If you are looking for ideas for a vacation cycling with children easy and fun, one of the coolest things you can do is take the family on a bike Po Delta to see the pink flamingos. The Comacchio Valleys like Lake Natron in Tanzania! Would you have ever said that? We have been there: thousands of flamingos who fly, nest, fish and relax in the waters of the Vecchia Salina a stone’s throw from the shores of Ferrara. A place with very strong suggestions, amazing for both adults and children, a must do by bike. Following our advice.
Cycling on the Po Delta in the Old Comacchio Salt Pan
We have already told how pleasant, fun and instructive it is to wander around the Po Delta by bicycle along the banks and through the villages, up to the coast. Here, 40 kilometers further south, we find ourselves in an environment that can recall that of the branches of the Po: we are alongside the Po di Volano and the area is part of the Po Delta Regional Park. But we are in a slight depression, born from the tenth century due to the subsidence of the soil, which was filled with brackish water forming a large swamp which was reclaimed several times from the Middle Ages onwards (Dante Alighieri is said to have contracted malaria here).
The Salina di Comacchio retains the plant built in the Napoleonic era, which testifies to the importance of these lands in the production of salt. Today the salt is no longer and the area has become a naturalistic oasis for the happiness of birdwatchers, trekkers and bike excursion enthusiasts. (if you want to know how to organize a cycling holiday with children read here).
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Because in Comacchio there is a colony of pink flamingos
In the Valli di Comacchio there is the greatest variety of birds in Italy. There is talk of over 300 species in a few square kilometres: egrets, black-winged stilts, gray herons, kingfishers. And above all of pink flamingos. Between the Salina and other areas of the Goro Delta there is a population of over 3,000 specimens, the largest colony after that of Sardinia. They arrived here from the Camargue in the 1970s due to a dry season, and they haven’t moved since.
These birds, arriving one and a half meters in heightin the last two decades they have found the ideal environment to live and reproduce, thanks to the scarce presence of man and the protection by the Park.
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The bike route to see the pink flamingos
The Valli di Comacchio can be explored on foot, by boat or by bicycle. All three are wonderful experiences, but if there aren’t too many people (the peak of visitors is during the Easter period and long weekends at the end of April and beginning of May) the best way is by bicycle.
After possibly renting a bike in Comacchio, you ride a few kilometers along the embankment until you reach Stazione di Pesca Foce, where the educational center is located. Here you can cycle along the 7 km of embankment trailsaccompanied by a guide who explains everything about the birds of the Salt Pan and takes you to the ‘right’ areas.
You ride surrounded by wading birds that often take off in flocks showing their pink plumage with the red patch on the inside of the wingswhile stretching their neck towards the goal.
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The Flamingo Window Route
There is also a naturalistic itinerary “The flamingo window” which leads to a screened ambush that allows you to closely observe the flamingos as they nest on the crater-shaped clay nests.
It starts from Valle Campostrictly accompanied by guides, and on foot (you must leave your bike) or by electric minibus in the hottest and most mosquito-infested seasons (July and August).
The Park also organizes combined boat + bike tours, starting from the Manifattura dei Marinati, the center that showcases the tradition and culture of Comacchio, including the processing cycle of eels and anchovies.
By the way, while you’re at it, you can’t miss a visit to the small center of Comacchio, the little Venice of Emilia Romagna. Its triple bridge is seen nowhere else in the world.
Other bike itineraries in Italy suitable for a holiday with children
Our country is not bad in terms of tracks and roads. Of course, it doesn’t hold up to comparison with those of northern Europe. but on its side it has environments, landscapes, cities to cross and cultural traditions to know that are unattainable.
The physical conformation of Italy is perhaps more suited to short itineraries and limited with small children, such as those along the Po. There is an increasingly dense and well-kept network of cycle paths (we have collected 50 cycle paths to cross all of Italy) and the stages are never too far from each other. Here are some itineraries suitable for a holiday with children.
Cycle tourism, advice for cycling itineraries
(Photo Parcodeltadelpo e Martino De Mori/Sportoutdoor24)
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