Italy Tour Reviews — 421 to 450 of 669

The most memorable part of our Mantova to Venice trip was visiting chioggia, the carnival museum and the cheese factory.

Tripsite staff are very knowledgeable , helpful and friendly. Anna found us an ebike on short notice on our Italian tour.

Best part? Riding through small towns that most tourists don’t see...like Bergantino. The small group on the barge.

I 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.

Best part? The wonderful food served everyday

Most Memorable Part? Riding our bikes back to the barge in Venice in a rainstorm. The laughter and camaraderie was priceless.

Ave Maria barge was so very comfortable with wonderful staff & fabulous fresh locally sourced food, beautifully presented.

The tasting opportunities added a different perspective to just cycling.

My 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.

This trip was a disappointment. We have done about a dozen trips with Tripsite and this trip was not up to standard. First of all there is garbage all over the sides of the roads. We had some of that in Sardinia, but this was the worst! We also had some poor accommodations. In Modica the imitation hard wood floors had buckled and I tripped over them. Also, at the end of a 62 kilometer day we arrived at the farm hotel and were told we had no reservation, despite the fact that we had a voucher for that hotel. We had to go an additional 4 k down a. Dry busy road late in the day. All in all, this trip is not up to your high standards!

We 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.

It’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.

Our 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.

This 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!

The 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.

Great trip. The scenery was breathtaking and the hotels were in good locations close to the center of towns.

Loved 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!!

Loved 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!!

Great 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.

This 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.

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 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.

Overall 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.

This 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.

Mantova to Venice was wonderful. Very pretty scenery with lots of unique places to stop.

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 food on the barge was terrific--as was our guide Fabio.
Come prepared for 5 serious days of biking as well as bringing the right/complete biking clothes.

I feel the bike should have been rated moderate-not easy moderate!

The perfect trip for families with young adult children. We enjoyed the different kind of roads, the food, the sights, every town we stayed at. Our guide Matic was excellent. We are looking forward to a new adventure with Tripsite.

A thoroughly satisfying experience in all departments!
The staff were welcoming and friendly, instructive and knowledgeable. I felt entirely safe in their hands.
Accommodation has been well designed and thought out. I shared a cabin with a friend and it was easy to find our own space within a relatively confined space.
The food was DELICIOUS! The meals exceeded expectations and were presented beautifully; the chefs having entertained us with their 'Two Ronnies' routine at the outset of each repast. I have made a batch of refreshing lemon and ginger cordial since my return, which is perfect for a hot summer day and reminds me of a very happy holiday.
The bike was a delight to ride. I'm not a regular cyclist and I found the daily trips enjoyable and, with the regular stops, entirely within my capabilities. The one day off I had, sailing along the canal, added an extra dimension as it was so restful and enjoyable to watch the wildlife and the scenery glide by.
The guided trips were enlightening and I now have a 'feel' for the part of Italy we traversed.
From the start we felt like guests at a houseboat party. It was interesting to meet and enjoy meals with others from various countries and backgrounds.
I shall be talking about this holiday for a long time thanks to you all.