4 Star Bolzano-Mantova-Venice Tour Reviews — 1 to 11 of 11

I the whole experience was memorable, but the most exceptional was the food. Danny was truly a chef who was interested in preparing the meals with a purpose. He also kept good eating habits in mind, offering a great variety of vegetables in each meal.

The entire trip was an insightful and delightful experience, providing access to the heart and soul of everyday-life in "working Italy", versus an antiseptic highlight-reel tour of famous monuments and churches. That said, the overwhelming uniqueness and timelessness of Venice couldn't help but be a highlight. I wouldn't have minded a somewhat more strenuous cycling experience; however, that was more than offset by the enjoyment of the comaraderie of a relatively small tour group (20), forged both on the cycling paths and over fabulous gourmet meals provided by the two young chefs aboard the Vita Pugna.

I loved the self guided part as we were able to ride as far as we wanted to and stop when we wanted. The scenery from Bolzano to Peschiera was breathtaking. The towns looked like movie sets. The 5 hour ferry ride was also an adventure and exposed the most beautiful scenery imaginable.

The barge crew was great, especially Stephi and Stephani, our fearless guides. Francesco was also a huge help. My room was tiny, but I made it work. The only complaint, and it is minor, is that I have had better food on bike barge excursions. The food on this trip was okay. Not great. Also - need more salads!!

The dolomites were incredibly beautiful. The food aboard was the best we’ve had!

Scenery from Mantova to Venice was agricultural for the most part. A broad mix of surfaces to ride on and some detours on the self guided which could be confusing.

Wonderful trip cycling. The Ave Maria crew were friendly, helpful, and clearly worked well as a team. The bikes were well maintained and rode smoothly.
Some communication with the TripSite org (most notably the portion before the Barge part of the trip) could have been better but overall it was a fun and enjoyable adventure.

I most enjoyed the first three rides of the tour from Bolzano to Mantova, the scenery was amazing.

The best part was the first three days self-guided tour near the Dolomites on our 10 day tour.

As professional as the staff were and as delicious the food, the most memorable part of the trip was interacting with fellow travelers. Since the boat can only berth around 40, I was able to get to know almost everyone and learn about their countries and personal histories.

We loved the varied scenery and warm and friendly Italian people.
The hotel accommodations were very comfortable and more than adequate. We would have been satisfied with a less luxurious hotel in Trento. We would have liked to explore the town and find a different restaurant, but there was no time. That is one of the drawbacks of cycling so many miles between towns; not enough time to explore.
The Ave Maria and the entire crew were first rate. We want to particularly thank our tirelessly helpful and fun-loving guides, Marinella and Stephania. In addition, the food was artfully created and inspired.
Our one complaint is about the poorly written instructions on the 3-day, self-guided part of the trip, which sometimes caused stress. The instructions were not only terribly written, we also had different editions of instructions among our group of 12. The most exasperating time was at Riva del Garda when we cycled back and forth through the town at least 3 times, looking for the correct ferry dock, after asking and being misled several times.

We loved the beautiful, amazing mountain scenery (with very few hills) of the first three days. The written instructions, though, are of a badness difficult to describe. We rated the tour 4/5, and the lost star were because of the extremely poor instructions. If we hadn't had maps and stickers on sign posts, we wouldn't have been able to make it through. The frustration really distracted from the overall enjoyment of the trip - an English speaker with an accurate odometer really needs to rewrite the directions. For example, they talked about "crossing a railway" (or maybe a "railway bridge"), so we spent about 20 minutes trying to find a way to cross the railway - but really it meant to pass underneath an elevated railway crossing. Also, the symbol used to indicate a warning (I think of a turn easy to miss) is a hand pointing to the right. One not unnaturally assumes that this means a right turn. It does not.

Otherwise the barge, scenery, activities, food, and guides are all exactly what we hoped for and have experienced on earlier trips. No problems with luggage transfers, and the hotels for the first part of the trip were all great.

The guide, Hein, was very knowledgeable, entertaining and helpful. A real asset to the trip.
Food on the Ava Maria was the best! Loved the three days from Bolzano through the mountains.