With stays in the finest luxury hotels, traffic free gentle cycle rides to historic villages and towns and long days of relaxation by the pool and at the beach, this is for us a really rather special tour. To this, add wonderful local culinary delights, genteel flat pedalling, and a wealth of history, architecture and wildlife to explore and you have Italy at its very best.
Ravenna holds among its treasures ancient mosaic floors and ceilings, Emilia Romagna is known for its orchards of cherries and peaches, the Grand Hotel in Rimini is a famed film location and Cesenatico has a colourful canal scene. Discover hill top villages, a glorious seaside, olive oil tasting, fishing huts and at the end of the day, more than a bit of luxury to savour and enjoy. Prepare to be charmed by this delicious country.
Holiday details
Price
- Luxury
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from £1,845 – £2,845 per person
Based on two people sharing a room. Price range due to seasonal variations
What’s included?
Includes one entrance per person to the spa at each hotel. Taxi transfers and City Tax to be paid locally . See what’s included as standard
Duration
8 nights
Start & Finish
Starts daily 1 April to end of October. The nearest airport is Bologna, 1 hour from the start and end of the tour
Hotels
- Luxury
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Three 5 star hotels at the seaside with private beach and swimming pool
Holiday type
Self-guided
This tour is priced without a guide and you are free to explore on your own. If you would like a guide for part or all of your trip, we are happy to provide a knowledgeable, local guide
Activity level
Gentle cycling (1) More info...
Electric bikes
Available
Mileage
4 days of cycling 16 - 28 miles (26 - 45 km) of which 3 are optional!
Terrain
Flat with one climb
Traffic-free
65% traffic free, the rest largely on quiet backroads
Options
- Take our airport transfer at the start and end of the tour. Approx 180 Euros per person for the return trip to be paid locally
Itinerary day-by-day
Luxury
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1. Day one
Arrive Bologna
Arrive in Bologna and transfer to your hotel in Milano Marittima, your home for the next 3 nights. Soak up the sun and relax by the pool and on the private beach of your hotel.
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2. Day two
Milano Marittima
Today is yours to explore and chill out as you choose. Milano Marittima was designed in the early 1900s as a garden retreat at the seaside by the bourgeoisie of Milan. It remains upscale and prestigious, and boutique rather than massive so a delightful place to explore. Or you may decide to enjoy the hotel where we include a spa treatment. Their pool and private beach are worth some time too! In the early evening our host will meet you with your bikes and run through the itinerary.
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3. Day three
Milano Marittima to Ravenna and back
Your cycling kicks off today with an optional ride to the Byzantine capital of Ravenna, with its 6 Unesco World Heritage sites. This delightful ride is traffic free and flat as it leads through pine forests, bulrushes and a Wetland reserve. Pass fishing huts on the river and a small vineyard as you pedal along farm tracks to the Basilica at Cesse, the first of the Unesco Heritage sites. Ahead lies Ravenna with its ancient streets and buildings where you will marvel at the wondrous churches with their gold mosaic ceilings and floors. This is a fascinating city to pedal through and to stop for a refreshment in its cafes and squares. Return to your hotel either by riding back or hopping on the train.
Optional 18 or 36 miles (28 or 56 km)
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4. Day four
Milano Marittima to Cesenatico
The ride to Cesenatico is flat and largely offroad and begins with a loop into the surrounding countryside on river embankments, through forests and across farm tracks. This is a rural scene of small and large fields, old and new farrnhouses, pretty fishing huts and a well known café where you can stop for a coffee. Pedal on through the famous salt pans of Cervia and stop for a bag of the white stuff at their shop. Take in the old salt warehouses lined up along the canal and head past your departing hotel and along the coast under the shade of the pine forests, past dunes and sandy beaches to your next overnight stay. Located in the colourful and stylish small town of Cesenatico, this active fishing port is based around a canal designed by the great Italian artist Da Vinci, where a wonderful selection of old wooden boats are moored as part of the Maritime museum.
22 miles (35 km)
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5. Day five
Cesenatico
Have a day off today and enjoy the canal scene with its boats and waterside cafes in the town, relax on the beach and around the pool and perhaps treat yourself to dinner at one of the two Michelin starred restaurants in Cesenatico.
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6. Day six
Cesenatico to Longiano and back
There is an interesting optional circular ride today to Longiano on back roads. The ride is flat until your each the outskirts of Longiano where there is a 200 metre climb (or walk) to reach the medieval village. The scene today is different yet again as you pedal through orchards of peaches and cherries fruiting in June/July and May respectively. It’s a landscape of small fields and farms, with the odd village and a stunning medieval hill top village as your destination. Here there is a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside, a selection of quirky museums and a good restaurant.to welcome you for lunch. As you leave the village to wend your way home, you must not miss the very special olive oil farm where you can taste (and buy) the olive oils, wine and chutneys made on the farm. Return to Cesenatico for your final night there.
Optional 28 miles (45 km)
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7. Day seven
Cesenatico to Rimini and Santarcangelo
After breakfast, there is a transfer to your hotel in Rimini, the oh so historic Grand Hotel and scene of many a film set chosen because of its architecture and furnishings. From here there is an optional ride to the medieval village of Santarcangelo and back. This ride is flat and leads you through the busy heart of ancient Rimini. Five Unesco sites are to be found here, from a bridge built in 1BC and still in use today to a museum of Roman medicine featuring instruments used at the time. Leave all this behind as you pedal along a peaceful riverbank on a traffic free track that takes you to Santarcangelo, Here is a gem of a village with an underground network of caves you can explore, a charming cobbled medieval centre, our recommended lunch time stop in the square and a local industry producing hand printed linens and goods that you wont want to pass by. Return to your hotel by pedalling back along the riverside or taking the train.
Optional 15 or 24 miles (24 or 38 km)
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8. Day eight
Rimini
Enjoy your final day relaxing in the pool or on the private beach of the hotel. or by exploring more of the history of Rimini
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9. Day nine
Depart Bologna
Depart for Bologna for your flight home or you may choose to spend an extra day or two in this buzzing city. Well known for its food scene - home of ragu or bolognese sauce, the medieval city houses miles of porticoes, the oldest university in the world and an edgey left wing political scene side by side with swanky theatres and opera houses and some of Italy's finest trattorias. Don't miss out!