Hmmm....Eleanor, riding one's bike to and from school probably isn't adequate preparation. Twenty to thirty mile training rides, at least. Once all can accomplish those without discomfort...or much discomfort, anyway...you're ready. Twenty or thirty miles is a ride of an hour or two, if you push it, but heck, you've got all day, you're on vacation. It should be a leisurely ride, stopping to shop, eat, sightsee, steal fruit from orchards and just smell flowers along the way. Most responsible agencies will ask about your level of fitness, and take that into account when planning your route.

The agency typically takes care of booking your hotel, transfering your baggage from place to place, and organizing some of your meals. They hand you a map, an emergency contact, a route book with sights and local info, and bid you bon voyage. I had great fun both times.

If I may offer some advice, see if you can get them to adjust the price if you skip the meals. You can probably do as well or better on your own, and getting stuck with haute cuisine (which you feel obliged to consume 'cause you've already paid for it)when you're reeeeeallly in the mood for a large, greasy cheeseburger is kind of a bore.
My other advice is to try and spend two nights in each place....chasing from one town to another, changing hotels each night, just takes too much energy. You really can't get the full flavor and enjoyment of what each town has to offer in just one night, anyway.

I've never done Italy, but I did a couple of self guided tours in France. I used DiscoverFrance the first time, and Detours-In-France for the second. For a pretty good idea of what self guided biking entails, visit www.discoverfrance.com. They've got a pretty descriptive page on the concept.

I'm certain that, if you google 'self guided cycling tours Italy' and include the region in which you plan to travel, you'll come up with a dozen agencies who set up this kind of thing.

Sorry, forgot this.

In doing it yourself, you gain a lot of independence. You can take a side trip if you want. The experience becomes not so much as a guided tour as an adventure. My wife and I both loved the experience.

And you save a whole lot of money!

Hi Eleanor,
I would like to add my two cents worth. I also have two teen daughters who are both pretty athletic. That said, I probably would not take my daughters on a self-guided tour in Italy. (It's really a moot point for me since my wife won't go on one unless it is guided) Having a couple of guides, one in a van and one on a bike is nice. You will be expected to fix flats and do minor repairs on your own in a self-guided and even if you are pretty capable of doing so, it's easier to have somebody else do it.

Also, on our trip in Tuscany, it was frequent that people took wrong turns, missed poorly marked turns, etc. If I were doing a self-guided I would probably never feel comfortable letting my family out of my sight. If you want to go faster for a while or explore a little, you can and have some peace of mind that your family is OK.

If you stop along the way and purchase something, you just give it to the guy in the van he hauls it your next hotel rather than having to carry it on your bike.

Periodically, he will be waiting for you with drinks, fruit, snacks etc. and make sure no one needs a ride.

They also arrange little extras like wine tastings, etc. and it does come in handy at times to have someone available who is fluent in Italian.

If you have some weaker cyclists who are tired, they can be taken on ahead to the next hotel. A friend of mine's wife who doesn't really care for biking does this routinely to shop and hang around the pool at the hotel.

Jeffery makes a good point about staying 2 nights per hotel. I've done both and it's nice not repacking every day.

I personally would prefer a few group dinners and a few on my own. Our Tuscany group had most of them together but we all got along very well and enjoyed each other's company. Of course we were typically on our own for lunches, usually with some of the folks on the trip.

If your youngest is a concern from a stamina standpoint, some companies can arrange a tandem bike. The ride takes a good part of the day with multiple stops, so it's not nearly as tiring as it sounds to ride 30 or 40 miles or so.

It's really a great way to take a vacation. Hope you have fun.

This is all very helpful. For the reasons abouve I think we'll go guided this time, but self-guided sounds great for my husband and I. The person I spoke to at bike riders tours says Umbria will be less hilly than Tuscany (they're not promising flat but I don't want the younger one intimidated before she gets started), does this sound right to you? Beaux, what group did you use?

We used VBT in Tuscany. I used CBT Tours in Croatia last year. I have looked at Bike Riders in the past and it looked appealing. Umbria sounds good.

I know you mentioned you looked at Backroads and found it pricey, but they have some trips that are called "casual inns" that are significantly cheaper than their "premiere ins" trips. The reason I say this is that I know they have some trips designated as "family trips" which might be more fun for your kids.

We are in our mid-40s and were the youngest people on our trip. That's the same experience I had on my only other bike trip and I hear that's about par for the course.

If this were my family I might feel a little bit more comfortable if there were some other young people on the trip for them to hang out with. But it will be a blast either way.

thanks for all the advice. We decided to book a guided tour for early June, I'm sure it will be great, now we just have to wait. I looked into all the suggestions, self-guided was a little too brave for us the first time. Also family trips cater to younger families with the exception of B&R which does have trips for 15+, but again the price is exorbitant(for us). I'll report back.

Hi Fellow Bikers: Check out Duvine Adventures. My wife and I have been on an Italy and a France bike tours with Duvine. They exceded our expectations in every way.

My husband and I did the self-guided in the Loire Valley with Discover France and it was great. This time a group of "girls" are going and we definitely want the guided tour. Has anyone used Tour Direct mentioned in a post above. Their prices sure look good. Need feedback. Thanks.

I have done two bike trips with Duvine Adventures (one with my husbandand one with my teenage daughters) and they are AMAZING!! The price is better than most other companies, the service is great (bikes are ready, food is arranged, accommodations are wonderful..) and the skill of the guides is beyond compare. Burgundy is a teeny bit hilly, but the Loire is nice and flat. Both are wonderful rides. You don't need a lot of "bike time" before going to these locations, but you should prep a bit before Italy!! You can't go wrong with Duvine.

My husband and I used Cyclomundo for a 6 day Provence self-guided tour. They provide the bikes, luggage transportation when needed and back up support if necessary. They have set itineraries with choices of hotels. I looked at the options and chose the higher priced hotels and the option of self paying for meals besides breakfast.

Our trip was wonderful. We were in Avignon 2 nights and picked up the bikes and maps there. The bikes were hybrids and very comfortable. I usually ride a road bike at home but it was good to have the extra suspension. We opted not to do the first day ride, but then rode to Les Baux via St Remy. We stayed is Mas l'Aigret (I think) the next two nights and did a loop from there to Arles. Then we rode to Fontaine de Vaucluse, Hotel du Poete. From there we had trips to Gordes and Roussillon and I can't remember where else at the moment. We might have had three nights there. The hotels were all amazing and the breakfasts delicious. We only had one minor issue with a bike but we called and talked to the mechanic and sorted it out on our own.

We typically ride about 15 - 20 miles on the weekend and are in decent shape, and we found the 30-35 mile days to be perfect. Only a couple of hills that were tough and we walked a little We would go out usually between 9-3 or 4 with at least two stops. It was great being self-guided for us, able to stop when we wanted and eat where we wanted. I think it was around 1100 euros a person. They also provided a car the last morning to pick us up at the hotel and take us to Avignon train station. The luggage transport worked fine.

We are hoping to do another Cyclomundo ride in Italy next summer.