Published on: 20 March 2016  | Last updated: 8 January 2020

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  Cycling the Southern Tyrrhenian coast

  This tour takes in some of the most glorious stretches of Italy’s coast: starting with the Costiera Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast) and then the Costiera Cilentana part of the Cilento national park. It finishes with a short, but spectacular, section along the coast of Basilicata and into Calabria. In between it takes in the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Paestum —one of Italy’s top classical sights.

  295 kilometres. Moderately challenging.

  Read more: Cycling the Southern Tyrrhenian coast

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  Cycling the southern Sicilian coast

  This tour takes you from Trapani on the western coast of Sicilia to Siracusa on the eastern shore. It mainly follows the well-signposted SIBIT Trapani-Siracusa route.

  The route takes in some of the highlights of the Sicilia coast, and some of Sicilia’s best beaches. It also takes in some of the most important arche­olo­gical sites including the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, the temples of Selinunte, and the Greek theatre at Siracusa. It detours inland to take in the beautiful baroque cities of Ragusa Ibla, Modica, and Scicli.

  Read more: Cycling the southern Sicilian coast.

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  National parks of the Apennines

  A 770-kilometre route along Italy’s Great Divide riding through the chain of national parks along the Apennines of central Italy. It starts in Abruzzo and ends in Toscana taking in Umbria and Le Marche.

  Read more: National parks of the Apennines

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  Puglia Grand Tour

  Italy is often either very hilly or very flat. Puglia is one of the excep­tions. It’s flat enough to make it accessible to everyone, but not so flat that it gets too dull. With it’s distinctive heritage, including the iconic trulli (stone-built houses) and some of Italy’s most attractive towns and coastline, it’s a great cycling destin­ation. Grand Tour of Puglia, takes you through the best of what the region has to offer from its coast to the hills, not forgetting the Gargano peninsula, which is a pretty hilly but very beautiful. Oh and there’s a detour to Matera, possibly Italy’s most unusual city.

  Read more: Puglia Grand Tour overview.

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  Sardegna North Coast

  This ride takes you along the northern coast of Sardegna with its wild rocky landscape of pink granite sculpted by the wind and rain. Stop off on the way for a visit to the la Maddalena national park in the archipelago of islands between Sardegna and Corsica.

  390 kilometres from Olbia to Alghero. Mainly on quiet roads. Easy-ish —some short climbs but nothing especially long or steep.

  Read more: Sardegna North Coast

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  Sardegna East Coast

  If you like the idea of combining mountains with beaches this may be for you. This route heads from the Cagliari on the southern coast through the beautiful Gennargentu mountains before returning to the coast. Take shoes you can hike in and visit the Gola di Gorropu —Europe’s deepest canyon.

  362 kilometres from Cagliari to Olbia. Mainly quiet roads. There’s a big climb in the middle, but overall this is pretty easy, but you could easily make it more challenging if you want.

  Read more: Sardegna East Coast

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  Sardegna West Coast

  A ride that combines some of the most dramatic scenery on the Sardegna coast, but also a chance to see some of the island’s history including the ancient sites of Barumini and Genna Maria and the heritage of the mining industry. The route takes in some of the island’s most inter­esting towns. Oh and don’t forget the beaches.

  546 kilometres from Alghero to Pula near Cagliari. Quiet roads. Moderately challenging: there are no really big climbs, but the plenty of smaller ones.

  Read more: Sardegna West Coast

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  Cycling the Lazio coast

  This tour takes you for 344 kilometres alone the coast of Lazio from the border with Toscana to the border with Campania. It takes in some of Italy’s some of the most important and inter­esting ancient sites, the Etruscan sites at Cerveteri and Tarquinia and the ancient Roman port city of Ostia Antica. The southern part of the coast, offers a long stretch of unspoilt coastline, for my money is one of the nicest parts of the Italian coast. The ride also takes in the atmospheric and historic towns of Terracina, Sperlonga, Gaeta and Minturno.

  Read more: Cycling the Lazio coast

Overview map

Click on the lines for links to the guide (links open in a new window).

  Map:  FT-map-Southern-Italy-overviewshow map in overlay    |  FT-map-Southern-Italy-overview  show map in new window