How to Combine your Love of Cycling with an Italian Vacation
Do you love visiting beautiful places and being active? Today, I’m highlighting a fun vacation idea that combines cycling with visiting Italy. If you aren’t into cycling but your partner is, this is a trip you will both enjoy! Nancy de Losa is our guest today from A’qto Cycling. Nancy and her husband Damian run the cycling tours throughout Italy that you won’t want to miss.
Nancy and Damian’s cycling company is called A’qto and they offer amazing sounding cycling tours throughout Italy. Their tours take you on Italy’s most exciting climbs and descents, all while immersing you in the true essence of Italian hospitality. Let’s get into the details!
Nancy and Damian
What can I expect from one of A’qto’s tours?
There are 7 epic locations across Italy to choose from. Each tour offers unique views, food, and activities. There are options from the coast to the mountains!
Most tours are around 8 days, 7 nights.
A typical day involves cycling from 8 am to 3 pm.
There are a lot of hills throughout Italy, so most tours cater to more experienced cyclists.The closer you are to the coast, the flatter it will be. The more mountainous areas involve much more climbing.
Every night is complete with a fantastic food and wine experience. Every meal location has been carefully chosen to provide you with the best food and atmosphere!
The itinerary is carefully curated to ensure that you have a perfect week. Once you arrive, everything is taken care of and all you have to do is ride your bike and enjoy the views!
Each night you will stay in boutique style accommodations. These include boutique hotels, family accommodations, and places that allow for great immersive experiences.
You will spend 2-3 nights at each hotel so that you can truly experience each area.
Within your party, if one is a strong rider and the other not as strong, one of you can also ride a normal road bike and the other an e-bike (as long as you are still very familiar with road riding). Or you can switch between riding on some days and participating as a non-rider on other days.
What do I need to do to prepare for a tour?
The majority of the tours do cater to more experienced cyclists. You will want to be in pretty good shape to be able to keep up and enjoy the tour.
You can check the difficulty ratings for each tour on their website.
Be mentally prepared. Biking in Italy is likely going to be different than at home.
Decide what you want to achieve from this tour. It will push you mentally and physically, so set goals for yourself!
Damian and cycling guests
Which tour is the easiest?
Puglia is the easiest of all the destinations. This is because the area is a little flatter, so there is less elevation gain.
This tour is the perfect adventurous, but not over strenuous holiday experience!
Here you can enjoy biking near the coast with absolutely beautiful views.
If my partner and I want to go on a tour, but only one of us cycles, can we still go?
Yes! A’qto offers non-riding partner tour options for partners of cyclists to enjoy!
Nancy is not a cyclist, but her husband Damian is. Because of this, they are uniquely qualified to plan a perfect itinerary that caters to both groups of people.
You and your partner will still get to spend lots of time together. Mornings and late afternoons into evenings will be spent together as a group.
Every tour offers different daytime activities for the non-cyclists. Each program is designed to expose visitors to the local culture and beautiful sites!
For example, in Tuscany you will get to explore magnificent hilltop cities and soak in the local art and architecture. You get to take behind the scenes tours throughout the city from experienced guides.
Examples of other activities include hikes in the mountains, walks around town, cooking classes from local families, and tours of olive oil manufactures.
You will not be bored & there is so much to do as a non-rider! They occasionally get some cyclists who even choose to take the day off because they are excited about the non-cycling plans for the day.
Nancy + the non-cycling guests
How big is the tour group?
The maximum number of guests is 14 people per tour.
The non-riding group is usually about 3-4 people, but sometimes there is only one person. But don’t worry about being the only non-riding person. It allows for a very personalized experience and the guests always have a wonderful time.
There are two ride guides on each tour, as well as a support vehicle that drives behind the group.
Is it easy to extend my trip in Italy before or after my cycling tour?
Yes! You can plan your own vacation time anywhere in Italy as long as you get to your starting city by your tour date. Or add time to the end of the trip.
Nancy recommends doing the biking tour first, then heading out to visit other locations. This way you have plenty of energy to bike.
Most guests fly into Rome and get transportation to their tour location from there.
Milan and Venice also have some good flight options.
Nancy offers blog posts on their website with endless ideas of how to extend your Italian vacation. They also offer curated itineraries for guests upon request (for an additional cost).
What specific things do I need to pack?
Cyclists
You can bring your own bike, but it’s a lot of work. There is an option to rent a bike upon arrival to your tour location! About 80% of cyclists rent a bike.
Bring a bag with all of your cycling gear in one place. It makes it so much easier to keep it all together. Many cyclists will ship this bag home at the end of the tour so that they can continue their vacation without the extra cycling gear.
Non-riders
You don’t need anything special as a non-rider! Just bring whatever you’d want to wear and have for a typical vacation.
Here is a great example of light packing from a non-rider guest. 3 athletic skirts, 2 pants, 10 shirts (all ranging from casual to nicer), and cute scarfs that added lots of pops of color to switch things up!
You don’t need to have different outfits for each day. Pack light! It’s so much easier.
How far in advance do I need to book my tour?
Try to book at least 12 months in advance! Some locations fill up very fast.
However, there are cancellations sometimes, so keep an eye out for openings!