Lake Garda to Venice

Sirmione and the southern Garda shore

The route starts where Lake Garda narrows into its southern bays, on the southeastern side near Sirmione's spit of land and Roman ruins. The first two days are loops from a single base, easing you in across vineyards, olive groves and the gentle inland country behind the lake before the trip points east towards the Adige and, eventually, the Venetian lagoon. This is northern Italy at its most settled — productive land, walled towns, water you can actually swim in.

Saddle Skedaddle grades it 2 out of 5. Think relaxed, not strenuous. The opening lake loop offers a choice of 40 or 50 km with 540 or 660 metres of climbing, which gives a fair sense of the cadence: real distances, real hills in places, but nothing alarming.

From Garda to the lagoon

After the Garda loops, you leave the lake behind and roll east through farmland and along quiet canals, picking up the Adige River and following it into Verona. Verona is the cultural anchor of the trip — worth the half-day it deserves rather than a quick photo at the arena.

Beyond Verona the country opens out: orchards, vines, the slow-moving rivers of the Veneto plain. Montagnana, with its complete medieval ramparts, is one of the more striking stops along the way. The route eventually drops you into Chioggia, the working fishing port at the southern edge of the Venetian lagoon. From there you ride the long thin spit of Pellestrina Island — fishing boats one side, lagoon the other — before finishing in Venice itself, with the optional gondola if that is your sort of thing.

The routing is described as easy-going and quiet: country lanes, canal paths and the kind of riding where you can stop for an espresso whenever the mood takes you.

How the trip is put together

Eight days, self-guided, from £1,865 per person. Daily departures with a minimum of two riders. You fly into Verona (VRN), where the operator transfers you to a local bike shop for a 20-minute fitting before driving you the hour or so to your hotel on the southeast shore of Garda.

Bikes can be standard or pedal-assist e-bikes, chosen at booking. The e-bike option suits anyone who would rather have a bit of help on the longer days and more in the tank for a wander once they arrive.

Accommodation is in a selection of quality hotels along the route. Saddle Skedaddle handles the bookings, moves your luggage between stops, and provides route notes and a detailed itinerary; you ride at your own pace. Two sensible add-ons are offered: starting further north at Riva del Garda for the full length of the lake, or building in an extra day in Venice at the end.

It suits two cycling friends or a couple who want a proper week in the saddle without any drama, and who are happy to navigate themselves with notes and a route file. Anyone hoping for guides, group dinners or a fixed daily start time should look elsewhere — the appeal here is the freedom to set your own rhythm across one of the prettier corners of northern Italy.