Bike Tours

“The route, the bikes, the hotels. All received an A+ grade. Except the part of arriving in Pienza and leaving Castellina. The topic “How to get there”, part of a e-mail sent by you should be improved. The option TAXI from Chiusi train station doesn’t exist. No taxis there. There is only one bus/day to Pienza that departures in the morning. And we arrived in the afternoon. After asking four different people we realized that the only way available would be to take a bus - a city bus, not prepared for the transport of passengers + luggage - to Montepulciano and then find a way to arrive in Pienza. We thought that we could take a taxi there. But no taxis either. Fortunately, cel phones were charged and with internet access, so we contacted the local operator, explained the situation and they went to “rescue us”.
The same uncertainty happened by the time we left Castellina. We had 4 bags (it was a 20 days vacation trip, with different activities, including a meeting in between - with a “social” dressing code). It would require a considerable effort to carry the luggage until the bus stop, to take another city bus until Siena and then find a way to go to Florence (the place where we would continue the trip). The lovely cities that we visited in Tuscany are in fact villages. There are no taxi services overthere.
Again, the tour operator helped us passing the contact of a private driver who led us from Castellina to Florence.
My suggestion: include the transfer to the starting point and from the finish point in the “to do list” for the local operators when cities have such a limited options of transportation.” Less

“Crete is a wonderful island. There is history and ruins, scenery , varied climate from desert to sea, to fertile valleys. The people I met were all wonderful. I did the 14 day option and it was off season. I was the only person .Most of the place closes on October 31. There are 2-3 very challenging climbs on a daily basis. If you are a recreational rider, choose the ebike. On my final day it took me 1.5 hrs to do the first 4.5 km climb. I ride an hour a day and it was challenging, but exhilarating. Weather is wonderful, food is great , accommodations were very well appointed and had fabulous locations. The app has some hiccups, like a peculiar estimate of 1/2 km and a tendency to stop a distance from the hotel. This may have been due to the off season nature and the usual hotels not being used, but it was very disconcerting at the end of a ride to be searching for the hotel. The local travel company was great in helping with difficulties I encountered. Overall though, it was a wonderful combination of exercise and touring and discovering a fabulous place .” Less

“Our group of 8 does bike trips around different countries each year so we are comparing this bike trip to other trips we’ve done. The destinations and customer service were outstanding. Also very good were the hotels, food and the bikes. The only thing we didn’t like was the many diversions around construction and the ride with GPS directions. The road construction was beyond the bike company’s control but we hoped for more communication about detours from the bike company. Also the ride with GPS directions were difficult to follow in a few places and we got lost. One day we rode over 76 kilometers and got to hotel well after dark. One bike had a flat tire and one of our group lost his passport. The bike company did everything they could to fix the tire and help our friend find his passport. In future, I would recommend the bike company verify the ride with GPS directions again and be sure to notify customers about the several diversion areas in advance of the ride. Thank you again for this beautiful bike ride.” Less

“We had a great time seeing Portugal. The sights, people, food and route were all wonderful. The coastal towns had jaw dropping scenery. Obidos and Sintra were picture postcard perfect. An extra day in Sintra to see the castles is a must. We rode premium road bikes through challenging climbs. Only the uphill Sintra cobbles required walking the bike. Well organized tour” Less