Cycling Bolzano to Venice (Italy)

Apart from Ireland last year, our annual bike tours have been in the UK. This year we decided to head abroad. I don't remember when I first heard about this cycling route and the variations of it but it sounded good. The route is largely downhill visiting a mix of quiet settlements and larger towns as you cycle down from the edge of the Dolomites, to the sea at Venice. The route is straightforward and pretty easy, however, it feels a bit monotonous at times, particularly in the summer heat. Although it follows waterways along its entire length, opportunities to cool off in the water are non-existent.

Cycling in the foothills of the Dolomites

Most of the route follows waterways

Quaint, traditional villages

Logistics

We flew with Easyjet, between Manchester and Venice, taking hand luggage only.

We hired bikes and had 3 nights accommodation, at the start and end of the route with the ever helpful Travel and Bike. They also transferred us between the airport and the accommodation at Dolo, about 22km from Venice.

The view from our B&B window in Dolo

Day 1, Dolo to Bolzano. Train and bike, 30km

We cycled from Dolo to Padova, about 20km, to catch the train to Bolzano, changing at Verona. Train prices for the 3 hour journey were reasonable, about 22 Euros each. Italia Rail and OBB Trains are useful websites for booking trains.

Bikes can only been taken on regional trains but there is plenty of dedicated space on them, for a cost of 3.5 Euros each. Tickets for both passengers and bikes can be bought at the ticket machines, at the stations. The machines speak English!

Dolo and Padova are on a dedicated cycle route (I1). Most of the route is off-road and follow the large irrigation channels in the area. As with all the towns and cities we cycled in, cycling is a popular activity for transport and leisure. Although vehicles can pass close, they pass slowly and predominantly give way to cyclists. If you are not sure if / where you can cycle, it won't be long until there is a local to follow!

On the outskirts of Bolzano

We arrived in Bolzano, in the German speaking area of Italy and had a short ride following the river upstream, on the cycle path, to our accommodation at Ottenkellerhof After a long search for the key box we retrieved our keys, found our room and locked the bikes away. We chose this hotel not only as it was on the cycle path but because there was a restaurant next door. All in all, a comfortable place to stay with great food. 

Day2, Bolzaano to Trento, 80km

We knew this would be the longest day of the tour but hadn't envisaged it being this long! Even with careful planning, taking estimated distances from the cycle route and other methods, the route still ended up being nearly twice as far as we had thought.

Cycling up towards Caldero

We didn't explore Bolzano and hadn't realised how interesting the town is. It is home of the Iceman, the mummified remains of a man murdered 5000 years ago, preserved until 1991 in a local glacier.  Instead, we set off once again, beside the river. On the outskirts of Bolzano, we took a right turn, off our main route onto another cycle track heading up the Adige valley for a short while. We turned away from the valley and climbed steadily up into gentle hills along shaded cycle tracks and through short tunnels to Caldaro / Kaltern  As is common in this area, places have both an Italian and German names. The town is dominated by a large winery, alongside other, more traditional buildings. From here we had a lovely descent to Lago di Caldaro, the largest, natural lake in south Tyrol and the warmest one in the Alps. The warm temperature is largely due to its shallow depth. There is free, public access to the lake so we took the opportunity for a dip. There are plentiful bars and restaurants linning the shores.

A rare moment of shade

Descending to Lago di Caldero

A quick dip to cool off

From here we attempted to follow the cycle route back into the Adige valley but may have gone slightly off route. Outside of the main towns there are small hamlets amongst the acres of vineyards. We cycled amongst the vineyards (quite literally at times) to cross the Adige river and rejoin the main trail at Egna. From here the trail was straightforward, following the river all the way to Trento. However, there were few opportunities for shade and the heat was relentless. The river is tantalisingly close but not accessible nor advisable to swim in. Instead we stopped at the free water taps, usually situated under trees beside the trail. At one of these stations we headed off the trail and found Jacky's Pub, a friendly place for lunch on the outskirts of Laag. After refuelling and enjoying a long, cold drink, we rejoined the trail where we had left it and continued south towards Trento. 

Typical view on the trail

The trail and it's surroundings are beautiful, if a little monotonous. We could see Trento in the distance and as we got closer, the hills on our right-hand side closed in, with steep slopes stretching away above us. We hoped they would provide a little more shade than they did. About 10km before Trento the route has to take a detour towards Lavis, to cross a tributary. This was unwelcome at this late stage in the day. However, happy in the thought we had nearly completed day 2 we cycled on. Eventually we arrived in Trento, making the mistake of thinking we had arrived and would soon be at our accommodation. We knew our B&B was at the top of a steep hill but we hadn't anticipated how long it would take us to reach it from the town centre. This was in part to not having our phones fixed to our bikes to allow easy navigation but also due to the steepness of the hills, the heat and our tiredness. Our host frequently called us to check on our progress and eventually we arrived, probably an hour after arriving in Trento! We were excited about exploring the town later, particularly as there was a festival going on.

Approaching Trento

We locked the bikes away and sorted ourselves out before heading back down the steep lanes back to the centre of Trento. We had a lovely, authentic meal in a restaurant tucked away off the main streets before haeading out to wander the streets on foot before returning back up the hill to our B&B.

Trento at night

Day 3, Trento to Belluno Veronase, 60km

The day was fresh when we woke and we were keen to get going before the heat built. We didn't know it but this would be another day that turned out to be a lot longer than we had estimated.

Looking forward to the descent to Trento

We enjoyed the descent from our B&B back into Trento, where we bought some provisions, before joining the cyce trail alongside the river once again. We occasionally lost sight of the river but were never far from it. We cyced through vines, thinking if the need arose we could take shelter from the sun under their curved branches. At Rovereto the trail took us through the outskirts of the town, giving us the opportunity to stop for a cold drink. On the trail again we had some shade before we were back in the open. The route took us through the town of Pilcante, before dropping us back beside the river again. We missed an opportunity for another cold drink, thinking we were nearly at our accommodation for the night. Lesson learnt - when the opportunity arises, don't miss it. We left the river at Borghetto to head up to the canal which we followed to our B&B at Belluno Veronese.

Cycling amongst the vineyards

Between the vineyards and waterway

Another welcome bit of shade

Belluno Veronese is a typical hamlet with a clock tower, bar, restaurant and shop. We had unintentionally visited on the night of their summer festival. There was food available and musical entertainment. We sat out and enjoyed the views across to the steep mountainsides across the river valley before heading to bed at the lovely B&B Enantio. As with all of our accommodation there was secure storage for our bikes.

Beautiful Belluno Veronese

Belluno Veronese at sunset

Most tours suggest heading out to Lake Garda soon after Rovereto and taking a boat trip down the lake. From the far end of the lake it is only a short ride to Verona. We deiced to skip this and were quite happy with our choice, with our stay at B&B Enantio and the lovely Belluno Vernoese.

Day 4, Belluno Veronase to Verona, 55km

Today we had the second climb of the trip, up to Rivoli Veronese. The climb was rewarded with a long downhill before we turned east towards Verona. We started off along the canal but soon headed into vineyards before starting a gentle but steady climb. Stopping for a breather, we looked back up the flat bottomed Adige valley. At the top we stopped for a cold drink before we began the sweepig descent back to the canal.

The inviting but inacessible waterways

Preparing for the climb

We were now in a different landscape, as we headed east towards Verona. The mountains were disappearing away to out left and the terrain was flat all around us. It wasn't long before we were on the outskirts of Verona. Our accomodation for the night was in a very nice 'hostel' on the outskirts of the historical centre. We walked into the centre for a meal and a wander around, finding Juliet's balcony (from Romeo and Juliet). As with Trento, Verona is a beautiful, traditional town with a friendly vibe.

Historical Verona

Verona at sunset

Day 5, Verona to Vicenza, 60km

We cycled through Verona to an environment completely different to the previous days. We followed small leats through rural countryside with plenty of shade from the trees. Leaving the leats behind, the route followed quiet roads, passing ancient castles and towns. The third and final climb of the trip took us up to a small hamlet before dropping down on quiet roads to Soave and its impressive castle. 

A change of scenery

Unfortunately, I was suffering from a migraine and headed to San Bonifacio to catch the train to Vicenza whilst Andy carried on cycling. It turned out that it was beneficial to have the trainline close to our route. Andy cycled on, with more leats and quiet lanes. We met up at our lovely B&B in the countryside 3 kilometres or so from the town centre. We had a gorgeous room and terrace, with a secure space for our bikes. 

Our private terrace

Day 6, Vicenza to Padova (Padua), 50km

With my migraine still giving me a hard time I opted to take the train today. Andy & I cycled into Vicenza before parting; I was thankful once again for the trainline being alongside our route. I arrived in Padova and found our B&B tucked away on a side street within the town centre. The size of the B&B was surprising, much bigger than it looked from the road. The host was lovely, ensuring our room was ready for me to chill out in and sleep, when I arrived. 

Andy, however, had a lovely (but yet another hot) day, cycling through rural landscapes, never far from the river. The scenery was different to previous days with wide views across fields with remote, often run-down farmsteads dotted around.

Our personal balcony

Day 7, Padovo to Dolo, 22km

Feeling a little better, I once again joined Andy for the final day of cycling, back to our base at Dolo. We knew the route from cycling it on Day 1 but were able to take our time and enjoys the views today. 

Dolo

The route to Dolo

The old mill at Dolo

The waterside at our B&B

The route follows one of the large irrigation channels, skirting around the edges of built up areas. It is essentially flat and the route continues into Venice. However, we opted to finish at Dolo and take the bus into Venice the following day.

Venice

Venice

Dolo is a beautiful town, well worth exploring. From our beautiful, waterside accommodation we rode into the town for dinner each night. 

Summary

The route is beautiful and varied and generally downhill. There are 2 short climbs on the route (a third if you choose to have your accommodation at the top of a hill!). Most of the route was off-road but the sections on roads felt safe, with the drivers being courteous to cyclists. The cars often passed close but they drove slowly when doing so.

The accommodations were all full of character, with secure bike storage and friendly hosts. There are a number of bike tour companies that will sort everything for you, including bike hire, accommodation and luggage transfer but we prefer to be independent, plus we take very little luggage.

The weather was hot, hotter than expected, and not long before we undertook the tour there had been a lot of rain. 

To sum it up, it is an enjoyable, straightforward and pretty easy tour through varying and beautiful landscapes.

Gentle Rides in the Peak District - Book

If you enjoy non-technical, off-road rides, like to avoid the mud, don't mind joining the off-road bits with quiet country lanes and are thinking of cycling in  the Peak District, you might enjoy the rides in my book.