Rotterdam - Rhine - Venice

[wearwell]

That's the plan. Camping. No doubt been done many times. Any particular hints or websites etc?

[nirakaro]

I’ve just got back from riding Rotterdam-Rhine-Italy, camping. About an hour ago. A few things spring to mind:
If you’re arriving by ferry, be aware that it docks about 30km downstream from Rotterdam. There are only one or two opportunities for breakfast in between.
I rode along the Waal, which is not, I think, the official Rhine cycle route. I liked it.
Up to, IIRC, about Bingen, a lot of the ride is along the top of the flood dykes, and you’ll have good views of the river. From there up to maybe Karlsruhe, the landscape is all meanders and oxbow lakes, and you’ll see the river only occasionally.
There’s a nice stretch in France from Strasbourg along the old Rhine-Rhone canal.
I cut off the huge bend round to Basel by leaving the Rhine at Breisach and going up to Donaueschingen, doing a couple of days along the Danube, which was totally different and made a very nice change. Then back to the Rhine at Friedrichshafen.
Pleasant riding through Austria/Liechtenstein/Switzerland.
The Spluga pass is an easy (relatively) climb on the north side, and an utterly spectacular descent into Italy. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And the campsite at Campodolcino serves excellent food.
I’ll post again if I think of anything else.

[wearwell]

Thanks for that. Sounds good! Campodolcino here we come!

[pwa]

If you want to add in extra spectacle you could link up the wonderful Albula Pass with the Umbrail / Stelvio Pass to take you from Switzerland to Italy. The Umbrail used to have a short section of well compacted but unsurfaced road, perfectly rideable. On the Stelvio (the Pass of Passes) you go down the famous 42 hairpins. Good brakes advised. Good legs will be acquired en route.

[wearwell]

What about "via claudia augusta" - anybody done this bit? Any pros and cons?

[wearwell]

Going like a train until outskirts of Cologne. Torrential rain semi darkness, old tram lines in cobbles under water. Wife came off, me shortly afterwards. She 6 days in hosp with slightly broken pelvis. Flight back etc.
Oh well try gain next year but starting from Cologne
We got to a campsite first but as a matter of interest; what happens in an emergency say one of you is taken off in an ambulance and the other is left (exhausted) with two bikes and luggage in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night in pouring rain? Do you get taken care of?

[khain]

I've sort of done it, but going the other way.

Following the Rhine is surprisingly complicated in places. It's more of a network of tracks than a single path. GPS with some good mapping software is a definite plus.

There are plenty of reasonably priced campsites until you reach the Alps when they become much more expensive. Campsites in northern Italy are awful and overpriced. I think there is only one campsite near Venice so you might need to book ahead. Don't take your bike into Venice. I think it is possible to cycle in but not advisable and it's no place for bikes.

[andymiller]

There are plenty of reasonably priced campsites until you reach the Alps when they become much more expensive. Campsites in northern Italy are awful and overpriced. I think there is only one campsite near Venice so you might need to book ahead. Don't take your bike into Venice. I think it is possible to cycle in but not advisable and it's no place for bikes.

Sounds like you've been unlucky. There are plenty of good-quality and reasonably-priced campsites in northern Italy. Of course there are duds, and it's well worth taking the time to check out sites in advance - but the same is true in other countries. IME (and I've stayed in hundreds of Italian campsites) prices are comparable with campsites with similar facilities in other countries.

Campsites near Venezia: on the mainland there are two campsites near Mestre and, another at Fusina on the mainland but to the south. There are more than you can shake a stick at on the eastern shore of the lagoon, and even more at Chioggia. All have excellent links by vaporetto to the Venezia itself (and are ideal for exploring places like Burano and Murano before the crowds arrive).

There is a big gap north of Venezia until you get to the mountains.

You can't (as in you're not allowed) take your bike into Venezia itself: you're right, it's no place for bikes - although Mestre on the mainland is pretty bike-friendly. EDIT: to avoid giving the wrong impression you can cycle across the causeway as far as the Santa Lucia rail station but that's as far as you can go. You can also take your bike on the vaporetto that goes there - but tat's the only one on which you can take a bike into Venezia.

[khain]

There are more than you can shake a stick at on the eastern shore of the lagoon, and even more at Chioggia. All have excellent links by vaporetto to the Venezia itself (and are ideal for exploring places like Burano and Murano before the crowds arrive).

I think I tried everyone of those 'campsites' and the few that had spaces for a one person tent were ridiculously expensive. They're holiday complexes for caravans rather than campsites. It depends what you're looking for I suppose and near Venice campsites are bound to be expensive. I can't remember if I eventually found something or ended up cycling all the way to Slovenia.

You can't (as in you're not allowed) take your bike into Venezia itself: you're right, it's no place for bikes - although Mestre on the mainland is pretty bike-friendly. EDIT: to avoid giving the wrong impression you can cycle across the causeway as far as the Santa Lucia rail station but that's as far as you can go. You can also take your bike on the vaporetto that goes there - but tat's the only one on which you can take a bike into Venezia.

A local told me it is legal to cycle across - he said he had done it but would never do it again. I took my bike in on the train. I had intended having a quick look around then taking the ferry out but a guide insisted it would be easier taking my bike to St Mark's square for the ferry and that I could cycle in places. He was wrong. Pushing a loaded tourer through Venice is not much fun.

[andymiller]

I definitely wouldn't recommend visiting Venezia in early-August - go out of season it's much nicer - but I think you're overstating the difficulties.

Earlier this month I stayed a couple of nights at the Venezia Village, they didn't seem to have any problem fitting people in. Price was 21€ (for one person) which made it one of the more expensive sites I've stayed at, but this was probably the closest site to Venezia and it was in early August so hardly ridiculously expensive.

There are plenty of decent campsites between Venezia and Slovenia - so please, you're not helping other cyclists with wild exaggerations.

[khain]

There are plenty of decent campsites between Venezia and Slovenia - so please, you're not helping other cyclists with wild exaggerations.

What wild exaggerations did I make?