Guided Bike Tours in Italy

Ciclismo Classico

• Ciclismo Classico specializes in bike tours and walking and hiking trips throughout Italy. While many of its tours are expensive, Ciclismo also has "More Miles for Less" budget tours of the Piedmont and Tuscany regions. Specialty tours include a gelato tour, an olive oil harvest trip, and tours that combine cycling and sailing. A tour to the Friuli and Trieste provinces also crosses the border into Slovenia.

  Ciclismo Classico
  30 Marathon St.
  Arlington, MA 02474
  800-866-7314
  ciclismoclassico.com

Bike Basilicata

• Bike Basilicata offers affordable three- and seven-day cycling tours in the regions of Basilicata, Apulia and Sicily. Most tours include overnights at farmhouses or novel cave hotels. The agency's partner company, Ferulaviaggi, offers similar walking tours of the area.

  Bike Basilicata - Ferulaviaggi
  via Cappelluti, 34
  Matera, Italy 75100
  011-39-835-336572
  bikebasilicata.it

Lucca -- A City Made for Cycling

• Lucca's 16th and 17th century Renaissance walls have been developed into an urban park with bicycle and walking paths. Anyone can rent a bicycle from one of the many rental agencies near the stairways and ramps up to the wall. For a more in-depth experience, the Not Ordinary Ways agency organizes four- or five-hour guided bike trips. Various tours feature hybrid or mountain bikes, and the tours wind through country roads around the city and stop at wineries and farmhouses for tastings. There are weekend biking trips around Lucca and the Garfagnana with two overnights and three days of bike rental and a professional guide.

  Not Ordinary Ways
  via Burlamacchi 9
  Lucca, Italy 55100
  011-39-583-583397
  notordinaryways.com/

Cycle Italia

• CycleItalia has run guided cycling trips in Italy since 1998. The "Campania's Cilento Coast" tour explores a coastline that has been likened to the Amalfi Coast but without the huge crowds. There is a cooking and cycling tour in the Monferrato region or a tour of Umbria and Le Marche. CycleItalia schedules meals in partnership with Slow Food, which is dedicated to Italy's best regional and authentic cuisine.

  Cycle Italia
  PO Box 1386
  Sioux City, IA 51102
  877-ITALBIKE
  cycleitalia.com/

Italian Cycling Center -- the Veneto for Every Interest

• Italian Cycling Center puts a strong emphasis on cycling, affordability and flexibility. Instead of moving from one city to the next, riders base themselves at the company's hotel in the Veneto province. Each day, there is a choice of half-day guided tours at varying levels of difficulty, from leisurely to challenging. Tours visit markets, castles, hill towns, museums and churches. Afternoons are free for independent activities and allow cyclists traveling with non-riders to spend the rest of their day with their travel partners. The company's season runs from May to October.

  The Italian Cycling Center
  2117 Green St.
  Philadelphia PA 19130-3110
  215-232-6772 (November to April)
  011-39-0423-561113 (May to October)
  italiancycling.com