Essence of Tuscany by Bike

We are not focused to look for differences and highlight why we are better than others!

The main thing that we would like potential clients to be aware of is that we create our own trips using ingredients (hotels, guides, experiences) that we’ve discovered ourselves.

We aren’t dishing up travel as an impersonal commodity or selling someone else’s trip, we’re carefully crafting unique itineraries based on first-hand experience.
We develop our own relationships, form our own opinions, and work with whom we think does the best jobs

29 years of experience!
We’ve worked in the travel business for a shockingly long time as cyclist travelers, guides, reporters, researchers, and planners.
We’ve been to the places we send clients, and we live in our main destination Tuscany we offer.
We think that fun is a serious business.
Your bike guides are able to assemble bikes, that means they are able to solve quick mechanic problems that may occur!
You are always in an iron barrel (an Italian way to say: se in una botte di ferro)

Yes – our Guided bike tours and Cycling & Cooking have scheduled departures.
Any Guided tour can be requested as a private departure

Private bike tour can be customized and you can choose any date for a private departure.
All our Self Guided are private, you decide the departure date.

It depends on a variety of factors.
We’ve planned trips in as little as a week, while others have taken more to finalize. One thing you can be sure of is that we share your enthusiasm for finalizing the details as quickly as possible.
The more advance notice we have, the faster and easier it is to confirm a trip and the more likely it is that you’ll get exactly the trip you want.
If you wait until the last minute, it’s invariably more difficult to secure hotel availability.
Last-minute requests require an extra degree of flexibility and the planning process gets compressed but we try to do our best.
If you are a group of people asking private guided tour, please give us plenty of notice.

Yes. We are an Italian licensed tour operator /travel agent and we are fully insured.
We strongly recommend to ask a license and do not trust simple sports or cultural associations.

We have a sustainability certification and fighting against illegal providers is part of our duty of social engagement.

No, we’ve got some other destinations, but not many.

Anyway for some destinations we do not cover we can suggest reliable companies.

We are part of many associations and business networks in active tourism in Italy (ActiveItaly) and worldwide (ATTA)

We require a non-refundable deposit of euro 300 once hotels are booked.

Full payment is required 60/45/30 days prior to travel, depending on the type of trip.
In private group trip, our deposit could be more due to hotels requiring non-refundable deposit.
Our Terms & Conditions outline the pricing and payment details.

Payment can be made by bank transfer or credit card (Visa, MasterCard )

Credit card is actually the most used.

As we are licenced a tour operator, we can charge in a remote way.

We’ve always said that in theory, anyone can plan any trip, just as anyone can build their own house or fix their car.

The more relevant question is whether or not it makes sense to do so. It’s not neuroscience, but planning a brilliant bike trip takes know-how, experience, contacts, and a lot of time. Fitting the right pieces together in the right way is more challenging than it may seem. If you have the patience and gumption to tackle your trip planning, by all means, it can be very rewarding.
But if you’re tight on time, short on expertise, or simply “don’t want to risk blowing a day” then it makes a lot of sense to hire the right people for the job

NO.
In order for us to plan comprehensive, seamless trips we’ve learned that we need to be in control of all the key ingredients including hotels.
It is also very important in a bike tour to stay in a cyclist-friendly accommodation, a hotel that we trust and will offer a safe spot for bikes.
Anyway feel free to ask if you desire to overnight in a special hotel you heard about, and we will check is possible.

Yes.
We can arrange all transfers from the moment you start your bike trip.
Additionally, we coordinate local guides, activities, excursions, special events, restaurant reservations, and anything else you’d like our help with.
Some trips, the guided tours, are planned to the minute and involve a vast number of arrangements.
Other trips, self-guided, are more flexible and free-flowing, with a moderate degree of support. It’s up to you

Some travelers don’t enjoy doing these things for themselves, but others find them the best part of an adventure.

We do not book or issue flights to/from your destination.
It’s simply not our area of deep expertise.
However, we can usually advise you on the best way to get to the region and how to get to the start point.

We are specific about our price & inclusion for each tour.
So you can budget your potential extra fee.

We’ve learned that the silliest question we can ask you when you contact us is: “How much do you want to spend?”
We recognize that it’s very hard to know as there are many factors involved.
However, consider the overall price from the outset. Think about flight costs. Think about what elements of the trip are most important to you (length of trip? hotels?). And think about those little costs like shopping, meals, and tips.

We encourage extending trips before or after the bike experience. Lengthening trips and traveling in fewer places is a great way to have a deeper and more immersive experience and at the same time reduce the carbon emissions of travel and amortize the cost of airfare

Please read our cancellation policy for complete details.
Our cancellation fees are not negotiable.

No
For residents of the USA and other countries, the options get a little more complicated owing to the peculiarities of the insurance business.
in fact, is valid only if you purchase in your resident country.
But the bottom line is that we strongly recommend purchasing it and that you’re covered.

Yes, we offer the option to rent bikes on a weekly basis.
Our bike fleet allows us to rent but not in the high season period: May, June, September, and October.
If you want to rent enquire about availability. We will confirm the bike rental & the delivery to your accommodation. If you are renting a villa and your idea is road cycling check the length of the gravel road. Especially in Tuscany, many beautiful restored villas are reachable only by dirt road and riding the race bike can be a nightmare!
For this reason, we selected some villas

In the self-guided need to be able to navigate on your own.
But is very easy now:

We have a tour operator account on the App RideWithGPS!

Each client can download the Application for free and once signed up we provide the link to the event, so guests have all tracks and once here can navigate offline with a smartphone or watch.

If you have your own Garmin you can download tracks also in your device

We include maps & elevation gain on paper on request – even if we are in the digitalization process as part of our sustainability actions

Yew you can!
We provide a high-quality saddle, Selle Italia, but we know how comfortable will be to use your own!
Please bring only the saddle, not the seat post because the seat post may not be compatible. Saddles are always compatible.

If you want to use your bike shoes you should bring your own pedals. Our bikes come with toe clips (cage) or flat pedals. As there are so many kinds of cleat pedals we can’t provide all types.

You are welcome to bring your helmet but be aware that at bike fitting we will always bring our MET helmets.
If the space in your baggage is limited at the last minute you can always count on ours