directions noted if we were generally following a set route that was already mapped out by those small brown signs. Those signs were well placed and easy to follow.
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BikeTours.com staff reply from JV May 19, 2023
Morgan,
Thank you for your detailed feedback. We're delighted you enjoyed your accommodations and the guidance from Tony, but we deeply regret the difficulties you faced with the directions and pace of the tour. Your suggestions are invaluable, and we'll ensure improvements are made in our tour planning and signage to create a more relaxing and user-friendly experience for future tours.
Regards,
Jan
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★★★★★ Osmo S 11 months agoBeautiful Garda landscapes, but some discomforts
· Lake Garda (based in one hotel)
Having had many tours with daily changing hotels, I liked this time this one based on one hotel. The daily tours were mostly beautiful landscapes, and also some very attractive human creations, especially Verona. Some problems still: the quality of bike lanes varied from very well made and clearly marked to muddy dirt roads and at some places within hard traffic. On the first day there was a mess on returning from Riva del Garda, most of the group missing the boat because of problems with bike transportation.
The EuroBike app was really good and showed clearly the way and its quick turns.- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Francisco Averhoff 12 months ago
great riding, great food
· A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna
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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Bozena Kusovac Derkovic January 27, 2023Great way to discover Milan
· Milan Hidden Treasures Bike Tour
The tour is fun, and very well organized in terms of places it takes you. Besides all the Milan's major sights, it also includes some of the less known, not that obvious touristic spots, which I found was very neat. My major highlights were Chinatown, and few new and ultra modern neighborhoods, architecture wise. These are all located in the vicinity od the immediate city centre. Our guide Polina was beyond great, you could tell she takes pride in her work, and the city she lives in. She also taught us some fabolous aperitivo places, as we were passing by them, the type of place you wouldn't know for unless a local showed you. Another bonus goes to the way Milan is laid out, being all very flat and extremely easy to bike.
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★★★★★ KAY SINGLETON December 9, 2022Most challenging of all bike trips we've done
· Tuscany and Umbria: Cycling in the Heart of Italy
There was a great sense of accomplishment each time we reached the hilltop towns, often after an over 1000m climb; all of the towns were beautiful with awesome views; the accomodations were excellent; we found the descents scary at times and were glad to have good brakes; sooo glad we got the road bikes! would not do this trip without them!
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Lisa Schmitz November 9, 2022Beautiful scenery every minute
· Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Great trip, but an e-bike would have been a better choice. Beginning days were very challenging, especially with heavy touring bikes. The downhills, though, were exhilarating. We relied on Google maps because the route maps were not up to date and less efficient.
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★★★★★ Dayna Stern November 9, 2022
My favorite bike tour
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
I love this trip! Gentle cycling, stunning scenery and nice accommodations. We requested half board which exposed us to south Tyrolean food. Highly recommended! Remember to dress warmly because you’ll be in a wooded valley part of the first few days.
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★★★★★ Dayna Stern November 8, 2022
My favorite bike tour
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
I love this trip! Gentle cycling, stunning scenery and nice accommodations. We requested half board which exposed us to south Tyrolean food. Highly recommended! Remember to dress warmly because you’ll be in a wooded valley part of the first few days.
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★★★★★ Darcy Billinkoff November 8, 2022Italy’s best kept secret
· Apulia and Basilicata: Alberobello to Lecce
After visiting Puglia, we marvel that we had not really heard much about this spectacular region until three years ago.
We started our trip by staying in a cave hotel in
the stunning city of Matera in its historic section “sassi di Matera”. This ancient city, steeped in history , has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site and should be on everyone’s bucket list.We started cycling in Alberobello, a touristy town famous for its whimsical whitewashed trulli with their signature cone-shaped roofs. As we left the town and worked our way toward the coast, we cycled on quiet roads passing by beautiful olive groves with rich red soil and fields dotted with trullis.
Magnificent views, picturesque seaside towns, a few challenging hills that got our hearts racing, and delicious fresh seafood became the norm as we cycled along the Aegean and Ionian Seas.
We finished the trip in the elegant city of Lecce, which is aptly nick named “the Florence of the south”. We would recommend spending at least two days in this beautiful city wander its beautiful historic Center, take in a walking tour and visit the fascinating Museo Faggiano.We cycled on hybrid bikes and they were comfortable and had good low gears to take on the coastal hills.
We would highly recommend this trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2022
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Michael Kelly November 8, 2022All roads lead to Rome
· Florence to Rome
This tour was spectacular. This trip checks all the boxes — it has the art, beauty and walkability of Florence; the majestic history of Rome; tied together by the bike ride that got us away from the crowds in both cities and into the countryside and small towns, traveling at a perfect pace to appreciate this beautiful region of Italy. The luggage transfer was seamless. The hotels were very comfortable and (except in Rome) all were small and conveniently located near each town’s important sites and central piazza.
You asked for feedback.
One layover day would have been great, probably in Assisi where we found there’s too much to see in just one afternoon/evening. I don’t know how you would make it work, but you asked for suggestions.
The intro session on Day 1 was a serious weak point in the tour. The evening talk was cancelled and the bike distribution on the morning of Day 2 was handled by a nice employee who only spoke Italian. It could have been a disaster with no instruction about the route or the unfamiliar ebikes, but the group worked it out.
The hotel in Rome was comfortable but it was the only one not located in a convenient part of town and it’s focus on large groups traveling by tour bus was a jarring contrast to everything else about the tour.
Some of the hills were longer and harder than expected, and traffic on a few short stretches was difficult. But our lasting memories will be the vineyards and olive groves, the quiet side streets and bike paths, the breathtaking hill towns, and the flexibility to stop at a cafe for pastries, cappuccinos or afternoon beers.- What was the date of your tour?
- October 1, 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our second
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Russ Gibfried November 7, 2022
Great locations, trip pace and places to stay
· Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
Perfect way to see Bavaria, Tyrol, the Dolomites and into Venice. Old train tracks have been converted to bike trails, so you see towns and places that you would miss in a car. The mobile app keeps you on track. I'm convinced this is the best way to see a country and all my future trips will include a one week bike tour (if possible)
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
