Cycling the Lazio coast

Published on:  | Last updated: 24 December 2019

Overview

This tour takes you for 344 kilometres along the coast of Lazio from the border with Toscana to the border with Campania where you are within easy reach of Napoli.

The highlights of the northern Lazio coast are undoubtedly the UNESCO-listed Etruscan sites at Cerveteri and Tarquinia (unesco.org). These really are some of the most important and inter­esting ancient sites in all of Italy.

Southern Lazio coast

Southern Lazio coast

At the midpoint of the route is Ostia. Ostia is a small city in its own right, with a speedy metro rail connection into Roma. Just outside is Ostia Antica, the remains of the ancient port city, the remains are as extensive as the remains at Pompei.

Ostia itself is worth consid­ering as a base for visiting Roma.

I would allow a good half day each for visiting each of the sites. If you were really in a hurry and took the most direct options, bypassing Tarquinia and Cerveteri you could perhaps complete the northern section in one long day.

Ostia Antica - mosaic of Neptune (Nettuno)

Ostia Antica - mosaic of Neptune (Nettuno)

The southern part of the coast, after Anzio, offers a long stretch of unspoilt coastline, for my money is one of the nicest parts of the Italian coast. The scenery isn’t dramatic but it’s never­theless a great ride. As far as the town of Sabaudia. Once past Sabaudia the landscape and the feel of the area starts to change: you very much start to feel that you are in the south. The coastline becomes rockier and more dramatic. There are also the atmospheric and historic towns of Terracina, Sperlonga, Gaeta and Minturno.

This route uses quiet roads where possible, however at the beginning and end of the route where there are sections of busier road. These are difficult to avoid without long detours.

Map and altitude profile

Powered by WP-GPX Maps

Lazio Coast Distances Table
Chiarone Scalo to Marina di Minturno 344kms
Chiarone Scalo to Tarquinia 38.5kms
Tarquinia to Civitavecchia 25.5kms
Civitavecchia to Cerveteri 38kms
Cerveteri to Fiumicino (town) 40.5kms
Fiumicino to Ostia 14kms
Ostia to Anzio 47kms
Anzio to Sabaudia 46kms
Sabaudia to Terracina 29kms
Terracina to Marina di Minturno 51.5kms

Options

The main attrac­tions of the northern section of the route are the sites at Cerveteri and Tarquinia - the coast itself isn’t partic­u­larly inter­esting. If you want a scenic route through Lazio I would go via the Lago di Bracciano and the Lago di Bolsena. The coastal route is less hilly than the inland route and passes close to the airport at Fiumicino so you might option for this route if you have a plane to catch - or altern­at­ively if you’ve just arrived and looking for a convenient route north. The download package includes the more direct options for those in a hurry.

If you are heading south the other major option is to head inland and then go via the Lago di Bolsena and the Lago di Bracciano to Rome and from Rome follow the Ciclopista del Sole (Eurovelo 7) to the coast at Terracina.

If you are heading north, you could link this route with the Tuscan Coast tour, or you could head inland, picking up the Gran Tour della Maremma at Capalbio.

The Tuscan Coast tour in turn links with the route Cycling the Liguria Coast. So you could combine the three together - and indeed continue along the coast to Napoli and beyond. However, I’d recommend planning your tour to take in some of the inland areas for a more variety.

When to go

The best times would be May, June, July and September. Bear in mind that the seaside resorts within reach of Roma will be busy at weekends and during the peak holiday season. 

Wildflowers in the Lazio countryside

Wildflowers in the Lazio countryside

Downloads

Maps to print out or view offline

About the maps

The maps are in two versions: A4 portrait format - for printing and maybe also for viewing on an iPad, and A5 for smaller tablets and smart­phones. (A4 and A5 are inter­na­tional paper sizes).

 sample map page.

Links open in new windows unless you ‘save as’ etc.

GPS files

  • Italy Points of Interest

    About POIs

    POIs are like waypoints, but while you can usually only store a limited number of waypoints on a device, you can store thousands of POIs. These files include inform­ation about campsites and hostels, bike shops, train stations, drinking water sources as well as warnings for tunnels and roads where bikes are banned. Please check the ReadMe file for instruc­tions. Updated April 2018. The file format is only compatible with Garmin GPSes .

More information

Places to stay

Hotels and B&Bs

There are plenty of hotels in and around the main towns on the coast although these are likely to be in demand in the peak holiday season.

Find and book places to stay with Booking.com

Booking.com area page for the Lazio Coast

About these links

If you use these links to book accom­mod­ation Booking.com will pay me a small part of their commission. This helps support the costs of producing this site.

I use Booking.com to find and book places to stay when there are no campsites in the area. The large majority of hotels and many hostels are now on ‘Booking’. I like it because it means that I can get almost-instant confirm­ation. The rating system is also a reliable guide to the quality of the accommodation.

I’ve never had a problem finding places to keep my bike —even if it’s a cupboard or store room. I always use the ‘special requests’ field on the booking form to tell the hotel that I’m travelling with a bike, which gives them the oppor­tunity to let me know if there’s a problem.

Many properties offer free cancel­lation but it’s a good idea to check the condi­tions as these vary from property to property.

Campsites

There are lots of campsites along the Lazio coast, but quality is variable. Most are dominated by seasonal lets. There’s a reasonable campsite at Ostia which offers a good base for sight­seeing in Rome and Ostia Antica and is a good place to stay if you have a flight to catch. 

  Map of campsites along the route:  LazioCoast-campsites-map-show map in overlay    |    LazioCoast-campsites-map-show map in new window 

Transport and services

Train and ferry services

There are regular train services along the coast between Civitavecchia and Rome, there are train lines between Anzio and Rome and between Rome, Formia and Minturno. 

There are ferry services between Civitavecchia and Sardegna and Sicilia, as well as Barcelona and Tunis.

The route passes by Rome’s Fiumicino airport. The Ciampino airport is a little further away but it would still be feasible to reach it from the route. 

There’s also an excellent train service between Ostia and Rome - this is part of the metro network and will get you into the centre of Rome in about half an hour. On Saturdays, and at certain times of the day you can take your bike on the train from the Lido see 060608.it

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