Compare Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia Cycling Tour by Tourissimo vs Antarctica + Polar Circle Quest by Alexander+Roberts

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 Ushuaia

On arrival, you’ll be escorted to the 5-star Arakur Resort & Spa.

: Day 2 - Into Tierra del Fuego and on to Our Ship

This morning’s guided tour explores the pristine forests, waterways and mountains of spectacular Tierra del Fuego National Park. Traveling all the way to Lapataia Bay, you’ll have a chance to observe indigenous species as you learn about the region’s unique geology, flora and fauna. Return to port and board the mv Ushuaia. Settle in to your cabin, meet your expedition staff of leaders, guides and lecturers, and get acquainted with our intimate Polar vessel as you set sail along the Beagle Channel   Meals B+D

: Day 3 - Crossing the Drake Passage

Named after the renowned explorer, Sir Francis Drake, who sailed these waters in 1578, the Drake Passage also marks the Antarctic Convergence, a biological barrier where cold polar water sinks beneath the warmer northern waters. This creates a great upwelling of nutrients, which sustains the biodiversity of this region. The Drake Passage also marks the northern limit of many Antarctic seabirds. As we sail across the passage, your expedition lecturers will be out with you on deck to help with the identification of an amazing variety of seabirds, including many albatrosses, which follow in our wake. The Ushuaia’s unique open bridge policy allows you to join the ship’s officers on the bridge and to learn about navigation, watch for whales, and enjoy the view. A full program of lectures will be offered as well. Meals B,L,D  [Note: The daily cruise program outlined here for Day 4 through Day 10 is a sample itinerary only - to give you a general sense of the highlights that will unfold on this cruise. The exact course of your sea voyage will be determined by the ship’s Captain and Expedition Leader on a day-by-day basis based upon local conditions. Likewise, the waters you explore and the islands you will actually visit depend upon these same weather and sea conditions. Although we can assure you of a once-in-a-lifetime voyage filled with unforgettable sightings, experiences and encounters, your safety is the paramount concern of the captain and the entire ship’s staff.]

: Day 4 - Continue through the Drake Passage

The first sightings of icebergs and snow-capped mountains indicate that we have reached the South Shetland Islands, a group of twenty islands and islets first sighted in February 1819 by Capt. William Smith. With favorable conditions during our crossing of the Drake Passage, our lecturers and naturalists will accompany you ashore as you experience your first encounter with Antarctic penguins and seals today. Meals B,L,D

: Day 5 - Along the Antarctic Peninsula

As we navigate along the Antarctic Peninsula’s western coast, you’ll likely experience the thrill and excitement that the early explorers must have felt! Exquisite beauty and pristine landscapes are waiting as you explore these remote southern waters. Myriad icebergs of different shades and shapes are floating free in the waterways around this vast continent. Over the coming days, you’ll have plenty of time to explore its amazing scenery and a wide variety of wildlife. Meals B,L,D

: Day 6 - Continuing along the Peninsula

Amazing scenery and wildlife abound and with good conditions, you’ll make at least two landings with our experienced naturalist staff. Apart from Adélie, Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins and many other seabirds, you are likely to encounter Weddell, crabeater, fur and leopard seals as well as Minke whales and orcas at close range! At this time of year it is also quite likely that over the next few days you’ll encounter big cetaceans such as humpback, Finn and Sei whales. Meals B,L,D

: Day 7 - More Discoveries in the Antarctic

Depending upon sea and ice conditions, we navigate some of the most beautiful waterways of the Southern Hemisphere: the Gerlache Strait, the Neumayer Channel and the Lemaire Channel – a narrow passage between towering rock faces and spectacular glaciers. As conditions permit, you’ll continue to make two landings per day – always with our experienced naturalist staff. Possible landing sites include Paradise Bay, on the Continent itself and one of the most aptly named places on earth, Cuverville Island (home to the biggest Gentoo penguin colony in the region) and the British Museum and Post Office at Port Lockroy. Meals B,L,D

: Day 8 - Deeper into these Southern Polar Waters

Depending upon sea and ice conditions, we navigate some of the most beautiful waterways of the Southern Hemisphere: the Gerlache Strait, the Neumayer Channel and the Lemaire Channel – a narrow passage between towering rock faces and spectacular glaciers. As conditions permit, you’ll continue to make two landings per day – always with our experienced naturalist staff. Possible landing sites include Paradise Bay, on the Continent itself and one of the most aptly named places on earth, Cuverville Island (home to the biggest Gentoo penguin colony in the region) and the British Museum and Post Office at Port Lockroy. Meals B,L,D

: Day 9 - The South Shetland Islands

As we begin our return voyage northward, we plan to explore the South Shetland Islands. The volcanic island group is a haven for wildlife. Vast penguin rookeries and seals hauling out on the shorelines make every day spent here unforgettable. Sailing through the narrow passage into the flooded caldera of Deception Island is truly amazing, so is visiting the crescent shaped island Half Moon, home to Chinstrap Penguins in breathtaking surroundings. Meals B,L,D

: Day 10 - Another Day in the South Shetlands

Enjoy another day of informative briefings from your naturalist guides, visits to the Bridge and shore landings as sea and weather conditions permit. Meals B,L,D

: Day 11 - Northward across the Drake Passage

Having left the Antarctic Peninsula behind us the night before, today finds the mv Ushuaia heading northward across the Drake Passage. Join our naturalists on deck or head to the bridge with the officers. Either way, keep your senses tuned for seabirds and whales.  Meals B+L+D

: Day 12 - Cruising toward South America

Take advantage of this full day onboard to enjoy our final lectures and maybe another visit to the bridge. This evening’s congenial dinner offers a chance to share your experiences with your fellow passengers.  Meals B+L+D

: Day 13 - Disembark + Explore Ushuaia

Step off in Ushuaia for your transfer to the airport for your onward journey.  Meals B