Road Cycling Holidays in Italy

Why choose Italy for your road cycling holiday?
The varying landscapes of Italy offer something for road cyclists of all abilities, with endless coastal views, mountain challenges, and rolling hills dotted with vineyards. Our Italia team has spent more than 20 years seeking out the best road cycling across Italy, ensuring an exceptional experience for your Italian cycle holiday and bike tour.

Top destinations for road bike tours in Italy
Discover the finest road cycling Italy has to offer in Tuscany, the Lakes of Lombardia, the Prosecco Region, and Puglia. For those seeking dramatic mountain passes and breathtaking scenery, the Dolomites and Italian Alps are unparalleled in Europe. Coastal road cycling enthusiasts will adore the routes in Sardinia. For a comprehensive exploration of Italy's diverse landscapes, consider embarking on our end-to-end journey, the Grand Traverse.

Decide how you ride
Our road cycling tour range in Italy is designed to suit different types of riders and preferences. Choose your riding grade based on your fitness level. You can also choose between joining a guided small group tour or embarking on a self-guided cycling Italy tour. 

“Bikes have always been part of my life, giving me a sense of freedom since I was a child riding around the Sardinian countryside. Today, cycling through Italy – from the vineyards of Tuscany to the mountain passes of the Dolomites – still gives me that same feeling. On a bike, you notice everything: the scent of herbs on the road, a chat in a village café, the warmth of people you meet. It’s the most genuine way to experience the country.” Naomi Lindfield, Skedaddle Italia

Terrain 
Italy’s landscapes offer an extraordinary tapestry for cycling—Sardinia’s limestone cliffs and hidden coves contrast with Tuscany’s undulating mosaic of vineyards and olive groves. The Dolomites challenge riders with jagged peaks and steep ascents, while the northern terrain blends gentle rolling hills and scenic lakes, providing varied routes to suit every style of cycling.

Climate
Cycling conditions in Italy reflect its geographical diversity: Sardinia basks in Mediterranean warmth year-round, whereas the Alpine and Dolomite regions experience cooler mountain air, especially at higher elevations. Transitional seasons bring crisp mornings and golden light, ideal for those who prefer temperate weather and fewer tourists. Northern Italy is ideal for summer cycling while we tend to focus our trips in the South more around spring and autumn.

Infrastructure
Italy’s cycling infrastructure utilises charming and quiet back roads that wind through ancient villages, along with a network of dedicated cycle paths near urban and tourist areas, ideal for bike trips in Italy. Old gravel roads like the Strade Bianche are perfect for cyclists seeking a route away from the beaten track. 

Food and Drink
The gastronomic journey in Italy is as varied as its terrain: indulge in Sardinia’s fresh seafood and robust Vermentino wines, savour Tuscan Chianti alongside locally sourced cheeses, enjoy hearty mountain stews and polenta in the Dolomites, or taste Puglia’s renowned olive oils and orecchiette pasta. Italian food is nutritious, restorative and indulgent, perfect food for cyclists after a day in the saddle.

Discover our coast-to-coast ride across Sardinia to reveal a landscape unlike anywhere else in Europe. Quiet roads curve through wind-sculpted hills, cork oak forests, and the pale limestone towers of Ogliastra. Pass through villages where ancient languages are still spoken and experience the vibrancy of Sardinian life. 

Follow the ancient path of the Via Claudia, a Roman trade route that once carried wine, oysters, and silk across the Alps, now reimagined as a quietly powerful cycling route through mountains and time. This journey from Austria into northern Italy offers sweeping alpine vistas, serene river valleys, and a tangible sense of history with every turn of the pedal.

Italy offers high-mountain cycling at its most exhilarating. Our Giants of the Giro trip begins by riding from the spa town of San Pellegrino Terme deep into the Alps and Dolomites, where vast castles overlook valleys carved by glaciers and legendary climbs rise into the clouds. With routes shaped by the Giro d’Italia and landscapes framed by the Austrian and Swiss borders, this route is a must for every mountain lover.

Cycling through Italy’s northern Lake District on our own Tour of Lombardy, we encounter the Lakes of Lombardia, which offer an ever-changing landscape of glistening waters, wooded hills, and winding roads that thread between elegant towns and the quiet pre-Alps. With a balance of steady climbs and flowing descents, this route captures the subtle drama of the region—where light dances on the water and every ascent opens up a new perspective on the land below.

Tuscany invites cyclists to explore sculpted hills, olive groves, and medieval villages where history lingers in narrow streets and ancient towers. From relaxing spa towns to world-renowned wine regions like Chianti and Montalcino, this Giro della Toscana – tour of Tuscany blends diverse terrain with rich local flavours and iconic landscapes.

The masterpiece of our Italian cycling tours is the Italy Grand Traverse. On this journey, you’ll witness Italy’s rich tapestry unfold around you, from the sun-drenched olive groves of the south to the elegant piazzas of the north. Each region reveals its own distinct identity, with subtle shifts in dialects, customs, and cuisine as you move through the country. Enjoy hearty southern specialities to refined northern fare, while you traverse 10 UNESCO World Heritage sites and 5 National Parks and cycle through historic cities like Lecce, Assisi, Siena, and Venice.