Please sign in to post.

17 days in Italy to include biking, wine drinking, good food and relaxing

My friend and I are planning a trip to Italy Oct 1st - 17th and want to "go off the beaten path" meaning if we miss Rome or only get a day there we would be ok with that.... We want to see Cinque Terra and Tuscany, do some fun biking and wine tasting. Eat some great food and get the small town Italian feel. Anyone have a good idea on itineraries for us? or could refer us to some good information as to where to start? Very excited! :) Thanks! Erika

Posted by
4 posts

Either or both I suppose, whatever would be easier. I would assume train from bigger cities but would not be opposed to renting a car for travel through the hills and such

Posted by
32505 posts

Where do you want to do your biking? Are you bringing your own bikes?

Posted by
564 posts

For 'off the beaten path', good wine and food, and biking, I would also check out the Umbria and Abruzzo areas. Tuscany is awesome, but much of it is well known to tourists (not that there's anything wrong with that). Umbria is the next Tuscany but Abruzzo goes unnoticed by most and it's appealing because of it. Cinque Terra doesn't describe any of those things for me, but if you have never been and want to see it, I would go. You can find good wine and a descent meal there too but I don't think you will find that 'small town Italian feel". It's Disney, but Disney is awesome too if you go into it expecting it to be that way.

Posted by
515 posts

Where I live on the West Coast, folks show up from all over the world to bike. Many have maps from Google or gas stations; and, they just head on out, often biking past the really cool roads and sites, confronting steep hills that they cannot grind up, and finding themselves on roads with fast cars and narrow shoulders. I suggest that you towns that interest you and then use the web to find companies that run bike day tours starting nearby. There are plenty of such companies and they will place you into a tour that suits your abilities/interests, whether you are Giro d'Italia impersonators or foodies, or any combination in between. It would be a great story to tell if you were to fix a flat on some beautiful cypress lined hill road in Tuscany, but does your rental bike even come with a patch kit and pump? And what if you snap a chain? Could be a long walk. For the easiest bike "ride"/picnic ever, take a look at Lucca. Lucca (the old part) is a walled city and its wall is so thick that the top of it is a tree lined park with a wide, paved street, all the way around the city, about 3 miles. There is an excellent deli in the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro; so, you could get a picnic, do a lap or ten on the wall, and then picnic on the wall, with views. If you need more workout, there are two very interesting towers to climb: one tower has trees growing on the top; don't ask why, it just does. Florence is an easy day trip by train from Lucca, as are the Carrara marble quarries, but you need a car for Carrara. It is easy to rent a bike in Lucca. There are bike tour outfits that will take you into the countryside. Next time, here is my must do. It is not near Lucca. How could you not want to bike this?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/veronicawipflinger/2817719552/

Posted by
4 posts

The only place I've been in Italy is Turin and Milan, both quick stops on my way through.... Rome I'm sure is amazing and definitely not discounting the "awesome-ness" of Rome by any means :)
I know I wont be able to resist it once I'm there and so close. I love these suggestions, thank you so much! Definitely going to check out the local bike rentals. I'm thinking have a few "home bases" and then expanding out to the surrounding area. Have any of you used Couchsurfing.com? I have friends who swear by it and I'm thinking I may or may not go that route since you often get in touch with locals that can take you off the beaten path. There is also a chocolate festival in October.... not sure I can resist that either! :)

Posted by
515 posts

There is a famous festival of chocolate in Perugia, Umbria. This Board probably knows a lot about it. (hint: start a new Q about that festival) Perugia is more or less close to some of Tuscany. Have Train-Will Travel. Umbria does bikes too, but in some places there are serious hills. The choc festival is all over UTube.

Posted by
1880 posts

You might try http://warmshowers.com/ for bike information. You join and are able to use members homes for sleeping and route information. There are lots of these in Italy. Also, I'd recommend buying a guide book and taking time to study it, seeing what peaks your interest. My husband and I have taken 5 self guided bike tours in Italy - but have not used warmshowers...we enjoy having a tour company arrange our travel and hotels. (we are older!) Enjoy. There is nothing as great as biking in Italy!

Posted by
1825 posts

Do yourself a favor and plan more time for Rome. Hiking around the city drinking wine and eating was a real highlight of my trip.