5 Star Italy Tour Reviews — 91 to 120 of 444

Biking through the Italian country site was fabulous. We enjoyed a day and evening walking tour of Venice, we biked through two islands, Italy's largest wetland, the delta of the Po River, and several medieval cities. Hats off to the chef, Silvia, her food was amazingly delicious. Our guide Elena was knowledgeable, very helpful, and friendly. The Captain and sous chef were amazing.

The guide (Hugo) was excellent and made the trip. His personality was great. Food on the boat was better than most bike and barge trips we have taken.

Once again, we just came back from a memorable experience with this tour. We began with the self-guided section from Balzano to Mantova which was very well laid out with our GPS, then was welcomed aboard the Vita Pugna to continue the tour all the way to Venice with the most interesting and amiable Hugo, our guide for the week. Life aboard the Vita Pugna was excellent… friendly crew and excellent food! I would not change a thing.

We ar booked for the Best of Tuscany bike tour on Sept 16,2024. Our daughter Carly booked it for my husband, myself, and her. I’m just curious how many are you up to now on that week. We are so looking forward to coming to Italy.

Our tour guides, Hein and Irene made the tour so special! The chefs, Alberto and Francesco were amazing. Captain "Van Gogh" was great. The tour was a blast from start to finish!

Fabulous trip!! We did this same trip 8 years ago
and returned again this summer with friends as it was our favorite trip… it did not disappoint!
Highly recommend….from the great scenery to the fabulous meals and amazing tour guides!

It’s awfully hard to pick out “the most memorable” part of the trip. The whole experience was great: the biking, the connections made with fellow riders, the crew, the food, the boat. It was all top rate. I guess I’d have to pick out the biking as the most memorable. The points of interest along the way were great. I loved the cheese factory, the glass blowing place, the carnival museum and the distillery. I probably wouldn’t have chosen to visit those places if on my own, but in the end I truly enjoyed them. The Ave Maria is a beautiful boat. The bikes were almost new and in excellent condition. The crew (and guides) made everything go smoothly. The chefs took my food intolerances seriously and made it easy for me to enjoy the food on board.

This trip was a perfect couple tour with spectacular scenery, safe well maintained bike paths on a gently descending route and great hotels each night.

It was our first trip on a smaller boat and we enjoyed getting to know all the other bikers and also the crew. It was also our first trip with a guide(s) and it was nice to not be concerned with navigating. The guides were excellent and the mini tours we interesting. My only suggestion is it would be nice to know more about the lunch stop ahead of time so we could decide whether we wanted to bring a lunch or eat at the restaurant.

The guides and staff were fantastic.

The trip was a wonderful way to see Italy minus the crowds.

Beautiful scenery
Staying at the Silla Hotel in Florence was a highlight of the tour. I’m glad I had an extra day to spend in Florence

This was our seventh bike trip with tripsite, but our first self guided bike trip on our own! We really enjoyed the experience! The Aberobello / Locorotondo area was our favourite stop on the tour, but we also really enjoyed the extra days spent in Matera and Lecce at the start and end of our tour. My wife took an E-Bike and I took a hybrid regular bike and both were great. My bike had a minor mechanical issue on day three, but a quick stop at a local bike shop arranged by our host resolved the issue completely! We thought the description of the tour in terms of difficulty was just about right, with some tougher challenges but primarily fair easy riding. Some of the gravel sections are quite rough but we did not find it difficult as we had ample time and travelled slowly throughout these areas. Great and varied scenery. Was not a fan of a few short sections on highways, as traffic was heavier due to a national holiday, but we managed. Lovely accommodations along the way.

The excellent crew, good food and beautiful bike rides and scenery.

The trip was well organized, our boat was comfortable and the food was incredible! The tour took us through quaint little villages and the arranged stops were all informative and enjoyable. My favourite was Grana Parma. We chose self-guided, and enjoyed the flexibility that gave. Sylvie took time each day to explain any potential areas of concern. Overall, a great experience!

Beautiful bike trails and amazing food! The boat staff were amazing and very friendly. The tour guide Sylvia was so very helpful to our group who did our own tour.

The crew worked very well together, supporting each other.
Also, the fact that the number of guests was not large, contributed to a sense of community.
For suggestions: I couldn't get wifi in my lower deck room - as was true for others I spoke with, and had to go to the dinning room for service.

The most memorable moment of my trip was the guided tours through special viewings of Venice and surrounding islands to capture the true essence of the Italian culture is our expert tour leaders, Silvia and Marco. My favorite part was stopping through one of the smallest villages and see an elderly man raising the flag at noon, as he has done daily for many decades.

The crew was wonderful and made everythingspecial. The food was amazing. Would highly recommend this trip.

This was my first trip to Italy and a Bike and Barge. I loved it!! The staff were amazing, the food was delicious, Sylvia and Helmet were so fantastic at guiding us through beautiful cities and helping when needed, the crew on the barge were always friendly. I'm ready to go back and travel with Sylvia again! Five Stars!

This was my first Bike and Barge and it was fabulous! The staff went above and beyond all expectations to make this event even more wonderful than I could have imagined. What a beautiful way to see Italy. A huge thank you to Sylvia and Helmet and ALL the crew!!!

Wonderful bicycling along rural roads without much traffic. The tour operator was welcoming and attentive. The accommodations were splendid! There was absolutely nothing negative about this trip!

Excellent tour operator, very clear instructions, excellent communication and all of the included amenities met or were better than expected. Routes were great with minimal gravel or traffic and sites along the way well marked on the gps program . The included food was exceptional.
Highly recommend.

We took this tour in mid-October and thoroughly enjoyed the hotels, towns, and special dinners included. Petra and Paolo gave us an arrival-night orientation which was very helpful and reassuring. This was our first self-guided tour with Tripsite. The hotels were truly lovely with hosts who were welcoming and accommodating. Their breakfasts were substantial. The three towns were new to us which was a delight.

Our walking directions were excellent. We did not take all the planned walks, choosing to walk other places that were particularly appealing to us.

We found Spello to be our favorite of these three towns and enjoyed immensely the wine-tasting dinner at Enoteco Properzio.

Spoleto was special for us because of the sister arts festival in our home town of Charleston, SC, selected by Menotti himself.

Any time we visit Umbria again, we will check in with Umbria & Ecologico Tours for guidance.

Many thanks to them and Tripsite for this self-guided tour of the region of Umbria.

The Sicily trip was wonderful. The route, the cities and towns, the countryside, and coast were beautiful. I loved the ancient history and architecture. Best of all we’re our two guides, Fillipio and Claudio. They know their Island and shared their knowledge and love of Sicily with us.

This trip was fabulous! The organization from strt to finish was professional. The rides were challenging on the first two days. The rides along the water wee spectacular. The guides, Claudio and Filippo were outstanding. They organized fabulous experiences for our group both on the road while biking but also in the towns with tours and restaurants. I highly recommend this trip.

The route was awesome and covered a wide variety of landscapes. The guides were knowledgeable, flexible and fun and scheduled many fun stops along the way. I was happy to have an e-bike but there were some very fit individuals in our group who managed with a hybrid. The accommodations were not fancy but fine and of course the food was wonderful! My favorite part was being able to swim in the Mediterranean Sea!

Sights to ride to everyday except one when we were rained out. Crew including leaders, chefs, and captain. The food was amazing everyday with themed creations representing the area we visited. Better wifi in cabins too. More technology using laptop, TV screen, music, etc. Could use some more shelves, cubbies, hooks for gear in cabins. Faucets that pour water over the deepest part of the sink not so close to the edge causing water all over sink top.

Standing on top of the boat enjoying the view, especially the sunsets. Our guide and the crew were excellent.

Our local guide for the tour in Mantova spent far too much time in the church and no time on the archeological site in the middle of town.

Barge was nice, food and staff incredibly good. Stefania and Hein were very friendly, informative and helpful. My only criticism would be that there were too many bike riders, a couple who were inexperienced enough to veer over to my wife causing her bike tire to go off the pavement inciting a crash breaking her wrist necessitating shortening our trip and surgery at home to correct the break. Stefania was incredibly helpful throughout the ordeal helping Barb and I arrange a trip to the hospital in Adria, transportation by taxi and train back to Venice where were able to fly home early. All in all, the trip was that much more memorable in a complex way!

We had a great time on the Ave Maria and touring Northern Italy. The staff/crew of the Ave Maria were top notch. The bicycles provided were comfortable, very well maintained, and worked flawlessly throughout the trip. Our tour guides, Hein and Stefania, were knowledgable providing us with history, culture, and insight into and of our Italian surroundings. This was a trip well worth taking. If we were to do it again, we would book an earlier date to see active growing/harvest in the farmland.