| You may have noticed that there are tons of touring companies out there that will gladly arrange a bike tour for you, at the cost of many thousands of dollars. Arranging your own tour is so simple, they are really ripping people off.
Getting to Italy
For flights into the country, the airport at Rome may be your best bet. It is centrally located
and has a new rail link that will deliver you straight to the Termini station. The rail
cars have plenty of luggage space -- enough to hold my bike box. I have also flown into
Milan and that was not so convenient as I had to use a taxi. Biking the expressway into
Milan's airport, though technically feasible would not have been too fun to do.
Getting Around
Italy has a modern, high-speed rail network that is largely off-limits to cycle tourists. There is, however, a very good regional train network which can usually get you close to wherever you need to go. Most regional trains have a bike car (like the one shown in the photo). Believe
 it or not, they take train punctuality very seriously in Italy (except during strikes). One time my train got held up for 10 minutes at a red signal and a near riot broke out among the train passengers.
As usual, trip planning and navigation was done
with Michelin maps and while Italy does not have the level of bike facilities one finds in a place
like Germany or Holland, you will very rarely have problems riding on most roads (except of course the Autoroutes). In bigger cities, drivers can seem erratic and dangerous until you recognize there is a method to the madness.
Lodging
1-star hotels offer a reasonable value. If you can find one, Youth Hostels are also good but I did
not encounter many on my routes (other than large cities). Both trips involved credit-card touring
so I have no information on camping. Your biggest problem will be the hordes of tourists that
invade the more popular sites (like Venice or Florence) so plan accordingly.
Weather
Except during winter months, you can generally count on perfect
weather.
While I have heard horror stories from the occasional cyclist that got caught up in
bad weather while biking the Alps, I have never had any problems despite numerous bike
trips during the summer months. Even so, you should go prepared with rain gear and
warm clothing if headed for the mountains.
Also see: Touring Tips
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