Italy
A Cycling Journey: Northern Italy From the Alps to Verona
Program No. 20865RJ
Unravel the enchanting story of Northern Italy as you cycle from the Alps to Verona, learning about Roman monuments, traditional vineyards, ancient villages and authentic cuisine.
Participant Reviews
Based on 18 Reviews
SHOWING
Mariannne and Cristina were excellent guides! I thought Silandro was an wonderful place to start the trip. The hotel and restaurant were fabulous and the setting amid the apple orchards was the perfect beginning for biking.
I thought our guide in Merano, Luciano, was very repetitive. He went over some information three times.
I loved the Stadt Hotel Citta in Bolzano. Very charming! Breakfast was excellent but dinner at the nearby restaurant was not good. The antipasto was great but the entrees were not enjoyable. One couple skipped out on the second dinner and I wish I had as well.
I loved the archeological museum! Our guide was very interesting and the information was fascinating!
I wish our lecturer in Trento had given us a presentation on the castle and the role of the WWII rebels plotting against Mussolini. I thought the lecture was quite dry and we did not get much background on the castle and its role in Italian history.
The restaurant in Peschiera del Garda was excellent and I appreciated the local information on wines. The manager was justly proud of his cuisine.
All of the biking distances were very manageable. I could have used some more tips on biking in a large group when there were steep uphill slopes or tight corners. I got caught once going too fast and I messed up the two bikers right behind me. A reminder on leaving extra distance between bikes and slowing down on curves might be helpful in the mornings on days with city biking or more difficult situations.
When I signed up for this trip, the web site said moderate biking skills were required. About 10 days before the trip, I went back on the web site and there was more detailed information which said the skill level was expert. I am definitely not an expert biker! It did work out well but I had some tense moments when we had blind 90-degree corners with oncoming traffic in cities. Now I know what to expect with biking in Europe!
— Review left November 21, 2025
This was a great trip with stunning scenery!! At least 8 out of 10! Good educational/historical components. Good amount of free time. Riding was not difficult on the long areas between cities but was a little tricky when in the cities with cars, cobblestone, lots of pedestrians at times, etc. This unnerved a few riders. The bike leaders are from another organization (not actually Road Scholar). I think they tried hard but 22 people was a very large group to look after. Could have used another staff member for better communication.
— Review left October 5, 2025
Hey everyone…. thanks for your support and understanding. ROCK ON!
— Review left September 12, 2025
The trip was great! The team leading the bike ride did a fantastic job. I would highly recommend then to anyone. The bike technician also, did a fantastic job. The tour guide for all the cities also did a fantastic job.
Critique
1) Just use electric assist bike.
2) Way too much food!
3) The Hotel Sporting Trento was way too small. Hard to fit my luggage in the room.
I had opted for a standard bike. But it did not work well. I should have brought my own clip in peddles. The bike was very hard to ride without them.
The food was great but I am not use to four course meals every night. But, what can you do. Maybe keep the course down to a minimum.
All an all a great time.
— Review left June 9, 2025
This was a wonderful program -- a great combination of cycling, learning about regional history and culture, good food and wine, and good companionship. We were lucky to have a very small group (seven participants) and a pair of great leaders (Brad and Christina). The cycling was not difficult and the distances were not great. This may have disappointed one or two participants, but it allowed for a combination of expert talks and individual wandering around some interesting cities that complemented the cycling very well.
While in general I prefer using a non-electric bike, and would have loved to have done the bike trails on a road bike, I was happy to have a e-bike for this trip as all the others had them and I think I would have had trouble keeping up at times without the e-bike assistance.
Oh yes -- and the countryside is beautiful, the scenery spectacular.
— Review left June 6, 2025
This program was excellent and had it all - great scenery, history, and weather plus wonderful food and accommodations with some exercise. The two guides worked together wonderfully.
— Review left October 2, 2024
My wife and I had a wonderful time on this bike tour. This is the best way to see the Alps. Bike paths along the Adige river were wonderful. Food and accomadations were high quality. The tour guides were great!
— Review left September 24, 2024
South Tyrolian scenery is outstanding. This trip is an excellent blend of Austrian and Italian cultures. The quality of the hotels and restaurants exceeded our expectations. 98% of the bicycling was done on dedicated pedestrian/cycle paths, which is a bonus. Be aware: In the cities there are some narrow, crowded passages requiring good balance (not a problem for capable cyclists).
— Review left September 12, 2024
This bike trip was fabulous with lots of very cute towns, spectacular mountain and lake scenery, great leaders, and very good food. The route from Silandro to Verona had few uphill stretches. I rented an e-bike but only used it twice for short stretches. Could have walked a few hundred meters and saved the e-bike fee. I highly recommend this trip!!
— Review left June 15, 2024
It’s a well designed biking tour program, in which I experienced good company and great views in Adige valley in northern Italy. The biking tour led by an experienced guide Bert, who provided a sheet every evening indicating the biking route and coffee breaks of next day with his creative drawing. We rode from 7 miles on the 1st day to 29 miles on the last day. During the nine days tour, there were two days of no-biking, instead we visited two beautiful tourist towns of Merano and Bolzano, where we had two excellent local guides to tell us the history and culture. The program offers e-bike, but you really don’t need them, for the biking was along the Adige river all way going down. Only when approaching hotel town, the trail became a little crowed with some up-down road riding.
The program provided excellent accommodations and delicious Italian dinners , with lunch on your own. I think everyone was happy with this tour.
— Review left June 13, 2024
This was my first Road Scholar program and I loved it. We’ll be back!
— Review left June 6, 2024
A great biking trip with wonderful scenery! Loved the biking (a great deal of it is downhill!). Several cities had options of taking cable cars up into the mountains for great views. The hotels were well chosen to allow convenient exploring of the cities or villages. As always, the other participants were very enjoyable to get to know.
— Review left September 27, 2022
Riding in the South Tyrol mountains was fantastic. The most scenic of the 6 bike trips we’ve taken.
— Review left September 21, 2022
The most beauty I've ever seen, added to the most fragrant one - day after day- traveling through the lovely villages and cities along the way. Not to mention the birds cheering us on. Terrific group of 20 and 3 attentive guides.
— Review left June 3, 2022
Nice bike trip but not for a novice. The trails can be crowded not only with bikes but pedestrians and vehicles, there is a lot of riding in cities, this is not an all downhill bike trip, there are several long uphills. Our route was changed to avoid some traffic, it added 6 miles of rural roads with long uphills, quick downhills and lovely small villages. The average speed is about 10 miles per hour, lots of nice stops along the way to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The itinerary is very well done and you learn a lot about this area of Italy from expert guides.
— Review left September 16, 2021
Simply, a divine program! Conceivably, under-challenging for very capable cyclists, but picture-perfect for me. RS errs wildly in saying that this program "suits" for novices, but the GENUINE (unmentioned) availability of e-bikes has the opposite effect - if 1/2 of a couple or 1 of 2 friends LOVES to cycle (but not the other), an e-bike is the perfect solution.
— Review left July 4, 2019
The scenery, the food, the culture, the landscape, the beauty and history of Northern Italy with it’s Austrian influence is a must to experience and see. In this trip you are a participant not a spectator, you are living life authentically not vicariously!
— Review left May 22, 2019
Excellent program!! Well balanced, overall a great experience.
— Review left May 22, 2019