AlpPack’Elba
Was Napoleon a mountain biker?! Why? Because he loved Elba too, despite being a prisoner here, and we totally agree – the 1000 vertical metres of endless and incredibly varied summit to sea singletrack here is absolutely off the chart.
A bit more type 1 fun than our point-to-point trips. Are you looking for the perfect spring/autumn adventure? The AlpPack’Elba is the perfect way to book-end your riding season with great trails, incredible food, a touch of luxury and stunning beaches at the bottom of every ride.
AlpPack’Elba – The route
The AlpPack’Elba mountain bike tour starts off on the Italian mainland, riding the intricate network of oak-shrouded trails above Piombino. We could easily spend the whole trip here just riding fantastic trail after fantastic trail but Elba is calling! So, a short ferry from the mainland and we arrive at our beachside 4* Hotel – this isn’t bikepacking 😉
Mediterranean singletrack bliss
We spend the rest of the week exploring the insanely varied trails, culture and history of this Mediterranean gem. By finishing every day back on the beach tired, happy and ready for an Aperol as the sun sets over the mountains and the sea, this is a mountain bike trip you’ll want to come back to.
The AlpPack’Elba is the perfect way to bookend your riding season, either starting with a bang on one of our spring trips or seeing off the summer in style on one of our autumn breaks. Book your perfect week of Mediterranean singletrack bliss now.
Trip Flavour
Insane trails, all leading to the sea!
Explore this hidden Mediterranean gem, a mini-continent of singletrack bliss.
What makes it so unique?
- Every trail finishes at the beach – it’s nuts!
- The scenery is just breath taking. Sea views to both sides of you, singletrack snaking off into the distance… Perfection.
- Explore every inch of this incredibly varied Mediterranean mini-continent.
- With full vehicle support and 1000-2500m daily uplifts with the world’s most professional guides.
- What’s better than Italian cuisine? Elba cuisine!! Seafood aplenty for the fans, a million other specialities for everyone.
- Geological shifts! The variety here is incredible and it’s not uncommon for a trail to shift entire bedrock types part way down, totally changing the nature of the riding. We love it!!
- Beaches! Beach holidays suck, unless you ride mountain bikes straight to them 😉
- Cultural immersion – from roman ruins through to the iron mines that operated for 3000 years until the 1980s. The history resonates through the trails.
That’s the AlpPack’Elba
and it’s a trip like no other.
At a glance
- Duration – 7 nights, 8 days
- 2 centre – 2 nights on the mainland, 5 nights on Elba
- Skill level – Advanced intermediate+ (Red and above on ITRS)
- Physical level – Intermediate+ (Blue and above on ITRS)
- E-bike friendly? Yes, very much so!
Our 2025 Trip Dates
Trip Date
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October 11-18th
Trip Date
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October 18-25th
Trip Details
- Cost – €2395
- Trip includes – Guiding, van uplifts, ferry to Elba, transport, breakfast, picnic lunches, evening meals, drinks from the van drinks cooler
- Not included – drinks at bars/restaurants, any restaurant/trattoria lunches, gelato 😉
- Airport: Pisa (we help organise car sharing)
Core memories:
- Sea views to BOTH sides of you as you ride the best trails of your life
- Almost every trail finishes at the coast!
- Italian cuisine!!
- Exploring a unique Mediterranean Island as varied as an entire continent
- GELATO!!
- ESPRESSO!!
How does the AlpPack’Elba compare to our other trips?
A bit more type 1 fun: We still pedal, obvs. It’s more that with all the beaches, great food, gelato and so on, this is one trip that your non-cycling friends might actually think sounds fun 😉
Core workout: Get your pilates/cross fit/ gym bunny mode engaged! The trails are technical and require a good amount of upper body conditioning. There are a lot of step downs, slabs and (rollable) drops so get your arms and core ready for this one!
E-bike friendly: This is ideal e-bike territory. You don’t need one but mixed groups work super well here.
The AlpPack’Elba is designed to be physically more accessible and is built around more type 1 fun – less climbing and carrying, e-bike friendly, higher spec accommodation and 2 bases for the whole trip, whilst still optimising the mythical journey narrative that have made our AlpPackers world famous.
A typical day on the AlpPack’Elba starts with a cappuccino and breakfast on the hotel terrace as the rising sun starts to warm your skin.
Today we’re off to explore the western extremity of the island, below the towering summit of Monte Capanne. This end of the island is mostly grippy granite with flowing, loamy forest sections. As ever, the backdrop down to the coast is just breath taking.
We’ll be uplifting 3-4 times today, each time picking up about 600m. This gives us flexibility to tune the experience to each guest. Feeling tired? No worries! maybe ride the first trail and then take a beach pause, grab a gelato AND an espresso 😉 and chill out for the middle trail of the day before joining the afternoon loop with a sunset ride to another incredible beach. Life IS hard!
From the drop off, we have a sneaky singletrack ‘traverse’, which means ‘climb’ in any other language. 20 minutes of huffing and puffing later, we arrive at an ancient stone shepherd’s shelter just below the Monte Perone. The trail leads away across the mountainside, calling us forwards.
Our route truly has everything. Not just the trails either – we ride past more shepherd’s huts, some of them several centuries old, a bronze age cave dwelling and the remains of a Roman granite quarry, replete with a fallen column. The tangible history here comes in layers, all interlaced and woven back into the fabric of everyday life and the trails we ride.
Rolling onto the beach 2 hours later, it’s hard to comprehend the sheer variety and monumental awesomeness of what we’ve just ridden. What a morning! No time to waste though – a quick espresso from the beach side café and it’s back into the van and up into the mountains once more.
It’s a slightly more technical route this time – a couple of riders are chilling on the beach so we’re taking a slightly more direct line down to meet them. It’s SO physical! Rock slab rollovers, rooty step-downs and loamy turns in the forest sections. Buzzing, we burst out back onto the coast an hour later into a frenzy of high fives and hugs. How will this day get any better?
Well, more trails might do the trick 😉 An afternoon uplift back towards the middle of the island leave us with a climb and a ridge line ride, flanked on both sides by views down to the sea. We arrive at the start of our main descent just as the late-afternoon light gets to official golden-hour status. It’s pretty hard not to take great photos here.
This route is a big party train of a ride – everyone whooping and yelling as we wind, flow and drop back down towards sea level. By the time we hit our umpteenth incredible beach of the week, the sun is just a few degrees above the horizon, warming us as we slip into swimming gear and suck in the salty air before running full tilt into the water.
We finish the day sitting on the beach, watching the sun set over the sea horizon as we open a cold beer. This feels suspiciously like a holiday.
FAQs
This handy collection of boxes should answer most of your questions – if not please get in touch to chat to us or even book a call back from our head guide Sam
What bike to bring?
Any modern trail/enduro bike will be great. The main thing is to make sure the bike is well serviced before you come and to fit suitable tyres. There will be specific tyre advice when you book – the Alps deserve a reinforced sidewall, so do you!
Can I rent a bike?
Absolutely. Just contact us during your booking and we’ll set a bike aside for you. When you arrive we’ll help set it up, adjust shock pressures and make double sure the brakes are the right way around depending on where you’ve come from!
What should I pack for my trip?
We made this handy video for how to pack light. You don’t need to go as far as us but it should help keep your bag size manageable for you.
Is this trip e-bike friendly?
Very much so, yes.
Do I need insurance?
Yes, 100%. You need insurance to cover you for medical emergencies, trip cancellation and we also advise some bike cover in case of damage/loss. You can book great, cycling specific cover through Yellow Jersey and get a 10% discount using the code BVillage10
How hard is the trip?
Fitness-wise the AlpPack’Elba is quite accessible – the main traits you need are good core strength and good technical skills. On the International Trail Rating System (ITRS) you would need a physical level of Blue or above and technically you should also be at red level or above (except jumping – these are natural trails so the aren’t really many shaped jumps). If you have any questions then why not book in a chat with us to talk it over.
What if the weather is bad?
We’ll have a ball anyway! Usual weather is sunny and warm but not too hot, mid 20°s/70°s.
This is the mountains though so we need to be prepared for the weather. Our guides monitor the weather endlessly and we’re always adapting our plans to make the most of the conditions. We’ve never missed and awesome day of riding yet.
Our packing video details the clothes that you should bring to maximise your fun on the trails.
How do I prepare for the trip?
Don’t stress! You have a job, a life and a million other commitments. Just ride your bike.
That said, a trip can be a great motivator to get out and do more. We have a video in the pipeline but, until then, here are a few tips:
- Regular and often: ride to the shops, ride to work, ride for 20 minutes. The more days in the week your bum hits a saddle, the better.
- Core strength: Zwift wont help you punch your bike through rock gardens! You can build core strength in lots of ways but our favourite is probably indoor climbing – it’s fun, sociable, winter-proof and works every muscle group we need for biking including grip strength. Get climbing!
- Enter an event: pick a fun but challenging event about a month before your trip. It’ll help motivate you and also leave you relaxed before your trip.
It could be biking but running is also fine. - Don’t stress!! We’ll say it again – you could always be fitter and stronger. That’s why you need a holiday. You’ll be fine.
How many people will be on my trip?
There’ll be a maximum of 7 riders plus your guide and driver. Sometimes we double the fun with a second set of riders + guide. This makes for a great atmosphere either way – a shared journey is best shared with good company.
Can I make this tour private?
Absolutely, just contact us to book a whole tour for your group.
What is the accommodation like?
Very nice indeed! It’s a 2 centre trip staying at a lovely dedicated mountainbike hotel on the mainland before heading over to a gorgeous hotel on Elba set just a short walk from the beach. And the food, it’s soooo good!
There are some great tips in our packing video on how to get a good night’s sleep on the road.
How should I get to/from the trip?
When you book we’ll send arrival and departure information. You can come by plane, car or train.
By plane you’ll fly into and out of Pisa airport, where we can collect/drop you.
By car we’ll send you details of where to park and also help you to arrange car sharing with any other riders.
By train we’ll pick you up from Pisa station and drop you back there after the trip. Train pickups are free – it’s a small gesture to encourage sustainable transport methods.
We’ll send more specific details when you book.