Hi EF members.
Me and my friend are planning a tour in Italy (Ancona - Bologna - Venezia - Ancona) with our bicycles, in coming August. We will be carrying our own equipment (tents, mats etc), and we do not need fancy services. All we need is a small piece of ground to put our tents, for a decent night's sleep, and shower/toilet/mobile charging facilities.
From your experience, do you know whether cheap campsites exist along the coastal zone between Ancona and Venezia? From the Google maps, it seems that there are a lot of 3-4-star campsites (10-11/person plus 15-17/land), but none of lower category. For two persons, that is almost the same as renting a B&B! What other options do we have?
Same question applies for the inland part of the route, between Bolognia - Padova - Venezia. There, only very few campsites appear on the map.
Is there any other source of information on lower-rate campsites?
Thx for your input.
Cheers, Nick
Needless to say, we would have no problem setting our tents somewhere in the nature... has anybody done it before? Any experiences (security, safety issues)? Is it legal?
Maybe if you asked farmers they would let you camp for a small charge, but how do you intend to camp in the wild without the luxury of running water and sanitary installations?
http://www.campingandcaravanningclub...-europe/italy/
http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/italy/
Italians don't seem to go in for cheap campsites. They like the all-inclusive types with pizza restaurants, pool and nightly entertainment in only a way that Italians can appreciate but which is excruciating for anyone else.
I have found cheap ones by chance but they don't seem to be advertised.
Good luck!
I failed to mention that we only need a place to stay overnight, as we will constantly be on our bicycles during the day. It's going to be tough, thus we are prepared to do with minimum amenities... however, toilet and shower (even with cold water) are a must.
Italian campsites make Switzerland seem cheap.
Tom
Yeah, unfortunately not so many options there, particularly on the east coastal zone.
And, at that time period, and in that area, you'd better reserve at least six months in advance.
Tom
As far as my experience is going, Italy is very expensive for camping, it's often simply not sensible to do it.
My only advice is:
- couch surfing or
- just sleeping by the road
The second option is like this: it's usually tolerated if you are outside of very tourist places. I spent many nights sleeping like this while we were climbing in different parts of Italy, often it was only viable option. If you are with a car and you don't pick up the tent no one can't bother you at all. Tents or classical Wohnmobile (but not vans made into camp cars) can be problematic. So, maybe go without tent, in the summer you don't need if it's not raining (than you go to hotel).
Btw, Padan (Po) Valley?, Plain?, Basin? sorry don't know how it's called in English, is hellishly hot in summer. Air doesn't move a lot and there is not much shadow.
Checked already about reservation with the expensive campsites, no reservation is possible for anything less than 7 nights, but all of them ascertained me that they would be able to accommodate us on short notice. Thx for your input!
Add "maybe" in front of "would", based on my experience at that time of year.
Tom
Lots of the big places always seem to have a few smaller spots free for cycle tourers and the like.
People don't tend to book those pitches for a two week summer holiday.
If I were you, I'd wild camp for a couple of days at a time and then stay in a campsite every third night or so for a splurge (and a good wash).
I've done that before and stayed in some quite interesting places which doesn't always become apparent until the first light of morning - a horse race course (they didn't mind but told us not to leave anything behind), an unfinished motorway (nice and flat) and also in some really cool places with a little patch of grass next to a stream.
Check on hostelworld... a lot of campsites are mentioned on there.
A friend did that many years ago in some unfinished road tunnels, a good idea.
Tom
I spent several years wild camping while bike touring, usually only opting for a hotel or hostel while in a city/urban environment. It's a much more adventurous way to travel, as you never know where you'll end up and often meet people who invite you for dinner, a place to stay, etc...
There is a website dedicated to touring cyclist hospitality -
www.warmshowers.org
It's a great resource, and I've stayed with the guy who started/runs the site some years ago.
Highly recommended if you feel like doing advanced planning and will have internet access.
You could try emailing a few places who do farm stays.
http://www.agriturismo.it/en/ It does not list camping but we have found a few cheap friendly places from there but booking early is required.
Noon is,h Ave you found what you've been looking for? If so please share I'm interested to know cause I'm too planning on camping trip. Cheers
Thank you all for your feedback. Please keep sending more!