Italy Tour Reviews — 541 to 570 of 669

I loved the small villages. The international mixture of the group made for excellent discussion among the group. Food on the barge was excellent!

We did the 3-day self-guided tour from Bolzano to Lake Garda to Mantua first and that was a great adventure for us. The food and people we met on the boat was also a wonderful experience.

The Aeolian Archipelago Trip was sold as easy/moderate and as a result there were several people that probably should not have been there. As a consequence the guide was indecisive most days how to deal with the itinerary and as a consequence kept adjusting and shortening the rides. As for my wife and I we traveled all the way from Canada to enjoy the boat, scenery and riding as a total experience.

Because of the constant changing of the daily itinerary and shortened rides we became somewhat dissatisfied with the total experience.

This was a fabulous trip all around! The group was friendly, and guides were helpful and knowledgeable! Dinners were delicious and varied, stronger than expected for this type of trip. We really enjoyed being able to purchase wine on board the ship, also. The riding was varied, and we really appreciated that our guides made sure to schedule a mid-morning break for coffee/water/toilet. What a great way to get a sense of this part of Italy - from small villages and farm fields to Venice - just spectacular!
One suggestion for improvement: for riding in really hot weather, it would be great if there could be a little more flexibility. We rode during a heat spell (40 degrees Centigrade one day). It was difficult to shift schedules or shorten our rides due to logistics, and this created some health issues.

The trip itself was amazing! Spectacular scenery and just the right amount of cycling every day. We loved the fact that it was self-guided so we could go at our own pace. The description of easy to moderate was accurate, but I know it would have been much harder had we not had electric bikes. I have 2 specific complaints: First, the quality of the hotels was not up to par. A friend described one as exactly like his dorm room in college...small, smelly, run down, not properly air-conditioned, out of the way, and generally unsatisfactory. Secondly, the directions and the maps need to be updated. More than once we found ourselves at a dead-end or could not find a turn we were supposed to take. We wasted a lot to time going back and forth trying to find the supposed route. Thankfully we speak Italian, so we could stop and ask locals for directions. At other times we just ended up relying on the GPS on our phone to find a proper route. Overall, if these two things were improved this would be a perfect trip. I highly recommend the trip.

We loved the entire cycling experience! Our stay in Umbertide was especially memorable- the hotel was amazing and the restaurant was some of the best food we ate in Italy!

A fabulous experience. We will seriously consider further barge/bike holidays with you.

The Guide gave us very little information about either the equipment or route before he left us. Just simple things would have helped significantly. He was abrupt, especially with women and certainly less than helpful. The guidebook was good for the most part, but some sections were completely useless. Some of this may have been due to translation, but improvements are needed. When we entered cities, we always had to ask for assistance.
We have taken about 10 European bike trips and expect some difficulties finding our way, but have never encountered the degree of problems we had on this trip.

Loved our guide, the food quality and variety was the only disappointment.

It was a wonderful trip! I liked that we got to be on the barge when it moved (one time at the end of the day and another in the morning). The food was outstanding and I liked that the chefs described dinner and suggested wine pairings. The barge was very comfortable - even with 3 in a cabin.

Our son (22 years old) was outnumbered by the over 50 crowd but Hein made him feel welcome. Only suggestion - mirrors on the bikes (although I realize that makes them difficult to store and move) and a brief intro on riding in groups.

We had the time of our life and look forward to our next bike and boat tour. Thanks so much for everything!

This trip gets a +10!! The staff (Tamy, Ilena, Luciano, Enrico, Guilio & Alberto) were amazing - fun, personable, knowledgable, friendly and engaging. They were truly a team and clearly enjoyed each other which ripples out to the experience of the guests. I loved that they gave a 'brief' the night before to let us know what to expect the next day. The food was creative, fresh and lovingly prepared. The accommodations on the AveMarie were great -- the cabins were well thought out with lots of storage so that the room felt spacious. The dining room was lovely with plenty of space to relax. The price of wine/beer was very reasonable and loved that we could keep a tab and pay it at the end, so easy.

Oh yea the bikes --- a good ride and comfy enough for the distances ridden. The routes were well planned, even the few times we had to ride in traffic. The trip leaders were excellent at managing the group and making it fun, no matter what we were doing.

For the whole week I felt well cared for :)
I am already dreaming of my next trip.
Kindly -- Victoria

P.S. The bad and the ugly -- honestly I don't have anything to contribute for improvement.

The crew were AMAZing! Every single one of them. Tami is an amazing guide - super friendly and helpful. All of the crew helpful and a delight. I would definitely go on this type of trip again because of my experience on this trip.

Estamos super-satisfeitos com voces e a Giro Libero. Tudo transcorreu muito bem de forma profissional e organizada, superando ate nossas expectativas.
O material distribuido (mapas e guias) foi otimo; as bikes todas aguentaram bem sem darem qq problema, em otimo estado de manutencao e apropriadas ao trajeto; o percurso muito bem marcado; o funcionario da reuniao inicial foi pontual e nos atendeu muito bem e orientou sobre tudo; os hoteis super de acordo com o contratado, bem localizados e confortaveis; enfim, um passeio que nos alegrou em muito com paisagens lindas e repleto de experiencias culturais.

We had a long line of riders of various abilities even though it was basically a flat ride. There should have been an official sweeper at the end of the line. Our guide was a great guy but seemingly casual in this regard. Toilets on the boat needed continual tweaking - a bit unnerving. Loved the crew- all hard working, super upbeat and friendly.

Everything did not go perfectly all the time but we had a great time and the guys from Girolibero were always doing their best to help out when needed.

Well organised overall. In honesty the food was at times ordinary with great emphasis on fish & pasta. Bit more variety would have been good. Riccardo (tour guide) was excellent - he really made the tour worthwhile with his enthusiasm and knowledge. Not all staff on board were as friendly or able to communicate which did make a big difference to the overall atmosphere on board. We did have some difficulties with the booking process initially which remained unresolved in that we were unsure of why someone was phoning us from US.

This was my first bike & barge. The bar has been set very high!

All hotels were great except Hotel Magione. We were the only guests and I don't think they wanted us there. The breakfast was not up to snuff and there was NO English station on the TV. Given the level of difficulty of the hills, the bikes were very heavy (steel) especially when we had to walk up hills. Ok for flat but not hilly. We loved the restaurant near the hotel in Togiano and went twice. Unfortunately, we did have rain......

The entire bike-barge trip on the Ave Maria far exceeded our expectations. I would highly recommend this trip.

We have just arrived from our trip. It was amazing! We strongly recomend

The maps and route details were hard to follow at points, but the trip was very good: the ride, hotels and fellow cyclists.

This is Mary from Tripsite and this was my very first Tripsite tour back in 2010, I believe. I was traveling alone and self guided so flexibility was required, not to mention that my first cycling day was the coldest on record for years! ( I was cycling in early April.) I did get turned around a few times as I learned to read the route descriptions and follow the maps but each Tuscan hilltop was a reward in and of itself. From this tour I learned that when cycling self guided do expect: 1. To get turned around at least once or twice 2. That the Italians will always tell you to go straight 3. That the ancient streets many times do not have their names clearly visible 4. That most of the towns are located on a hill. 5. That Tuscany is simply stunning! Highlight: seeing Florence from afar from a hilltop and then cycling down and into the ancient city itself. I also learned that some of the best experiences happen when you least expect it! I am giving this a four star because personally I felt the bike was very heavy (but thankfully geared low enough for the hills!)

Excellent trip. High quality, bikes, guides, lodging. No complaints. Very well organized. (except for the weather. :-).

This Bike and Barge tour was amazing, best holiday ever!

It seemed the first hotels during the trip were very nice, and declined as the week went. Might've been a coincidence but it was a bit disappointing. The guides were amazing, as was the route in northern Italy. Was very happy with the experience, and was very organized and went very smoothly.

We loved our Tripsite journey! We would love to do another ride one day, maybe next year! It was better than what we expected! Challenging and scenically! We trained hard beforehand and we're thankful that we did! I would recommend a Tripsite journey for anyone who is considering its! Thank you!

The biking was not as scenic as other trips I have been on. However the food, staff and guide were excellent.

Crew and guides were friendly and extremely helpful. Meals and snacks were great! Good sense of comradery due to the small number of passengers. Good bikes, rides were interesting and manageable.

Understanding the trip was planned for little difficulty, expected that the terrain would be flat, but was hoping for more scenery and countryside to take in while biking. Perhaps if there was an option of having a sag vehicle for those who couldn't/didn't want more difficult terrain so the option was available for those who could do more ... and see more. Overall great experience, friendly crew and excellent food!