Italy Bike Tour Reviews (page 10)
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★★★★★ Gary O August 1, 2019An excellent bike tour to include
· Tuscany Getaway: 4 Nights in Siena, Montalcino & Pienza
This was our first time in Italy and the self guided trip was and excellent way to experience all the charms and challenges of this amazing place. Everything from our briefing to the charming and very comfortable hotels was excellent and exceeded our expectations. The bike ride was suitably challenging with regular touring bikes, and proved to be an excellent workout. Towns and villages along the way were all an added bonus. Our tour hosts were excellent and even provided a ride back to Sienna to gather my car on the last day. Thank YOU!
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 10 - 14
- How many tours have you completed?
- over 12
- 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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★★★★★ Skipper August 6, 2019Nice trip- some days better than others.
· Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
The trip was nice. The first three days had pretty scenery and nice riding. The fourth day was mostly on roads and some areas not very exciting. The last day retraced some of the fourth day and seemed like it wasn’t really necessary. The signage at certain points was unclear (e.g., the bike path ended and it was unclear what to do next) and there was an actual mistake in directions arriving at the hotel in Verona. The GPS was not particularly helpful. The bike was a good quality, but one of the bikes didn’t have working lights.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- Two
- 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
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe August 7, 2019
We appreciate you letting us know that this wasn't your ideal trip. Based on other reviews and more tour details the last two days are overall more countryside riding when compared with the first few. We understand how this could seem less exciting. Thanks again for submitting a review; we hope we can book something better suited to your tastes next time!
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★★★★★ Sheba August 14, 2019Great 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
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★★★★★ LMOC August 21, 2019Challeging and beautifull tour
· Umbria’s Green Valleys From the Pilgrimage Town of Assisi
Umbria is beautiful and we loved to visit the old and historical towns throughout the tour.
However, there were a bit more steep climbs than what we were expecting and the 40 degrees made them more challenging :/
Paolo and Petra were very helpful and friendly and the overall tour was well thought out.- What was the date of your tour?
- 20 of July
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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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★★★★★ Randa September 12, 2019· Apulia and Basilicata: Alberobello to Lecce
Great cycling route. Some hills, but not as bad as I had figured. Disappointed that they did not have the meet and great on the day, as stated. It was on our day 2...when we had 70k to go. Otherwise the arrows showed that we had taken the right turn, and with them and the odometers it made for smooth sailing......never got lost!!! First time ever, in 6 tours that we have never been lost!! Great scenery, great accommodations. Some breakfast needed more protein on their tables to get us going until lunch time! All in all, we would recommend this trip!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug. 24-31, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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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★★★★★ IanandNancy September 29, 2019Mountains to Sea
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
Three countries with all the beauty of countryside , towns and cities.
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★★★★★ Marv September 29, 2019First European Bike trip
· Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
This was an amazing trip. Well organized, excellent hotels and breakfast. The route was beautiful. The bicycling was more challenging than we expected, but we are casual cyclists. If you are somewhat of a serious cyclist, it would be no problem. 95% of the directions were excellent. 5% were very confusing or ambiguous. Everyone in our group got lost at one point or another. Overall, well organized and beautiful trip. We will book again with Biketours.com.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 09/14/2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much 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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★★★★★ Ron S September 30, 2019
FINE RIDE
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
A wonderful way to experience the Dolomite and end up in a superb Italian town. (Trieste) There are many different parts of Italy to see, but this trip might be the epitome of experiencing the Dolomites. I have taken many trips with Bike Tours, but this one may have been the finest. Good hotels, a superb route, and exquisite scenery made this trip four star. Renting an electric bike might be a nice option for the last parts of the trip. So would a G.P.S. as the directions can be a little hazy. Getting to the start of the trip could be a little dicey for the traveler but public transportation prevails.. Do this trip..AND TAKE THE 2 DAY OPTION IN BLED
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★★★★★ Collette September 30, 2019Piedmont Pleasures!
· Piedmont Region by E-Bike: 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
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★★★★★ csilva September 30, 2019Best Bike Tour even 3 plus years passed
· A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna
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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Sagan October 1, 2019More 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
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe October 2, 2019
Hi Sagan, and thanks for the review. We're sorry to hear that this tour was more challenging than you expected and therefore, less enjoyable. Heat and humidity can surely be factors in making a tour feel harder. As you noted, ebikes are an option on harder tours (this one is a rider level 3/4) to make them feel more leisurely. We appreciate your note that places to stop require some extra pedaling - very helpful information! Thanks again for the feedback
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★★★★★ Alexthegr8 October 2, 2019
A Bumpy Ride at Times, but Worth It.
· Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
The scenery ranges from pleasant (Asolo to Treviso) to spectacular (Cortina to Belluno), and the hotels (all of which were nice) were conveniently located with the exception of those in Belluno and Treviso, which are located too far from the center to walk. Bikes were OK, although the pump provided did not fit the tube stem, and the extra inner tube was too large. We saw very little signage on the first day, although the frequency of signage increased over the length of the trip. The GPS, for which we paid extra, did not work, and is unnecessary in any case. All that said, we enjoyed the riding very much, and would definitely recommend it to others, most particularly if they have some prior experience (there are a few detours along the way) .
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- 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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★★★★★ Laird October 5, 2019Best trip ever!
· Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
We loved every aspect of this trip! The scenery was stunning. The bike path was paved and easy to follow. The directions were so clear and mentioned the easy two hills we encountered.
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★★★★★ 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
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe October 7, 2019
Hi Greg, we're sorry that you felt this tour had too much highway biking. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to provide more details.
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★★★★★ Ricard60 October 7, 2019Fantastic holiday
· Florence to Rome: E-Bike through the Heart of Italy
Our trip through Italy was wonderful. Our guides Florian and Nicki looked after us in everyway. Very informative and worked so hard to make our trip memorable. Every hotel was top quality. Every meal delicious and excellent guided tours around Florence, Rome, Assisi and Perusia. This was our first cycling holiday, we we're a bit wary, but we loved it and it won't be our last.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 24 sep
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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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★★★★★ Stanthepianoman October 8, 2019
It was the trip of a lifetime.
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
The scenery was amazing! The bike paths and back roads were awesome. With a couple of changes I would give the trip a 5 star review: First, they shouldn't give an option to ride the train to Jessenice to Bled. This town is scary and hard to navigate. The ride over the pass was minor from what we were told.
Second, the Hotel Roma in Civedale is a dump. Hard beds and rude employees. All the other hotels and inns ranged from nice to awesome.
Third, we should have stayed in Bled and extra day. Our own fault on this one.
Last, the ride in to Trieste was dangerous. It was like riding the gauntlet. I would have liked to drop off our bikes out of town and walked or Ubered in to the city. This is a big busy city and many in our group were unhappy with the danger involved.
