Italy  Bike Tour Reviews

  • Dolomites to Trieste
    (1/5) Melissa Barney 9 months ago

    Biking in Italy in June

    · Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps

    I will not be recommending this trip or your company to anyone. The App was awful: only intermittently in English (otherwise in German) and when I gave 'feedback' I got no response; the App intermittently stopped working and I had to turn my phone off and on to re-boot; the App ATE UP my phone battery (a relativley new iPhone 13 with an otherwise long battery life); any highlights mentioned in the App along a particular day's travel was only a link to something that required internet or phone service (this is ridiculous; this link should have taken me to text within the App just as every other self-guided tour does within their App). The written paper description was poorly done - for some cities the description was how to 'get' into a city and other times the city/town mentioned was only a landmark of progress but this was very confusing. The pedometer on the bike did not work after the first three hours of the 7 day trip. The bikes were way too heavy; surely there is a way to make a durable bike that is at least 2 to 3 kilos lighter. Getting the bike and getting a safety helmet were in different cities!! I would ask for some of my money back if I thought this was possible as I was very disappointed in the trip.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy, Slovenia, Austria
  • Apulia and Basilicata
    (2/5) Collette February 12, 2022

    Lecce Loop of the Trip is Beautiful

    · Apulia and Basilicata: Alberobello to Lecce

    The segment of this trip within the Puglia region provided stunning views almost all day long of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. We took frequent advantage of public beaches, stopping for a swim along the way, and the towns were charming, making it easy to linger over an espresso and seaside lunch, or tour on foot once we were settled into our hotel for the night. Our E-bikes made us happy as this Puglia section of the route is quite hilly. The hotels were excellent to good, and the GPS mapping on our phones made it super easy to stay on track or find the route after we had chosen to deviate from it. This portion of the trip was a delight.
    The first third of this bike trip includes the the route from Matera to Alberobello and Ostuni. A previous reviewer had mentioned, "an inordinate amount of garbage," on this section. I cannot stress enough how the garbage surpasses the word "inordinate." Hundreds of thousands of water bottles, household trash, appliances, used diapers and debris of all sorts litters the first three days of this trip, like riding through an open landfill.
    This section of the Basilicata route has long been abandoned for repair. We had to turn off the "emergency SOS" app on our phones - the one that calls your emergency contact using severe shaking of your phone - due to the broken concrete and tar on these roads as our phones kept sending SOS pings out to family members in the US. Where I live, I often have to ride on gravel roads and those seemed like a dream compared to these first 3 days of road conditions. The Lecce portion of this trip was great but I cannot recommend this trip if it includes the first section. Bike Tours is wonderful, this was our second trip with them and we plan more, but I will heed reviews, which is why I'm offering this one.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 26 - Oct 1, 2021
    How many tours have you completed?
    two
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • At the beautiful Ionian Sea! (photo by Collette)
    • Magical public swimming beach. (photo by Collette)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 1/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • Florence to Rome
    (2/5) Mark Abzug 6 months ago

    meh

    · Florence to Rome

    great cycling, but eurotours was terrible. no orientation, routed us on some busy roads, no customer service at all. I've done 5 of these, and this group was the worst support outfit by far

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
  • Tuscany and Umbria
    (2/5) John (Jay) Bonitt August 12, 2022

    Significant elevation!

    · Tuscany and Umbria: Cycling in the Heart of Italy

    This was our fourth self-guided Biketours.com trip, the firs three were five-star successes. This one was the most disappointing, not because of the region or places to stay…all were good! But, this trip had over 16,400 ft. Of elevation..even on E-bikes (for the first time) it was VERY difficult. We saw only one or two road bikers the entire trip, whereas on the previous trips we saw lots of road bikes. As experienced bike tours.com travelers we’re pretty attuned to following direction…this particular trip had poor written and app directions. If you are interested in this particular trip you had better be in the best shape of your life. It is not a moderate level trip…even on an e-bike.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • Venice to Mantua
    (2/5) Sparky September 21, 2017

    Boring trip

    · · Venice to Mantua by Bike and Boat (and reverse)

    Although the barge itself was nice and the food delicious, the trip itself is very boring once you leave Venice. Hours and hours of passing soybean fields. Lots of riding in hot weather on unshaded roads....some quite busy. Very few days were on actual bike paths. When we did get to a town, most things were closed as it was between 1 - 4....siesta time in Italy. The cheese tour was nice. That's about it!

    What was the date of your tour?
    August 26, 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    0
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 3/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 1/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
    • 3/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • A Taste of Italy
    (2/5) 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
    • 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
  • Venice to Florence
    (2/5) Sheedy July 16, 2018

    Disappointing

    · Venice to Florence: From Rialto across the sea to Ponte Vecchio

    We'd done the Mosel bike tour last year and it was picturesque, beautiful small towns, places to stop. This year we booked this trip to Italy to celebrate a 40th wedding anniversary. On the plus side, Marco from Eurobike was extremely helpful. Good advice and help with bikes. Always on call by phone. The first stop to Chiaggo was beautiful. They left champagne in our room for our anniversary. Really sweet.
    But after that the ride was super boring. Long stretch of riding alongside cow pastures or crossing busy roadways. No where to grab a bite to eat. Kind of like riding through the flatlands of Texas. We finally ditched the tour after 4 days and had them pick up our bikes instead of our luggage and went off and did our own thing. Again bike company was great and helpful, it just isn't a good bike trip.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2018
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 2/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 1/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • Dolomites to Trieste
    (2/5) GregR October 6, 2019

    Too much highway biking

    · Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2019
    How many tours have you completed?
    4
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy, Slovenia, Austria
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
  • Dolomites to Venice
    (2/5) Chris MacMillan 7 months ago

    Spectacular scenery, poor bike maintenance

    · Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track

    The scenery was spectacular and memorable. The hotels were good. However in the middle of the trip my bike handlebars came loose and the bike was very difficult to steer towards the hotel. Also I found the Funtastic navigation app to be unreliable.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    •  (photo by Chris MacMillan)
  • Innsbruck to Lake Garda
    (3/5) Larry Cady August 5, 2022

    Great route but TERRIBLE directions

    · Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps

    The good things about the Euro Cycle tour were:
    1. Very nice route through the Italian Tyrol
    2. Generally very nice hotels.
    3. Bike were adequate but so-so quality. On other tours I have had better quality bikes.

    The BAD thing - Directions were very poor. The main problem was there were no turn by turn directions to the hotels. This is standard on other tours. The printed directions routed you into the center of a town and then stopped. You were given the address of the hotel, but not directions on how to get there. Sometimes we were given a map of the town, but not always. We ended up using Google Maps on our phones to get the hotels. In one town (Maran), the hotel was well away from the town center and difficult to find. We spent a lot of time tracking it down.

    I would not take a Euro Cycle tour again. Other tour companies you represent are fine and I intend to take more tours - but not with Euro Cycle.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2022
    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?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Italy
    • 3/5 Value
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • Bolzano – Verona – Venice
    (3/5) Raff September 29, 2017

    Wonderful itinerary, average biking

    · Bolzano – Verona – Venice

    Great towns, but not enough time to see them. The biking scenery was ok. Really poor cue sheets in English.

    What was the date of your tour?
    9-16-17-8-22-17
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • Apulia - Heel of Italy
    (3/5) JackieDog September 26, 2017

    Confusing directions

    · Apulia - Heel of Italy

    Wonderful way to see the countryside but frustrating as the directions were often vague or inadequate.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 16-23
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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
    • 4/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Florence to Rome
    (3/5) Jeri April 12, 2017

    Lovely 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
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Venice to Trieste and Istria
    (3/5) Cycle2017 September 25, 2017

    Our Venice to Porec Challenge

    · Venice to Trieste and Istria

    This tour proved to be more challenging than anticipated, partly due to torrential rains on 2 days and windy conditions most of the week. Concerns included long riding distances with limited facilities between some of the planned stops -e.g. -few restaurants or stores to purchase snacks and more water. The signage didn't always match the tour directions, creating confusion and likely longer rides than planned. The final day -70 km, with 50% uphill is a challenge for casual riders. Casual recreational riders will find some of the days long and some of the terrain challenging. The local provider provided excellent support when we were flooded out of a hotel and unable to ride due to area flooding, and also assisted with transportation for the final transfer when a member of the group was ill, and weather conditions were miserable. Despite this, our group, 3 recreational riders and 1 experienced rider, enjoyed visiting the beautiful cities along the route -when the weather cooperated.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 10-16
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Italy, Slovenia
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • (3/5) Two Michiganders November 4, 2015

    Lost in Translation

    · Venice to Trieste and Istria

    This was our fourth tour with Bike Tours and the first with an Italian outfitter. Maybe that's where the trouble started.
    We're not novices to this kind of travel and expect to spend some time lost and wandering--that's okay--to some extent. The directions for this trip were oddly and sometimes poorly translated, and there were occasions that though we'd asked for the English version, the notes were in German. The sticker signage was missing and incorrect at several critical junctures--crossing into Croatia from Slovenia, for instance. I know we weren't the only people who missed it--others at the hotel mentioned the same confusion.
    I think that this part of Italy isn't quite as used to cycling (fewer cycle paths) and there were long stretches where we were riding with heavy traffic on 50-70k speed roads. The last day was very hilly (we were aware of this) and included some long slogs through unmarked Croatian campgrounds/resorts which were not mentioned in the directions. Despite the directions, knowing that you needed to be near the sea for most of the trip was helpful.
    Navigation being my only caution, this was a lovely and fun trip. The towns and sites along the way were quaint and it was relaxing when we were off the main roads. I appreciated the towns we stayed in, Sagittaria Concordia, Trieste and Piran were especially memorable for the sites and ambiance of each place. The ruins in Aguilia were amazing. The hotels were all excellent, breakfasts hearty and our bags were moved as promised.
    I'd recommend this to someone, but with caution regarding navigation.

    How many tours have you completed?
    Four
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Italy, Slovenia
    • Jeselo, Italy (photo by Two Michiganders)
    • Day One. (photo by Two Michiganders)
    • Red farm house and fence, Italy. (photo by Two Michiganders)
    • After a rain, Sagittaria Concordia, Italy. (photo by Two Michiganders)
    • Crossing into Slovenia (photo by Two Michiganders)
    • Sunset in Porec, Croatia. (photo by Two Michiganders)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Venice to Florence
    (3/5) JPeter October 3, 2016

    History 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
    • 3/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • Sardinia: A Mine of Memories
    (3/5) Sagan October 1, 2019

    More challenging than leisurely

    · Sardinia: A Mine of Memories

    Unfortunately not the experience we expected and we were a bit disappointed given how much we enjoyed our previous tours.
    The very hot weather and humidity may have been a factor but the route was much more challenging than expected and there were a lack of places to stop off that did not involve adding on extra KMs to the route.
    We noticed many other self guided opted for e-bikes probably with good reason.

    What was the date of your tour?
    14th sept 2019
    How many tours have you completed?
    5
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Lake Garda
    (3/5) Osmo S 11 months ago

    Beautiful 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
  • Venice to Trieste and Istria
    (3/5) Morgan Baumann 10 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.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Italy, Slovenia
  • A Taste of Italy
    (3/5) Chris MacMillan 7 months ago

    Hot in Italy in August

    · A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna

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

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy