5 Star Italy Tour Reviews — 211 to 240 of 458

Biking out of Venice was unforgettable.

The Agrotourism tastings. They were with local farmers, bakers and they all greeted us with such warmth and hospitality.

The old cities of Lecce, Otranto and Gallipoli impressed me the most.

In regards to hotels, the one in Lecce was Unsufficient, contrary to the rest of the hotels which were very good.

The guide was outstanding... With a lot of knowhow, patience and very friendly

Biking along the river and the built in tours of the trip.

We enjoyed everything about the tour! Our group was very international representative of Italy, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Switzerland, UK, and Germany. Our guide was Giorgio. He was knowledgeable about the area and it’s history and took us on many side trips including a gastronomic experience at a local cheese factory.
After biking all day we returned to a fresh snack and of course an outstanding meal at dinner made by our exceptional cook who greeted us every evening with a heartfelt Buona sera! We felt the crew did an outstanding job and were always willing to help with any given situation. Great job everybody!
Thank you all!
Jean and Brian Mearon

This tour is absolutely gorgeous! Great biking all the way, beautiful scenery and tons of history. Highly recommended!

Dinner together on the barge and riding as a group

I felt we were treated as valued guests both out on the bike rides and on the barge. Food and ride leaders were excellent.
Would like the option of paper guides for the Bolzano to Mantova part as we did get off course a few times, especially finding the ferry in Riva. Overall, a wonderful experience.

The whole trip was an adventure! The crew and the guides were great and worked hard every day loading all the bikes on the dinghies as well as keeping us all safe during transport. The bikes and biking was great! The scenery was spectacular! At the end of the day when we returned to the ship we were happy to celebrate with a refreshing swim in the sea followed by a drink from the bar. The guests were an international group . Despite language barriers we mixed well and enjoyed the diversity leaving the ship promising to stay in contact. Great memories!

Most memorable part: Trip into and out of Venice

Diversity of the scenery, which was beautiful. A good portion of the route is right along the Adriatic, which we jumped in several times. The Adriatic is very nice.The rest of the time we were cycling through forests, vineyards or old train tunnels on our way to mountain/hilltop villages. Stunning views from all of the hotels. The people in Slovenia and Croatia were friendly and often times very engaging.
We also took a day trip, before the start of the cycling journey, to the interior of Slovenia. Beautiful country… very clean. Ljubljana is a very cool city. Would recommend if time allows.

This was a fantastic bike and barge trip! We loved all aspects of it: the delicious meals, the beautiful scenery, the great staff and guides, and wonderful travel companions. For me as an avid bicyclist, the biking was pretty easy, but for my wife it was more challenging. However, Francesco and Carlos were fantastic guides, and kept a pace that worked for everyone. We loved stopping and exploring the small towns along the way, as well as the larger attractions in cities such as Ferrara. One of our favorite memories of the trip was sitting on the top deck of the Ava Marie in the evening after a day of biking and sight-seeing, and playing cards with our new found friends. We appreciate the energy the crew and staff put into making this a great trip for everyone! We can't wait to go again! Ciao!

Trip from Spoleto to San Luca was great overall, enjoyed the scenery. Visiting Montefalco was awesome. Arriving in Santa Barbara hotel with a pool waiting for us was a great surprise at the end of the day.
Tip: gpx tracks were excellent in use. I brought a box with me from home attached to a bike for the phone to follow tracks during riding. The problem was seeing track in a sunny day. I had to stop once in a while where shade was available in order to stay on the right road.
I do not know how to improve this challenge.

The trip was excellent! We loved it. Great to meet people from all over the world. The Ave Maria Barge was just right. The crew was excellent! The crew was helpful and personable beyond expectations. The dinners were really wonderful, I enjoyed going through the small towns in Italy. Our ride leaders knew where they were going and were very informative regarding the towns we visited. I can’t wait to do another bike and barge!

It was the wonderful people, (tour guides, chefs and boat crew) of the Ava Maria, that made this tour experience more than exceptional and much more than expected. We appreciated their expertise, knowledge and humourous delivery of all. Five star experience!!!!!

Tip. 3rd party navigation tools such as a heads up Garmin Edge are 100% necessary for the self guided section. Also, the self guided section is NOT a beginner ride. Intermediate is more appropriate.

The most memorable part of the trip was the people we met. From the crew to the fellow cyclists it was an amazing cast of people and made the experience such a pleasure. Riding with people from England, Germany, Canada and the US led to amazing days in the saddle and wonderful conversations over delicious dinners. When doing these trips the best advice I can give is at dinner move to a different table each evening and meet and dine with the other passengers. The friendships I have made over the years from these rides are truly remarkable.

Many beautiful experiences, met new nice people, a uniquely great crew on the Ave Maria, great food.

Our week on the Ave Marie far exceeded our expectations. Hardly words to convey how fabulous it all was. This is the 3rd such adventure for us. Our Girolibero Provence Bike and Barge was absolutely wonderful. Our Loire Valley outing with another company was pretty awful but returning to a Girolibero guided trip erased all those memories. How to praise the comfortable boat, the outstanding meals, and then the crew of 6 who went above and beyond to ensure every day was totally enjoyable and to remember forever. The crew worked so well together taking such good and kind care of all of us. We made new friends, saw so much and learned so much as Hugo and Giorgio shared so much of their vast knowledge of the Po River Valley. We miss all of them so much and wish we lived closer. Thank you Girolibero for making all this possible.

Where to begin for a tour that was wonderful for the easy to moderate rides, stupendous for the foods we were given, joyous for the chance for two 60 yr old sisters to be together for our 3rd Tripsite bike adventure! The tour operator, Guilia, was kind and very prepared so we began smoothly and ended the same. In between we had some easy rides, some challenging rides (weather very hot this July!), 2 flat tires and a whole lot of smiles with breathtaking towns, juicy figs, cherries, olive trees and grapes bordering our riding paths. A cold beer or Rose was our prize at the end of each ride! We were given 4 Tastings: wine, cheese factory, Meat/Cheeses, and more wine!! And dinners to make any who love Italian cuisine salivate! We felt safe throughout our travels. Some of the paths could use some work but we are always the "cup 3/4 full" kind of people, so we plowed through everything and were so happy. We arrived in Matera a day early to enjoy its beauty and would have loved to end with an extra day in Lecce had we known how lovely it was as well. We LOVED the places we stayed!

A sign of a great trip... looking for our next tripsite adventure together before we have finished this one!!

This tour features food and wine tasting with local proprietors who treat you like guests rather than customers, as well as scenic hiking through olive groves and wildflowers. It is an ideal way to experience Umbria in depth, and much more intimate than a tourist bus tour. The hikes are moderate and you will work up an appetite for homemade bruschetta, pasta, and meatballs, with wine pairings.

Everything is memorable

Fantastic trip and really well looked after by the local representative

The tour was overall great! It was like biking in a painting with this beautiful senery

Italy was beautiful, historical, and interesting. But what made this trip stand apart from others was the crew. Our guides were committed to giving us an amazing experience. Hugo shared his knowledgeable of Italian history, economics, culture, and the transitions taking place in their society today. He included interesting stops along the way, my favorite being the Museum of Fairground Rides. He made and shared videos of our daily rides and entertained us with his antics. Francesco was from Italy and helped us with its language and culture while also being the caregiver of our trip. The meals were delicious and the entire crew joined in to ensure our comfort, safety and entertainment throughout the week. This was my fourth bike and barge through Tripsite and all of the crews have been good. This one was exceptional!!

Most memorable part: Barge staff and bike guides

We really loved the Venice to Poreč tour. Pedaling along the Adriatic with the wonderful views was stunning! We also enjoyed the Italian, Slovenian and Croatian countryside and extensive bike paths, most of them paved. Biking in these countries is a way of life so we felt respected by the car drivers when we were on the roads. We would suggest to future self-guided travelers that reading the extensive information on the "Ride with GPS" app enhances the trip experience and helps avoid confusion. We did not realize until after the tour was complete that scrolling past the prominent "Navigate" button each day would also give us a turn-by-turn cue sheet. We would have avoided a lot of extra km each day :-)

The crew was an exceptional team and demonstrated the camaraderie they tried to build within the guests. It was a fully led trip so that was important and made the experience so much more fun. Hugo was an informed and energetic leader supported by Francesco and a fabulous kitchen and boat navigation crew. Each day was packed with biking and walking activites, interesting sites, and lots of learning activities. In the end, though, it is the people you met along the way that make the difference.

Excellent food; schedule done as advertised; crew was upbeat, helpful; guide in great shape. I suggest on the middle days to check out some of the small nearby towns to break up the long distances. Very good bike also.

We are so glad we did the extension of Bolzano to Mantova! Absolutely stunning scenery along a paved bike path! 'Ride with GPS' provided the perfect directions for the first three days. Although we were surrounded by the mountains, the path was basically flat, following the River Adige downriver. When we reached the boat (early) we were welcomed aboard with a cool drink, our luggage had been transported, and we were able to continue to explore the city on foot.
Of course the boat & bike trip was equally memorable, especially the food -- a gourmet meal every night, prepared by a chef, who excitedly announced the meal, it's relation to the region and the perfect wine to pair. Bike tour guide was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and caring to all. Aboard the Vita Pugna, we were 18 total bikers, a perfect number! We became attached to all! The majority had booked through Tripsite for this and many other previous trips. Nice to hear they were very much pleased with the service, commenting on the excellent website, to find the the most details that enabled them to choose the perfect tour. Loved the side trips on the bike too! Museums, cheese factory, coffee stops, historical tours with local guides! This trip had it all!