Italy Bike Tour Reviews page 4
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★★★★★ James Allan Krause
Safe, well-marked trails, interesting stopover points, great accommodation and breakfasts, friendly culture
Bolzano – Verona – Venice
This was our fourth bike trip and second in Italy. Once again, it was rewarding. This ride began in Bolzano in a northeast region feeling more like Austria than Italy. With an extra day added at the beginning the Hotel Regina provided us with a gondola and train ride up to the mountain plateau to highland communities bordering the city. The nature and view there were worth the time. Back down in the orderly urban centre, we visited a museum devoted to Otiz, the 5000 year old iceman mummy discovered in the Alps several years ago. The exhibit accompanying this added significantly to our understanding of life in the region in former times and its development since. This all provided a wonderful start to the journey to follow we share with you.
The self guided bike tour itself was reasonable for the most part. We felt it was more aptly described as moderate for those choosing regular bikes, as we did. That being said, the equipment supplied was very good but only a single side pack limited carry along extras. One of the few drawbacks found was some of the legs of the journey were too long. Another irritant was the late checkin and early checkout times of hotels stayed in - still a carry over from the effects of covid. Really, the industry worldwide should revert back to former times in order to return some the value lost to consumers then.
One of the eight days was lost due to extreme rain and wind. Rather than brave hostile conditions, we decided to hop on a train and enjoyed a day touring Verona, a fascinating historical centre. Unfortunately, our suitcases were late in arriving so our time there was marked by having to walk about while still clad in our sports attire. Fortunately, this option was available to us on the day prior to a wildcat day long train strike - one of three such days occurring during the three plus weeks spent in Italy this May. The trains are really a great service but having a plan B in mind is a worthwhile travel strategy.
This bike trip had many unique features. A ferry ride on Lake Garda was one and took place on another day of (at time) heavy showers. The effect of this was the views could not be fully appreciated, but we dried off in a warm cabin after the four hour slog to the dock was completed. On board, the boat ride gave us more insight as to the lifestyle enjoyed and appeal of lakeside living on this massive body of water. Many stops were made on the lake to pick up and drop off passengers at communities on both sides of the lake and there was time for a few card games All in all, the added variety of the four plus hour long trip added to the overall experience.
Bike riding in May means being well prepared for all kinds of weather, from cool, rainy days to serious heat. As said, two days were affected by the former. However, the heat dome that followed began the day our trip ended and took temperatures into the 30s. Prepare well for the possibilities. Good rain gear is highly recommended and this includes waterproof jackets, shoe covers and shoes. All in all, there was enough just space in our bike bag to carry the basic equipment needed. SHOW MORE
Two other mentions would be to ensure navigation devices are capable of maintaining power for up to eight hours. Also, having a device carrier for phones on the handle bars is recommended. Although routes were well marked, having a single page backup map for each day stored in a waterproofed folder ensures no time is wasted staying on course.
The food was another reward. Continental breakfasts were rated good to excellent. A daily dose of Italian gelato found most everywhere added another highlight to each day. Every stopover point was well served with good restaurants and we supplemented meals with trips to supermarkets to add extras, such as fruit, nuts and other snacks. One advantage we found was being from northern lands we were used to eating earlier and restaurants were generally empty until after 7 pm.Italy has so much history and discoveries were made in all stopover points experienced. Venice was spectacular and worthy of the extra day spent there. We were able to take the tram directly from Mestre to Venice for a couple of dollars. The station was right around the corner from the hotel. Honestly, it is really hard to believe the city, with all its massive stone structures, was built on wooden pilings. Overall Italy, we found crowds were smaller in the mornings until around noon. Italians and other locals were generally found to come out en mass in the evenings. Tourist attractions and services can feel crowded then.
Italy is a favorite destination. All along the way, we found Italian people especially helpful and friendly, despite all the tourists. This was also a ‘major' highlight of the journey and experience. We highly recommend this tour to those valuing a warm culture in lands steeped with layers of history still so meaningful to the world at large. A memorable adventure.
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- Italy
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★★★★★ Monty Willhite
Beautiful Ride
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Discovered that a self guided bike tour is an excellent way to see and enjoy the country. Hope to do many more.
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★★★★★ Anthony Ladson
Wonderful bike tour
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
I had a great time. Everything went well. The scenery was great. The biking was just at the right level of challenge. Hotels were comfortable. I loved it all and highly recommend this tour to others.
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★★★★★ Lizk
An Amazing Trip in Beautiful Italy!
Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
We loved our bike trip from Bolzano to Verona! The scenery was stunning. We were very happy with the accommodations and the breakfasts!
We got lost a few times but the GPX helped to know where we missed a turn. Also when we asked the local bikers they said follow me and got us back on track.We stopped in many of the small towns to some vino Rossa and lunch including Mezzocorona, Olios, and Borghetta!
We were amazed how easy it was to take the boat trip and train with the bikes.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 10-16
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was my first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Marek H.
One week like few seconds
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
We took our ride from Innsbruck to Lake Garda at the beginning of September and we were lucky for sunny weather. Electric bikes were quite new, but they belonged to the urban types. They worked on those flat and asphalt paths that dominated but they would be deceiving on the gravel paths. The organization of luggage transport and the quality of the hotels were perfect and the alpine landscapes as you might expect were gorgeous. Local tour operator guys were friendly and helpful.
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★★★★★ Emma
Great trip
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Very well organised. Lovely hotels. Superb helpline which we ended up using daily as one of our group was ill and couldn’t cycle most days. The help included the bike being transported on the days it couldn’t be cycled and when that couldn’t happen a new bike got delivered instead. Amazing.
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★★★★★ David Frac
Wonderful bike tour!
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
For perspective, my wife and I are in our early 70's This was our fourth bike tour with BikeTours.com and we absolutely loved it. The scenery was gorgeous, and we loved how we progressed from the snow capped mountains around Innsbruck to the gentler slopes as we approached Lake Garda. The hotels selected for us were wonderful. The bike trails were so well maintained! It seems that this part of the world takes cycling very seriously, as the trails were well used by tourists like us, as well as local sport enthusiasts. The bikes provided were in excellent shape, and luggage transfer was seamless. There were many highlights on this trip, one I will mention in particular were the thermal baths at Merano. We really enjoyed this tour.
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★★★★★ JRC
Great route
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
A great route - varied and spectacular scenery. We were very lucky with weather but September is a great month for this trip because of apple and grape harvesting. Hotels were all good with one exception. Breakfasts good also. Bike equipment very good.
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★★★★★ Megan P
Amazing trip
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
We had never been to Austria or northern Italy before and this was the perfect way to experience this region. The biking was almost all on bike paths and not difficult. The scenery was incredible. The accommodations were comfortable and well paced along the route. I would do this same trip 100 more times and find something new to explore each trip. The scenery was stunning. We loved every minute of it (even the day in the rain) and would book with this again 100%.
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★★★★★ Don c
Retirement at its best
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
This was our second trip with biketours.com and did they deliver. We had a great trip. The Bikes were excellent and Hotels were very nice. Great job. The only issues we had was finding the starting points in town. It was very challenging go say the least. A suggestion if I can: A pin on Google maps of starting point would have helped immensely. That aside it was the trip of a life time. Great work bike tours.com. Our appreciation for all those involved with setting this tour up.
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★★★★★ Dennis A
Innsbruck to Lake Garda
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Beautiful is the only way to describe scenery. Only thing difficult about this trip were the directions! Had problems almost every day getting out of cities. Particularly difficult in Merano. Circled city in dangerous conditions trying to get to trail.
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★★★★★ Olafur Olafsson
Six days of pleasure
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Wonderful way of experiencing the beauty of Tirol. The trip was coordinated in a perfect way with a very nice cycle paths and the hotels was fine. We will definately go again. Highly recommended
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★★★★★ CathyB
Fantastic
Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
I did this tour (self-guided) in the Fall of 2014 and it was the best trip of my life. The Hotels were all clean, safe, and ideally situated in the towns. The maps were great. There were a few frustrations when navigating alone, but nothing I couldn't figure out. The company provided me with a route map and also with written directions; even after I left the map in a bar one nigh (oops) I was able to navigate fine with the written directions. The stickers used to place the route were also very helpful. Difficulty-wise, the first couple days were mostly flat and on well paved, well laid out bike paths; as the tour went on the terrain got hillier, but there were only a couple serious climbs (and even they weren't that bad). It was a great way to see parts of Italy that you wouldn't normally see if limited to a train, and it took me through some charming little towns that would escape most tourists attention. Experiences like hiking up a mountain to visit a mostly ruined castle, or dropping in on a winery outside of Verona and being fussed over by a sweet old Nonna, or an old, chain-smoking man draping his coat over my shoulders in a cafe, will never be forgotten. This was my second time in Italy and my first bike tour. I would strongly recommend learning a little bit of Italian as English is not widely spoken in the smaller towns; my smattering really helped me. Also, don't lose your map in a bar.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Shelley Vercoe
Great trip
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
We enjoyed this trip very much. The small medieval town centers were beautiful. Nice hotels and the tour company adjusted the schedule so we could visit Otzi. The scenery is gorgeous especially when the route veers away from the main roads.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Italy
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★★★★★ Om Apte
Perfect way to enjoy Italian Alps
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
The tour experience was great. All the stays were perfect. The mobile app was very helpful to navigate from point A to B. All instructions in the docket were easy to understand and follow. This was my 2 tour with bike tours and I found the quality of services was as good as it was on our last tour.
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★★★★★ Colorado Kid
Spectacular Italy!
Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
The trip had a nice variety of terrain and locale, going from Bolzano to Verona. The first two days is bike paths going down the Adige Valley. However, the last three days added some ups and serious map reading as we went through the countryside. In a few places our guide book did not match up with the route.In a few places there was more traffic than some of our group were comfortable with.Hotels were great values and the food excellent. Lago di Garda is beautiful.It was a great trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/10-9/14/016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 with Bike Tours; 4 others
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Bonjuk
Italy on Two Wheels
Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
Our fall trip was a wonderful way to see both bountiful orchards and vineyards and sample sights and history in small and larger cities. We enjoyed the beautiful river paths and scenery. And breakfast for kings and queens!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 9-14
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1, my first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Llewellyn F.
Fabulous Views and Vistas
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
It was a great trip! Just amazing views of the mountains through Austria and then Italy. Was generally flat or downhill so not difficult. Allowed us to enjoy the cycling and then enjoy the towns we stayed in.
Mainly separate bike paths that were perfectly maintained. Best I've seen. Signage for our route was very good. Easy to find coffee/strudel/beer stops along the way. Only issue was that instead of a GPS we were given an app. While the app explained the route, it just had a picture map with a purple line that sort of followed the route. We had to use Google Maps to figure out exactly where we were related to the map. Not very easy to do. I've been on tours with a GPS and it was perfect. Note that when approaching Lake Garda on the last day, the map showed us going off the bike route to a road that looked dangerous along the mountain. We stayed on the bike path that led us to amazing views down to Lake Garda and the route that all other cyclists were going.
There was a little issue with the timing of the shuttle on the way back to Innsbruck. Very thankful for Stephano (the local tour operator) who stepped in and personally picked up another client, so that we could leave earlier and reach Innsbruck by noon to catch a bus to the Munich airport. Next time will try not to have immediate plans after the tour. Can't say enough about Stephano and his team. One thing to consider, is for the local tour operators to be accessible via WhatsApp. Not all of us had voice access on our phones, only data.
Hotels were very nice except one in Mals...more like a two-star. Elevator had no light. Shower had little water pressure. Breakfast very limited. The one in Lake Garda was perfectly located with amazing views. All were easy to get to from the main bike path.
Some sights worth doing: just past the Italy border at Lago di Resia Reschensee stay on the right side of the lake on a beautiful bike path with picnic tables to stop and take in the view (brings snacks and drinks), Mendel Cable Car/Funicular (cool on top, there's a little town there), Wiengut Waldthaler wine tasting in Ora (Clemens was amazing and joined us for pizza where we ordered his wine), most towns have nice parks and areas to walk before/after dinner.
I've done several bike tours and this one was one of the best in terms of route, paths and scenery.
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★★★★★ Patti
Bike trip
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Self guided bike trip. Beautiful scenery, smooth biking surface. Great weather and nice e-bikes!
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★★★★★ David Geelong Australia
Perfect 7 Days Easy Alpine Cycling
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
A fantastic way to ride through the Austrian and Italian Alps without the hill climbs. Perfect length of 7 nights, awesome accommodation in beautiful villages and larger cities, nestled right in amongst the activities of the town centres.
Two brothers in retirement rode normal touring bicycles without any training and covered the tracks with relative ease.
The scenery along the route was breathtaking.
The food delicious and easy to search out local cuisine as accommodation was right in amongst it all.
Accomodation was first class (twin share), with large rooms, breakfasts were full buffet and catered for everyone’s tastes.
The touring bikes were in the excellent condition, comfortable seats, pannier and handle bar removable basket.
Routes were 99% cycle only roads fully sealed with a few hundred meters of gravel.
Eurobike staff were also excellent and assisted us as first priority after an incident.
Thank you we would not hesitate to this TO again.
Thank you
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