Italy Bike Tour Reviews 1 to 30 of 275
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Bolzano - Mantova - Venice
by Katherine G. 1 day ago • Permalink/ReplyDespite the crowds and chaos in Trento on day one of our cycling (Bolzano to Trento) due to the Alpine Black Feather military reunion, it is now one of my favourite memories and stories that I share! I also really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful poppies, gardens and farmers fields.
The route guides had some errors and you could tell that they were translated by someone who’s first language is not English but we usually managed to figure things out. We preferred to cycle independently from the group as people rode too slow for us and being clustered together we were concerned about all of us crashing into each other. We loved being able to rendezvous with our guides and the rest of the group for the Carrosel Museum visit, the cheese factory etc.
The staff on the Ave Marie Barge were fabulous, they all worked together, even the Captain helped set the table. The food was excellent and the chef was a real character.
The bikes were excellent, we were provided with a pannier and a box style bag for our handle bars. It wasn’t necessary to bring a small backpack as they like you to remove and carry the bags with you when you lock up your bike.
It was a great vacation and we hope to do another cycling trip in the near future.Boat: Ave Maria
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Bolzano - Resia Pass - Mantova
by Rosana S. 1 day ago • Permalink/ReplyThe best trip i’ve ever done was through Danubio, from Passau to Vienna. It was perfect, the scenery, the route, the boat. It was my first time in a bike and tour trip. It was in 2016 and since then it,’s the only way i like to travel. A new world for me, I felt like a child recovering my childhood near from nature!
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Bolzano - Mantova - Venice
by Sue H. 1 day ago • Permalink/ReplyCouldn't ask for more. We absolutely loved our bike/barge tour in Italy from Bolzano to Mantova to Venice in August on the Vita Pugna. The staff were fantastic and our guide Michela was amazing. We had a lot of fun, met some great people and visited some very beautiful places. The biking was not difficult. The food on the Barge was first class and plenty of it. Would absolutely recommend this trip. Can't think of the most memorable part of the trip it was all amazing. The first three days was challenging following the instructions, but we got there in the end. Was sorry to say goodbye to everyone.
Boat: Vita Pugna
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Douglas Y. 2 days ago • Permalink/ReplyOur bike and barge from Venice was fantastic. The villages were quaint and the opportunity to swim in the Adriatic Sea was a great way to cool down and relax. Our trip aboard the Ave Maria was wonderful. Captain Connie, Enrico, Giuliano, Silvia and Helmut made our trip to be quite memorable! Giuliano and Silvia made fabulous gourmet dinners for us. Our only complaint would be that there were periods of riding on dikes/floodbanks but all the stops along the way were very interesting and full of character. The visit to a Grana Padano cheese plant was followed by a wine and cheese picnic and our ending destination, Mantua was beautifully surrounded by 3 lakes. We would definitely recommend this trip!
Boat: Ave Maria
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Wendy S. 2 weeks ago • Permalink/ReplyThe most memorable part of our Mantova to Venice trip was visiting chioggia, the carnival museum and the cheese factory.
Boat: Vita Pugna
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Marsi Q. 3 weeks ago • Permalink/ReplyBest part? Riding through small towns that most tourists don’t see...like Bergantino. The small group on the barge.
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Patricia T. 4 weeks ago • Permalink/ReplyI remember the day on a slightly "tricky" route into Chioggia. When we could bike into the town and rest our bikes for the first look-around -- what an enchanting place in such good company. We knew there would be another gourmet dinner that evening on the barge. Looking forward to another trip through Tripsite.
Boat: Ave Maria
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Lynn Y. 4 weeks ago • Permalink/ReplyBest part? The wonderful food served everyday
Boat: Vita Pugna
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Bolzano - Mantova - Venice
by Nancy B. 1 month ago • Permalink/ReplyMost Memorable Part? Riding our bikes back to the barge in Venice in a rainstorm. The laughter and camaraderie was priceless.
Boat: Vita Pugna
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Carole H. 1 month ago • Permalink/ReplyAve Maria barge was so very comfortable with wonderful staff & fabulous fresh locally sourced food, beautifully presented.
Boat: Ave Maria
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Flavors of Italy: The very best of Emilia Romagna
by John M. 1 month ago • Permalink/ReplyThe tasting opportunities added a different perspective to just cycling.
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Wendy D. 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyMy husband and I love Tripsite. We are about to embark in 2019 on our third such bike and barge holiday. We did Brussels to Bruges in 2017, Mantova to Venice this year (2018) and have already booked for 2019 to do a 6 country river boat and bike trip down the Danube. We find the combination of being on the water in a comfortable barge enjoying great food and company, coupled with daily activity a wonderful combination and experience. Biking through the various countries during the day after a hearty breakfast, packed to enjoy a wonderful packed lunch along the way is an altogether thrilling and fulfilling experience.
We highly recommend Tripsite and the wonderful holidays they offer. All the work is coordinated. All you do is get out and enjoy your vacation.
Well done Tripsite! A job well done. -
Innsbruck to Venice
by Carla from Tripsite 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyHi Kathy - Thanks so much for your feedback. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the trip overall. I wanted to point out that for this tour, and many other tours, we can offer GPS tracks. Cycling with GPS makes for stress free cycling! Even if you make the wrong turn, the GPS will redirect you correctly. You can download the tracks onto your GPS device or an app on your smart phone. Here is a really great blog about riding with GPS.
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Innsbruck to Venice
by Kathy Feeley 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyWe found the signage very poor on this tour especially getting out of Verona.We ended up out in the suburbs for 3 hours and wasted half a day,getting tired and frustrated.Please improve this ,it would make the trip more enjoyable.Green arrows need to be much more frequently placed.Sometimes we got to a T intersection and even with the instruction book had no clue which way to turn.
Bikes were great!
Hotel in Padua was not in a nice area,though close to the station.Did not feel safe at night given all the refugees hanging around outside the hotel
Generally the hotels would be better if they were closer to the town center in each city
Scenery lovely ,some great countryside and villages.Enjoyed the trip but stressed out looking for green arrows that we often could not find.Definitely need GPS. -
Innsbruck to Bolzano
by Barry N. 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyIt’s quite difficult to review this trip as there were many great experiences like the scenery after we escaped the narrow valley from Innsbruck to about Imst but there were some cons. In the beginning of the trip we felt the cycle path, even though fantastic to have, was often too close to the railway or an autobahn (and the associated noise) to make for wonderful riding.
The hotels and half board were mostly good but some noisy and the one in Imst not only noisy but also the food was definitely (for half board), poor.
Some hotels were standouts - the small excellent hotel in Mals and the food in the hotel in Meran.
The guides were not accurate with addendums with corrections and GPS (as per our previous bike trip) would have been better. -
Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Casimira R. 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyOur guides were amazing made sure no one was left behind. I wish there would have been transportation for us from the train station to the boat. Other than that the trip was amazing and I would highly recommend this.
Boat: Ave Maria
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Bernadette G. 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyThis trip was the perfect balance for experiencing Italy as well as being physically active. The most memorable part of the trip was being with a group of like-minded active and curious people!
Boat: Ave Maria
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by April 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyThat’s a hard question. They all were special in different ways. But if I had to pick a fav it would be the Paris-Bruges trip.
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Danna J. 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyThe knowledge about the country that our guide, Hein, provided at sporadic times. He was very astute to stop on a hillock for a small respite when there was no “cafe” in sight. Great information.
Boat: Ave Maria
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Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
by Jill McGowan 2 months ago • Permalink/ReplyYou mentioned that you had been on 5 boat/barge trips. Which was your overall favorite?
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Innsbruck to Bolzano
by Brent H. 3 months ago • Permalink/ReplyGreat trip. The scenery was breathtaking and the hotels were in good locations close to the center of towns.
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Venice to Florence
by Sherri 3 months ago • Permalink/ReplyLoved this trip! We went in September and it was perfect weather. So much to see along the way. Lots of small towns to ride through and such beautiful scenery. The hotels we stayed in were good and the morninbreakfasts delicious. Don’t hesitate - book it!!
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Bolzano - Mantova - Venice
by Nelson S. 3 months ago • Permalink/ReplyGreat trip....tour guides outstanding ,more than outstanding....the food was fabulous and all staff were wonderful....first 3 days of self guided biking were well worthwhile.....stay hydrated if it is warm as cramping can occur.
Boat: Ave Maria
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Sicily and the Aeolian Archipelago
by Grace L. 4 months ago • Permalink/ReplyThis was the first trip to Europe for my daughter and myself. It turned out to be a wonderful college graduation present for her, and a great way to dive into retirement for me. The company was excellent and varied. Our guide was very knowledgeable and accommodating. The food and staff was excellent. I hope I will get a chance to do this again with the rest of my family.
Boat: Sundial
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Bolzano - Mantova - Venice
by Jehiel from Tripsite 4 months ago • Permalink/ReplyHi Paula,
We have shared your feedback with our local partner and they are reviewing the written instructions for the tour. I should also mention there are GPS tracks that can be requested for this tour, which definitely helps ease the stress of navigating on your own.
Glad you had a great trip otherwise! -
Bolzano - Mantova - Venice
by Paula K. 4 months ago • Permalink/ReplyWe 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.Boat: Ave Maria
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Bolzano - Mantova - Venice
by John B. 4 months ago • Permalink/ReplyWe started out in Bolzano, going from Hotel to hotel the first three nights, and then on the barge for seven more. The scenery of the hotel to hotel was spectacular! The Ave Maria was a fantastic boat, the crew was great and very accommodating. The only negative is- I wish we could have spent more time in each town we went past. But with only ten days, squeezing anything else like more time is impossible.
Boat: Ave Maria
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Piedmont
by Thomas H. 5 months ago • Permalink/ReplyOverall the trip thru Italy's Piedmont was very well handled, breathtaking scenery, (lots of hills), friendly people nice hotels very well done. One item I would caution others of is the description of the hills as moderate. Some are but 4-5 kilometers of 11 percent grade is more than moderate the 16 percent grade on some short stretches started me thinking of Hors catégorie type climbs. A description of the grades and distances could help others decide to get ebikes or do more training. I did enjoy the ride it was difficult but doable even if a lot of whining did happen.
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Venice to Florence
by Erica W. 5 months ago • Permalink/ReplyThis bike ride was scenic and full of pleasant surprises! The fields we passed were full of fragrant flowers and fruit hanging off of the trees. The towns were small enough to get around by bicycle easily with lots of options for food and activities.
We had some difficulty reading the paper maps because the English translation was not always words we would use to describe the route. (Also the mileage was in kilometers) My GPS did not work. That was probably due to our inability to make the technology work in another country ! So, we just got used to getting a little lost every day.
We are adventurous people so none of this would prevent me from doing it again! We rode the self guided route.
There was one day there was a long stretch of a gravel bumpy bike path. We opted to go another route on our own to avoid it. That was an adventure in itself!
The last day the hill was steeper than anything we had ever ridden and we did Cape Bretton in Nova Scotia with 17% grade hills. So we walked up!Overall the trip was absolutely wonderful, people were super helpful etc. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
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Bolzano - Resia Pass - Mantova
by Chris 5 months ago • Permalink/ReplyHi, thanks for this. When you say geared to level of ability, is it really very easy (without too much preparation) and did you find 4 hrs a day on a bike hard going. Was it self guided, rather than all cycling in a group? Thanks
