4 Star Italy Tour Reviews — 121 to 136 of 136

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 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!)

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

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!

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.

Recommended for novice cyclists only. Not challenging enough for experienced cyclists.

We should have trained more for endurance. The guides were wonderful and took such good care of us. The bicycles were amazingly comfortable. Beautiful dinners nightly. Thank you all.

Great guides made the trip for us. Allowing 2 bike groups with different strengths was the best way.

We loved this trip! It was so fun for our family of four. Our two boys, ages 11 & 14, enjoyed biking and stopping off to swim in the ocean, trying new delicious food, and learning from our wonderful guide, Fabio. The boat was very nice and the crew were lovely.

We had record setting beat the week we were there and yet still had a fantastic trip. The rooms stayed reasonably cool with the AC-- that was a life saver to have available.

If I had to change anything, I'd probably like to have the boat docked closer to Venice proper so it would be more accessible on arrival and through the first couple days. We made it work-- all a good adventure. The scenery on the bike route was relaxing-- not terribly dramatic, but really nice for small town explorers, birders, and those who enjoy farmland/pastoral scenery.
Pros: delicious food, easy cycling terrain, excellent City/town tours, comfortable rooms, great value, easy logistics when you don't have to move your stuff each day, meeting nice people from all over the world.
Cons: weather was exceedingly hot in July (but would do it again anyway!)

We had a fantastic time on the Ave Maria and we're lucky to have Hein as our guide.....great guy!

During my trip I didn't obtain the maps and associated documents which made parts of my trip extremely frustrating.

Our tour guide Marco was ok, but not outstanding. His commentary was adequate, but we got more from the notes provided.

"The ""recommend this trip (Tyhrennian Sea)"" question is a difficult question to answer. Scenery is great. Pompeii great. Guide good. Some passengers had issues with the Capt. At the end of our third day out we were secured to our sister boat in such a way that we had to walk across the railings (not on deck) to transfer to our vessel. It was unsafe, and honestly, uncomfortable for the women. When a few of our female passengers shared their opinion with the Capt he dismissed their concerns. In fairness, he had slipped and broken several ribs while handling bikes and was probably not in the best mood. When we finished biking on this same day (very hot) the crew/guide made all of us wait while they loaded the bikes. We all thought that was odd. They did not offer an explanation. The scenery was very good, guide was a nice guy and very knowledgeable. The crew was mixed. Cook & first mate great. Barista not so much. Capt....I don't know. After his accident he left to recover. Forgot about our second night. The harbor was unprotected from the prevailing wind direction and we rocked on 2-3 waves all night. No one slept-crew included. I told Marilyn if we encounter another night like that I was getting a room. It was miserable. The rest of the anchorages were fine. After writing this I changed my survey answer from Yes to No. I would send them to Metz if they want easy biking and Croatia for difficult.

On the plus side...The Metz (Merlijn 2013) & So Dalmatia tours (San Snova 2015) was excellent in every way. Crew, boat, scenery, guides. We'll return to Europe but events in Paris probably have many of us thinking about different options.

Guide stopped to much for cappuccino, kept us bunched up, which was unsafe, had a sick person that should of been hospitalized. Want more milage not museums.