Greece/Italy 2026

Day 1 – From Athens to Akrata

Bit late start as we had to wait for someone to come at 8 in apartment. Before leaving we checked Komoot route to get to Tavros station with the least amount of traffic. Pleasant streets and even more pleasant a cycle path, we rode it all the way even though Komoot suggested otherwise. Getting back on track was difficult because of heavy traffic at that stage but made it to Tavros station and are now waiting for train at 10.38, Peter went to find something to eat as we haven’t had brekkie.

After a very pleasant train ride, we made it to Kiato and immediately started following the Komoot plotted ride…very easy riding — albeit a bit hot but we soldered on.  Beautiful beaches along the way…we decided to stay in Akrata in Antonios Rooms, beachfront hotel hosted by a wonderful lady.

Day 2 – From Akrata to Selianitika

Fearful of being served “machine coffee” we headed to town to get a real coffee after doing our picnic shopping.  Perfect weather for riding, we headed off to more coastal rides with beautiful views.  Today’s ride was different as Komoot started guiding us via little towns instead of the main road, which is always welcome.  After Alikes there is a pedestrial pathway on street with zero pedestrians so it worked as our self-designated bike lane.  Stopped by Aigio to have a picnic lunch and then descended to Selianitika to Hotel Plaz, which is beachfront with awful internet. Late dinner at Maistreli Restaurant.

• Relive
• Strava

Day 3 – From Selianitika to Patras

Very easy day, we had a coffee at ‎⁨Psathopyrgos Beach⁩ and then just made our way back.  Not much in terms of sights until you get to ‎⁨Ανατολική Προβλήτα Ρίο⁩, which has lots of trendy cafes, bars – an area worth exploring instead of staying in Patras.  Got to Patras and noticed that Peter’s cough was sounding worse, we went to hospital and were given antibiotics.

About Days

After the ferry ride form Patras to Bari, one of our riders started feeling unwell…even though we missed the train because of the ferry’s crew inability to vacate the ferry efficiently, we still managed to get to Villa San Giovanni and then to Catania after many trains and transfers. We rested in Catania until we felt ready to resume, so unfortunately the following rides were missed:

• Catania to Siracusa / Ortigia.
• Siracusa to Avola to Noto.
• Noto to Ispica.

We did manage to get to Ispica by train as scheduled so we could continue the rest of the ride as planned.

Day 4 – Ispica to to Modica

After taking all drugs that would help us with our ailments, we started the ride slowly. Had a nice coffee in Ispica old town before heading out down some zig-zag mountains. The ride was pleasant, with a few uphills in the dry countryside but traffic generally good. Did not take long to arrive to Modica, or the “high-Modica” where we descended for quite a whole…easy to miss a turn and it’s somewhat daunting trying to juggle the narrow streets with oncoming mtorbikes/cars. We finally made it down to “low-Modica” where we had a chance for washing clothes, a nice walk around town and eventually a traditional Sicilian trattoria.

• Stava

Day 5 – Modica to Marina di Ragusa

We did not think this one would take long so we took our time in Modica and left around 10am without picnic stuff. The ride was easy, mostly downhill to Donnalucata, where it was basically riding next to the coast. Made our way to Marina, had a nice pre-dinner dink with a noice panino, dinner and then ready the next day as the ride to Ragusa would require a bit more effort.

• Strava

Day 7 – Ragusa to Gela

We made the huge mistake of plotting the ride with Bikemap (https://www.bikemap.net/) to plot this segment and it was a terrible mistake. We left Ragusa around 10am and went through an area closed to cars (not not bikes, right?) and had a nice ascent to eventually leave Ragusa. It then threw us on the worst possible path – a rocky and dangerous descent that we had to walk most of the way. A long day that could’ve been a lot more enjoyable if we had just used Komoot – live and learn.

Day 8 – Gela to Licata

We set off kinda late as this was only a 32Km ride. Easy way out of the town, mostly riding along the highway, which wasn’t unpleasant at all. Temperature was OK…a few detours through some paths with fewer cars (Peter had a flat, we fixed tube and replaced without major issues). Entry to Licata a bit hectic with lots of cars, but Italian drives generally very patient.