FAQs

You’ll stay at our two family-owned hotels throughout your cycling experience. Both are managed directly by our family.
Our bases are at Relais Villa Porta in Colmegna, an historic villa directly on the Lake Maggiore and surrounded by a centuries-old park and at Hotel Ungheria Varese in the town of Varese at the feet of Regional Park of Monte Campo dei Fiori.

We're talking about Lake Maggiore, Varese, Lugano, Como. Nestled in the Northern Lombardy and at the foothills of the Swiss-Italian Alps.
You can find all details here Road Cycling Routes.

Yes. A self guided tour doesn't require a minimum number of riders. A guided tour requires at least two riders. Please wait for our confirmation before making further travel arrangements.

Yes! We have a locked bicycle storage room with CCTV, a workshop with a bench, stands and racks. They are are protected against weather and thieves. You can also store your bike bag there.

Due to the variety of systems, we suggest bringing your own pedals and shoes. We can provide flat pedals upon request.

We offer various models. We suggest completing our Bike Fit Form for a perfect setup. See our Bike hire page.

Yes, we have guided tours with scheduled dates .
If you want tailored, please send us a broad draft.
If you are interested in a 7-day self guided road bike tour, the departures are available on Saturdays or on Sundays.

The only differences between a self-guided tour and a guided tour are:
- Navigation: You are responsible for your own navigation.
- Exclusions: Lunches, post-ride lunches daily laundry service, roadside assistance/bicycle recovery, and ferry or train transfers are not included.
A self guided tour has the same cycling opportunities (locations, logistics and routes planning). You’ll be provided a Digital Route Pack. So you can navigate yourself each day and you can go at your own pace.

Yes, it is possible to mix and match routes for different levels of fitness within the same group. We will help to adapt the routes to suit your own needs.

If you prefer independence, we offer Digital Route Packs or Self Guided Tours.

The one thing that all our guests share is a love of being outdoors by bike. Our guests come from many backgrounds, they have many and varying abilities: from the casual cyclist to the serious amateur cyclist wanting to test themselves on challenging climbs.

Expect small groups up to 8 riders with a guide leading the way on the road.
The reason is to ensure the best riding.
In such a way we can garantee you the best quality and attention.
If there are more guests, it is better a split-up in two groups during the daily rides.
We are leaving all together, probably we are going to ride on the same route, but in two groups.

Please visit our Difficulty Levels page to find a tour that aligns with your fitness level, including details on daily distance, elevation gain, and average pace.

We all together leave, as a team. Generally each daily route has a main route and and a longer one after a few kms, so you can take a shortcut or tackle the longer way.
However the last part of the daily route is the same. In such a way there are opportunities of meeting and regrouping before going back together to hotel for the post ride lunch in the afternoon.
Each day there are two or more ride options available each varying in distance and difficulty.
Day by day we can suggest multiple ride options to accommodate the different needs.

When you’re riding you’ll always have at least one guide on the road with the group.
The guide leads the way on the road giving you the flexibility to ride at your own pace expecially along the climbs. There is no vehicle support.
All guests will receive access to our digital maps and routes on Google My Maps, giving everyone the flexibility to ride at their own pace.
Flat tyre, mechanical breakdowns, accidents or falls sometimes happened, however we always take our guests home quickly.
Our guest are never abandoned, and the assistance is a fundamental part of our rides.
Regardless we regularly regroup in various locations or at the top of climbs.

The descents are taken at your own pace. There is zero pressure to climb down. Safety first, always.

This packing list should give you a good starting point.
Bib shorts, short sleeve jersey, socks, gloves, helmet and one or two water bottles. However, depending on the period you come here (Spring or Autumn), we recommend for you to bring some extra warm clothes like arm warmers, leg warmers, bib tights, long sleeve jersey.
Even if the forecast looks promising, it's always best to be prepared for a bit of drizzle. So it's usefull to bring a set of waterproofs (a rain jacket, bags for your phone and your packed lunch, etc.)
A small backpack is handy for carrying bits and bobs during the rides.

We generally meet at the bikes around 8.00 for a 8.30 ride start. A coffee stop and a light lunch stop on the way are suggested during the daily ride. We go back to the hotel in the afternoon (14.00/15.00), where you can enjoy a post ride lunch. The rest of the day is relax time.

Yes, a daily laundry service for your cycle clothing is an included service in a guided bike tour.

We accept payment by credit card.
If you are happy with everything and ready to pay a deposit, please confirm the full name and your email address. We will share the "Pay-by-Link Nexi" by email for booking.
Then you will receive our email for confirmation of your payment.
The balance of your payment is due directly in hotel by credit card at your departure (check out).
Read more on Terms and Conditions page.

We have detailed our travel advice across the page How to Get Here.

From our experience we see that people often prefer to arrange their own travel to and from the location of the tour.
We aren't a bicycle tour operator, nor a travel agency, and we don't partner with a travel agent.
However we are happy to give you any suggestion to arrange this. Feel free to ask anytime.

We have collect the most reliable weather forecast links and a table regarding the average monthly temperatures for our area on the page How to guess the wet weather.

Assuming that a drop of rain is not a show stopper for any cyclist, we always want to prevent dangerous situations. Should the weather conditions cause a risk or simply be so lousy that any fun is out of sight, we will pospone the ride and will find a new solution.

Yes, both hotels have free internet wifi.

We are not able to take care of non-riders and to provide them with a separate and customized schedule to see the Lake District and the tourist attractions around.
However we can give them all the main info about pubblic transport, but they have to be able to move around on their own.
Keep in your mind that, if you choose a weeklong bike tour the holiday is based on two locations: three or four nights in Varese and three or nights in Colmegna on Lake Maggiore.

Please let us know ahead of time, if you have any dietary preferences or restrictions, allergies, intolerances that we should be aware of.
So we can prepare accordingly.
For any information: info@lakesnorthernitalybiketours.com.