Italy- Cycling holiday from the Dolomites to Lake Garda, 7 days
Regardless of whether it is spring, summer, or autumn, Southern Tyrol is always worth visiting, especially by bike. The journey offers beautiful mountain ranges, sparkling ice caves, lush orchards, and vineyards that transform your trip into a sensory experience. Cycle down into the valley along the Adige River to the Dolomite city of Bolzano. Relax and enjoy a cup of Italian coffee or a bottle of the world-renowned 'Kalterer' Caldaro wine. The route continues along well-maintained, fantastic cycling paths to your final destination, Lake Garda, which truly puts the crown on this cycling holiday.
Highlights
With a gentle downhill slope, the route is perfect for beginners. Merano, Trento, and Bolzano enchant with their beautiful old town districts, while castles and palaces in the Venosta region stand tall over other parts of the route, often lined with lush orchards.
The Route
A leisurely cycling tour, primarily on bike paths. Only towards Lake Kalterer and Lake Garda will you encounter minor ascents. This route is also moderate in terms of distances. Only on day 2 is there a slightly longer stage, but it can be shortened if desired.
Great things about this tour
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Upon arrival in Merano, you will find travel documents and rental bicycles (if booked) at the hotel.
You take the 'Venosta' train towards the mountain pass 'Resia. From the town of Malles, you cycle to Glurns and its beautifully preserved medieval city wall. You then cycle past the Montani ruins, through Silandro with its picturesque setting amid the alps, and head south towards Merano. Castles and palaces adorn your route, or they tower high above you (such as Juval Castle, owned by the Austrian mountaineer Reinhold Messner). While cycling, you can enjoy wonderful views of the impressive 'Ortler' massif and the 'Passo dello Stelvio' mountain pass. This stage can be shortened if desired.
You cycle through the village of Lana with its church Lana di Sotto, where the famous Gothic altar 'Schnatterpeck' is worth a visit. From here, you cycle along beautiful paths, among countless orchards and vineyards along the South Tyrolean Wine Route. You pass several impressive castles, palaces, and ancient ruins before reaching Appiano. From there, the route takes you along the base of Sigmundskorn Castle, which now houses the Messner Mountain Museum. From here, you ride to the charming town of Bolzano, with beautiful pergolas and the famous Ötzi Museum.
There are two ways to get to Lake Kaltern: either the gently undulating road via the cycle path through Eppan or the flat cycle path along the Adige dam to the charming wine town of Ora. It is a great place to relax and soak in the beautiful surroundings, enjoy local cuisine, and experience the unique culture of South Tyrol.
From Ora, you continue along the cycle path along the Adige dam. 'Salurner Klause' - a narrow valley that was once a border crossing, marks the end of the German-speaking part of South Tyrol and the beginning of the Italian-speaking part. The route takes you through the famous wine regions of Trentino to the ancient episcopal city of Trento. Here, you can explore the lovely old town, the cathedral, and the Buonconsiglio Palace.
Shortly after the old Tyrolean border town of Rovereto, you leave the Adige Valley. In Mori, you can taste the world-famous pistachio ice cream at Gelateria Bologna. After the only significant climb (about 150 meters in altitude) over the small San Giovanni pass, the journey goes downhill along the lake towards Torbole. The bike ride ends either in Riva or Torbole, which will be indicated in the hotel list. There are approximately 5 km between the two towns, and both are located right on Lake Garda.
After breakfast, you will check out of the hotel and depart or continue your journey on your own.
Price includes
- Accommodation at cozy tourist-class hotels
- Breakfast all days
- Luggage transfer
- Detailed travel documents 1x per room (English)
- Train journey with the ‘Venosta’ to Malles incl. your bike
- 1 Pistachio ice-cream or 1 freshly squeezed fruit juice on the way to Lake Garda
- App for Navigation and GPS-data
- Local service hotline, throughout the whole trip
- This is a packaged holiday and is therefore covered by The Travel Guarantee Fund - See which benefits this means for you - click here
- Transportation to the destination
- Bicycle rental
- Tourist tax, if due, is not included in the price
- Cancellation- and travel insurance
- Administration fee (20€ pr. booking)
Practical info
The price is based upon two people sharing. It is also possible travel alone in a single room. Simply choose "1 person" in the booking form and it will automatically add the single room surcharge.
On this tour you will be on your own supplied with maps, route descriptions and luggage transfers. That means that your time is your own and you have plenty of time to enjoy the stages in your own pace.
Check the price quickly
You can quickly check the price of your desired trip without having to fill in anything. Here's how:
- Choose your desired start date
- Click on the green button "See price and reserve your holiday" and go to the booking form
- Select number of people, add any optional extras and see the price at the bottom of the page (you don't have to fill in anything on the form).
Get a quote
For example, if you want a flight included or changes to the trip, you can order a quote for this using the "Get a quote" button. Remember to describe in detail what, if anything, you want changed.
The process of your booking
When you book, we will start booking hotels and arranging all the practical details of the trip. This process typically takes 2-5 working days, but some bookings may take longer. If you are arranging your own transport, we recommend that you wait until we have confirmed your booking before arranging this.
Dates
If you can select the date in the tour calendar at the top of this page, this is a possible start date. We continually update the tours with sold-out dates, after which those dates will turn red and cannot be selected.
On all our cycling holidays it is possible bring your own bike but it also possible to rent a bike for the tour. The bikes you can rent are all perfectly suited for the tour and the local terrain and all bikes are perfectly maintained. If you want to rent a bike on your holiday, then you select this on the booking form where you can also see the price. Remember to write your height in the message field when you book so that we know which size bike you need.
PHOTOS OF THE BIKES ARE BELOW THIS TEXT
On this tour it is possible to rent the following bikes:
- Unisex 21-gear bike – with free wheel
- Unisex 7-gear bike – with back pedal breaks
- Gents bike 21 gear – with free wheel
- PLUS gents bike 27 gear – with free wheel
- Unisex ebike – with backpedal breaks
Equipment included in the bike rental:
- Saddle bag (water repellent)
- Handlebar bag (water repellent)
- Service-set with tools and extra bicycle tube
- Combination lock
Roadside assistance
All bikes are equipped with puncture resistant tyres which means that it is virtually impossible to puncture. No rule without exceptions, so should you experience a punctured tyre then you can quickly fix it by using the tools in the service-set. If the damage is greater than a simply puncture then you simply call us and we make sure that your bike is fixed or you will be supplied with a new bike as quickly as possible.
Insurance is included
Insurance against theft and damages are included in the bike rental. Should you have any problems of this nature then all you have to do is to let us know and we will supply a new bike as quickly as possible. Naturally, careless or mischievous behavior is exempt from this.
Unisex 21-gear bike – with free wheel / Unisex 7-gear bike – with back pedal breaks
Gents bike 21 gear – with free wheel
PLUS gents bike 27 gear – with free wheel
Unisex ebike – with backpedal breaks
Please note: It is legally required to wear a helmet when biking in Portugal. - We advise you to bring your own.
The flights to/from Milano, Verona or Venice are not included in the price. You can easily find a suitable flight via a flight booking engine such as Momondo or Skyscanner.
Notice: we recommend that you book with us and wait for the confirmation before you book your flights.
Book a quote
If you prefer that we handle your flight, then we would be happy to arrange this for you. You simply book a quote below the map on this page and we will return with a quote as soon as possible (usually within 2-5 working days). Please note that we add a handling fee of 45 euro to each flight and this means that the flight will be cheaper if you book it yourself.
Getting from the airport to Merano
It is relatively straight forward getting from the Airport to Merano. The closest airport is Verona.
We recommend that you use this tool to easily find your way to Merano: Rome2Rio
If you are driving yourself
If you drive yourself to Merano, it is possible to park at the first hotel. The first night you stay at the hotel is free and the rest of the week parking costs 10-15 euros per night. It is not possible to reserve a space in advance. If the parking lot is full, the hotel will help you find the nearest parking lot.
Transfer back after the tour
After the tour, it is possible to be driven back to the first hotel - e.g. to pick up the car. For transfers from Riva del Garda/Torbole to Merano on the day of departure, seats must be reserved in advance. Please note: return transfers are not possible on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Transfers on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays are in the morning.
You will stay at 3-star tourist-class hotels as well as charming South Tyrolean guesthouses. Breakfast is included in the tour. In some places, you may encounter a small 'tourist tax,' which is paid locally.
Breakfast is included in the tour.
It is easy to find lunch spots along the way as well as restaurants for dinner in the overnight towns.
Luggage transfer is included on this tour. Upon arrival at the first hotel you will be given luggage tags along with the rest of the welcome package. You fill out the luggage tags and put them on your bags where they will remain for the duration of the tour.
Your luggage is picked up from the hotel lobby around 9am every morning and will arrive at your next hotel at 6pm at the latest (often long before that). If there are any special exceptions to the luggage transfer you will be notified upon arrival.
Luggage transfer includes one bag per guest and the bags can weigh 20kg each.
There will be an information meeting conducted by one of our local partners, where bikes will also be distributed and adjusted. You will meet in the reception area unless you are informed otherwise during check-in.
Grade 1 Suitable for cyclists who enjoy easy and relatively short rides on flat or gently undulating terrain. Ideal if you simply want to explore an area by bike at a relaxed pace. Requires a reasonable level of fitness. This tour is not designed for rest days, but the daily distances are only 30-45km on easy terrain. On Day 2, there is a planned 70 km stage, but this can be shortened or skipped entirely since you have two nights at the hotel in Merano. The tour mainly takes place on good cycling paths, with only a few inclines along the way.
You can read more about our grading system here.
Here you can get an overview of the entire route and the elevation profile for each day. The data shows the data from the GPX-files related to the tour. Notice that the routes are sometimes updated, which means that there might be small variations.
Colors
Blue routes: The route as normal
Red routes: Variations/options (such as shortened or extended routes)
It can be hard to plan your trip according to the weather, but to give an idea of the local climate of Bolzano area, see data below:
We are members of the Travel Guarantee Fund (nr. 2529) and have all available insurances. This covers you regardless of your nationality. Read more about that here.
Call our experts on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Phone: +44 20 3936 1208
Or write to us at
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Phone: +44 20 3936 1208
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