Compare Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia Cycling Tour by Tourissimo vs UAE: The 7 Emirates by Great Value Vacations
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| Trip |
5 | Excellent
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4 | Great
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| Duration | 8 days | 7 days |
| Price From | $ 4,195 | $ 1,739 |
| Price Per Day | $ 524 | $ 248 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Group tour | Group tour |
| Lodging Level | Standard | Standard |
| Physical Level |
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| Travel Themes |
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| Countries Visited | ||
| Cities and Attractions |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Airfare included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included |
7 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches and 6 Dinners |
N/A |
| Description |
Historic and scenic riding among vineyards, mountains, and lakes. There’s a lot of history involved in this cycling and multi-sport tour, with a focus on the years during and between the two World Wars. The itinerary also echoes the Mitteleuropean past of the area (on both sides of the boarder), when it was under the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled by the Habsburg family, a real crossroads between cultures. Our visit to the WWI Museum in Caporetto-Kobarid is the best way to get to know the history and the geography of these two regions. |
This is an escorted tour. It’s perfect if you prefer not to do your own driving and want to see as many sights as you can during your vacation.
Your escorted trip begins in the glitzy city of Dubai, home to the Burj Khalifa, Gold Souk, Dubai Mall and so much more. Enjoy a half-day city tour before heading outside the city on a desert safari adventure! You'll then travel by coach to the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi. Stroll the beautiful grounds of Sheikh Zayed Mosque and tour the Formula 1 racetrack on a city tour as you take in this stunning city. From Abu Dhabi, enjoy a full-day tour of Al Ain, an oasis city filled with beautiful relics of the past. Your next adventure takes you to Sharjah, the cultural capital of the UAE that's home to countless grand mosques and colorful souks where you can pick up unique souvenirs. Your final day is spent in the "Norway of Arabia," the Musandam Peninsula in Oman. Helpful links for travel to the UAE: |
Day 1: Grado - Aquileia
Meals: Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Villa Bernt
Terrain: Flat
Ride: 13 mi or 22 km
A private shuttle will take you to our hotel on an island-village on the Adriatic. Grado is Friuli’s lagoon city, a town with 1600 years of history, which can still be experienced by strolling the calli (streets) of the ancient city center. Grado was the first port of entry for ships headed upstream to nearby Aquileia, a powerful Roman city on the river Natisone.
After some lunch and presentations, we ride inland to Aquileia. The colony was founded in 180BC and served as a strategic frontier fortress at the northeast corner of Transpadane (on the far side of the Po river) Italy.
Back at the hotel, you will receive an overview of the tour program followed by dinner.
Day 2: Collio Hills
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: La Subida
Terrain: Rolling
Ride: 30 mi or 48 km
After fine tuning our bikes some more, we ride along the Natisone river and we reach Gorizia for a short visit and some lunch. Once a favorite spot of the Hapsburg nobility, since 1947 Gorizia has been split in two, with Nova Gorica developing on the other side of the Italian–Slovenian border. We are in the dramatic Carso area with its limestone formations, grottoes, and underground rivers. La Subida is a charming country hotel and the hospitality of the Sirk family is legendary. Tonight, we will have dinner at l'Osteria, which is part of the La Subida Estate. La Subida is a place that makes our guests feel at home and relaxed. It's unique.
Day 3: Cividale Loop
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Accommodation: La Subida
Terrain: Hilly
Ride: 28 mi or 45 km
Today's ride leads us northward to Cividale del Friuli (UNESCO site). We will be pedaling through the Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli wine area for about 30 mls of easy and rolling terrain. Cividale del Friuli will be our lunch stop and then we will head back to La Subida from a different road. Before reaching the hotel, we will stop at a local winery for lunch and wine tasting. The family-owned Grillo winery is in the center of the Schioppettino wine production (very rare and hard to find anywhere else in Italy). Relax back at La Subida before dinner.
Day 4: Bovec
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Alp
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Ride: 46 mi or 74 km (shorter option available)
Today's ride takes us out of Friuli, heading northeast to the border of Slovenia. We will notice the landscape changing as we ride through the lowest mountain pass of the Alps, a long, easy smooth climb that takes us to the former border between Italy and Slovenia. Entering Slovenia we will find ourselves in a lush, green landscape with the typical vegetation of a mountain region, with rivers, waterfalls, and forests. Silence and very few cars make this and the next rides heavenly. Our lunch stop is in Caporetto/Kobarid and we have planned a visit to the WWI museum, a small but very complete and interesting house where the people from Caporetto have collected pictures and objects through which they tell the history of WWI as it was lived by the soldiers and civilians in that valley where we bike during our tour. In the afternoon we cruise to Bovec following the Soča river valley. You'll have time to explore Bovec on your own ant to enjoy a cold beer while watching the sunset behind the high mountains that surround the valley where Bovec is nestled. A short walk to the center of Bovec and we will find our dinner table ready at a local Gostilna, a simple, typical ‘trattoria’ style restaurant where we can enjoy our Slovenian meal.
Day 5: Bovec
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Alp
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Ride: 23 mi or 37 km
Bovec is known as the adventure capital of Slovenia, and we have a full day here to rest and enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities: kayaking, rafting, canoeing, paragliding, mountain biking, hiking and more. Kayaking in the emerald waters of the Soca River while immersed in the landscape of high peaks, forest and waterfalls is an unforgettable experience not to be missed. For those who like hiking there are some interesting trails with historical traces of WWI and WWII just outside of Bovec, with a war cemetery, two old forts and some bunkers and tunnels dating back to the Napoleon era and WWI. A bike ride will also be available if you want to explore the countryside up to the edge of Triglav National Park, in a remote little valley where only sheep and cows are witnesses to our slow-paced ride through paradise. Dinner is on your own.
Day 6: Fusine Lake to Bled
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Astoria Bled
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Ride: 37 mi or 59 km
Today we’ll go across the Alps to reach Tarvisio, a town on the border where Italy, Austria and Slovenia meet. A bus will shuttle us and our bikes over a mountain pass and down to the enchanting Fusine lakes where an easy and flat bike path starts. We’ll follow the bike path along the valley, once again immersed in a beautiful forest and with mountains all around us. Past the town of Kranjska Gora we’ll leave the main path and enter a secondary valley, now riding on an unpaved (but smooth) bike path. This valley, the Radovna Valley, is the most beautiful, magical and enchanting place of the whole tour. Streams, small waterfalls, tall trees, water mills, a few old farmhouses and some cows are what we will see during the almost 10km of riding in this heavenly valley. Once we leave the valley we will be very close to Bled and if time and weather permit we can take a detour to admire the Vintgar Gorge, a canyon carved by the Vintgar River. A boardwalk runs along the gorge and from there we can view waterfalls and rapids.
Bled is our final destination today. We’ll bike along the lakeshore to reach Hotel Astoria in the center of Bled. Dinner will be at a castle overlooking Lake Bled. If time allows it, you can visit the interesting museum inside the Bled Castle.
Day 7: Ljubljana
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: Allegro Garni Hotel
Ride: None
Today we’ll transfer by private bus (about 1 hr) to Ljubljana. Upon arriving, you will have a guided visit of the town center of this UNESCO-recognized gem. You will have some free time in the afternoon to explore on your own and to do some shopping. We will enjoy our final dinner at one of the finest restaurants in town.
Day 8: Ljubljana
Meals: Breakfast
Terrain: Departure
Ride: None
After breakfast, we’ll provide a transfer to the Ljubljana airport.
Day 1 Welcome to Dubai!
Say hello to the glamorous city of Dubai! Arrive at Dubai Airport, and meet with a representative, ready to help you navigate your way to your airport transfer. Once settled in, celebrate your first night in the United Arab Emirates by sampling a staple dish; indulge in a serving of iconic shawarma or perhaps something more exotic like camel.
Day 2 Dubai
Today is packed with culture and natural wonders. Embark on your city tour today, then enjoy a thrilling adventure to the Arabian Desert.
Day 3 Dubai - Abu Dhabi
Say goodbye to Dubai for now as you transfer to Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. Enjoy a comprehensive half-day tour taking you to the city's iconic sights like the Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
Day 4 Abu Dhabi - Al Ain
This morning, visit a unique Camel leather tannery factory. It is the first tannery to produce an exclusive range of leathers tanned using the most advanced environmentally friendly technologies, guaranteed metal-free, sustainable and biodegradable. Unlike traditional leathers universally produced with synthetic oils to gain their required softness, the natural oils used in the process consist of vegetable sustainable extracts. After, continue to Al Ain, known as the "Garden City of the Gulf." The birthplace of the United Arab Emirates' founder Sheikh Zayed was once a vital stop on the caravan route between Oman and the Gulf. At the end of the afternoon, you'll check into your hotel, eat a delicious dinner, and stay overnight.
Day 5 Al Ain - Sharjah - Dubai
In the morning, embark on a half-day tour to Sharjah, the cultural capital of the UAE. Visit mosques, a heritage museum, and two colorful souks! You'll end your day back in Dubai.
Day 6 Dubai - Fujairah (Dibba) - Musandam Cruise (Oman) - Dubai
Leave the United Arab Emirates for a day as you travel to the Musandam Peninsula in Oman. Known as the "Norway of the Arabia," Musandam is filled with fjord-like inlets, pebble beaches and sheltered bays.
Day 7 Depart United Arab Emirates
Your Emirates vacation ends today. Spend the morning at leisure before transferring to the Dubai airport for your flight home.
