点评:Amazing trip. We have rated it as one of the best family holidays we have ever done. We did the 7-day self-guided tour Lecce, Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca, Gallipoli and then back to Lecce. The base package was £755 and I think you had to pay maybe £100 for a traditional bike and £200 for E-bike on top. Apart from that everything was included panniers, GPS routes, booklet with things to do, hotels and a couple of special events like cheese tasting or some traditional food thing in one of the villages. There was a single supplement on top for our son which was £200. Many of the rooms we stayed in had a sofa bed or a third bed so you could save money if you opted for a family room. Anyway those were the basic costs. The flights were expensive to Brindisi at half term (£400 return each with one stop over). Its about half that price at off peak periods.
In terms of value for money this was great. If you consider it as 2 people then hotels would probably cost around £100 a night so given the price half goes on accommodation. What was wonderful with this tour was how well organised everything was before and during the trip. We got plenty of briefing before, they organised airport pick up when we arrived direct to our hotel (and return to airport at the end). They were quite flexible with when you picked up the bike due to late flight so that was all arranged on Sunday. Briefing was very thorough and we got a great booklet with things to do each day, recommended restaurants and so forth. Infact I suggest if you go with these people you ask for that booklet electronically before you arrive as it will help you pre-plan your days.
The equipment was excellent. Me and my wife went for the E-Bikes. Easy to get the hang of after 30 minutes cycling. Each day we left our luggage by 0930 so it was picked up and delivered to our next hotel. Most days were about 60 km so lets say 4-6 hours of cycling with stops for short visits, food and to chill. The routes selected were off the main roads. Most of the routes were back roads only used by local farmers and other cyclists. Only when approaching the towns we were staying in would you merge with vehicular traffic but it was never busy.
The way it is planned you spend your first night in Lecce then after briefing head off to Otranto for 2 nights. This is good because first day cycle there and then you get a shorter days cycling the next day (40km). Then on third day you head down to Leuca and only one night there before you head off for 2 nights in Gallipoli. Again the day after arrival you have a short trip you can do. Then final day ride back to Lecce one night stay then off to airport. We liked these 2 days in Otranto and Gallipoli. These are amazing cities and infact we didn't take up the second day cycling in Gallipoli region but opted to head off to Lido Punta della Suina. An amazing £10 per person lido directly on the beach with crystal clear water. It was the quite season so not too busy and felt like a wonderful addition to the holiday. The taxi arranged by our hotel was £20 each way 20 minute journey). Infact all along the route there are beaches to visit. Most of the routes take you through small villages and I couldn't stop thinking that I was in some small Spaghetti western with the white washed walls of low level buildings around and the grand granite like churches tolling their bells. It was an absolute blast. Along the way there are lots of shops/bars selling cold water (£1) and some places you can stop to get Pannis (£5).
Overall this part of Italy felt cheaper than other parts of Italy and indeed Europe. Most expensive looking, spectacularly located and done out restaurants had a pizza option and they were mostly priced at £10 or less, so eating out options covered all budgets.
I met this Solento group at the Adventure Travel Show in London last year and they stood out to me to be very connected to the product they offer. I didn't fully understand their background but I think this group emerged from some local charity thing they do. Why I like them most was because they only operated in this area. Some of the other companies like Exodus or Intrepid offer things around here but they were at least 40% more expensive and didn't have the personal touch these guys had.
As I said we opted for the 3* option. Overall the hotels were perfectly good and their staff eager to assist. There is an option to upgrade to 4&5* hotels but the price jump was quite significant. We were happy with our hotels. You get what you paid for kind of thing but these were better than I expected for 3* hotels and Salento actually upgraded us on the last night free of charge due to no 3* hotels available.
I cannot recommend more strongly that you use these guys. When I believe in a product I really push it, like I do with Aldi, Skoda and Neil Young. So when I'm next driving to get some shopping at Aldi, in my Skoda Yeti, listening to Neil Young I will also be dreaming of my next trip with Solento Bici. Thank you so much.
翻译:这是一次令人难忘的旅行。我们把它评为我们有史以来最棒的家庭度假之一。我们参加了为期7天的莱切、奥特朗托、圣玛丽亚迪莱乌卡、加利波利自助游,最后返回莱切。基础套餐价格为755英镑,租用传统自行车可能需要额外支付100英镑,租用电动自行车则需要额外支付200英镑。除此之外,所有费用都包含在内,包括车包、GPS路线、活动手册、酒店住宿以及一些特别活动,例如在某个村庄品尝奶酪或体验当地美食。我们儿子的单人房附加费为200英镑。我们入住的很多房间都配备了沙发床或第三张床,所以如果您选择家庭房,可以节省一些费用。以上就是基本费用。在学校假期期间飞往布林迪西的机票很贵(往返每人400英镑,中途停留一次)。淡季的价格大约是这个价格的一半。
就性价比而言,这次旅行非常棒。如果按两人计算,酒店住宿大概每晚100英镑左右,所以考虑到价格,一半都花在了住宿上。这次旅行最棒的地方在于行前和行中的安排都非常周到。出发前我们做了很多讲解,他们安排了接机服务,我们抵达后直接送到酒店(行程结束后也安排了送机)。由于航班晚点,他们也很灵活地调整了取车时间,周日就安排好了一切。讲解非常详尽,我们还拿到了一本很棒的小册子,里面有每天的活动安排、推荐餐厅等等。事实上,我建议如果你也参加他们的旅行团,最好在抵达前索取电子版的小册子,这样可以帮助你提前规划行程。
装备非常棒。我和妻子选择了电动自行车。骑行30分钟后就很容易上手了。每天早上9:30之前我们都会把行李寄存在那里,他们会负责取走并送到我们下一家酒店。大多数日子骑行大约60公里,也就是4-6小时,期间会停下来短暂参观、吃饭和休息。我们选择的路线都避开了主干道,大部分是只有当地农民和其他骑行者才会使用的乡间小路。只有在接近我们住宿的城镇时才会并入机动车车流,但车流并不拥挤。
行程安排是这样的:第一晚在莱切过夜,之后进行简短的行程介绍,然后前往奥特朗托住两晚。这样安排很好,因为第一天骑行到奥特朗托,第二天可以进行短途骑行(40公里)。第三天前往莱乌卡,在那里住一晚,然后前往加利波利住两晚。抵达加利波利的第二天也可以进行短途旅行。最后一天骑行返回莱切,住一晚后前往机场。我们很喜欢在奥特朗托和加利波利的这两天。这些城市真是太棒了!事实上,我们第二天并没有继续在加里波利地区骑行,而是选择前往蓬塔德拉苏伊纳海滩(Lido Punta della Suina)。这是一个令人惊艳的海滩浴场,每人只需10英镑,海水清澈见底。当时正值淡季,所以人不多,感觉为我们的假期增添了不少乐趣。酒店帮我们安排的出租车单程20英镑(车程20分钟)。实际上,沿途有很多海滩可以游览。大部分路线都会经过一些小村庄,周围低矮的房屋粉刷成白色,宏伟的花岗岩教堂钟声悠扬,我不禁觉得自己仿佛置身于一部意大利西部片中。真是太棒了!沿途有很多商店/酒吧出售冷水(1英镑),有些地方还可以停下来买潘妮蛋糕(5英镑)。
总的来说,意大利的这一地区比意大利其他地区乃至整个欧洲都更便宜。大多数看起来高档、位置绝佳、装修精美的餐厅都提供披萨,而且价格大多在10英镑或以下,所以外出就餐的选择涵盖了各种预算。
去年我在伦敦的探险旅游展上遇到了这家索伦托旅行社,他们给我留下了深刻的印象,他们对自己的产品非常投入。我不太了解他们的背景,但我认为这个旅行社可能源于他们参与的某个当地慈善项目。我最喜欢他们的原因是他们只在这个地区运营。像Exodus或Intrepid这样的其他公司也提供类似的服务,但他们的价格至少高出40%,而且没有这家旅行社的个性化服务。
正如我所说,我们选择了三星级酒店。总的来说,酒店都很不错,员工也很热情周到。虽然可以选择升级到四星级或五星级酒店,但价格涨幅相当大。我们对入住的酒店很满意。一分钱一分货,这话没错,但这些酒店比我预期的三星级酒店要好得多。而且由于没有三星级酒店可选,Salento 还免费帮我们升级了最后一晚的房间。
我强烈推荐这家酒店。我一旦认可某个产品,就会全力推荐,就像我推荐 Aldi、Skoda 和 Neil Young 一样。所以下次我开着我的 Skoda Yeti 去 Aldi 购物时,听着尼尔·杨的歌,我也会憧憬着下次和索伦托自行车之旅。非常感谢。