Cycling in Italy is a bucket-list experience for most cyclists and aside from the decision of where and when to ride in Italy, one of the other most important considerations is how to do it. Will you join a guided cycling tour of Italy, run by an experienced tour operator? Or will you consider a self guided riding experience?
If you’re unsure whether to book a guided or self-guided experience, then understanding what’s involved with each of these different styles of cycling travel, is key. In this blog post, we plan to cover these differences, together with the benefits of each, so that you can make an informed decision about the type of cycling holiday in Italy you believe will work best for you.
Guided vs Self Guided. A definition.
So, what’s the difference between a guided cycling tour and a self guided experience? We’ll start here by sharing a more general ‘industry-standard’ definition of each:
- Guided: You ride with a professional lead guide and a group. A support vehicle follows the riders. Logistics, mechanics and navigation are 100% managed for you.
- Self Guided: You are provided with a route / set of daily rides (GPX files), and you ride alone, with no guides or support vehicle. If you go off route or require mechanical assistance, you resolve it yourself.
While these industry definitions are good to understand, they do focus on a very basic level of service offering and of what to expect from guided and self-guided tours, and so here in this post, we’ll expand the definitions and guide your understanding a little further about how we approach these different styles of tours, including the pros and cons of each.
Things You Should Know About Cycling Tours in Italy
When it comes to cycling through Italy, there’s a number of things to consider that fundamentally underpin your experience. These include:
- Riding terrain – almost every region of Italy has different terrain; from mountains with one long climb, to those with shorter climbs and many of them, hills that are sharper with a little “pinch”, through to rolling hills that are considered a little more ‘dolce’ or more gentle to ride, and then there’s the coastal roads that can range from busy to peaceful but are always stunning.
- Ride routes – with such diverse terrain across the many regions of Italy and so many small back roads in some of these regions, carefully selecting ride routes can be the difference between a great riding experience and a fairly average experience on roads with traffic and roadworks that can go on for months and years.
- Weather conditions – across Italy’s regions, the weather conditions vary significantly across seasons and even within a season; eg. Summer in the mountains is completely different to the summer conditions you’ll experience in Tuscany or Sicily where there are large inland land masses that are almost desert-like vs Puglia as a peninsula with over 800km of coastline. While many riders thrive on cycling in warm weather, there’s warm, hot and then there’s unbearable, and so it’s good to understand the climate of the region you’re targeting to ride in ahead of your arrival
- What to bring – knowing what to bring to cycle in Italy is also a major consideration. Will you bring your own bike or will you hire a bike? How much kit will you need and what types of kit are required for the weather conditions you’ll be encountering? We’ve seen many cyclists caught out over the years with not enough kit, particularly in the mountains in July and even in places like Sicily in May.
- Support available – whether you need a bike shop to assist with a mechanical, emergency service support to assist with an injury or in the case of an accident, or just to know where the closest medical centre or hospital is, it’s always good to be very well acquainted with the services you’ll need in the specific region you’re riding in.
With many of these services readily available in Italy (including a reciprocal HealthCare agreement between Australia and Italy for emergency care) and the road cycling culture is such that Italy’s motorists respect cyclists and vice versa, creating safety on the roads, Italy is the perfect place to cycle in Europe – whether guided or self-guided – however, we do believe it is important to know the pros and cons of both types of tours to assist your decision making.
Pros and Cons of Guided Cycling Tours Through Italy
Italy offers a rich experience for cyclists that in our view is unparalleled in other destinations. With its 20 distinct regions offering diverse terrain and incredible roads and landscapes for cyclists, along with the same rich diversity at a food, wine, cultural and historical level, it’s easy to understand why cyclists return to Italy year after year, often experiencing different regions each time.
The main consideration when choosing a region to cycle in Italy, particularly if you’re planning a self-guided experience, is the readiness of the region for cycling travel – as some regions are much more ‘cycling-ready’ than others. Of course, with a guided cycling tour, this will have already been considered for you.
Pros
The pros of joining a group cycling tour in Italy are many, however here we highlight what we believe are the main benefits:
- Access to the best ride routes, local knowledge and hidden gems – by joining a guided group tour with an experienced tour operator who specialises in Italian cycling tours, you benefit from their deep experience, knowledge and relationships built over many years of the best roads to ride and also the optimal length and elevation of rides, considering the difficulty of the terrain. From Tuscany to Sicily, and Sardinia to the Dolomites, there are so many amazing ride routes, back roads and hidden gems to experience that you gain access to on a guided tour, including benefiting from all the learnings they have already experienced such as roads to avoid, lunch spots to stay clear of and tips on how to ride safely on Italian roads;
- All the planning and logistics done for you – when it comes to cycling in Italy, there is a lot of logistics and planning required to ensure you are ready to ride on . Some people love doing this planning, while others simply don’t have the time or wherewithal. The benefit of joining a guided cycling tour is that all of the planning and logistics are taken care of and you just simply need to turn up ready to ride. From whether to hire a bike vs bringing your own, to the gear you need to bring for each specific tour, and tips on pre and post tour travel in Italy to make your holiday a seamless experience, you’ll be taken care of;
- A safe, stress free holiday – a big consideration when cycling in Italy is your safety. On a guided cycling tour, your tour operator’s no.1 focus must be to provide you with the safest experience possible so that you enjoy a stress-free holiday. With pre-tour medical clearances taken care of, a support vehicle following the ride group at all times, two local ride guides on the road and the local knowledge and local relationships to seek support quickly should it be required, is all part of the safe, stress-free experience you benefit from on our guided cycling tours of Italy;
- Camaraderie and new friendships – probably the most important benefit of joining a guided group tour is the camaraderie experienced when riding in a foreign country with a likeminded group of people, and with an experienced ride leader and guides who support the ride group’s varying needs each day. Sharing the rewards that come from a shared experience such as conquering long climbs (20+km), “steep pinches” (+15%), sections of gravel or challenging weather, either wind or rain, or both, is often what brings people together on the bike, and then also after the ride, often making these days epic adventures.
- An immersive experience, on and off the bike, for riders and non-riding partners – for us as a specialist Italian cycling tour operator, the experience is not just about the best riding, it’s also about the best whole Italian experience of riding, food, culture, history and art. We provide a guided cycling tour experience that welcomes riders and their non-riding partners on tour, each with dedicated programs by day, together with an immersive cultural experience by night that focuses on a very local food and wine journey of the region we’re in, interactions with local people, stays in family-run hotels and authentic villages, and off-the-bike experiences that tap into the rich cultural and historical tapestry of a region – providing an overall immersive experience of Italy and the specific region we are in.
Cons
The cons of joining a group cycling tour in Italy tend to focus on individual preferences for travel.
For example, if you prefer to:
- Ride and explore a region on your own or with a riding buddy/buddies you know,
- Develop your own ride itinerary,
- Have a very loose schedule and itinerary, with locations not pre-determined,
- Choose your own style of hotel, agriturismo or masseria across Italy, and
- Select your own restaurants and osteria’s in which to dine,
….then a group tour is probably not for you
We always say to our guests who join us on our guided cycling tours, that you must love to be social and meet new people, and most of all be prepared to respect others, both on and off the bike, to fully enjoy a group cycling tour – it’s all about the shared experience.
When Are Self-Guided Cycling Tours in Italy a Better Fit?
Self-guided cycling tours in Italy absolutely have their place, however we believe that the quality of the itinerary and the information provided, is a key factor driving whether a self-guided experience is both safe and enjoyable, or not – particularly in regions of Italy where cycling travel is still in its early stages, road quality is mixed and varied, and the support/emergency infrastructure is adequate, at best. We always recommend that guests choose self-guided cycling tour experiences that are in developed regions, on quiet roads, and are curated by a cycling tour operator who understands the regions that the tours are based in – this is because cycling tour operators understand that they are providing an ‘experience’, not just a set of ride routes.
The Benefits
Self-guided cycling tours of Italy come in a range of shapes and sizes, and are also provided by a range of different businesses – on-the-ground tour operators (such as A’QTO), foreign tour operators with limited support on the ground, to bike shops and individuals who identify themselves as ‘guides’ but who are not deemed qualified by Italian standards – and so the benefits of self-guided cycling tours vary enormously. From access to ride routes alone through to a fully curated experience, the selection of self-guided tour experience needs to match your expectations of travel more broadly.
From our own experience, we have many guests who are unable to join our guided cycling tours of Italy for a range of reasons, whether it be dates, cost or tour timings for each region and so we arrange a self guided experience for them – we call these curated itineraries because they are specifically designed and curated for each guests’ riding capability, desired tour length, and specific travel preferences.
The benefits of providing such an experience is to ensure that the same high quality we deliver to our guided cycling tour guests is experienced by our self-guided cycling tour guests. An example of the service we provide for self-guided cycling tour guests, includes:
- All ride routes provided for your multiple days of riding, in a world class GPS Cycling App that is easy to use, including tips on where to stop for coffee breaks, lunches and water bottle filling along the routes, and also things to keep an eye out for on the roads including any hazards, etc;
- All hotels booked for you, with often the same hotels used as our guided cycling tours – this ensures that we know you’ll be looked after when you arrive, by people we know and trust;
- All transfers booked for you – this includes transfers to and from airports, train stations or major cities, and it also includes luggage transfers on days that you change location and ride between the different towns and hotels in which you are staying;
- Bike hire organised for you (if required) – again we use the same processes to obtain your measurements and specific needs, and the same bike hire partners that we use for our guided tours, ensuring you are looked after and support is readily available with a trusted partner, should you need it.
- A location-by-location guide with an overview of the history, culture and vibe of the towns you stay in, along with a list of our favourite restaurants, cafes, wineries and other places we recommend to eat, stop and visit.
All in all, guests benefit from our extensive knowledge and relationships of the regions in Italy in which we offer self-guided cycling tours, and also much of our planning and logistics know-how, all while enjoying:
- Control of their own riding schedule and pace;
- Space to experience towns and places in their own way; and
- Opportunity to enjoy their own cultural immersion, at a level that suits them
Of course, other providers provide a range of different self-guided experiences and package inclusions, each with either more or less of the benefits mentioned above, and so it is important that you understand the level of benefit and experience you wish to have when choosing a self-guided cycling tour – as this varies considerably.
What to Consider
The major considerations to be aware of when choosing a self-guided cycling tour in Italy include understanding:
- Who the supplier is that you are purchasing the tour itinerary from, and their level of experience and local knowledge in Italy;
- What you will actually receive from the supplier you are purchasing the tour itinerary from;
- If there will be any hidden or unexpected costs that you will incur which fall outside of what’s provided in your package;
- The quality of the ride routes provided, the app or other technology used to help you navigate, what navigation equipment you will be required to bring, and what to do if you veer off route and can’t find your way back;
- Any logistical considerations you may need to factor in and organise yourself such as transfers, bike collection and drop-off, and/or bike storage capacities at the hotels you’re staying in as not all hotels in Italy provide safe, under-cover storage for bikes.
Choosing Between Guided and Self-Guided Cycling Tours in Italy
Overall, in our view, the choice of whether to join a guided cycling tour vs a self guided cycling tour comes down to 3 main factors:
- Whether you enjoy the experience of having everything planned and done for you, so that you can enjoy a stress-free, safe and well organised holiday vs doing the planning and logistics yourself;
- Whether you enjoy the camaraderie of being part of a ride group and making new likeminded friends with whom to share the cycling travel experience with vs riding alone or with your own riding buddy/partner;
- Whether you are looking to enjoy an immersive experience of Italy with tour leaders who bring local knowledge, experience and relationships to the tour, leaving you with the feeling of ‘I have loved not having to think for a week and just enjoying the whole experience, both on and off the bike’ vs ‘I enjoyed a holiday where I was given the base ingredients but was in control of my days, enjoyed choosing what I did each day, and I experienced Italy the way I like to experience a place, both on and off the bike.’
In summary, both guided and self-guided cycling tours of Italy can provide a fantastic experience for cyclists, and the choice of which type of tour to choose is very much a personal decision around preferred style of travel and appetite for DIY each day vs having it done for you.
However, given the enormous variation of self guided tours and services available in Italy, we always recommend leaning towards a package that is provided by a reputable operator and includes more rather than less as part of the package – price and inclusions are definitely a good indicator of quality when it comes to cycling tours in Italy, both guided and self guided.
If you’d like to find out more about our guided cycling tours, visit the cycling holidays page or for more information about our fully curated self-guided cycling tours, please contact us via email at customerservice@aqtocycling.com or WhatsApp on +61 411 543 433.
