A cycling holiday in Tuscany

The highlights of a great holiday were: Siena - which was just magical; the quiet, rolling Strada Biancas and in particular the section from Siena to Radi, which was what I always pictured Tuscan landscape to be like; the Relais Borgo, which was idyllic and the staff so pleasant and helpful.  

Fantasic trip that you won't regret booking. Service from Inntravel during booking was very good. Excellent trip notes and maps provided. GPX files for garmin gps included which makes navigation quick and stress free. If you have a compatible device I'd recommend using these files along with downloading a topo map to your device for the region.

The hire bikes were mechanically sound univega touring bikes with flat bars, slick tyres, and arbitrary front suspension on the fork steerer with stand and decent panniers with plenty of space. Good for carrying plenty of water in the hot weather. Tyre levers and spare tubes were provided but few tools - it is worth taking some of your own if you are mechanically inclined. Helmets were fine - fit is a personal thing. Asked for two male geometry bikes but my partner got a female sloping frame regardless - always seems to happen!

The routes were excellent. They were mostly on quiet country roads/gravel tracks (strada bianca) with spectacular scenery and plenty of attractions on route. There were the odd very short sections of strada bianca that were technically beyond the capability of the touring bikes, but you can push for a minute or two if not confident. The difficulty was as expected from Inntravel’s description. 20 miles a day doesn't sound much to an experienced roadie, but taking the heavy bikes, gravel roads and hot weather into account I found it ample. We spent 3 or 4 hours on route most days at a slow pace taking photos, stopping for lunch etc. It was quite hot in June but don’t be put off, the breeze cools you down. There was plenty of shade with only a few exposed uphill sections – never more than a few km.

Il Relais della Rovere was a great hotel, beautiful pool, rooms and surroundings. Molino Il Moro restaurant in town was great. Il Casato over the road was very busy with nice food but slow service.
Relais Borgo di Toiano was even more beautiful in terms of pool, rooms and surroundings. Service was great too - the lady even picked us up from the restaurant at the end of the road when it was raining. The restaurant was also excellent I should add. Hotel Santa Caterina was again excellent. The rooms were lovely as was the terrace with views over the Crete Senesi. The service was professional and extremely helpful - they couldn't do enough to assist your every need. Breakfast buffets were excellent in all the above hotels with lots of choice of quality food. Something for everyone. Fattoria Pieve a Salti was a good hotel by most standards, but disappointing after the others. The location, pool and rooms were excellent, but the hotel was bigger and more formal than the others, with more noisy guests. They charged for the use of pool towels which the others did not and despite being 'half board' there were extra charges for dinner, despite sticking to the allowed items (no steaks etc). Also couldn't provide accurate bus timetables causing us to miss seeing Montalcino. Best to ride there to be sure. Breakfast was ok but not as good as previous hotels.

We had an extra night in Siena which I would recommend. This was our favourite of all the cities over Florence and Pisa etc. Inntravel’s walking tour is a must – it’s a good walk taking several hours but gives a full and interesting overview of the city including some hidden gems. We also had extra nights to see Florence and Pisa. Both worth a look but very busy in June. Pre-book Duomo and Uffizi gallery. Lucca came highly recommended but we missed it this time.

This is quite a challenging cycling holiday with some long ascents. However the distances are not too long so it is perfectly manageable. The notes are very good with plenty of good suggestions for stops and places of interest. Siena was our favourite place. The cycle route into Siena is stunning with views of the town ahead of you. The hotel was so well positioned just at the entry to the town. We really enjoyed the walking notes for Siena as it took us to places that we would never have found. Excellent walk. We would have given this holiday a 5 star rating but for the last accommodation and the weight of the bikes. I would hope that this could be fixed for future trips. I do note that a number of people have made comments about the unsuitablility of the last hotel.

We loved this trip and our ebikes! When we had an issue with transfer, this got swiftly resolved By Inntravel. All in all, compared with other provider, we found this trip much more enjoyable, well organised, balanced and safe. An extra day in Siena was a must as well as a trip to Monteriggioni. 

Restaurant opposite the first hotel was excellent. 1st hotel...staff were untrained and ineffectual. gpx routes were great but the last circular gpx to the monastery was a link to one of the other routes. Inntravel staff are very good (much better than Headwater).

Florence was wonderful, particularly helpful that the hotel booked time slots for us to visit major sites.

This was a wonderful holiday where we saw the real Tuscany when we went off the beaten tracks. All the hotels were good but the second and third hotels were exceptional. The hotel Relais Borgio was so off the beaten track and friendly that we would have happily stayed a few more nights. The Santa Caterina in Siena has an amazing garden overlooking the Tuscan countryside and yet is within a few feet of the main attractions. Fattoria Pieve a Salri was a dissapointment on many levels but mostly due to the eating arrangements, you are not allowed to sit outside (I know right! on a beautiful morning it's crazy) we were even asked to move from one side of the restaurant as they only allow people to sit at one end of the room at breakfast time. So everyone is packed in like school kids and their voices are all quiet as no one wants to disturb the couple eating next to you. Very sad. If you have time stop for a picnic in Scorgiano, lovely organic farm! The Siena self guided walk that Inntravel gives you is superb and you must do if you have time. Rail travel was a breeze but check the train numbers as it's not easy to work out which train you need on the boards as you don't go to the final destinations, use the Italian rail web site, very easy to use. There is a bag storage department in Pisa if you plan a short trip into the city.

The cycle routes were superb, the country glorious to cycle through, the accommodation interesting and comfortable. Thank you.

Excellent trip - great hotels and beautiful countryside and food.

This was our first ever cycling holiday and first visit to Tuscany and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The routes took us through ever changing scenery and visiting Siena was a highlight. We are very pleased that we returned to Siena for a couple more days after the end of the cycling. We chose to take the bus from Buoconventa to visit the hill top town of Montalcino rather than cycle (Day 6 option) and were very relieved after seeing the steep windy route and crazy bus / coach drivers.

3rd time we have been with Intravel cycling & we really enjoyed it. San Gimignano & Siena great, puncture on day 1 that we managed to fix! Some harder cycling in places but length of days was good. Abbey was interesting, loop in the vineyards was sort of ok, needed a couple of more directions to confirm still on right path, cycle into Siena great & good routing through traffic that was on the the busy side in days 1 & 2.

Fantastic service provided! When I fell off my bike the team in England could not have been more helpful and accommodating at a time when we could have felt very isolated. Transport was arranged quickly, we were given options for cycling or not the following day and lovely emails asking after my health were much appreciated. We felt very looked after! Thank you. 

A fabulous holiday with the right balance of cycling, sightseeing & relaxing. Highlight has to be Siena & a wonderful day wandering around the streets there. 

The Hotel Relais Borgo was just wonderful in all respects: its location, the room and in particular the service which was exceptional. The icing on the cake was the restaurant at the end of the road. Clearly a place where the "locals" ate out, it had a great environment and provided lovely food. 

For us the huge vistas seen from the cycle route were a highlight....fantastic! We loved restaurant Tartufo in Siena although it is expensive. Chicos is great pizza in Colle Val d'Elsa 

Overall the holiday exceeded our expectations & took us on a lovely trip through Tuscany. The locations & routes were well researched with most of the hotels selected offering great service, good facilities, lovely rooms & meals. 

The hotel, location & service at Toiano was exceptional, a beautiful rural property offering a real personal touch.  Walking back from the restaurant in the dusk & seeing a deer on the lane, which then jumped through the wheat fields is a special memory.

The hotel in Siena was excellent with friendly & informative staff.  The location & quality of this hotel was perfect for our needs.  We asked them for restaurant recommendations for the two nights we were there & managed to book tables at two of those recommended & they were both very good.  The food & drink in Tuscany is of great quality & the people so friendly; encouraging & appreciating our often novice attempts in speaking Italian.

To sum up, the holiday was a wonderful adventure enabling you to experience some real Tuscan gems.  The ride was a feast for the senses; endless sunny days complimenting the spectacular scenery, the scents of flowers in full bloom, the sounds of insects & wildlife going about their daily lives, amazing locations to stop at to enjoy the wonderful food & wine, all served by the very friendly & welcoming Tuscan people.  I had previously visited Florence over a decade ago & ever since had wanted to return to Tuscany as I found it so special. My partner had never visited this region of Italy before & immediately fell in love with it. This holiday was a real love affair combining our love of cycling, our adventuous spirits & lots of challenging hills!

Overall a fantastic holiday.The cycling is not easy especially when it is hot, but the views are worth the effort. There was a bit more traffic than we anticipated especially approaching towns.

Overall a truly wonderful holiday, so well organised and stress free, everything worked like clockwork, beautiful scenery and  a really great way to see the real Tuscany. My only recommendation would be to get an electric bike in Tuscany..... Oh those hills!!!!!!

Wonderful holiday; well researched and planned as always, by Inntravel. Good, interesting accomodation... all different. Walking notes for Siena were great! Easy to follow and they took us to places we probably would not have discovered on our own.

We enjoyed our holiday very much & had a real feeling of achievement, as we actually found the cycling was pretty hard. This holiday gives you magnificent views worth the effort but you need to be aware that it is hard. You are not on the quietest of roads & a lot is on rough terrain.

All bar one hotel were extremely friendly as were the Italians in general.

I would definitely recommend the holiday if you like a challenge. (Possibly not in mid summer!)

A great holiday, well organised and excellent hotels, scenery and cycling.  A few challenges on the cycle routes if you are not a regular cyclist in hilly areas!

This was a lovely holiday. Cycling in rural Tuscany is just beautiful; the rolling countryside, trees, flowers, mansion houses and endless medieval hill top villages. Of course this is Tuscany and the hills are endless. So it is hard work but at least there are as many downhills to enjoy as hills to struggle up! The cycle routes are very well chosen. With the exception of a few strada bianca, almost all of the cycle routes were on roads but they were very quiet indeed - not traffic free but close to it. We can thoroughly recommend this holiday.