3 Star Italy Tour Reviews — 31 to 40 of 40

The routes were good and the right length each day. I would have like to have received the route information details in advance as requested so that stops could have been planned. We received the route details only a few days prior to the trip. In addition the GSP provides was somewhat difficult to use and didn’t always provide good directions. Ended up using my cellphone GSP which provided better directions. Without the cellphone we would have wasted much more time with the GPS provided. Upgrading to a newer GPS is needed.

The crew and food and boat comfort were all great. The ebikes were good quality but such a flat topography and not much riding each day made them unnecessary, save your money! Another tip…this is ALWAYS a group tour, no self guiding so you only move as fast/well as the slowest mover in the group. There were several inexperienced cyclists on our tour so unfortunately, we moved like snails.

The Ave Maria entire crew and our bike tour leaders were fabulous. Food was awesome as well. Our only complaint is that we thought we would be on a self-guided tour and most of the trip that was not doable. Therefore we were in a group of 30 bikers at all different levels making stops for sites and commentary, often which we would have passed on. Riding in a group of 30 was not at all what we had in mind and very disappointing. Our tour leaders did a great job herding us and really did their best to meet everyone's needs and desires. The country side was flat, mostly farm land however and not terribly remarkable. We were told that Italy was not very advanced as far as bike paths went. Even though the countrysidewas not that great for us, we did get to see some beautiful and historic cities in the areas and of course ending in and around Venice was beautiful. So if you enjoy being part of a big group tour, then you will love this. If not, look for one of the bigger boats that give you maps and let you go your own way and pace.

I really enjoyed the staff, Sylvia and Barbara and the delicious dinners! They were so cute and fun. Loved the cheese factory, and Antonella was a wonderful tour guide.

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.

We were doing the tour "Around Venice". We did not get to finish our tour due to unusual weather, as we had heatstroke on the second day of cycling during an unprecedented heatwave. We continued by train and bus.Therefore, I feel we cannot really make a recommendation about the cycling part of this tour. We were very disappointed as we have never been unable to complete a tour before this. All other aspects of the tour and staff involved along the way were excellent. Our bikes were picked up by the tour company, so we did not have to worry about getting around with them when we weren't feeling well. Hotels were great, and Italy has the best ice cream on the planet! (And due to the heat, we ate quite a bit.) Fortunately it is very easy and inexpensive to get around by bus and train, and we had lots of time in each lovely town to rest and recover, while exploring. This is a really beautiful part of the world.

It was all enjoyable. Food was amazing. Staff were very accommodating. Rooms were spacious and clean.
Only negative was it said it was a 7-day bike trip and only rode bikes 5 of the 7 days. Falsely advertised.

My grades given to this trip show my displeasure with several items encountered while on our trip. First, the pickup at the airport was bungled by "Pepe" our guide. He did not have a sign for us to recognize the tour! It was a miracle he finally found us. The boat was laid out well, the crew was very pleasant, however none of the 3 crew members spoke fluent english (necessary for the Americans, Canadians, Dutch, and German passengers). My major complaint was regarding the cabin Air Conditioning. The captain only turned on the AC from 6PM to Midnight. In August, the temperature was in the mid 80's - too hot to sleep in an enclosed cabin after midnight! I would discourage any potential guest not to take this trip unless the captain changes his AC rules and provides cooling throughout the night!
The food was OK with little variation from day to day but the last "onshore meal" at a local restaurant was inedible!! Skip the restaurant meal and eat onboard (not a current option) or give the guests an upscale restaurant or eliminate the meal altogether and each guest is on their own for the last supper.

Our trip was for very good/strong bikers unless you got the electric bike which was great! The scenery was spectacular along the Amalfi coast!

I found the trip operator a bit disorganized. Nobody told us that the tour guides & map etc were put in our room, and we did not know until the briefing time. During the briefing we went through the material kit, but we were not offered any additional info. The options re the accessories with the bike were not chosen by us, but the operator insisted we chose it and refused to exchange reading board for bike bag.
The map and guide do not always match. We expected bike route would be traffic free and for bike only, but apparently 90% of the time it was not the case. The bike was a bit heavy for me, especially I am only slightly over 100lbs.