Rome

You will be staying in a 4 star central Rome hotel for dinner bed and breakfast. From this base you can spend a day overcoming any jet lag or simply go out sightseeing. There is plenty to see and do in Rome including the Museums and ancient sites, the Vatican the Sistine Chapel, the Trevi fountain (as pictured) or the Colosseum. Rome also has some wonderful parks and as you stroll around there are many sites of archaeological interest. Naturally being a centre of fashion Rome has an abundance of shops with many top brands close to the Spanish steps. So, whether your interests (other than biking) lie in architecture, religion, archaeology, culture, cuisine, or even shopping, Rome has something to suit all tastes.

Rome, Cisterna di Latina, Gaeta, Castel Volturno, Naples (155 miles)

We begin the road trip head south east from Rome passing Lake Albano and Lake Nemi and onwards to Cisterna di Latina where we stop for morning coffee. The next leg sees us riding along one of those famous straight as a die roads that the Romans are famed for to Terracina and then we hug the coast to Gaeta where we break for lunch. Continuing to take the coastal route we next stop at Castel Volturno for a short break before stopping at a 4 star hotel overlooking the bay of Naples where we stay for dinner bed and breakfast.

Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi, Pompeii, Vesuvius (115 miles)

We depart Naples to take a trip around the coast to Sorrento where we take our morning break. Travelling out to the westerly end of the peninsula we look out to the island of Capri and then turn east to follow the coast to Amalfi where we break for lunch. We cross the Lattari Mountains (Dorsale dei Monti Lattari) to Pompeii where we take our afternoon break and explore the excavations before taking a trip through the Vesuvius National park to return to our hotel in Naples. At 115 miles this is one of our shortest day trips but the roads are challenging and could easily take 6 hours to ride. Added to this you cannot rush a visit to Pompeii or underestimate the number of stops you might want to make to take photographs of this beautiful area. We return to our 4 star Naples hotel for dinner bed and breakfast.

Naples, Lauro, Solerno, Herculaneum (113 miles)

Heading east from Naples we stop at the village of Lauro which nestles just behind the mountain of the same name (Monti di Lauro). We then heads south to Solerno where we stop for lunch. We travel west towards Amalfi taking the mountain pass back over to Pagani and onward to the archaeological site at Herculaneum where we take our final stop for the day before returning to our hotel to pick up our baggage and board the overnight ferry to Sicily. Once again this might seem a short journey at 113 miles but it will involve about 6 hours riding and there will much you will want to see off the saddle especially at Herculaneum. In the evening we board an overnight ferry to Palermo where you will have a suite with sea view.

Palermo, Segesta, Erice, Scicca, Agrigneto (173 miles)

We depart the ferry in Palermo at 7:30 and so have an early start to begin the trip around Sicily with some historical visits. The first being the well preserved Greek temple and Roman amphitheater at Segesta before proceeding to Erice where we stop for morning coffee. We continue around the coast in an anti-clockwise direction to Sciacca where we break for lunch and before reaching our hotel at the of Agrigento "The Valley of the Temples".

You are booked on for dinner bed and breakfast at a 4 star hotel in Agrigento with sea views.

Agrigento, Piazza Armerina, Grammichele, Syracuse, Catania (190 miles)

We depart Agrigento and head inland to Piazza Armerina where we visit an ancient Roman Villa reputed to have to the best preserved and most extensive mosaic pavements of the ancient world. Next we travel over the mountains to Grammichele where we stop for lunch then we head back down to the coast to Syracuse for a short break before completing the days journey at Catania where we are booked in for dinner bed and breakfast in a 3 star town centre hotel.

Catania, Taormina, Nicosia, Palermo (205 miles)

We head north from Catania riding past Mount Etna to east coast hilltop resort of Taormina where we shall stop at the ancient Greek Theater and for a Coffee. Next we take a trek around the north side of Etna and over the mountain regions of Sicily to Nicosia where we break for lunch. We complete our day traveling back to Palermo to catch the overnight ferry to Naples. All in all about 7 hours in the saddle.

In the evening we board the overnight ferry to Naples wherewe dine abord ship. Your accommodation aboard is a suite with sea views.

Naples, Teano, Isola dei Liri, Villa Dei Quintili, Rome (170 miles)

We begin our journey back to Rome making our first stop at Teano and we continue using minor roads to Isola del Liri where we break for lunch at a café overlooking Castello Boncompagni-Viscogliosi. On the outskirts of Rome we stop at the ancient site of Villa Dei Quintili built by the wealthy Sextus Quintilius brothers in the 2nd century. After the visit we complete our tour returning to Rome. About 6 hours riding.

Those with hired bikes will return the bikes early evening and we all stay overnight in a central Rome 4 star hotel for dinner bed and breakfast.