Level of difficulty 5 paddles |  Gastronomy 3 pitchers |  Length 22.5 km |  Time 5.5 - 6.5 hours

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Pure holiday feeling with everything that goes with it: endless beaches, shopping miles, great bars, lots of entertainment for the young and young at heart, and of course an incredibly varied SUP circumnavigation. Lignano is one of the all-rounders among the seaside resorts on the upper Adriatic and is always worth a visit.

General information

• Lignano Wikipedia
• Friuli Venezia Giulia tourist information
• Lignano tourist information
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

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

Dangers and risks

The beaches get busy when the weather is nice, so it's best to paddle outside the bathing zone about 150-200m offshore. Out there paddlers will find jellyfish swimming near the surface, but these are harmless. The swell can also increase significantly at times, but can be used to great advantage with a tailwind.

Along the Tagliamento River as well as the Canale Tagliamento you should stay away from the bank to avoid getting stuck with the fins or hitting the paddle hard. The same goes for the lagoon after leaving the Canale Tagliamento: stay in the marked fairway!

Coming from the lagoon, there is often free-floating seaweed on the surface of the water area north of the port. It gets stuck on the fins and slows down the ride significantly. Avoid the small grass carpets as best you can and, if necessary, uncover the fins from time to time.

Directions

Just like other well-known holiday resorts in the region, Lignano is only directly accessible from the north by train, bus or car. The nearest train stations are located in Latisana and Portogruaro. The nearest airports are in Trieste, Treviso and Venice. Of coure, public transport connections to Lignano during and around summer season.

To get to the start of the SUP tour described here, take the first exit to the right at the large roundabout upon entering town and drive straight west along Viale Tagliamento for one kilometer until it turns sharply to the left into Viale delle Arti. Follow it for another kilometer to its end, turn left and shortly afterwards turn right again into Viale del Commercio, which leads 300 m to the sea (Lungomare Riccardo Riva).

Of course, any other beach access in Lignano is also suitable for starting the tour.

Parking

In Lignano Riviera there are sufficient parking lots along the seafront promenade Lungomare Riccardo Riva (0,9 €/hour, 8 €/day - as of 2020). Here you have enough space to set up your equipment in the shade of the pine trees and you are on the beach in just a few steps across the street. However, to find a parking space you should try to be there before the big bathing rush, which begins between 9 - 10 am.

Tour

From Lignano Riviera (in the area Bagno 4 – 6) on the Tagliamento River into the Canale Tagliamento and the lagoon north of town to the port Marina Punta Faro. From there along the beaches of Lignano Sabbiadoro and Lignano Pineta back to the starting point.

Length

22.5 km

Time

5.5 - 6.5 hours

Start and landing

At one of the beach entrances (Bagno 4 - 6) in Lignano Riviera.

SUP rental

Lignano SUP Center Bagno 3 Lignano Riviera
Viale Delle Palme, 28/B, 33054 Lignano Pineta
Phone +39 (0)347 1476160

Wind Village – Beach establishment no. 7
Lungomare Trieste, 33054 Lignano Sabbiadoro
Phone +39 (0)339 2104024

Tiburon ASD – Stabilimento balneare n°6
Lungomare A. Kechler, 18/A, 33054 Lignano Pineta
Phone +39 (0)342 3845628

Banana Bread ASD
Lungomare Trieste Uff. 19, 33054 Lignano Sabbiadoro
Phone +39 (0)324 9879940

SomewhereTours
Via Lungomare Marin, 33054 Lignano Sabbiadoro
Phone +39 (0)348 2324107

From the hinterland to the beach

The Lignano circumnavigation in one go is something for experienced paddlers, because almost 23 km in one day requires endurance, good paddling technique and mental strength. This tour mimics the Lignano SUP Marathon which takes place here annually. Only the start and finish of our route are slightly different than at the official event.

For strategic reasons we board in Lignano Riviera in the area of baths 4 – 6 (Bagno 4 – 6). Here the parking spaces along the beach promenade were free of charge until 2020, since 2022 they are not anymore unfortunately. Nevertheless, we start under cosy conditions because the water is calm and the wind still. We will only be able to experience the wavey water in front of Lignano's beaches at the end of our trip. Since we start just after sunrise, we can take advantage of the relatively cool temperature and the still low position of the sun before we return to the mainland around noon.

Along the Bagno 6 we immediately turn right and a few minutes later we reach to the mouth of the Tagliamento River, the 170 km long lifeline of northern Italy. With a bit of luck you can take a few sea waves and a little momentum with you on the river, which flows gently into the sea coming from the north. We keep to the right and paddle past Hemingway's Walk, which is already being visited by the first walkers and fishermen. Up to the port Marina Uno it makes sense not to paddle very close to the shore so as not to get in the way of the fishermen.

The Tagliamento welcomes us completely still and without current, which also makes it wonderful to paddle in the middle of the approx. 200 m wide river. At least in the early morning, the river is still undisturbed and we plunge into the mirror-smooth water completely alone. In a few hours, however, it will be busy again here. The Tagliamento is one of the last unregulated waters in Central Europe and separates the regions Friuli and Veneto from each other.

As we navigate the wide bends upstream, a few fishermen appear between the reeds and pine trees. After about three kilometers we reach the sleepy Marina Punta Verde. Around the next bend, however, things get a little livelier and the current picks up significantly. From now on the cosy ride is over and every paddling stop leads to a slight downforce. Signposts show the possible route destinations at every junction. From here you could even go as far as Venice and further.

Shortly before the turnoff into the Canale Tagliamento to Lignano, things get strangely cute. Dozens of identical thatched houseboats, differing only in the color of their facades, line the right river bank. There are more of them in the port of the Marina Azzurra Resort and we are told that the nice accommodations can be rented at hotel prices. With 70 m² of living space and a terrace on the upper deck, there is enough space for a family holiday away from the tourist hotspots. After the resort, after almost 6 km upstream, we turn right into the Canale Tagliamento.

Here we will paddle for four kilometers through the hinterland before entering the lagoon of Lignano. We are just as noticeable to cyclists along the shore path as to drivers on the country road in the direction of Lignano. But we're not the only crazy people who treat themselves to a circuit today. An Italian paddler crosses our way. We speak to him as we go past and learn that he is taking the same route as us – just in the opposite direction. It's reassuring to know that there are other people who do this voluntarily.

A first meal stop is necessary after more than two hours of paddling. We sit down on the knee-deep canal bank and pull out bananas, protein bars and water. You should take at least three liters of water with you on such a tour, because the loss of water at the end of this huge lap can significantly reduce concentration, motivation and performance.

We make quick progress and after a few more canal turns, the lagoon north of Lignano lies ahead of us. What a beautiful sight! In the haze of the morning sun lies the Port Marina Punta Faro about four kilometers ahead of us. Now is the time to stop, pause and let your eyes wander into the distance. We'll only do that briefly, because we have to and want to continue - towards the port.

The water is calm and it is advisable to stay on the marked fairway. Away from it, you quickly get stuck in the partly stony ground. So the direct way to the port doesn't work and we have to give in to the natural conditions of the lagoon for a while and paddle in a curve towards our intermediate destination. However, as soon as you can clearly see the ship's masts in the harbour, you can break out of the fairway to the right and head towards the harbour in a straight line.

A bit of finesse is required when it comes to timing this breakout and you should constantly keep an eye on the water level and the ground under the SUP. Also because you will probably paddle over seaweed that floats on the surface, which likes to get stuck on the fins and acts like a brake.

Around the harbor you can ride the backwash of the motor boats a little while you follow the hustle and bustle on the beach and in the water. We circumnavigate the eastern tip in the area of the Doggy Beach and then let ourselves fall into the water for the first time for a short break. The buoyancy relieves the spine and relaxes the muscles. There is a lot of SUPing going on here in Lignano Sabbiadoro. A number of Big SUPs are misused by children as springboards, while others navigate seemingly aimlessly between pedal boats and bathers. Not so with us. We see our destination in about six kilometers beeline and we decide to take the direct route instead of paddling along the slightly curved beach.

We always stay well away from the beach and thus have free travel away from the many bathers and immediately use the westward current towards our destination. Tiredness is slowly making itself felt, because the muscles are straining, the mental drive is fading and hunger is spreading. Luckily, the waves offer us an entertaining ride on which we try to make the most of every wave with powerful paddle strokes until the orange umbrellas of the Bagno 6 become visible in the distance.

Nevertheless, the last two kilometers will also be a big question of willpower. The drinking breaks become more frequent and at times we don't seem to make any progress at all, because so far out the feeling for speed is sometimes lost due to the lack of proximity to the shore. White jellyfish with blue stripes pass below us - everything from tiny to hand-sized specimens is represented here. The comb jellies are harmless and eaten in Asia as a soup or with a salad.

At twelve o'clock sharp we arrive where we started a good five hours earlier. The exhaustion is great, but the joy about the longest non-stop tour of our lives is much greater. The last water reserves are dumped and we lie down in the lukewarm Adriatic Sea. The SUPs are washed ashore by the waves anyway.

Half an hour later the boards are stuffed in the car and we walk around the corner for five minutes to the restaurant San Remo where we'll enjoy salmon lasagna and other specialties. Well-fed and satisfied, it's back to the beach later - without SUPs. This tour was great! We are already considering whether it is just as great to paddle in the opposite direction. We will see! Ci vediamo a Lignano!