FAQ

• Because we do not leave anything to chance and attention to the customer is one of our main priority.
• Because we are an Italian tour operator exclusively specialized in motorcycle tours in Italy, the country that we love and know best, where we have ridden and tested hundreds of roads, places to see, hotels and diners for you.
• Because we love what we do and for us riding a motorcycle, food and wine culture and arts are passions!
• Because if you want to see the authentic Italy, the one that Italians love and live, along tested and hand-picked biking routes and to fully enjoy your travel without hitches, you cannot choose someone else but Italy On Motorbike®. We’ll acquaint you with the Italy of the Italians, we’ll get you to savor the excellence and experience the best, away from the traditional tourist traps, using other roads, other routes and other structures.
• Because we’ll do our best for your motorbike holidays in Italy to become unforgettable. Thanks to a meticulous organization we are able to eliminate losses of time and offer you instead those moments of privacy that are necessary to fully enjoy the beauty of the places that we’ll visit.

We aim to offer our customers excellence but too many things would be out of our control in a self-guided tour, compromising our capability to maintain the promise.

As the travelers we are, we are firmly convinced that visiting a place with locals is the best way to enter in contact with the true reality of the place, especially if the mentioned “locals” are specialists of what you wish to experience and see there. Taking advantage of the experience of who has tested all things before you, is the only way to always find the best, without wasting time nor having bad surprises.

Yet having to follow a tour leader does not limit the freedom that characterizes the motorbiking spirit! It only means that you have someone you can rely on who leads up the group, who knows the roads and where to go, who is able to elaborate valid alternative routes in case of necessity, to assist you in case of difficulty and to give you the right tips on how to spend your free time… but also able to vanish when it’s time for your privacy!
And someone eager to share with our foreign customers his “italianity”: his deep knowledge of his country, of its people, of its, culture, of its cuisine and wines …

We have chosen to work in our country and to offer escorted tours because we firmly believe it is a huge plus having the advantage of traveling with a well-prepared local staff able to give our tours a strong human and cultural dimension in gathering visitors from different countries in a united group and introducing it to the very soul of Italy. Something you could never get when travelling alone or with a non-Italian organization.

And remember: the staff is at the customers’ disposal, not the other way round!

• Each single guided tour is captained by a Tour Leader on his own motorcycle.
• In addition, when there are at least 7 bike teams on a tour we operate a second tutor on their own motorcycle, called the “broom”, who brings up the rear. Though we are aware that this third figure represents a higher operational cost, we believe it is fundamental. Indeed, consider that the customers of any public tour are people of all origins, some of which are quite “disoriented” in our country so different and far away from home, and the level of riding expertise is rarely homogeneous, but we must guarantee everyone’s fun and safety alltogether. Therefore it is important that we can give the group the possibility to tour at two speeds: the Tour Leader controls those who feel more comfortable while the broom looks after those who require a slower pace, and everyone is happy !
• The support van with driver is supplied with at least 5 motorcycles enrolled. It’s used to carry luggage and occasionally 1 or 2 passengers who prefer not to spend that day in the saddle.

We have prepared each of our itineraries with care, including in them the best, exciting, twisty, panoramic bikers’ roads available in the area and many stops in interesting and characteristic places, so to guarantee your pleasure as well in the saddle and off the bike.
But, in full respect of the typical biker’s mindset, we grant participants a wide margin of freedom and the role of the staff, off the bike, is only introducing our customers to the real Italy (as only well-prepared locals can do) and supplying assistance when required.

On the bike the TL’s main duty is leading up the way made of the best bikers’ roads in the area with the necessary flexibility to adapt route and timing to the existing conditions. When reaching the places scheduled for a stop, each participant spends the time at his/her disposal as he/she prefers, either visiting the spot autonomously, strolling about, doing some shopping, grabbing a gelato, or as they wish.
All suggested visits are optional and self-contained. Our tutors are no touristic guides, therefore they will not visit the monuments with you, nor will they provide explanations on their history and architecture.
But they are a mine of information wherefrom you can learn a lot about Italy and Italians.

In a nutshell, the tour leader:

• is your contact person during the whole tour, at your disposal in case of need, reachable on the cellphone 24/24
• is the forerunner who traces the route and determines the pace of the group according to road and traffic conditions, and to the general expertise in riding of the group; he knows the roads very well and modifies the route if necessary
• acts as an interface with the various operators and service providers included in the tour and takes the lead in case of problem (downfall, break-down, …)
• shares with you his knowledge of the country and its multiple facets

The Italian law strictly rules and protects the profession of touristic guide. Anyone who is not in possession of a specific license of touristic guide is not allowed to accompany groups and explain inside the monuments, and such license of touristic guide is always delivered only for a limited geographical area. Therefore no Italian can work as a touristic guide all over the national territory.

In addition, even if ours are journeys of discovery in a wonderful country packed with art and culture, our concept of motorcycling holidays is completely different from those rigid collective tours where participants are constrained in a strict timing, doing all things together. The Tour Leader will therefore remain at disposal of all participants, whether they want to visit, buy a souvenir or just grab a gelato.

Our reason to exist is precisely making the life of those bikers who want to visit Italy dramatically easier, taking on our shoulders the heavy burden of organizing and programming every single aspect of the journey.
Nevertheless, those who choose to go on a motorcycling holiday with us need to have a certain ability to get through on their own.

First of all because, unlike a coach tour where one is only a passively transported person, the fact that they ride their own vehicle makes a priori all participants active players of the game.

And it is also a precise choice of ours to respect the natural philosophy of motorcyclists who, as the free spirits they are, would not accept any formula that deprives them of the possibility to choose. So we wanted to poise group activities and individual freedom, giving everyone more opportunities to decide what to do as well when stopping off, as at the hotels (where the only “constriction” are the dinners included in the package) and during the remaining meals, since our half-board formula leaves many opportunities to choose where, what and with whom to eat.

The places where we stop are listed in the tour program but sightseeing itself is always optional.
Each participant decides by himself/herself what to do and see during the free time granted in every place and entrance tickets, if applying, remain at their own charge.
Therefore no-one will accompany you during visits but you may decide to avail at your own charge of the services of professional touristic guides on the various spots.
We’ll provide you every day with a list of the most interesting things to see in each place where we’ll stop, including the town where we sleep, that participants may decide to visit on their own after they have checked in at the hotel.

It’s preferable but not mandatory.
All the itineraries, chosen for the beauty of the landscapes and the road conditions (tarmac, bends), have been tested to guarantee the maximum pleasure in the saddle. However, if you want to break away from the group you are free to do so provided you have notified the Tour Leader. It is a Tour Leader’s duty to give you information about the territory and roads but getting to the agreed meeting point will then be your responsibility.
A short briefing is planned every day to talk about the next day program, thus allowing you to prepare your paniers accordingly (a stop on the beach, lunch in a mountain refuge, visit of a necropolis…).

The official language of the tour is English. All our tour leaders and/or tutors are Italians who are able to sustain a conversation in English and get along with French and Latin languages.

The detailed program of the tour is the result of our passions, of our work and of our corporate know-how, that’s why it can be sent only shortly before departure, once the whole payment has been settled. But we shall never supply the precise itinerary.
However we’re always ready to answer your questions for any clearing over the main points of the tour or to guide you to the most appropriate tour for your riding style and your idea of holiday.

Of course the rider of each bike team has to be in possession of a valid specific driver’s license for motorcycles and he/she must have a minimum of riding experience!
In order to be a pleasure for you and for the group, we recommend you to choose the tour under consideration of the Route Grading value that rates the technical difficulties and avoid those tours that are beyond your present riding ability.
Obviously we can help and suggest you the tour that most adequate to your riding style and idea of holidays.

	Easy – Roads without hairpins nor steep ups and downs (Sardinia and Tuscany)
	Moderate – 85% Hilly roads with few hairpin corners (Apennines)
	Difficult – 85% Mountain roads with many hairpins (Dolomites)
	Tough – 40 % Mountain passes with narrow roads and lots of hairpins (Alps)

Our ideal road is a panoramic, wide road with lots of bends but few hairpins, with pleasant ups and downs but no steep gradient. Things are different when we consider riding through the Alps or the Dolomites. For this reason we have included in our maps Roads smileys and Route Grading smileys to define respectively the beauty of the routes and the difficulty level of the entire tour. We avoid motorways and all kinds of straight and monotone roads (except using highways for the first 50 km to exit Milan or Rome at tour departure and vice-versa on the way back).

Remember that all the roads we choose for you are among the most beautiful in Italy! There isn’t one that we don’t like to ride on Saturday or Sunday for our pleasure. Offering you “juicy”, exhilarating riders’ roads is a big portion of our know-how.

The red Roads smileys are used to classify routes in terms of panoramas and bends, following the motorcyclists’ philosophy that “the journey is more important than the destination”. They’re assigned according to the average of the roads in the tour. So with the Roads smileys we define the beauty of the landscapes and the quality of the roads.

The red Route Grading smileys are used to classify the difficulty level of the tour in terms of necessary riding ability (Eg: RG5 means narrow roads with hairpin turns and) to be able to cope with some difficult Alpine passes like the Stelvio (2758m asl) or the Gavia (2621m asl). These smileys are assigned not according to the average difficulty degree of the route but to the toughest part of the entire tour. So with the Route Grading smileys we define the difficulty level of the tour.

Example: a tour with Roads rating 5 and Route Grading rating 1 contains many beautiful roads in terms of panorama and landscapes and on the motorcycling point of view there are a lot of bends and a good quality tarmac, but it isn’t difficult in terms of riding. R5 and RG1 roads represent our ideal, like the Orientale Sarda, full of turns, with a great tarmac for its whole length of 280 km, running from 0 to 1000m above sea level with breathtaking coastal and mountain landscapes, no hairpins, no steep ups and downs … a fantastic road at any speed.

Every day is different but the average time we are out is between 7.5 and 8 hours, of which 4 – 5 actually in the saddle. Usually we leave at 09:00 AM and come back around 04:30 – 05:00 PM so to grant everyone time to enjoy the pool/beach/spa, or have an aperitif in the garden or visit the historic city centre …
This is the average day scheme, what means that some more challenging days may occur, but in this case we usually program a very relaxing timing on the day after, to balance.

We usually cover between 75 and 155 miles (120 – 250 km) per day with an average distance around 120 miles (190 km).

Actually stating how many miles we cover per day is an issue because the reply is the result of a delicate balance between difficulty of the route, strategic points to reach and places to see on the road, for which every day is different from the next one. When we have to cover a long distance one day, then we usually balance it the next day with less riding and more stops and visits.
When the day route is technically difficult, then we program a lower mileage and/or more sight-seeing so that, eventually, we get to the hotel around 04:30 PM feeling that pleasure and tiredness were correctly balanced.

But the pleasure does not end when stepping the hotel threshold, for we have carefully chosen all our hotels for their services (swimming pool, American bar, spa, a good restaurant …) and locations (historic town centre, at the beach, …) so to be themselves important assets of our tours.

09:00 AM is the usual departure time every morning and all participants are kindly requested to be ready to leave at such time. In case of particularly heavy day program the TL may decide to exceptionally depart at 08:30 and compensate with a later departure time on the next day, if the program allows it.

As regards bedtime, once we arrive at the hotel everyone is free to do what he/she wants. When we have diner all together, it is usually scheduled at 08:15 PM but afterwards it is up to each one. We can decide to have a drink all together at the bar or around the pool, or some may prefer to go for a walk in the historic center, some may wish to sample some night life … just as one pleases.

In all cases we warmly recommend participants not to exagerate with alcohol and to sleep at least 6 hours before getting again in the saddle.

We guarantee all departures! This means that our tours can be confirmed even for 1 person only.
However booking is binding only as soon as 3 bike teams have enrolled whereas with just 1 or 2 motorcycle teams on a tour there is a supplement to pay or free cancellation.
The maximum number of participants on a tour is 12 motorcycles (i.e. maximum 24 people).

The experience of a motorbike tour in an open group is very appealing and you must know that we organize our tours in such a way that, if you want it, you can easily have privacy moments every day.

Nevertheless YES, of course, you may book one of our ready tours at the dates you prefer, turning it into a private tour.
We can even do more for a group of friends: we can tailor a tour from A to Z according to the group’s needs and desires. Tailor-made tours have many advantages, you can have your ideal motorbike travel without compromises and in some cases, depending on your choices, there will not be more expensive and can be cheaper than our standard tours. Some simple examples:

• 4-star hotels or basic B&B?
• half-board or overnight and breakfast?
• 100 km and half a day sightseeing or 400-500 km in the saddle every day?

A rest day is scheduled in all tours that last more than 7 days, two days are programmed in the longer tours. The rest day is always scheduled in a beautiful location with lots of interesting things to enjoy nearby (Florence, Venice, Arbatax, …). We recommend to use these days to effectively recover and therefore to limit the riding to a maximum of 30 miles.

The day before the Tour Leader will illustrate the group a series of options so that everyone can plan the proper rest day as he/she likes. Yet all organized activities shall have to be booked in advance, at latest when settling the final payment.

Yes if the bikes on a tour are less than 5.

If at least 5 bikes have enrolled on a tour we supply a support van in charge to carry the participants’ luggage and occasionally those passengers who don’t want to ride on a given day. The luggage van doesn’t follow the group’s route so you must take with you all that you might need for the day and this is what the paniers on the bike are provided for: you can store in there a camera, some shoes for walking, a sweater, a beach towel and everything that you might need for your visits. During the visits you can use them to store helmets and jackets for more comfort.

Each of our tour starts and ends at the same hotel so you can leave your excess luggage (normally the van carries one suitcase per person) in their luggage room for the entire tour.

The support van isn’t supplied with less than 5 bikes in order to keep the price level constant even with few participants. However it is possible to require this service for an additional cost.

In our public tours the maximum age for the rider is 70 while the minimum is obviously the age for the driving license. In case you need to rent the bike the minimum age is usually 21 (25 for some companies).
As regards passengers, kids under 15 and seniors over 70 are not allowed.
People over 65 shall have to supply a medical certificate of good health.

Riders and passengers under 15 and over 70 may be accepted on a private tour only. In all cases a medical certificate of physical fitness will be required, that attests the suitability of the person to remain in the saddle for the whole length of the tour.

YES, of course.
It is free until 6 months before the departure date (deposit is refunded but the booking fee).

Afterwards, if a customer cancels his/her trip for any reason he/she shall have to pay a penalty as follows:

• amount of the deposit (200.00 Euro) if cancellation arises between 6 months and 60 days before the tour departure date
• 40% of the price + deposit if cancellation arises between 59 and 30 days before the tour departure date
• 100% of the total amount due if cancellation arises less than 30 days before the tour departure date.

However, if by the time of the final payment, 30 days before the tour commencement, the total number of bike teams enrolled is lower than 3 (three), then participants may renounce free of charge and all sums already paid are entirely refunded.

To avoid any controversy on this concern we strongly recommend that you take out cancellation insurance in your own country.

No but in case of force majeure, for we guarantee all departures even with only 1 person enrolled.
Obviously, in the unlucky event that 30 days before departure less than 3 bike teams have booked, since we must ask them to pay a supplement due to the different repartition of the Tour Leader cost, participants may cancel their booking without any cost and would be totally refunded.
But it’s a decision of the customers, we shall not cancel any tour.

No, we never ride at night in our tours.

No activity is planned after dinner, whatever may be decided will always be optional.
It’s true that Italian summer evenings are full of temptations … those who wish to sample some night life out are free to do so and if the majority decides to do something special in the neighbourhood of the hotel, if the Tour Leader has not to work to prepare next days program he will probably be available to lead them out.
Some examples:

• expereince Dolce Vita and/or a walk in a historic town centre when the hotel is in a panoramic position,
• a visit to one of the many local folk/culinary festivals,
• attending a special event like the medieval festival of the Republic of San Marino or a classical music concert in a Roman temple in the woods …

Ours are touristic and cultural journeys, not motorbike races, so the speed of the group will be determined taking into account the riding ability of participants, the laws and the traffic conditions.

We want our tours to be unforgettable for the right reasons, hospital visits aren’t planned!

Every participant must have a valid identity document. A tourist visa may be requested, depending on your country of origin. Please inquire at the Italian embassy of your state for the necessary documents.
In addition the rider must have a valid driver’s license suitable for the ridden motorbike. We recommend all non-EU citizens to procure an international driver’s license.

We schedule our ready tours taking in due consideration the local weather conditions and always program them in the best period for the given area.

Generally speaking, the best time to tour Italy by motorbike is from April to October. In those 7 months there is an ideal period for each Italian area.

Our customers are people who love carefree holidays, leaving to others the heavy and annoying duty of organizing everything at best. They live actively and want to do things actively during their holidays, but without renouncing comfort, amenities, quality and moments of relaxation.

They prefer to talk about previous travels and places they’ve already visited than about their job.

They are men and women, couples or singles, coming on their own or with friends, generally from 30 to 70 years-old.

They’re bikers who love riding, twisty roads and thrills in the saddle … but also love to see beautiful places like amazing landscapes, historic town centers or archeological remains.

They usually are “bon vivant”, like us, who appreciate a delicious dinner but also a nice aperitif or an after-dinner drink at the bar of the swimming pool.

In conclusion they all are good friends and nice fellows that we always would like to meet again soon!

Sure it does! 4-star hotels are obviously more expensive than others with less comfort

But we believe that quality amenities are fundamental to make a quality holiday. To us, the rest of the warrior is as important as the battle, so we chose to offer our customers the best. Indeed spending many hours in the saddle is always a stress for your body, even if breaks have been strategically included every hour or two. So our bodies need and deserve pampering to revitalize and recharge the batteries, like excellent food, comfortable rooms, relaxing bathrooms, beautiful gardens with pools, etc …  Especially when the holiday is quite long (the average duration of our tours is 12 days).

Anyhow we have established relationships that allow us to offer you good value for money in many places.

Every tour includes as many main meals as nights, so you can think of it as a half-board holiday… but a high quality one!
Every day an abundant buffet breakfast awaits and one complete (3 or 4 courses) super meal per day, mostly it will be dinner. A lunch break is obviously always scheduled in a nice little bar where you can grab a sandwhich or a salad …

But being gastronomy one of the main assets of our tours in Italy, we also wanted to offer our visitors some typical lunches in deserving characteristic restaurants (a mountain refuge, a famous tavern, an eatery on the beach), leaving them free to choose place, time and company for dinner, would it be a candle-lit fine eating or a simple, authentic Italian pizza.

Of course these boundless evenings are planned in fascinating locations with lots of lovely places where to have dinner, to help everyone creating fantastic memories of their tour on a motorbike in Italy, with us.

You can participate with your own bike without problem or, if needed, you can rent one from our partners. Up to you!

We have partnerships with the most important rental companies in Italy, which allows us to offer our customers a wide range of brands and models in lots of places over the territory.
The rental cost, depending on the bike model chosen, is calculated and invoiced separately, .

Our partners mainly have BMW, Ducati, Moto Guzzi and Harley Davidson bikes, ranging from mythical Vespa scooters (accepted in private tours) to the biggest BMW models. The bikes are generally new (our main partner changes them every 13 months).

Since the rental contract is direct, you will pay exactly the public price of the rental company, not a cent more.

Independently from the BAC limit which is almost ZERO, participants in our tours are strictly requested not to drink any alcoholic beverages during the day, even during lunches in a restaurant, not only not to compromise the safety of the whole group but also because some insurance companies, in case of positive BAC (whatever level that is not zero) would not pay for the damages suffered, even if you’re in the right.

Only after parking the motorbike at the hotel you are free to enjoy the many delicious Italian wines, spumanti and liquors that are famous in all the world (Chianti, Barolo, Canonnau, Brunello …). But please don’t exagerate with alcohol and get enough sleep to eliminate any trace of it, remembering that the next morning you’ll have to be fit and ready to ride the motorbike again.

As regards Italy On Motorbike, immediately, because we guarantee all tours even with 1 participant only.
But if we consider that booking is binding for customers only when at least 3 bike teams have booked, this is the minimum number to have an official, binding confirmation at the public price. .

35 days before departure we remind our customers to pay the balance and would inform them if less than 3 bikes teams should have booked. In this case participants choose whether to confirm the tour paying a supplement, or renounce without costs and being refunded of all the money already paid, or to enroll on another tour during the same or the subsequent year.

Also remember that we can accept bookings within the following limits:

• of subscriptions (max 12 motorcycles per tour)
• of rental motorcycles (if requested)
• of rooms in the various hotels of the tour

To match two customers who don’t know each other we consider the following criteria in this order:

1. sex
2. mother language
3. age.

We also remind you that:

• it is possible to have a single room paying a surcharge
• it is forbidden to smoke in every Italian hotel room.

It’s convenient to book in advance for many reasons:

• our offers are for a limited group of people so we don’t offer last minute deals
• we accept only 12 motorbikes per tour
• motorycle rental: the sooner you book the bike, the better the choice. Caution, this is fundamental: the later you book the bike, the lower the availability. You may remain without any bike or at least not find the model you wanted
• you will be able to book your flights sooner and therefore get a better price
• as regards taylor-made tours, it is important that you contact us soon enough to give us sufficient time for planning everything at best. Indeed designing and organizing a motorcycle tour is very complex and long, so giving us enough time means not having to accept any compromise

and if you change your mind, our cancellation policy allows you to cancel your travel cost-free until 6 month before departure, while after that date and until 60 days before tour departure, we only retain the deposit of 200,00 euro per person.

Will you take a cancellation insurance in your country, you will be protected for all costs related to this travel (flights and extensions included) in case of cancellation until the last day before departure.