Address

Grado

GPS

45.679290251871, 13.388342857361

Address

Grado

GPS

45.679290251871, 13.388342857361

Level of difficulty 3 paddles |  Gastronomy 3 pitchers |  Length 8.5 km |  Time 2 – 2.5 hours

Grado's many faces can be explored not only on foot, but also on the water. The busy yet cozy town life is gradually giving way to the deserted and quiet lagoon. We treat ourselves to a small pilgrimage tour to the monastery island of Barbana.

General information

Navigation rules

Even if this area is sometimes much quieter (in terms of boat traffic) than other lagoons in the upper Adriatic, we recommend staying away from the middle of the waterways to keep a safe distance to boats and ships.
In urban areas, always paddle on the side as there can be a lot of boat traffic.

Dangers and risks

The Canale della Schiusa you will encounter heavy boat traffic, which is why paddlers should not necessarily go in the middle of the canal. In front of the monastery island Barbana as well as in the fairway across the lagoon, there is also lively boat and ship traffic. Paddle on its side and on sight!

At the Isola Le Cove you have to bend down and duck your head to paddle under the car bridge.

Away from the marked fairway, the lagoon is at most waist-high, in most cases you can just glide through the water with your fins. So always keep an eye on the water as well as on the bottom and adjust your paddling style accordingly. If the bottom is too close, stand further forward on your board so that the fins are pressed less deep into the water.

Directions

Many roads lead to Grado. The starting point of this tour can easily be reached by car either coming from the north via Strada Regionale SR 352 across the Lagoon or coming from the east via Via Monfalcone SP 19.

Trains do not go to Grado, but to Cervignano, a small town on the mainland, 18 km north. From there you have to take a regional bus to Grado and walk a few minutes from the bus station on Piazza V. Carpaccio to the starting point of the SUP tour.

There are also always cheap private rideshares and national busses.

Parking

In Grado there are a lot of parking spaces, especially on Isola della Schiusa, many of them free (white markings). The free parking spaces under the pine trees along the canal bank on the Riva della Serenissima are very popular and hard to get hold of during the high season.

Just behind the first roundabout (after crossing the lagoon via SR 352) there is a large parking lot between Via Luigi Rizzo and Via Egidio Grego. 

Daily fees are generally 5 €/day anywhere in the city. One euro per hour can be expected (as of 2021).

Tour

From the Canale della Schiusa to the island of Le Cove and from there across the lagoon to the island of Barbana. From there in a direct line and past the Valle del Moro over the lagoon back to the Canale della Schiusa.

Length

8.5 km

Time

2 – 2.5 hours

Start and landing

At the staircase to the Canale della Schiusa at the roundabout between Via Alessandor Manzoni and Riva S. Scaramuzzo. 

SUP rental

ASD Kite Life Grado
Via delle Pleiadi 1, 34073 Grado
Phone +39 (0)347 4896077

From the sun island to the monastery island

The situation is a bit unclear: on the one hand we were told that paddling along the sea coast and the island Isola della Schiusa is not allowed, on the other hand we see paddlers on the water again and again. So we dare the experiment to paddle from Grado to the monastery island of Barbana on our SUPs.

At the roundabout on Via Scaramuzza there is an easily accessible staircase to the Canale della Schiusa and thus the perfect start for our paddling tour from the sun island (Grado's psydonym) to the monastery island.

The canal, which is up to 30 meters wide, is lined on both sides by hundreds of boat moorings and is correspondingly busy, but there is still enough space to swerve. Boats and small ships are also not allowed to go fast here anyway and their waves stay modest.

With perfect summer weather we paddle our touring boards under footbridges decorated with flowers and go to the island of Le Cove 500 m away. The town's cemetery is also located there, but you can hardly see it from the water. At its eastern end, Le Cove seems to be cut off, as an artificial canal of about 200 m leads to the left and directly into the lagoon.

Here we stop for a drink and a break from the blistering afternoon heat and let the water float us out into the lagoon, where a knee-deep pool covered with seaweed awaits us. In a number of places you can therefore not completely pierce the water with the paddle blade, instead you have to constantly monitor the ground. But you can dismount at any time and take great photos standing in the water.

From this channel through the Le Cove it is two kilometers to the monastery island and as soon as you are out of the canal you paddle to the right with the Santuario di Barbana in sight. From here the church tower and the dome of the nave are clearly visible between the trees on the island. There are no boats here, no waves - just silence and our lively conversations.

The clouds are moving over the lagoon and provide a pleasant coolness on what has been a stiflingly hot midsummer day so far. As one of the most famous pilgrimage churches in Italy, the island of Barbana is a popular destination, so it is not surprising that the water traffic in front of the Santuario di Barbana is quite strong. is quite strong.

We use a few quiet minutes and complete the last few meters in the fairway to the landing stage without boat waves. The calm doesn't last long and as soon as the next boats come by it becomes difficult to position our boards next to each other for a selfie. Since swimwear is not welcome on the property in front of the church anyway, we don't land and after a few snapshots we head back home.

This initially leads us along the fairway in the direction of Grado, but we quickly realize that it would make more sense to paddle back across the lagoon in a direct line. This way we could save distance, time and energy. At the first opportunity we turn left after 800 m and find ourselves in the shallow lagoon.

Surprisingly, the plan works (the lagoon can be paddled) and we orientate ourselves over the next two kilometers by the church tower of the Basilica of Santa Eufemia, it towers prominently over the roofs of the sunny island of Grado. If we keep slightly to the left of it, we should be back at the Isola della Schiusa and from then on would only have to paddle along its bank to the right into the canal until we reach the initial entry again. In the meantime, music can be heard from the city across to us on the water. Rehearsals for tonight's concert of the Grado Jazz Festival in the Parco delle Rose Arena seem to be in full swing.

The last kilometer to the exit at the roundabout is a bit bumpy again, but that in no way diminishes the beautiful impressions we were able to enjoy during the last two hours.

We are back on the sun island, back in civilization, so to speak, and we are already looking forward to a hearty dinner in the winding streets of Grado. We all deserve it.