BICYCLE TOURS & MOUNTAIN BIKING

Italy Biking

The hotels are exquisite. Each was carefully selected not only for their superior quality, but also to ensure that you are always staying within the city walls so you can stroll the narrow cobbled streets, visit the shops, see the sights at your leisure, and truly immerse yourself in all the day-to-day Italian experiences that make this a true adventure. Il Chiostro del Carmine is one of the few small elite hotels within the walls of Siena; every room at Hotel Dei Capitani in Montalcino offers endless views over the Tuscan countryside; Hotel Relais Il Chiostro de Pienza, located in the heart of the Renaissance town of Pienza, is surely one of Italy’s finest; and the recently renovated Hotel Umbra provides the perfect setting for your stay in Assisi.

Bike Vermont has taken great care to develop a tour that offers you the full pleasures of the sunny and enchanting Tuscan countryside as well as visits to a delightful collection of small villages and towns. Travel through vineyards, past olive groves, and along narrow ancient roads lined with cypress. Wander the narrow alleyways of tiny medieval villages like Murlo; Montisi; Castlemuzio and Bevagna; listen to the monks chant at Sant'Antimo; gaze in awe as you tour the Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi; relive movie scenes from "The English Patient" as you stroll the grounds of Santa Anna in Camprena; and delight in a visit to the elegant Castello Banfi estate and vineyards.

Bike Vermont and their guests are also the fortunate beneficiaries of the Italian obsession with all things culinary. Abundant regional produce, wild game, local mushrooms, olive oil, pecorino cheese, local truffles, and homemade pastas, all complemented with the finest local wines (and a superb Brunello wine tasting event!) assures that you will be treated to the finest regional cuisine imaginable.

Bike Vermont designed this route fully mindful of the need to accommodate the energy and desires of all types of riders. Montalcino and Pienza are both on hills and they will be encouraging some to ride in a carefully positioned van the last two to three miles into town. Likewise, on Day 3, there are a few challenging miles before arriving at the abbey at Sant'Antimo. Due to these exceptions (all avoidable with a short van ride), and despite the fact that the vast majority of the cycling is "Easier to Intermediate", Bike Vermont thinks the tour, as a whole, is appropriately rated "Intermediate".

Tour Details

• At least 61 days prior to your tour, Bike Vermont will return 100% of your tour payments;
• 60 days or less from the date of the tour you must pay the full tour price.