Level of difficulty 3 paddles |  Gastronomy 1 pitcher |  Length 12 km |  Time 2.5 - 3.5 hours

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Away from mass tourism, the waterways in Caorle's lagoon (Laguna di Caorle) offer ideal conditions to forget about your daily grind and treat the parasympathetic to a few relaxing hours. The unique local plant, animal and above all bird life is under nature protection and forms the dreamy link between Bibione in the east and Caorle in the west.

General information Caorle

• CaorleCard
• Caorle Wikipedia
• Caorle tourist information
• Vallevechia Nature Reserve
• Veneto tourist information
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

Bathers, passenger ships and boats always have priority. The reed landscape should not be entered away from the accessible areas.

Dangers and risks

Boat and ship traffic increases significantly from around 9 a.m. - keep your distance.
At the transition between the Canale Nicesolo and the Canale Canadare shortly before the coast there is partly very low water level. Avoid the direct line and paddle to the left into the Canale Canadare.

Directions

You can only get to the starting point of this SUP tour from the north. Like many other holiday destinations in this area, there is only one access road from the north down to the sea. Of course, the most flexible way is by car. Despite the relative isolation of the Restaurant Mazarack you can easily get here by bus, but there are a lot of stops along the way and you have to walk the last 600 m.

The nearest train station is in Portogruaro. From there continue by bus, the bus stop is about 200 m from the train station.

The nearest airports are in Trieste, Treviso and Venice. Of coure, public transport from abroad can be found especially during the summer season.

Parking

At the Restaurant Mazarack there are enough free parking spaces, also for camping vehicles.

Tour

From the harbor at the Mazarack restaurant, turn right into the Canale del Morto and the Canale Nicesolo. The circumnavigation is concluded via the Canale Canadare when you get back to the entry point.

Length

12 km

Time

2.5 - 3.5 hours

Start and landing

Port by the Ristaurante Mazarack (Via Brussa).

Overnight Stay

Ca' Adami
Strada Parenzo 4, 30021 Brussa
Phone +39 (0)339 842 1404

Alloggi e Trattoria Agli Alberoni
Strada Brussa 298, 30021 Brussa
Phone +39 (0)421 212089

Ca dei Ciossi
Via Villaviera, 284, 30023 Concordia Sagittaria

Gastronomy

Restaurant Ai Gabbiani
Strada Provinciale Portogruaro Brussa 142, 30021 Caorle
Phone +39 (0)421 84114

Agli Alberoni
Strada Brussa 298, 30021 Caorle
Phone +39 (0)392 9452091

Restaurant Mazarack
Localita Brussa, 30021 Caorle
Phone +39 421 84119

Reed belts, casoni and jumping fish

Caorle's lagoon is north-east of the famous seaside resort and is limeted towards the south by the nature reserve Vallevecchia. Here in Vallevecchia we also find the optimal starting point for our 12 km long tour around the lagoon.

At the boat harbor behind the restaurant Mazarack we comfortably climb into the pleasantly warm water and paddle immediately to the right to get into the Canale del Morto (Canal of Death). The canal with the doomy name begins at the fork in front of us, also on the right and at the end of the harbor and it greets us early in the morning with its beautiful, lonely reed landscape on its banks.

There is still little boat traffic here and we quickly get into a comfortable paddling rhythm on the calm water. Often small, but also larger fish jump over the board right in front of our legs. Not uncommon here in the lagoons and canals of the northern Adriatic coast which are mainly fed by the freshwater of the rivers.

Just as we think we can paddle the whole route away from civilization, a small dock mit Fischerbooten. Gefischt wird hier recht viel, vor allem auf Booten. Ab und zu hängt auch vom Ufer eine Angel ins Wasser und man sollte darauf achten, wo die Leine verläuft.  Ab neun Uhr Früh steigt auch im Canale del Morto so  langsam das Verkehrsaufkommen und da die Wasserstraße spätestens ab jetzt ganz und gar nicht tot wirkt, halten wir uns nach Möglichkeit nicht in der Mitte des Wassers auf.

We always paddle to the left and after about 3.5 km we reach the much wider Canale Nicesolo, which you could take to Portogruaro. Stop, no more distracting thoughts! Paddling down to the sea with the gentle current of the canal is exhausting enough as it is. Two Italian paddlers are coming towards us. They are struggling up the Nicesolo and dare to circumnavigate the area in the opposite direction. Otherwise we only see fishing and motor boats as well as smaller yachts passing us.

Along the way, the characteristic fishermen's huts - called casoni - reward us for our effort. As do the many seabirds we watch over our heads. When they proudly present their breasts on wooden poles, they offer us great maritime photo motifs. The canal stretches and sends us through a number of wide turns until we reach the foothills of Caorle. Yes, if there are cyclists riding along the shore in front of the Casoni, it is definitely Caorle. Since our Caorle tour we know that you can cycle along the canals there.

The further you go towards the sea, the more closely you should pay attention to the water, because the inflow of water from the sea causes slowing eddies in the middle of Canale Nicesolo. On the other hand, you shouldn't paddle too close to the (left) bank, because the water there is only thigh-high in some places. Anyone who observes and reads the water surface properly will also see any small driftwood early enough to take countermeasures.

When we enter the Canale Canadare, the morning is already well advanced, which we can judge from the position of the sun and the number of boats. Fortunately, we are already on the home stretch, so to speak. Here we meet the two paddlers from before again - a quick small talk as we pass by and we move on. We are approximately two kilometers from our destination at the Mazarack restaurant and are taking a short break. On the shore it is usually nice and shallow and you can always find a place in the shade to lie down in the water.

After a little refreshment, we activate the last reserves of strength and decide to go full throttle and test our material for high paddling frequency. We cover the last section of this tour quickly and end the circumnavigation of the lagoon with a tough interval training on the SUP. The harbor on Via Brussa (Strada Provinciale Portogruaro Brussa) has now come to life and the motorboats are queuing in front of the slipway. Time for us to leave the water and to the beach boys.

On land we are already looking forward to a legendary Italian refreshment in the Taverna Dell'Asino. Frito misto, seafood lasagna and other delights await hungry paddlers.