ExperiencePlus! Blog


Top 4 Tried and True Tours

For almost a half-century, adventurous cyclists and active travelers like you have joined our award-winning guided bike tours and followed our legendary chalk arrows crossing continents and countries by bike. We started with just one trip we called “Bike Across Italy” back in 1972. Since then we have led thousands of travelers on countless original routes that feature excellent cycling, unique accommodations, and unforgettable meals. Here are some of our traveler’s favorites, including our Bike Across Italy tour.


Bike Across Italy – Venice to Pisa

This is it – the classic bicycle tour that we started with back in 1972! We begin in romantic Venice, make stops in the great art cities of Ferrara, Ravenna and Florence, and end on the Mediterranean coast in Pisa. Along the way you’ll enjoy gourmet meals from two of Italy’s best culinary regions (Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany), take in local markets, and discover a side of Italian life seldom seen by tourists. You’ll also visit “the farm” for a lunch and a close-up look at rural life – it’s been in ExperiencePlus! co-founder Paola Malpezzi-Price’s family for more than 100 years. This has been our most popular cycling tour for over 40 years!

Highlights: Gourmet meals, the Malpezzi family farm in Faenza, 2 night stays in Florence and Lucca, Pisa and Tuscany’s countryside, Venice, Ravenna and Ferrara, guided visit of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Villa Badoer.

2020 Departures Dates

Bike Across Italy – Venice to Pisa (12-day)

May 17-28: 4 More to Guarantee the Departure!
May 31-June 11: Guaranteed to Go!
June 21-July 2
Aug 16-27: 3 More to Guarantee the Departure!
Sept 6-17: Sold Out
Sept 20-Oct 1: Guaranteed to Go!

Bicycling Venice to Florence (8-day)

May 17-24: 1 More to Guarantee the Departure!
May 31-Jun 7: Guaranteed to Go!
June 21-28
Aug 16-23: 4 More to Guarantee the Departure!
Sept 6-13: Sold Out
Sept 20-27: Guaranteed to Go!


Best of Provence Plus! the Luberon and Aix-en-Provence

Explore the best that Provence has to offer including culinary delights from the Mediterranean, Côtes-de-Rhône wines, exquisite olive oil from a local press and more Roman ruins than you will find in Italy. France’s small country roads will lead you to discover the secrets behind the local artisans’ savoir-faire. You’ll visit the places where Van Gogh and Cézanne painted a majority of their most well-known paintings. For those who enjoy architecture, this trip gives a superb view of both medieval and Roman masterpieces such as the theater and arena in Arles, the impressive Pont du Gard, the ancient Roman town of Aix-en-Provence and the medieval jewel of Uzès. To top it all off, the final portion of the trip includes the small hilltop villages in the Luberon valley that made Peter Mayle’s “A Year in Provence” an international best-seller. This itinerary starts at a relaxed pace with numerous two-night stays and finishes with flexible days where both short and long rides are possible – including the option to climb Mt. Ventoux if you wish.  It is a great bike tour for friends or couples where one partner likes to ride more than the other.

Highlights: Luberon villages, Saint Rémy, special dinner at a local chef’s home, Pont du Gard, Châteauneuf du Pape, olive mill visit, informative wine tasting, Arles, Roman history, Sénanque Abbey, Uzès, Van Gogh country, Côtes du Rhones wine villages, Mont Ventoux.

2020 Departure Dates

Best of Provence Plus! the Luberon and Aix-en-Provence (11 Day)

May 8-18: 4 More to Guarantee the Departure!
June 5-15: 4 More to Guarantee the Departure!
Sept 11-21: Guaranteed to Go!
Sept 25-Oct 5

Best of Provence (8 Day)

May 8-15: 2 More to Guarantee the Departure!
June 5-12
Sep 11-18: Guaranteed to Go!
Sep 25-Oct 2


Cycle the Camino de Santiago

Call it the Camino, the Road to Santiago, St. James’ Path or St James’ Way. Shakespeare postulated a rose by any other name still smells as sweet; the same applies to this soulful synchronicity of bike and route. For the more experienced cyclist or those truly wishing to make a pilgrimage (with some of the suffering), the cycling on this trip is only second to the history. Receive stamps on your Pilgrim’s Passport to document your stops along the way including churches, tombs, vineyards, ruins, palaces, museums and traditional restaurants. There’s a reason National Geographic hailed this route as one of “50 Tours of a Lifetime.” Enjoy “The Way” your way and at the speed of a bike.

Highlights: Follows the route of the Codex Calixtinus, 1000 years of history, Pilgrim’s Passport, guided tour of León, hiking option, Burgos.

2020 Departure Dates

Cycling the Camino de Santiago – Roncesvalles to Santiago (15 Day)

May 22-Jun 5: Guaranteed to Go!
June 12-26: Guaranteed to Go!
Aug 21-Sept 4: Guaranteed to Go!

Cycling the Camino de Santiago – León to Santiago (8 Day)

May 29-Jun 5: Guaranteed to Go!
June 19-26: Guaranteed to Go!
Aug 28-Sept 4: Guaranteed to Go!


Cycling Italy’s Piedmont Plus! Lake Maggiore

Italy’s Piedmont region is surrounded on three sides by a great arc of the Alps as they rise out of the Mediterranean Sea and curve north and east through France, Switzerland and Italy to Austria. Within this great curve of mountains the Po River rises, descending into a broad, fertile plain as it flows into the Adriatic Sea. It was in the western part of this valley that the Kings of Savoy built castles and fortified cities to protect local wine merchants from intrusions by marauding pirates. And it was here that Count Camillo Cavour first proposed the idea of a unified Italian state. Our cycling tour through the Piedmont region and the Lakes District combines the best of Italian and French cuisine with scenic pedaling through rolling hills dotted with vineyards and castles. The food, the history and the landscape make it an ideal destination for cyclists.

Highlights: Vineyards and wine tastings, gourmet regional cuisine including 2 nights in the Langhe area famous for its wine, cheese and truffles, the Roman town of Acqui Terme, Monferrato, Lake Maggiore, guided visit of the Bene Vagienna archaeological site.

2020 Departure Dates

Cycling Italy’s Piedmont Plus! Lake Maggiore (12 Days)

June 6-17
July 18-29: 3 More to Guarantee the Departure!
Aug 29-Sept 9: 2 More to Guarantee the Departure!
Sept 19-30: Sold Out

Cycling Italy’s Piedmont (8 Days)

June 6-13
July 18-25: 4 More to Guarantee the Departure!
Aug 29-Sept 5: 4 More to Guarantee the Departure!
Sept 19-26: Sold Out