Italy Bike Tour Reviews (page 14)

★★★★★ (5/5) Sheba August 14, 2019

Great trip

· Lake Garda (Based in One Hotel)

We had an amazing time on our Lake Garda trip. We were two people who have never done something like this before, but once we got the hang of things it was a dream. The first day (Trento) was tough because we got caught up with the spectacular scenery and forgot to take breaks and refuel. But the following days we got better at stopping at certain intervals to drink and eat.
We also did not understand at first from our contact person what the signs look like. They are stickers on signposts, and looking out for those helped at more complex intersections. We did not use the written directions at all - we just brought with us two bike mounts, put our phones there, and followed along on the app. You just follow the pink line on the map, and most of the time the bike path is very clear and straightforward anyways.
A final tip: we skipped Solferino and went to Sirmione for a day (we were based in Desenzano). Sirmione is a must-see for sure, so we were glad we did that. It is a very short ride (around 8-9 km).

What was the date of your tour?: July 2019
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
Do you recommend this tour?: Yes
Countries included in this tour?: Italy

5/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
4/5 Ease of navigation
4/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
5/5 Route selection
4/5 Guides (if applicable)

★★★★★ (5/5) Addee October 29, 2019

Gorgeous Lake Garda!

· Lake Garda (Based in One Hotel)

Disclosure: I went on a small portion of this tour as a BikeTours.Com Staff Member.

I was lucky enough to arrive to the start of my tour in Sirmione by a relaxing 4-hour ferry ride from town of Riva. Since this tour is based out of one hotel, you have ultimate flexibility in spending your cycling vacation in Lake Garda the way YOU want to! The daily rides are fairly short and will give you plenty of time to experience the local cuisine and culture. Since I only had one day to cycle in Lake Garda, I was recommended by the tour company staff member at my welcome briefing to cycle to Brescia. The ride to Brescia took me through quiet cycle paths to beautiful and picturesque countrysides. Just from this day’s ride, I would say 90% of this day’s ride was on cycle paths, with 10% being on quiet roads. This tour was Level 2, but being a first timer, I had no issues cycling the few hills I encountered during my ride to and from Brescia. For those who want a more relaxed ride, I’d highly recommend the eBike as it gives you power when you really need it! The one provided on this tour was in top condition and well-constructed. I took this tour at the beginning of October and it was perfect weather to cycle in the cool morning yet still enjoy the warm water of Lake Garda during the day. I would recommend this tour to first-time travelers and those who’d like to spend a few days exploring beautiful Lake Garda!

What was the date of your tour?: 10/3/2019
How many tours have you completed?: 0
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: Somewhat easier
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

5/5 Value
5/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 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) Meg Bates September 27, 2023

Riding Lake Garda

· Lake Garda (Based in One Hotel)

It was a great trip and the hotel and local setting were wonderful.
Our experience in getting assistance from the local partner, however, was not satisfactory. We had to contact them a couple times about bike needs and malfunctions. The "hotline" is merely place that tell you who else to call. Their communication to resolve issues was horrible.

There should be more detail about some aspects for the ride. One thing is the availability of public toilet facilities. On at least one ride, there were none.

Also, the route info was often a problem. It was at time not accurate. You should sonderusing using Rides with GPS, which was a better option.

What was the date of your tour?: September 2023
How many tours have you completed?: 4
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: As expected
Do you recommend this tour?: Yes
Countries included in this tour?: Italy

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

★★★★★ (5/5) Charlene Cestroni June 29, 2023

Do it! You won’t regret it!

· Learning Italian from the Saddle: Language Classes & the Coast of Apulia

Loved, loved, loved it!! Giovanna, our guide and instructor was THE BEST!! She had varied teaching styles and lessons, addressed the different levels of proficiency well, and was a really fun person to share time with. She was very knowledgeable about the various cultural sites we visited and incorporated them into our lessons. Throughout the whole experience I felt like family. We literally spent time w different members of families of the tour operators and staff - you don’t see that everyday! The level of biking was easy. The excursions were excellent! I was even able to take a private yoga class at one location. The accommodations were very good. We were a small group so we were able to stay at a couple masserias - very charming. One had a couple small service issues due to lack of staffing but nothing significant. Masserias were Uber charming but the standout hotels for me were in SM de Leuca and Arco Vecchio in Lecce. I was always in a single room and they were all very nice, comfortable, and had showers bigger than a phone booth (important to me!) If you want to have fun, enjoy diverse experiences, do a little biking, and be immersed in the Italian culture and language (with support,) then this is the trip for you!! Thank you Giovanna and Salento Bici Tours for this incredibly fun experience. I can’t wait to hear about your next tour offering!

What was the date of your tour?: June 2023
How many tours have you completed?: 5
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: Somewhat easier
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

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)

★★★★★ (5/5) Rosemary McDougall September 14, 2023

Best of both worlds: Italian language and cycling in Italy

· Learning Italian from the Saddle: Language Classes & the Coast of Apulia

What a fantastic tour! The rides were perfect and the teachers/guides were outstanding. Giovanna and Carla were the best Italian teachers, patient and helpful. The riding itinerary was challenging yet doable for all participants. The idyllic terrain from Otranto to Lecce showcased the Salento region and the spectacular views of both Adriatic and Ionian Seas completed the picture. All accommodations were great as well as the scrumptious Italian food and Orecchiette cooking class. Visits to various beaches helped to relax everyone along the route. An ideal tour for anyone interested in learning Italian and enjoying the scenery along the way while riding a bicycle (bici).

What was the date of your tour?: September 1-10
How many tours have you completed?: 3
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

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)

★★★★★ (5/5) victor dubugras July 4, 2024

I’m Giovanna’s fan

· Learning Italian from the Saddle: Language Classes & the Coast of Apulia

In overall the experience was fantastic.
The region is beautiful, the wines great, nice restaurants, nice bikes and most of all our teacher Giovanna. I became her fan. When I returned home in Milan, I could understand Italian much better and speak a little.
If the group was bigger than ours, two families only, an end of the line additional guide to look after the low speed participants would make the front group biking experience more pleasant.
We also had a small accident with no big consequences that was handled by the guide and one participant that was a doctor. But if anything worst happened, I’m not sure what type of rescue would be available.
Me and my wife were lucky that the other family was fantastic. The bond was 100% and only happy moments all the time happened.
In other tours with other companies, there was always someone that became an unpleasant weight for the group due to the attitudes.
I recommend this tour.

What was the date of your tour?: June 22, 2024
How many tours have you completed?: 6
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: Much easier
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

5/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
4/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
5/5 Ease of navigation
4/5 Local tour company services
5/5 Route selection
5/5 Guides (if applicable)

★★★★★ (5/5) Bill Allured 11 months ago

A great way to experience Puglia in Italian

· Learning Italian from the Saddle: Language Classes & the Coast of Apulia

The bicycling was magnificent with varied and spectacular views. A vary civilized break for coffee and Italian language every day, along with delicious lunch stops (with more Italian) really illustrated the concept of “Slow Tourism”, which the local partner specializes in. Our teacher and guide, Giovanna, was a gentle and excellent teacher as well as guide. When thunderstorms were predicted, she anticipated possible stopping places so we were confident in our ride. The only down side was that we don’t know what to follow it up with next year, except maybe do it again!

How many tours have you completed?: 2
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: Somewhat easier
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

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)

★★★★★ (5/5) Collette September 30, 2019

Piedmont Pleasures!

· Piedmont Region: The Italian Garden of Eden

After this bike tour, we can hardly imagine touring most of Italy, or Europe, any other way than by bicycle. Stopping in small towns for simple mid-day lunch, riding by a tiny gelato shop and making a quick U-turn, and having a cappuccino among other a few local residents in an ancient town square were just a few of the experiences that allowed us to be part of the Piedmont region, not just tour through it.
When we were on streets and road, off the bike trails, we found the drivers in the Piedmont region to be cautious and careful around us, giving us and our bikes as wide of berth as they could afford, including in the roundabouts and larger cities like Tourino and Asti.
We're in decent biking shape but grape vines love hillsides so we're glad we selected e-bikes for this particular tour route. We didn't have any problems with the bikes or battery charging (though if you're a larger person, some of the longer riding days required some riders to keep their e-assist on lower levels to facilitate battery strength throughout the day as the Bosch batteries are half strength of what is available here in the US.)
The map app with its corresponding daily route map made finding our way simple, and when we left the route for an interesting side-tour of our own (a wine stop!), it was easy to jump back on the route from where we were. You couldn't get lost using the map app.

What was the date of your tour?: Sept 14-21, 2019
How many tours have you completed?: 1
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

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

★★★★★ (5/5) Martin Gorfinkel 11 months ago

Beautiful Ride in Italy’s Wine Country

· Piedmont Region: The Italian Garden of Eden

We had a wonderful ride through wine country. The route was nicely designed with stops in lovely towns and comfortable hotels. We used E-Bikes, so for long ascents, it was not a problem. Before the trip we upgraded our hotel in Asti and we were told by others that was a wise move. It was a wonderful way to see the and experience the country. The route had us go through small villages and farms. We were on secondary roads and bike paths for 95% of the time, only short times with a little car traffic.
The first two days were flat rides to Pinerolo and Saluzzo through farms. The remainder of the trip was hilly with some fun descents. It was a great trip!!

What was the date of your tour?: September 2024
How many tours have you completed?: This was our Second. We used E-Bikes.
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

4/5 Value
5/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 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) Jarusha October 20, 2016

PERFECT 7 DAY TRIP THROUGH UMBRIA

· Umbria Road Cycling: Loop Tour Through Lush and Scenic Landscapes

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

5/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 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) Aging Cyclist October 27, 2019

Great countryside, food and hotels

· Umbria Road Cycling: Loop Tour Through Lush and Scenic Landscapes

We had a tremendous trip. The hill towns and mountain views were superb, our rental bikes were of excellent quality, and the hotels and breakfasts were terrific.

What was the date of your tour?: October 2019
How many tours have you completed?: this is the first
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: As expected
Do you recommend this tour?: Yes
Countries included in this tour?: Italy

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

★★★★★ (5/5) NotLance October 11, 2017