4 Star Italy Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 143

This bike trip was a wonderful experience. We were able to visit many small villages that we likely would not have seen otherwise, which added a unique and authentic dimension to the journey. The hotels were very comfortable, and the bikes were in excellent condition throughout the trip.

Having the extra day in Syracuse at the end was especially valuable, as there is so much to see and explore in Syracuse and Ortigia. While there was more traffic than we expected, it was manageable and did not detract significantly from the experience.

The tour is described as easy to moderate, and I would agree with that assessment. The first day was the most challenging, but overall the rides ranged from easy to moderately demanding and were enjoyable for cyclists with a reasonable fitness level.

I would highly recommend this tour for its stunning Mediterranean views, charming villages, and well-organized itinerary.

I did the self-guided pre trip, Bolzano to Mantova, the mountains and landscape are incredibly beautiful. Loved visiting places I had never been, i.e., Trento is lovely. The meal prepared by the chefs on the Ave Marie were amazing, better than other barge trips I've taken.
On the downside, I was a solo traveler so I was assigned single hotel rooms, and my room at the Magdalena in Bolzano was the size of a closet with a single shorter than average twin sized bed. But I booked and paid for a double on the barge portion of the trip. The same one time trip cost as couples paid. I should not have been penalized for being a solo traveler since I paid the same amount as couples.
The only other feedback is related to the group size. There were 25 or more of us on bikes. It's like herding cats, plus we overwhelmed the local coffee shops and cafes when made scheduled stops.

A very easy and relaxing ride with a lovely crew and a well-maintained boat. While I’ve done several bike and barge trips, this one doesn’t quite measure up to the others. I find this part of Italy less charming and quaint for cycling through the countryside, more pedestrian. Despite that, it was overall a great experience.

The final day, the trail through the countryside and along the river were the most beautiful. Also liked the stop in the small town bakery. I especially like visiting the small towns, eating and wandering around to learn how they live and what their customary foods and drinks are.

There were 30 riders, sadly 3 were injured, one seriouisly and needed surgery. I would recommend avoiding cobblestone streets which is where 2 of the 3 accidents occured. The busy streets were also an additional hazard.

Overall the trip was great. Beautiful scenery abounds. I would rate the trip a “moderate” effort vs easy as every day ended on a mountain top- but we did it and earned all the delicious food and wine! E-bikes worked well.
One aspect of the trip that was unacceptable was the person that provided the orientation, “Petra”. She was condescending and somewhat antagonistic. I asked a few questions and stopped asking as she was completely annoyed with the entire situation. During the trip we forgot a critical piece of luggage at a hotel and asked her to bring it, her response was “this is a huge inconvenience”. Although she did it, she never spoke w/ us when we saw her at the next hotel. Really bad PR for Tripsite.
This is our 3rd Tripsite tour and will use them again.

Hello,

Overall, the trip was very good. The landscapes were beautiful, and the bikes provided were of good quality.

On the other hand, there were some negative points to mention: the absence of water bottles for the group, which had been promised in the contract, and the hotel in Aquileia, which I believe was well below the standard we had expected.

That said, I would also like to highlight the excellent assistance and responsiveness of the local team, which was very much appreciated throughout the trip.

Biking from Bolzano to Trento surrounded by mountains and scenery was memorable.
The extra days in Bolzano were well worth it. Lots to do with gondola rides and hikes to wineries.
The bike app worked pretty well, although some instruction was either confusing or a bit late.
Unfortunately we were kicked off the ferry ride on Lake Garda with bikes due to transportation strikes so had to take a van. We missed some scenery, but also had a faster trip to Pescheira.
We got caught in quite a downpour one day and the next day was looking stormy also, so we took a train.
Easy getting train tickets, harder getting spots on the train for bikes. We got the last.
Venice was nice, but naturally crowded. Hotels were mostly nice accommodations. Hotel staffs were pleasant and helpful. Hotel Majestic seems to go by different names and was initially difficult to find.
We enjoyed the self-guided bike tour, even though we didn't use E-bikes.

The boat was very nice, the scenery was lovely, food great, and the group interesting with people from a variety of countries. Guides, especially Stefania, were very good.

Beautiful scenery and villages to visit. We had a wonderful holiday. Everything was organised well and went smoothly.
We were met on the first day by Petra who made sure our ride with GPS had downloaded correctly, and who advised us about places to visit and restaurants to go to.
Paulo then came along with excellent bikes, which worked perfectly for us for the week.
Given the poor state of the roads, we would recommend gravel bikes and NOT road bikes for this trip.

Biking together in the countryside of Italy along with stopping at the towns small piazzas .

The crew and tour guides were fantastic The food was great
The bike ride itself was not for all levels of bikers...lots of city biking that made many riders nervous. A large guided group made it difficult to keep everyone together, causing large gaps
The sites were sometimes great and other days just riding along a dyke with not much to see
The tour guides Hein and Marjoleine were very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to
The unfortunate plumbing issue on the boat upon embarkation wasn't ideal but they moved us upstairs to another room and others were put up in a hotel for 2 nights...they were dedicated to resolving the problem which was done on day 3.

Beautiful countryside and amazing rides. The onsite tour support was above anything we could have asked for, fast responses, and help with taxis and trains.

Beautiful views from ending towns. Bike company and route organizer very nice, and very helpful. Disappointed that our Tripsite helper failed to make sure that the route she specialized for us to ride longer routes did not get follower through, so our rides were very short making it very disappointing. Finding water and food along the route was tough. Only bars and gelato shops tend to be open mid
day, so short routs dropped us in ending towns when most shops and good restaurants were closed. Finding not overly touristy things to do was tough.

This was the guided version. I thought, overall, it was a great trip and I would recommend it. The countryside we cycled through was interesting and we were mainly on paved, secondary lanes/roads - so very quiet, for the most part. The towns we stayed in were very picturesque and the accommodation were wonderful (with one exception in Alberobello, however, it was fine, just not up to the standards of the others). The meals were wonderful - exceptional local fare. Highlights: the meal at an Agriturismo, along with a mozzarella and burrata making demonstration; visiting a local olive oil operation, swimming in the Ionian Sea; Masseria Bosco with it's lovely pool, accommodation and Aperol Spritz. The one thing that made the trip challenging was the weather - 33 to 36 degrees. I highly recommend an e-bike and the guided version. The guide offered a great deal of information about what we were seeing and the history of the area.

It was a wonderful trip but we didn’t travel very far and we seemed to rush through some towns for no reason and then just be on the boat for a long time docked somewhere. The whole crew was wonderful but the schedule didn’t make much sense to me.

The boat and crew were fantastic. The bikes were the best we have experienced so far doing these kinds of trips. Some wonderful excursions and side trips while biking . A few things could be improved upon I think. We all arrived (group of 10) in Mantova and ended up dragging our luggage through town (on sometimes very cobblestone bumpy streets) to get to the boat. Have heard this happens a lot. Taxi/uber service is kind of non-existent. For any older travelers the option of dragging luggage would not be realistic. Something need to be set up for customer pickups. Also, I know from talking to the tour guides that the amount of time we get to spend in Ferrara is an issue. It's a wonderful city and we were in and out much too quickly. Not sure there is an answer to this. Overall an amazing trip with a crew that seemed to be having as much fun as we were.

Most memorable was the stunning scenery We expected a group of English speakers and were shocked when we arrived to find it was an Austrian company with German speaking patrons and guide. So initially it was difficult but everyone was nice and we all got along even if our language skills didn’t match.

1st I have to complement Claudia for all her help! The crew of the Vita Pugna were exceptional, particularly George our guide. This was our 4th boat bike tour in Europe. I would not recommend anyone cruising on the Vita Pugna. The walls were paper thing and we got one good night's sleep. We asked the people next to us 2x to be quiet. They kept talking to late in the night and we felt we were in the room with them. The meals and chef were excellent. Captain was the hardest working one I have ever seen. I definitely would go with this crew on another boat in the future. Bikes were good. Touring/ sites were special. Some people should have rented ebikes as we had to wait up to as 1/2 hour at times for them to catch up and we were not going fast. Crew was extremely helpful both at the beginning during and at the end of our tour. Back to Claudia. she answered all of my questions. Help us get on the right transportation from the airport to the island of Quidecca, where we stayed in a hotel the night before the trip. We met 4 other couples at the hotel. Only difficulty we had was finding the boat on the date of departure. I was unable to load the map for direction. We were finally able to find the boat. I would recommend a separate email at the end with the necessary directions/ map to the boat. One more time I need to mention how much I appreciated Claudia's and the other tour specialists. You were the best I/ we ever have had! Thank you. Steve and Barbara Ferrin.

Venice back canals. Swimming in adriatic sea. Feedback bikes should have mirrors or tell people to bring them.

The cruise was interesting and extremely well organized. The tour guide, Hugo, was exceptionally good and well informed. He was a very good riding guide and for tours of the cities we visited, and he adapted to changes in weather very well.

Best event was the Wine Pairing meal at ENOTECA PROPERZIO, food was the best and wines were so tasty!
Other wine tastings also good and loved the cooking lesson with the Pasta making!
Hikes were much more difficult than posted, hardly suitable for families, trail on last day from Spoleto was not well signed but we found it! The trail near the farm with the dogs was poorly marked and much of the trail has been affected by erosion. Great value for money on this trip, all hotels were excellent!

We loved the culinary experiences..all were unique and different..the hotels were lovely and people were very helpful... we loved all 3 towns on the tour...the hiking and we did every inch of every trail was challenging and a large part of every hike was all up mountains which was a bit different from meandering the country side and doing rolling hills ...we found that some of the trails were washed out and footing was difficult ..suggesting they should be checked!

Making pasta was a fun event.
One gourmet dinner looked fantastic BUT did not taste great.
The hikes WERE DEFINITELY not as advertised!! Dangerous and unsafe in some areas. Walking through the olive groves was lovely. We are all experienced hikers and walkers but some parts too hard.
The architecture was delightful every where. Hotel in Fontebella was lovely. In ASSISI while walking became upon a visual a d musical journey of St. Francis that was unbelievably fantastic!!!
Our wine tasting at Saio was great.
Hotel in Spello was the best but we could only stay one night-disapointing!!
Best meal was Enotata Properzo.

We loved this trip, our first group trip with a guide, and our first biking trip. The guide was knowledgeable and very interactive, and the support staff person thoughtful and proactive. Our guide even shared his traditional music talents, which was an unexpected bonus. The cheese making demonstration and lunch was a highlight, as was staying at a masseria (farm). Good food and great tour stops.

A few tweaks would have made the trip five stars. Some of the bikes had power issues which weren't addressed during the week, and the hotel in Alberobello was not as nice as the others. I wish the last biking day would have had more biking--the other days were full of side trips and culinary/cultural experiences, but the final day seemed to be just a functional direct short ride to our final destination.

Puglia is fascinating, especially the areas around Alberobello. A great place to ride.

Visiting the city of Matera was a truly unique experience. The history and architecture was fascinating. Matera was a great place to begin our adventure through the Puglia region. The food was excellent throughout our tour and great effort was taken to be sure we were served locally grown tasty treats including yummy local wines.

This was the seventh bike/barge tour, in Europe, which I have taken. It was a wonderful tour. The boat, the crew and the guides were among if not the best. In particular the quality and the presentation of the food was outstanding,. I have three suggestions that in my opinion would have made the trip more comfortable. The first is quite minor but most North Americans use a facecloth in the bathrooms, I would prefer this to the two handtowels which were provided for each guest, Secondly, on each of my earlier trips better accommodations were made for guests to dry out light laundry or wet clothing. A clothesline set up on upper patio could work well for this, Finally, my experience is that cycling in a group of 31 is awkward and potentially dangerous. Our two guides worked together very well to control the traffic and allow the whole group to cross major roads safely but two smaller groups would mean shorter traffic delays.
Overall a great trip which I will gladly recommend yo others

Cycling through the smaller rural villages and on rural roads we really enjoyed. The people are really friendly and helpful. It was easy to follow the route with the GPS app supplied. The Baroque villages are fascinating . We especially loved staying in the old city of Syracuse. Well worth spending an extra day here.

We have to add that there is quite a bit of cycling on busy roads which was not that enjoyable.

On the whole though can highly recommend this trip.

The Bike company organizing this trip was amazing. Their attention to detail, interest in our ride, information given, was outstanding. The chosen accommodation was first class, as were the meals that were included. The state of Italian roads was challenging and s few sections of the ride quite uninspiring, but overall we loved the places we stayed at and the journey along the way, especially Polignano, Alberobello and Lecce. A wonderful experience of Puglia.

It was a tough ride, all of the hills was another level. Only take this ride if you are aware that most of the ride is on local roads, with some traffic, and riding up and down hills continually every day. Be careful to conserve your battery, as riding uphill with no power assist is not a good experience (Our story, 2km uphill ride Day 1 into Radda!!) Each night's accommodation was a treat as these towns was especially chosen for us experience the history of Tuscany. So rich in history.

I think Matera is unforgettable. It’s an impressive city. The experience to see how to prepare all those delicious cheese in Noci was amazing. I’d suggest an optional thing for the end of the biketour, that is a Spa Day. It would be nice to have a massage and a relaxing time after all.