Cycling holiday in Italy, Dolomites, Lake Garda & Venice

Planet

Transport
When not travelling green on our bikes we use local transport – by public bus from Trento, public ferry across Lake Garda and train from Verona to Venice. Cycling is a quiet and sustainable way to travel that also promotes interaction with local people encountered along the way

Water
The local tap water is perfectly fine to drink and the Tour Leader encourages people to fill their bottles with tap water each day and to avoid buying plastic bottles of mineral water.

Seasonal produce
As well as suggesting local seasonal produce for picnics and meals we also encourage clients to try local wines (at the end of the day’s cycling!) to give a panorama of the local vines, terroir and wine culture - from aromatic wine in south Tyrol like Gewürztraminer to sparkling chardonnay in Trento, to Valpolicella and Soave in Verona. Visiting local growers and supporting local produce helps an area to cut down on food transport miles and encourages sustainable agriculture in the area.

As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.

People

Friends & neighbours
Wherever possible we encourage our cyclists to try local produce, to eat in locally-owned-run restaurants and bars. We buy our delicious picnics in this way and make coffee and snack stops in local places. We offer local wine tasting experiences also. Our Tour Leaders also look for opportunities to meet local people along the way and create cultural exchange between customers and the locals.

A fair deal
We hire bicycles from a local supplier and the luggage is moved from hotel to hotel by a local company that combines the bag transfers with self-guided and other clients in order to reduce the number of local motorised journeys. We use local city guides along the way and the Tour Leader is Italian and very often from the local area. We provide expert training and ongoing feedback through our operations managers. We stay in locally run hotels that employ people from the local region.

Travelling with respect
The Tour Leader teaches basic Italian to the group and encourages people to give it a try wherever possible, e.g. ordering at bars and restaurants to break the ice with the locals.

As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.