4 Star Italy Tour Reviews — 61 to 90 of 99

  Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy

Our 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!

Flavors of Italy: The very best of Emilia Romagna (OLD)
Italy

The tasting opportunities added a different perspective to just cycling.

Piedmont
Italy

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.

  Vita Pugna Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy

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

  Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy

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.

Sicily
Italy

We went to Sicily in May 2018. Biking was beautiful especially along the sea. Inland there were some areas that had lots of trash. No problems with directions. One or two hills a day.

  Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy

Most Memorable Part: Venice in the rain at midnight! Excellent food, great staff and guides.

Florence to Rome - Self Guided
Italy

Most memorable part was stopping for lunch in little Italian towns.

Venice to Florence - old version
Italy

Most Memorable Part: Riding through vineyards and orchards.

  Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy

Most memorable: The scenery in Venice, Lodi and Chiogga.

Heel of Italy
Italy

Scenic Coastal ride. The most memorable part was visiting and staying overnight in unique and incredible towns and sites.

Bolzano to Venice
Italy

No, I wouldn't recommend this trip. The hotels were not in the best areas of the city (even with paying extra for the nicer hotels) and there was much more biking on busy streets with cars than expected.

  Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy

The guide, Hein, was very knowledgeable, entertaining and helpful. A real asset to the trip.
Food on the Ava Maria was the best! Loved the three days from Bolzano through the mountains.

Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy

Everything was great. I really enjoyed our guides, Tammy and Ronnie. The staff on the boat were great. Our bikes were top notch. The tour and countryside were scenic. I loved biking on the sea wall. I thought the other bikers were friendly and easy to get along with.

Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy

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

Dolomites to Venice
Italy

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.

  Deriya Deniz Amalfi Coast - Tyrrhenian Sea
Italy

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

  Deriya Deniz Amalfi Coast - Tyrrhenian Sea
Italy

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

Amalfi Coast - Tyrrhenian Sea
Italy

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.

  Deriya Deniz Amalfi Coast - Tyrrhenian Sea
Italy

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.

  Deriya Deniz Amalfi Coast - Tyrrhenian Sea
Italy

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.

Tuscany - Florence, Siena, and the Chianti
Italy

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!)

  Vita Pugna Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy

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

  Vita Pugna Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy

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!

Green Hills of Abruzzo
Italy

Beautiful area, great accommodations and bikes. The first agriturisimo had the best food we have ever had in Italy. The biking was much more challenging than we were expecting. It would have been more accurate to describe it as moderate/difficult, but not as easy/moderate as it was listed in the trip description. We would have enjoyed the biking more if we had been better prepared. The guides were great.