June 16 2022
On Sunday june 11 the US lifted its requirement for international travellers to show proof of a negative antigen test prior to boarding their international flights!! It will be in place for the next 90 days, and will be re-evaluated at that time.
This means you no longer have to take any type of test–antigen or PCR–before boarding your return flight to the US.
This is the news we’ve been waiting for since the start of the pandemic. Given how busy the season has been, and the overwhelming number of requests, many of you were booking travel regardless, and hoping for the best.
It’s an enormous relief not to have to worry about the possibility of testing positive and getting stuck in quarantine in Europe for a week or more.
In Italy from June 15 wearing the mask is mandatory only on public transportation (train and bus) & Hospitals – no more mandatory on plane.
May 10th 2022
Italy Drops Health Pass Requirement for Entering Restaurants, Museums
From May 1st wearing the mask is mandatory in few indoor places: train, bus, theatres & cinemas, Hospitals
Is no more mandatory in hotel, shops, bar, restaurants, museums
Never required outdoor.
Museum, public transportation are authorized to ask you certificate of vaccination.
Article from AFAR magazine
So far situation is under control ! we wait for you
March 10th 2022
Italy Relaxes COVID Entry Rules for All Travelers
Starting on March 1, we have joined other European countries that have recently dropped the pre-travel testing requirement for vaccinated travellers.
Fully vaccinated visitors – those who have received one or two doses within the past nine months or those who have received a booster shot – from any country are no longer required to supply a negative COVID test to enter our country.
Unvaccinated travellers can also enter Italy and are no longer required to quarantine that previously they had to do for five days. Anyway they will need to produce proof of recovery from COVID within the last 180 days or a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of departure for PCR and within 48 hours for rapid antigen tests.
Still any travellers to Italy must fill out a Passenger Locator Form before arriving in the country. Those who fail to do so will have to undergo a five-day quarantine before testing out.
We hope to improve more and more to welcome the spring and summer seasons.
Bookings are many for April and May and we keep going with our super relaxed cancellation policy
See you soon
February 2nd 2022
We agree with this recent newsletter form NYT “travelling after Omicron” dated January 28, we think travel landscape is quickly changing
As Tour operator we are seeing a sudden surge in demand and bookings!
For sure the idea the virus is becoming endemic help in planning a trip for this year
We are trying to propose the most relaxed booking terms, according with hotels cancellation policy and try to deal good terms.
The best advice is to purchase travel insurance – so if things change suddenly you get your money back – this has been always strongly suggested when you face an active vacation that involve cycling.
SEE YOU AROUND
January 12th 2022
Happy New Year
It’s hard to believe we are dealing with cancellations and closures yet again.
It is looking promising that the current Covid wave will pass by quickly and the rest of this year can still be redeemed.
Just as we have for the last two years, we will continue to believe to get to the other side of this.
We are feeling positive that your booked bike tour will be possible in 2022
Stay safe and keep cycling
December 5th 2021
Oh no, here we go again! we need to deal with this uncertainty.
We are reading details about the new variant Omicron, they are troubling.
Seems the most contagious version, and we do not know yet if immunity gained so far will protect.
We hope for the best, but for sure we have to think this uncertainty will be part of our lives and our plans.
Tourism business has started to rebound – from our side we started to run bikes tours since last august when border open completely to Us and Canada. It was wonderful to welcome you, guests!
We are receiving bookings for 2022, also scheduled tour dates are open.
so bookings are welcome and BE AWARE: We are not asking any booking deposit at this stage – we will wait to know will be possible to travel.
Let’s Be Hopeful and Strong
May 18th 2021
Italy open to american tourist
Starting May 16th United States no longer belongs to “Group E” group of Countries, and is now part of “Group D” which includes Countries from which entry to Italy is permitted without the need for a specific reason.
May 11th 2021
Italy currently has a range of COVID restrictions in place,
http://www.italia.it/en/useful-info/covid-19-updates-information-for-tourists.html
which include limitations on movement between regions, nightly curfews in parts of the country, at the moment only Sicily, Sardinia and Vall d’aosta, and mask requirements, with the entire country categorized into yellow, orange, red zones that further dictate how businesses can operate.
Museums and other cultural institutions are open on the weekends in yellow zones, actually all Italy except the 3 regions mentioned above, and outdoor dining with table service for a maximum of four households is permitted for lunch and dinner.
No red zones at the moment (red zone means a full lockdown with residents asked to leave home only for essential reasons)
Travel into Italy is restricted, though this is set to change in the weeks ahead, as prime minister Mario Draghi announced on May 4 that the country will soon open to travelers, with the creation of a health pass to be released by the middle of May—a month before the expected launch of the E.U. pass. The country has since announced that this pass would be available to travelers from outside of the E.U., likely to include Americans, Canadians
We are waiting for more details and how it would work the covid-19 green ertifications
We will keep update week by week.
Giuliana Mulas
May 6th 2021
Our prime Minister Draghi announced Italy will reopen to foreign tourists from Mid May
From the Guardian
‘Green pass’ will apply to travellers who have recovered from Covid, been vaccinated or tested negative
Italy will allow tourists to enter quarantine-free as soon as this month, the prime minister, Mario Draghi, has announced, saying the country is “ready to welcome back the world”.
Visitors who have had an EU-approved Covid-19 vaccine, recovered from the disease or tested negative 48 hours prior to travelling will be allowed entry without restrictions, a tourism ministry source said.
The new rules will apply to all countries apart from those on Italy’s travel restrictions blacklist, including Brazil and India.
Italy’s government is racing to save its summer tourism season to benefit an industry badly damaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Few countries are intertwined with tourism as Italy. The world longs to travel here,” Draghi, who was appointed prime minister in February, said after a meeting of G20 tourism ministers in Rome on Tuesday. “Our mountains, our beaches, our cities and our countryside are reopening. And this process will speed up in the coming weeks and months.”
The new rules will form part of Italy’s “green pass” while it waits for the EU’s equivalent, which is expected to begin in the second half of June. “From mid-May tourists can have the Italian pass … so the time has come to book your holidays to Italy,” Draghi said.
We are starting to believe will be possible travel in June 2021 – we will be ready.
Giuliana Mulas
June 15th 2020
Updates to Our Booking Policies, our safety & hygiene protocols, offer of small private groups tour
We want to inform that of course for the unpredictable and unprecedented times we canceled all our guided tour till end of June and postponed all self guided until end of July
Italy was under a strictly lock down and we open our bans on June 15th – but still we think is too early to be relaxed and confident. Us residente are not yet allowed, it is expected that these restriction will be lifted on July 1st.
ANYWAY WE ARE HER FOR YOU WHEN YOU feel is the right moment to plans you a cycling vacation.
In fact cycling, being outdoors and naturally socially distanced, is genetically safer than other types of activities and modes of travel right now.
We focus on biking in wide open beautiful spaces, far from crowds and more off the beaten path.
We plan to further reduce risk by being smart and modifying our operations.
First of all: we provide self guided and those trips are all private, so this will the strongly suggested way to travel for this fall and in 2021
Also we offer guided tour – for this summer we are capping our tours with a maximum group size of 4-8 guests
We will opt the outdoor spaces as much as possible.
We will make available hand sanitizers for our customers, in the van, at bike fitting meeting and during any guided day trip or tour.
Read more about the new Safety Rules & Terms
Cicloposse team
June 3rd
Traveling This fall – 2020
These are definitely unusual times, so unexpected and overwhelming,
we totally understand that travel is a personal decision, and many of us doesn’t feel safe and confident yet.
Be aware our self guided bike tours are very well–suited to the post covid-19 times.
First of all you are on your own with your beloved, your best friends or family,
our tours are in the countryside, we use mostly small hotels.
And of course we have the hygiene and safety protocol.
In case you want to cancel or postpone to next year or book a cycling vacation we are here to help you
Hear and See you soon
General manager, Giuliana Mulas
May 18
Re-open Phase
Dearest all
From Today Monday, May 18 we are allowed to open. Shops and restaurants across Italy are preparing to re-open under strict social distancing and hygiene rules, as recommended by health authorities.
But we can move only inside our region.
That means we keep going as before to be available by e-mail and telephone – we do not expect anyone coming at our workshop!
We are also preparing our hygiene protocol and sanitizing to be ready by June 3rd, when travel bans will be lifted between Italian regions and European Union countries.
A ban on travel and abroad will remain in place until after Italy’s June 2 Republic Day holiday, preventing any mass travel over that long holiday weekend.
So next update will be by June 3rd, in meantime we are getting in shape, cycling, sanitizing our workshop and our equipment, and scheduling tours departure for 2021!
Have a nice week
General manager, Giuliana Mulas
May 11
Phase two
After 8 weeks of strict lock down all over Italy, this week starting may 4th we are slowly coming back to open. Step by step, always monitoring the situation.
We are allowed to do outdoor exercise and cycling even if we have to stay in our region and keep social distancing. Nonetheless we are all overjoyed and grateful.
We know all of us can’t wait to travel again, but need more time to declare travel is safe and confident.
We can dream and be positive about future bike trips.
We have never stopped working on cycling adventures.
Thank to all of you who couldn’t come during these weeks and postponed the trips.
All booking for September and October are still valid – hopefully we will see you in the fall or next season.
Officially we can’t open – t we keep going in smart working to reply and stay connected with customers, preparing our hygiene protocol for future (e publish soon our vademecum)
Be safe & stay Human
Giuliana Mulas
April 9th
First of all we would like to wish all our customers and readers, their families and communities, a safe and healthy few months ahead as we all come to terms with the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
There is no escaping the events of the past few months and the measures we are now having to take to ensure the safety of us all.
We are proud how our country react fast to slowdown the virus spreading, the lock down and shelter in place are giving result. The big first result: is now a week we have less patients who need intense care unit. Italy starts to think to next phase, but it will be slow and we hope step by step under control.
We need to focus on staying positive and the riding & travelling will again be possible at some point – hopefully in the near future.
No space for predictions, it will depend on multiple factors.
We are a family business, and we can financially survive more than one year. Even if we passed 9/11 and economical crisis the COVID-19 ‘s impact is much greater.
We are grateful now we kept our business always small, because we wanted it, as a choice. This give us the resilience to get through these difficult times
We totally changed our cancellation policy
All tours in April and May have been cancelled and all tours booked in 2020 can be postponed till one week before with no penalties.
At the moment we have only some booking deposits – this deposit will be valid at least 2 years, is not personal and price of the tours will be honoured.
Be safe
Giuliana Mulas
March 18 2020
Since the last note, 4 days ago situation is changed quickly. Europe closed all borders and many countries are in lock down, included France and Spain our neighbours, definitely Europe is now the epicentre.
Plus, measures for containing the spread of COVID-19 are taken in many US states from Governors.
We are in touch in customers from all over the world, and thank for your kind words and sustain so far.
It is finally clear to the rest of the world this is not an Italy (or China) problem, BUT is a global one.
Entire Italy started Quarantine 9 days ago, we had only some red zones (isolated and in Quarantine) in north of Italy before.
To see results need to wait, experts say at least 2 weeks. There are some positive news: more people is recovered but spread is still going.
We encourage to check news and all info at WHO web site, Protect yourself
We are fully available, from our home, to reply to all your questions
Be safe
Giuliana
March 14 2020
Dears
in few days the situation changed a lot! WHO declare the Corona virus is pandemic and now the center is Europe. Other countries are taking measures as WHO strongly suggest. Anyway not lockdown like italy.
The impact of Virus goes far beyond the persons infected. For sure the hardest hit industries are travel and tourism and we are no exception.
Many of you have been very understanding so far, we are re-scheduling your tours.
this allow us to get through this period with minimal implications for our team and partners.
SPECIAL TERMS & CONDITIONS are applied until the end of this emergency.
As the situation is changing so fast be aware we can modify the travel plans accordingly.
Any of our self guided tours give freedom to choose departure date – without restrictions.
Booking deposit and any travel credit does not expire, if you feel more comfortable to not schedule now and think about next year.
Let’s see how the situation evolves.
AGAIN: we advise to follow reliable information from The Worl Health Organization and official government travel advisory for your destination.
We keep going to work and be ready for the coming summer, we are smart working from home!
Giuliana Mulas,
Founder & general Manager
March 11 2020
Hello dear Customers,
probably you know what’s happening in Italy, from March 9 we are under extraordinary lockdown, in all the country!
At least until 3 of April, and after we will see what happens.
So we shut down, and is not possible travel in Italy!
We couldn’t control this, in all Italy, mostly in the north where the virus is strong, hospitals are full and near to collapse, we have to respect the measures and be responsible for everyone.
We are working from home and reply to all customers, especially people booked for spring.
We are re-scheduling tours booked in april and may – because we do not know if will be possible.
We are monitoring corona virus outbreak in Italy and outside the world – we follow guidance from our government and from WHO
THE WORD HEALTH ORGANIZATION:
“Spread of the virus can be slowed and impact reduced through the use of universally applicable actions, such as working across society to identify people who are sick, bringing them to care, following up on contacts, preparing hospitals and clinics to manage a surge in patients, and training health workers.
Every effort to contain the virus and slow the spread saves lives. These efforts give health systems and all of society much needed time to prepare, and researchers more time to identify effective treatments and develop vaccines.
Allowing uncontrolled spread should not be a choice of any government, as it will harm not only the citizens of that country but affect other countries as well.
We must stop, contain, control, delay and reduce the impact of this virus at every opportunity. Every person has the capacity to contribute, to protect themselves, to protect others, whether in the home, the community, the healthcare system, the workplace or the transport system. “
We believe in what our country is doing despite the consequence in terms of economy.
Cicloposse team