Venice to Porec

Arrive at the hotel on the mainland (Mestre/Marghera) from where the tour will commence. The city of Venice has a well organised and easily accessible public transport system.

This day you have two possibilities, either you cycle along the dam and the lagoon to Venice or you cycle through the back-country following the river Sile to reach Jesolo/surroundings. The first few kilometres in the lagoon city are carried out by bicycle. Then you take a ferry across to Punta Sabbioni. On the endless beaches at Litorale di Cavallino, a spit of land in the north of the lagoon, the route is lined by numerous fishing boats and souvenir stalls.

Before you leave Venice through the “backdoor”, the opportunity exists for an excursion to the lighthouse at the utmost end of the island for a last view of the lagoon city and the surrounding islands. On the way to Jesolo, one can hardly resist the opportunity to have a refreshing dip into the cool wet. You spend the night in Jesolo or a seaside resort on the Adriatic.

If you choose the alternative through the hinterland you cycle along the river Sile. This natural finish river carries always a constant amount of water and flows quietly; that’s why its name is derived from the Latin word “silet” what means “keep silent”. Passing the ruins of Torre Caligo, a tower from the Middle Ages which is situated near the homonymous canal “Caligo”, you reach directly Jesolo.

Along the coast and passed the last fishermen’s cottages, you reach Caorle a wonderful, small seaside resort with a historical centre. On reaching this destination, it signifies leaving the sea for a while as the direction is dictated by the mainland in the direction of the Julian Alps on the horizon. During the spring period of the Venetian Republic, it was convenient for the interior to encompass Portogruaro as a very important River harbour in the “Serenissima”. Even today there are those in Portogruaro who regard their city as the most Venetian. They are not entirely incorrect when you look at the Venetian embellishments of the magnificent buildings and places.

Besides the beaches of the Adriatic, there is a lot to discover; ruins of former Roman cities, ancient churches and lonely landscapes on the edge of the lagoon. From Marano Lagunare you take a boat (Price included in upgraded tour option) until just before Aquileia, once a large city of the Roman Empire. Excavations of the Roman city can be seen in the open-air-site and in two museums. The rich traditional seaside resort of Grado is found with parts of the old town on the lagoon island and is connected to an added part on the mainland. The guests are greeted by alleyways’ as narrow as a Labyrinth and medieval places typical of the fishing towns of the upper Adriatic.

Today’s stage continues through the hinterland of Trieste, soaked in a meagre barren landscape of rocky caverns before returning to the sea and a coastline of unique beauty. Where the elevated plateaus plunge into the deep blue water and the white precipices stand upright jutting towards the heavens; and then the coastal road follows through suggestive resorts like Duino, Sistiana, Miramare, and Barcola.

You should take time to visit the romantic castle of Miramare above the Bay of Grignano situated in the middle of a beautiful park in which a multiplicity of more the 2000 plants prosper. Above the Gulf of Trieste, entrenched is a city bearing the same name, once a harbour metropolis of the Habsburgs Empire and where you will be spending the night. There is a possibility to shorten this stage of the route with the bicycle to secure more time for sightseeing.

Only after a few kilometres today, we take leave of Italy. In Slovenia, the route continues predominantly on cycle paths through well known seaside resorts like Koper (Capodistria) and Izola (Isola d’ Istria), to Piran (Pirano) or to Portorož (Portorose), a spa resort on the Slovenian Riviera. Recommendable is a little bit longer alternative of this stage which passes along the valley “Rosandra” in the backcountry.

Cycling past the salt gardens of Secovlje where on enormous surfaces and through natural vaporisation, sea salt is recovered, you cross over the border into Croatia. For a distance, the route goes through the Croatian part of Istria, the largest peninsula on the Adriatic with its slightly hilly terrain on the way to Porec, the most important coastal city on the west coast of Istria. It is certainly worth a visit to Euphrasian-Basilica which has been taken up by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

At the end of your tour you can catch the optional ferry to Venice, this could be the final crowning concluding the week-long bike tour. From the boat, you can sit back and review again the saddled distance covered as the boat continues on route to the lagoon city.  A boat leaves Poreč approx. 8 am and arrives at an estimated time of 10h30 in Venice, please check to verify timetables at www.venezialines.com.