Italy Tour Reviews — 211 to 240 of 668

This was our second Bike & Barge trip. If you are thinking about it, do it! Both trips were with a group of friends. We had a wonderful time together with the crew. I'd recommend going with a group of friends or family. This trip required longer distances which at times were a bit exhausting but much of that had to do with our pace and the weather. Most of the biking on this trip is in the countryside, not many towns to see. Arriving in Venice on the boat was incredible and a great way to end our trip spending two nights and a day in the city.

From our first welcome on Saturday the week was wonderful. The meals were delicious, varied and healthy. Our guide Francesco , was patient, very careful and made sure we kept hydrated, as the days were hot.
The bikes were in good condition. I can’t fault our week, and would be keen to try another bike and barge holiday. Totally recommend.

This trip was amazing! This was our 3rd bike/boat trip and it was the best by far. What made it so outstanding was the crew aboard the Ave Maria. Our guide, Francesco was always looking out for us, giving us the best ride possible. During the recent heat wave in Italy, he made changes to our itinerary by adding a pool option, riding earlier in the morning, and always made sure we were safe and hydrated! The food was amazing and fresh, prepared by our chefs, Irene and Danny. The meals were the best during our 3 week trip to Italy!! Our captains, Ricardo and Alberto kept everything running smoothly. I can’t say enough good things about this trip! The people we met while riding made this trip especially memorable! We are already talking about our next bike/boat trip for 2025!

The combination of biking through the country, seeing the sights, smells, and sounds and then having cuisine that matches what we are engaged in with locally sourced food was amazing. Fantastico!

Staff/tour guides were outstanding. Highly recommend.

36 family members + 2 guides+ the Captain and his Crew = The Best Time Ever!

We had a glorious time on the Ave Maria and biking the trails and roads from Mantova to Venice. Stops at small towns along the way.....the cheese factory...the amusement park museum.....small cafes...beautiful churches in every town....then Venice....what a jewel!

Our compliments to you all. What a wonderful bike and barge trip. Highly recommended.

Very nice hotel, Enjoy Garda Bike hotel, we recommend to stay there and the staff is so helpful and nice.
Perfect stay :)

An opportunity to see and bike the less traveled. The barge moored in quiet off the beaten path places - but each had something to offer. The crew on AveMaria was amazing, worked well together, made our travels very comfortable and the chefs were top notch. It would have been nice if half way through the trip the bed linens were changed out. We appreciated access to the wonderful cappuccino maker and access to chilled drinking water (both still and bubble). It would be helpful to include that guests should bring along their own water bottle. It was a very memorable adventure.

The most memorable part was trying to find the ship at the first day. When I receive at home the "How to reach the starting point", I already had doubts and wrote to you about it.
Trying to call the number you mention several time with no answer all did not contribute to a the starting of the journey.

This tour was a big disappointment for me. Before you book read this review!
First of all, the itinerary: Days 1-4 are a waste of time. Don’t expect to see anything scenic or interesting for 4 days. First night/day 2 are in maestre, you may as well be in Akron Ohio. Boring, industrial, hotel is next to some car dealerships. Cycling begins with a trek through Maestre into Venice where you catch 2 ferries. BEWARE, ferry #2 takes max 4 bikes, as 28 lined up behind us to load only 4 every half hour. Some waited 3-4 hours to get on a ferry. Day 2 ends in Carole. What a dump. Cheap cheesy family destination for young families on limited budget, hotel smells of wet towels. The cycling is a grueling mix of relentless sunshine with nary a patch of shade, endless cornfields and gravel and dirt “roads”.
Did you want to see the Adriatic? You will have to wait, cornfields, and bumpy gravel roads await you. Occasionally we passed through some of the most unremarkable towns that I never needed to know and will now forget.
Day three description reads: “ride towards the Julien alps”. Why even write this? You could write “ride towards Ireland” and it would be equally as relevant. There is not a hill or mountain in sight. Day three you wind up in Portogruaro. Another subpar hotel. Tiny tiny room, uncomfortable beds, more weird musty smells and poorly functioning AC. ( we paid for the hotel “upgrade”, I shudder to think what the base price rooms were.)
Finally at the end of day 4, suffering from Stockholm syndrome we encountered a few columns from an ancient Roman structure and took some pictures so our friends and family wouldn’t know what fools we were to be spending time in Italy this way. Aquileia is comparatively cute, but perhaps we were starved for scenery by then. There are probably 5 or 6 restaurants and there’s a pretty church.
Days 5-7 offer a bit more to see and we finally spend some time cycling by the Adriatic. The route provided to exit Trieste on day 5 was a one hour tour of shipyards and industrial parks, thanks for that. Slovenia and Porec were both charming. Most of our group were exhausted upon arrival every day, one gentleman was injured. Everyone seemed generally disappointed in the bike routes and the lack of scenery.
Hotels ranged from nothing special to downright bad throughout. I DO NOT recommend this tour. For reference, last year we did Norway cycle/hike and were blown away with the hotels, scenery, inclusions, route etc. Book that!

The trip allowed us to see the smaller cities and beautiful country side of northern Italy. The crew was outstanding and the food wonderful.

We felt the whole trip was great . Our accommodation and food and wine was excellent.The e-bikes we had were awesome! The scenery was really beautiful especially from Otranto down to Santa Maria Lueca and we met some wonderful new friends that we will keep in touch with!

Adventure around every corner. Perfect layout, distances, travel plan, timing, and lodging details. Early June was the perfect time to enjoy this beautiful combination of coastal and mountainous terrain.

The boat itself, bike quality, the food and friendliness, professionalism and energy of the crew were top notch. The level of cycling is very easy.
Unusual for a Tripsite barge/bike tour, there were young children on this trip which had negative impact. It altered the adult vibe, caused extended wait times for that group to catch up and created very significant safety problems for the guides during highway crossings. Also, the breaks/stops were far too long (incl. a lunch break of over 4 hours in one case).

The times together with others. Dinner, riding etc.

I was surprised and impressed with the quality of the meals. Even though the breakfast / lunches were the same format, they varied them up in small ways (different types of eggs, different bread rolls, sweet pastry). All of the staff was top notch!

If you get a bunk cabin, bring a battery operated fan for the top bunk. While the cabin a/c works well, the top bunk will be several degrees warmer than the bottom.

All bike tour was perfect

My husband and I travelled as a group of 8. The staff was fantastic. The Ave Maria barge was spacious and we loved the food onboard and the upper deck was fantastic to relax after the rides or before breakfast.

Frienship of our group, and landscape views of delta po river!
Try to avoid the main road with a lot of cars and trucks

Great ride in Comacchio with very friendly staff in the hotel!
Palestrina is a short unworthy ride, and limitations on the ferry for bikes was a nightmare!
Road conditions were bad, and with some dangerous spots!

Ok, ir is a wonderful combination of history, culture, with pretty beach, we are in vacation, all the year use the car, in holidays use the Bike. Was perfect. The GPS trackking that you purpose me was perfect, I i used with Maps.me and
Never lost.
One suggestions is mark with favoritos the point of interest in the GPS Route. I am not sure, if it is possible.

The trip was very good abd the staff was excellent!

The trip happened just as we had envisaged it when booking. No hitches or last minute 'Sorry but.....'
All this in spite of the horrific rains and resultant flooding in coastal Emilia-Romagna the previous week (early May 2023). For our 8-day self-guided weather was ideal, not a drop of rain.
Bikes were class and delivered to us at the start in a very friendly helpful manner.
We went for the upgraded hotels and didn't regret it for a moment. They were superb, varied and well located.
Forward routes were pleasant and well-designed. We felt that the loop-rides were on the long side and very castle-oriented.
Tripsite, well done. Take a bow.

Excellent trip, ver well organized. The hotels for the first three days were excellent, On the Ave Maria, the crew and the guides made the trip really, really enjoyable. The food was fantastic and the accommodation great. Would highly recommend to anyone.

This was our first barge and bike trip. It exceeded hopes and expectations in all ways, organization, daily planning, leadership and communication by Elena and Alex who left no detail unattended to. They were caring, very knowledgeable and outstanding leaders, showing compassion and support for a struggling participant, while ensuring those struggles did not impact anyone else. Alberto and Elisa provided delicious, very high quality meals changing daily to meet our local geography and always with joy and enthusiasm. Riccardo's knowledge of his boat as captain and ability to immediately attend to any issues was consistently impressive. This experience has made us return home with a strong desire to book our next bike and barge trip as soon as we can.

The food was outstanding. The cycling was very enjoyable.

We loved every part of this trip, but especially our guide, Giulia. She really brought Puglia to life for us, knowing the area so well! We left feeling as though we had made a new friend. The contrast of biking the countryside and the historic towns was fantastic.
Being avid cyclists we would have like to bike a little faster or been able to bike ahead of the slower participants. Since we had only one guide we had to stay together. Adding a guide to the trip would have allowed the group to spread out a little.

There were many highlights.
Poppies growing in the fields, fantastic meals, especially the dinners, amongst them. Thanks to the crew for very efficient bike deployment in the mornings and end of day. Captain very skilled.
We are used to boating, so cabins quite good. However some type of screens on the portholes would make sleeping a bit more comfortable without as many mosquitoes and not having to use aircon so much - so a good investment to invent some screens.
On the biking side, keeping the group together was good, but having one day being more free to bike with map and explore on our own might be nice. However we understand the importance of not loosing anyone. Stops in shade would be better than in the sun.
Loved Georgio's sense of humour and depth of knowledge.
Overall a fantastic experience and first time at bike and barge!

Our favorite day was probably our stop in Bergantino - we knew the cheese tasting would be fabulous. The stop at the Museum of the Ride was unexpectedly terrific - a real highlight.

Stunning views and quiet lanes are uniquely beautiful during the month of May in Puglia. Prime wildflowers, fresh food and easy navigating were assets . The route is practically perfect.