1) What is the
difference between a guided and a self guided tour?
In the guided tour
you get a professional motorcycle guide that will always be present
through out the tour duration.
You will be able to follow a rider
with local knowledge and bilingual skills. He will also give you
insights on local culture and history. And will be able to judge
possible ride extentions or short cuts depending on weather and group
riding skills
Your luggage will be transferred
for you in the support vehicle from hotel to
hotel and the first dinner in every new town will be included in the tour
price unless specified otherwise.
Another amazing
advantage of our guided tours is the possibility of meeting new
motorcycling friends from all over the world. It makes a big difference
in sharing a trip with like minded riders even if you live thousands of
miles apart.
On a self guided tour
you will have to transport your belongings on the bike, no dinners are
included. You will have the same itinerary and maps as on the guided
tour, but essentially you will be riding on your own. If you like your
independance whilst riding this could be an excellent way to travel,
especially if you don't have the time to research where you want to ride
2) How do I reserve
a place on one of your tours?
send an email to
tours@cimt.it
asking for availability of places on any tour of your interest,
indicating your motorcycle of choice and tour date. you can choose from
the bikes listed in the rental section. CIMT will get back
to you with the requested information.
3) What type of
hotels do you use?
our aim is give you an
intense flavour of Italy, real Italy. We have chosen small 3/4 star
family run hotels, which offer comfort, friendliness and a welcoming
atmosphere. Something which is lacking in the big chain hotels. Usually
we stay in the centre of towns, so that in the evening you can sample
Italian nightlife by strolling around town.
4) What level riding
ability do I need to have to take part in your tours?
Italy is a great place
to ride, but not a place to learn to ride. We are NOT looking for fast
riders, but confident riders. You need to be able to ride any type of
turn with a touring bike, including tight switchbacks.
5) Should I be
concerned about traffic? We hear that drivers in Italy are crazy.
Traffic is hectic in
busy towns such as Rome, Naples, Florence and Milan. Cars, motorcycles
and especially scooters dive for any available space in the queue.
Although this can be quite unsettling for riders used to more
disciplined traffic conditions, it should not terrorise you. If you
don't let the madness get to you, you will sail through it chuckling to
yourself, amazed by some of the stunts you'll witness.
However, on tours, you won't have to deal with such madness. The tours
keep away from these busy cities and the traffic outside of town on the
back roads is absolutely fine.
When the tours leave and come back out of Rome, Milan or Catania, we do
it on days and at times that have very low traffic levels.
6) What is the
timing for booking and paying?
Upon reserving a place
on a tour you will be charged 10% of the total cost of the tour
you have booked.
60 days prior to tour start, CIMT will know if the tour has minimum
participants.
If yes, the balance of the total is due 30 days prior to tour
start.
If the tour has not reached minimum numbers of participants, CIMT will
inform all riders who have reserved a place on the tour and offer the
following possibilities:
a) cancel tour and refund booking fee
b) run the tour self guided at self guided prices
c) offer a semi-guided tour. This means that a motorcycle guide will
ride with you for the first few days and then let you ride the last few
days self-guided
7) What if I have to
cancel?
If you decide to cancel the tour for whatever reason, not depending by
CIMT, the rider will have the following penalties:
a) up to 60 days - 30% loss,
but credit held for other tour.
b) between 60 and 30 days - 30% loss
c) after 30 days - 100% payment, but 30% credit for another tour before
the end of the following season (i.e. booked and cancelled in 2009, use
credit by end season 2010).
8) What happens if
we have a fault with the rented motorcycle during the tour?
During a guided tour
there is a support vehicle and a guide which will
offer all the help you need to get the bike going again. If the bike has
a terminal fault, you will be able to take the motorcycle guide's bike to
continue the tour, until yours isn't repaired.
Let us stress here that motorcycles used by CIMT are recent bikes which
are meticulously maintained by official brand dealerships, and have an
unblemished track record.
9) What happens if I
crash?
If during the tour, God
forbid, you crash the rented
motorcycle, the support vehicle and the guide will do all that is
possible to get the bike going again. In the event that this is not
possible, you can continue the tour on the support vehicle or interrupt
the tour. In this instance, no refunds to missed tour days will be
given.
We'd like to stress the fact here that our motorcycle tours
are not races. You are here to tour not to do a road race, so there will
be a high attention on safety first, without obviously spoiling the
ride.
The guide on tour has the authority to take a rented motorcycle off
the hands of any participant, who is clearly endangering himself and
other tour members.
10) Do I need to wear
a helmet or other protections?
Helmets are mandatory
in Italy. It is essential that you bring one with you. CIMT does not
supply helmets for two reasons:
a) we can't cover every size.
b) for
your own safety and comfort use one that you are familiar with (nothing
worse than a tight and smelly helmet - nothing more dangerous than a loose one).
CIMT also strongly recommends you to ride with motorcycle boots, jackets
with armour and gloves. Touring bikes are heavy. Even a drop in the car
park could prevent you from continuing your ride. Imagine a bruised
elbow or a swollen ankle.
11) What if I need
medical assistance?
Italy has a huge
motorcycle and scooter community (2 million only in Rome out of 5
million people) and statistically there are many
motorcycle accidents, no more than in any other countries in proportion
to motorcycle numbers. Emergency medical staff throughout Italy are very
well trained to cope with this kind of situations. If, and God forbid,
this is the case you will be transported to the nearest hospital and
treated accordingly. The bike will be taken care of by CIMT staff.
Medical Insurance is strongly recommended. CIMT does not cater for this,
you should source independently.
First aid is guaranteed to anyone, even helicopter transportation.
