With a glimmer of hope on the horizon, we’re all yearning for adventure, but hoping to avoid the crowds. For safe, post-pandemic travel, kayaking options in Italy are more varied than ever.
“Try as I might,” a friend of a friend told me not long ago, “I just can’t find any information on kayaking in Italy.”
“Have you got a laptop?” I asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“Try turning it on.”
The information is there to be had, and it’s not at all difficult to find. Many Italian kayaking groups and associations have been energetically reaching out beyond national borders for years, and most especially to would-be adventure holiday-makers from the UK.
You’ll find options that run up and down the entire peninsula, from Venice to Vesuvius, from the Lake District to the Aeolian Islands of Sicily. It all depends on what you’ve got in mind.
Lake kayaking
The most accessible form is lake kayaking. Some of the most popular spots are easy to get to and near places where many people go anyway. From Milan, the drive to Lake Garda is about 140 km, Lake Maggiore is not quite 90 km away, and the southern tip of Lake Como is a mere 50 km distant. All of these offer kayaking options, both independent and with guided groups. This kind of activity is ideal for those who are up for a bit of adventure without risking a panic attack. Paddling across the pristine still waters of these mountain lakes, you’ll be surrounded by tiny towns, heavenly spas, glamorous hotels, cosy B&Bs, and dining options that range from the public park picnic to elegant affairs in Michelin-starred restaurants.
If Rome is where you’re headed, nearby Lake Albano (35 km) offers the same sort of kayaking activity in a more rustic setting. Tucked away amid the hill country to the southeast of the Eternal City, the lip of this volcanic lake is ringed with medieval towns, the most famous of which, Castel Gandolfo, has been a papal retreat for several centuries.
Whether in the Lake District up north or in the central region of Lazio where Rome is located, these sorts of excursions are easy day trips. You can leave the city in the morning, do your paddling, have a fantastic lakeside lunch, and still be back to your hotel in town with enough time to shower, nap, and head out for aperitivo.
In Venice, you can explore the floating city’s famous canals, admiring Renaissance palaces and Baroque churches along the way. These canal kayaking excursions are even less demanding than the lake variety, travelling at a slow pace, with most lasting about an hour and a half.
River Kayaking
The options for river kayaking abound, in the north of Italy in particular, though they often take 2-3 days. You can follow the watery paths of the Mincio River to Mantua, the Sile River from the mountains to Treviso, or even mixed activities over a week including a walking tour of the university city of Padua, trekking in Cortina d’Ampezzo, and rafting down the Brenta River.
Sea Kayak in Italy
This variety is perhaps the most breath-taking of all. While perfectly safe, there is a thrill to paddling cutting through the green-blue waters of the Adriatic or Tyrrhenian Seas. The lakes are lovely, the rivers and removed, but skirting the coasts of this peninsula, as emperors and emirs, princesses, popes and pirates have done for millennia, gives you a visceral connection to the very heart of Western Civilisation. The discovery of natural drama – secret coves, pebbled shores, forbidding cliffs, and sandy shoals cradling shallow pools teeming with marine life – is something that simply cannot be matched by other forms of kayaking.
Though still much less practiced than the river and especially the very popular lake varieties of the sport, sea kayaking has been growing over the last several years, most famously along the Amalfi coast. There are experiences on offer for paddlers of all levels, and options for both independent and small group guided excursions. These can run from about half a day to several days long
Safety and Such…
All associations offer introductory instructions for first-time or inexperienced paddlers. Guides are required by law to be certified professionals. As we begin to see a light at the end of this long Covid-19 tunnel, we here in Italy are eager to welcome international visitors for the first time in over a year. But we want them to feel safe, just as we want to keep ourselves and our families safe. You will want to ask about this when you choose someone to book with, but generally speaking, group sizes will be even more restricted than before, and they already tended to be fairly small.
That said, keep in mind that places that may come to mind first are likely to be the same places that come to mind for everyone interested in kayaking in Italy. The Lake District is popular with Italians and other Europeans as well, so there are always a lot of people about. And you can imagine what Venice is like in the summer.
Away from the Maddening Crowd
One of the best ways to keep safe is to avoid those places, at least for now. Luckily there are plenty of out-of-the-way places to go kayaking as well. In the north, you might consider meandering lazily down the Ticino River to the southeast of Milan. You’ll need to hire and haul your own boat, but this is the anti-tourist activity, with nearly no buildings in site for a nearly 15km-stretch between Vigevano and Ponte delle Chiatte, a spot near the town of Bereguardo. The friend of a friend who had been having difficulty finding kayaking options ended up doing this. It required 3 people and two cars, one of which was capable of transporting all 3 people and all 3 kayaks. The kayaks and one person were left at Vigevano whilst the other two people, each one with a car, drove down to Ponte delle Chiatte, and left the big car there. Then both people drove back up to Vigevano in the other car, to join the person they had left with the kayaks. Then kayaks in the river, people in kayaks, people laughing in kayaks, people tipping over in kayaks, other people laughing at people tipping over in kayaks, etc. etc. etc… And thence to Ponte delle Chiatte, where they hauled the kayaks out of the river and up onto the vehicle that had been left there, and drove back up to Vigevano to retrieve the other car.
“Was it worth the hassle?” I asked.
Her reply? “We’re going again next weekend.”
For sea kayaking options, as tempting as Amalfi may be, it’s probably best to explore other options, such as those you’ll find at San Benedetto del Tronto and Grottamare, ,about halfway between Venice and Bari on the Adriatic coast. There’s also Sardinia, with groups plying their trade all around the island.
A Piece of Paradise
If pressed to name our favourite, though, it would be taking to the seas around the Aeolian Islands off the northern coast of Sicily. Capable of catering to green novices and experienced adventurers alike, the groups based here provide exceptionally personalised service. It’s what they’re used to. This is worlds away from the overpopulated (and often overpriced) places that kayakers have been pouring into for decades.
Your meanderings will take you through cobalt waters to explore a coastline dotted with isolated lighthouses, medieval churches, and tight-knit communities of fishing villages. You’ll hear the songs and cries of the islands’ native gulls and falcons, sparrows and goldfinches. The waters themselves are home to dozens of species of fish, and you may even spot dolphins leaping and flipping at play.
There is a sense of timelessness and exclusivity, leaving you wondering if you are the first visitors in centuries to have discovered this enchanting haven.
Here you conjure old gods and connect with History, the kind with the capital H, as you plunge into caves that pierce the rocky shores, as you dip your hand beneath the glassy surface and wonder what Neptune has done to make the water suddenly hot to the touch.
Here it has not been difficult for the people guiding, hosting, and feeding you to adjust to the pandemic requirements of distancing, since there is so much space and no crowds ever in sight.
Here it feels more like you’re visiting family you’ve never met but will now never forget. Live игры Вавада для знатоков живых настолок — покер, баккара и рулетка от Vavada максимально приближены к реальности. Общайтесь с дилером, другими гостями и наслаждайтесь качественной трансляцией от лучших провайдеров
We all need to get away once in a while, and perhaps now more than ever. Take this trip. You’ve earned it.
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