Island-hopping by bicycle

From Cavallino to Chioggia is more than 80 kilometres by land. You have to travel a long way around the lagoon.

By bicycle, it is much more direct.

From Union Lido to Punta Sabbioni, by boat to Lido di Venezia, across Lido to the ferry for Pellestrina, down the narrow island and then another boat to Chioggia.

Almost straight across the lagoon.

The official cycle route across Lido and Pellestrina is signposted E5 and is also promoted by the Veneto region. The section between Chioggia and Lido is around 35 kilometres; including the approach from Union Lido, we cover roughly 40 kilometres each way — ferry crossings included.

What makes it special is less the distance than the geography. Lido and Pellestrina are so narrow that at times you almost feel you are cycling over the water.

First, towards Punta Sabbioni

We set off early.

From Union Lido, we take not Via Fausta but the new cycle path along the lagoon. The so-called Via del Respiro follows Via Pordelio for several kilometres, partly directly over the water. It connects Cavallino with Punta Sabbioni and has itself become a reason to bring bicycles.

In Punta Sabbioni, we buy our tickets at the counter.

We want to visit the Biennale the following day, so we choose two 72-hour passes. Then come the bicycle tickets. €1.50 per bicycle per crossing.

In the end, we hold fourteen tickets for this one outing.

Two travel passes.

Twelve bicycle tickets.

The woman at the counter gives us another tip. We should definitely reserve bicycle spaces for the return from Lido to Punta Sabbioni.

In Italian.

We nod.

We do not yet know how important that advice will become.

Breakfast on Lido

First, we take the boat to Lido di Venezia.

We had to skip Vianello that morning. We wanted to cross the lagoon as early as possible. So we make up for the missed cappuccino and croissant on Lido.

During the crossing, I explore the ACTV website, looking for bicycle reservations.

They really do exist.

Since 2026, bicycle spaces can be reserved on route 14 between Punta Sabbioni and Lido, and route 11 between Chioggia and Pellestrina. A maximum of four spaces per departure are available for reservation. Booking is free; you still need the bicycle ticket.

By the time I have worked out how it works, part of the crossing is over.

You have to register. Then you can book a space for one bicycle on a particular departure. Not both bicycles in your party at once.

Cumbersome.

And four spaces per boat is not exactly generous either.

We make a mental note for the journey back.

Across Lido

After breakfast, we first ride along Lido’s south-eastern side.

Past the beach clubs, the film festival buildings and Hotel Excelsior. Whether we are always on a cycle path or sometimes on a footpath is not entirely clear.

Later, we switch to the other side of the island.

There, the route passes through residential areas and less photogenic stretches, sometimes past businesses and industry. It is more a cycling route than a consistently perfect cycle path, but there is not much traffic.

At Malamocco, we reach the sea again. And it becomes really beautiful again too.

In Alberoni, you initially follow the road away from the water. Before the large bridge, the bicycle signs lead right across a smaller bridge back towards the coast.

We follow the cycle path to the Alberoni Rocchetta ferry landing.

The ferry that carries the local bus too

Here, we take route 11 to Pellestrina.

Another two bicycle tickets.

This is a proper vehicle ferry. Cars drive aboard, as does the public bus linking Lido and Pellestrina.

Our bicycles fit easily.

Pellestrina

Shortly after arriving on Pellestrina, we turn right towards the sea again.

And this is where the most beautiful part of the ride begins for us.

The island is only a narrow strip between lagoon and Adriatic. We ride through little settlements, past houses, boats, walls and open spaces. Almost always, the water is right beside us.

In the villages, parts of the route pass through pedestrian areas. Signs ask cyclists to dismount.

Mostly, we do.

It takes hardly any time.

And the alternative would be the road on the other side of the island. That works, but is nowhere near as beautiful.

At Pellestrina’s southern end, you can make a detour to the Murazzi. A sea wall stretching for kilometres, with a narrow footpath, which here is the only thing separating the Venice Lagoon from the open sea.

We once cycled along it years ago. Spectacular, but a little scary: the path is narrow and the water very immediately beside it.

Cycling is now prohibited there. But the Murazzi are worth a detour on foot too.

Then back to the landing stage.

Another two bicycle tickets.

And onwards by boat to Chioggia.

Little Venice?

You sometimes read about Chioggia as Venice without the tourists.

Or Little Venice.

Some photographs do support that impression.

Canals, bridges, narrow houses, boats.

But Chioggia is not Venice. It is too small for that, and perhaps comparing it with its enormous neighbour does the place no favours.

As the destination for a bicycle ride, though, it is wonderful.

We park the bikes, walk around a little and have lunch.

And because we have now learnt how the reservation system works, we arrange the return journey straight away.

A bicycle space for each of us from Chioggia to Pellestrina.

And, above all, one each on the boat around 17:00 from Lido back to Punta Sabbioni.

We are prepared.

Or so we think.

Back again

The return across Pellestrina and Lido is just as beautiful as the outward journey.

That is one of this route’s advantages: although you retrace your way, the narrow islands and changing views of sea and lagoon stop it feeling like a tiresome repetition.

On Lido, we still have time.

We have a leisurely coffee.

Around 16:45, we join the marked waiting area at the ferry terminal with our bicycles. Our spaces on the 17:00 service are reserved.

Four Italians are waiting ahead of us. They already look a little nervous.

Behind us is a German man, enormously upset that he could reserve only one bicycle space and not a second for his wife at the same time.

Then our boat arrives.

It is full.

Not quite full.

Full.

The stream of tourists returning from Venice is overwhelming. Taking bicycles aboard is out of the question.

Our reservation does not help.

ACTV states that a reservation generally secures bicycle carriage, but expressly reserves the captain’s right to decide otherwise for safety reasons. Bicycles are only carried within the permitted capacity of each vessel.

So we stay where we are.

Naturally, we have no reservation for the next boat.

And its maximum of four reservable bicycle spaces have long since gone to other people.

Plan B and Plan C

The next boat does not solve our problem either.

Eventually, the four Italians ahead of us give up.

They go for something to eat.

So we are now at the front. Around us: uncertainty, resentment, agitation, increasingly unfriendly arguments with the man whose job is to coordinate the flow of passengers boarding and disembarking. At some point, he starts making phone calls.

Meanwhile, we have had plenty of time to develop alternatives.

Plan B: also go for dinner on Lido and return much later, once the main flow of day-trippers has passed.

Plan C: lock the bicycles on Lido, cross to Punta Sabbioni without them and return the next morning.

Both are feasible. Neither appeals.

Then, around 18:30, an extra boat arrives just behind the scheduled one — which, of course, had been full again.

And this time, we and our bicycles fit.

Patience can sometimes be a means of transport.

Pizza instead of our planned dinner

In Punta Sabbioni, we get back on our bicycles.

Now we only have to get back to Union Lido.

The lagoon cycle path is beautiful in the evening too. After a long day, and considerably later than planned, you register that a little more soberly than in the morning.

Our original dinner plans are abandoned.

Takeaway pizza from Pizza&Sapori it is.

Good too.

Would we do the ride again?

In a heartbeat.

The combination of cycling and boats, lagoon, Lido, Pellestrina and Chioggia makes this ride unusual. And although you cross the same islands twice, it never feels like a conventional out-and-back route.

But we would plan the return differently.

Alberoni–Pellestrina is not the problem. A large vehicle ferry operates there, carrying cars and buses too.

Pellestrina–Chioggia can also be a little tricky. But Chioggia is a detour you can skip if necessary.

Lido–Punta Sabbioni, by contrast, is a crossing you have to make to get back.

With bicycles, it can become really unpleasant.

The new bicycle reservation system makes sense. We just would not rely on it to settle everything.

A reservation is valid for exactly one departure. If overcrowding prevents you from boarding, you need a new slot for the next boat — and it may already be taken.

There is therefore another option we would seriously consider now:

Travel to Lido without our own bicycles and hire bikes there.

The route across Lido and Pellestrina needs no special bicycle. And at the end of the day, you simply board the boat to Punta Sabbioni without bikes.

Possibly much more relaxed.

And if we do bring our own bicycles again?

Then we would reserve again.

And still keep Plan B and Plan C in mind.