Camping by the water: From bed to board - camping tips in Italy

Summertime is camping time! But if you're trying to combine a relaxed camping holiday and water sports with your family or friends, you're faced with a big challenge: you need to find a good windsurfing spot with a campsite within walking distance. Because once you've settled in at the campsite, you don't usually just drive off again to check the spots in the surrounding area for a shaky wind forecast.

There are thousands of spots across Europe and just as many campsites - but places where you can stand right next to the water at a good windsurfing spot are still pretty rare. That's why we've researched, searched and found spots where you can simply leave your camper and walk from the campsite to the water with your board under your arm.

• Campsites for surfing - from bed to board in Denmark
• Campsites for windsurfers, wingers and paddlers in northern Germany

This is just a selection, and perhaps you know of other spots that fulfil the "from bed to board" criterion and are worth presenting. If so, please send us your tips: redaktion@surf-magazin.de.

Lago di Santa Croce

46.1196, 12.3524

The first Italian spot we would like to recommend to you at this point is Lago di Santa Croce. Here, around 90 kilometres north of Venice, things are much more relaxed than on Lake Garda. The alternative programme ranges from biking, hiking and climbing to an excursion to Venice. You can get into the Neo directly in front of the camping bus at the Sarathei campsite (www.sarathei.it), which is open from the beginning of April to the end of September. Due to the temperature differences, a thermal from the south often builds up in the late afternoon, which is strengthened by the topographical conditions, often blows with five to six wind forces in spring and early summer and can last until late afternoon. The water surface remains quite smooth, but there are small chops for jumping. You will reach the zone with the best wind after a short cross. The Termico da Sud is strongest in spring to early summer. But even in midsummer, the southerly wind still picks up regularly, albeit much more moderately in very hot weather and warm nights - then it remains in conditions for foiling or very large freeride sails.

• The best windsurfing spots on Lago di St. Croce

Lago di Cavazzo

46.3259, 13.0640

There is not much tourist hype on offer at Lake Cavazzo, but perhaps that is precisely what makes it so attractive. The small alpine lake is often visited as a transit spot, which often turns into a longer stay, as the lake is definitely a tip for camping water sports enthusiasts. In contrast to Lago di Santa Croce, it is the morning mountain wind that attracts surfers to the water here; the lake is not a spot for late risers. The wind arises on clear nights, which are typical on sunny high-pressure days, starts at five o'clock in the morning and usually lasts until around ten o'clock, generally at 12 to 20 knots. This mountain wind can occur all year round, but the best wind quota (> 50 percent days with a gliding wind) is in spring and autumn. At the south-west end of the lake is the Lago 3 Comuni (ww.lago3comuni.com), just a stone's throw from the water's edge. Tiredness is quickly dispelled on the water in view of the Alpine panorama, and when the wind dies down in the course of the morning, there is plenty of time for dolce vita, hiking - or a nap in preparation for the next morning.

• Spot Guide Lago di Cavazzo

Lake Garda/Torbole

45.8716, 10.8699

If there's one thing Lake Garda lacks in summer, it's space! Whether it's Malcesine, Pier or Conca d'Oro - car parks are as rare as a six in the lottery, so changing location is pure stress. One of the few places where you can switch from bed to board is Torbole on the northern shore of the lake. There are four campsites available: Very centrally located and with a very short walk to the water are Al Cor (ww.camping-al-cor.it), Al Porto (www.campingalporto.it) and Europe (www.campingeuropatorbole.it). Here you stand under trees and it is only 100 to 200 metres to the beach. The morning northerly wind here is naturally full offshore and gusty, but as soon as the southerly wind picks up around midday, you have a front row seat.

• Wind special: Ora and Vento on Lake Garda

You can start on the pebble beach, where the wind comes onshore and, depending on the wind strength, small chop rolls onto the shore. Whether surf schools, shops or restaurants, everything is within a few minutes' walk. The Maroadi campsite (www.campingmaroadi.it) is a tip, located right next to the large Segnana surf school. If the pitches are full, you can at least try it as a day guest at the nearby Torbole camper stop. The wind season on Lake Garda starts at Easter, with the strongest thermals on sunny days in spring and early summer. 15 to 20 knots are the norm.

Gargano

41.9199, 16.1080

Italy's spur is also a hot tip for camping windsurfers. Places to be are the beaches north of Vieste. Between May and September, a reliable thermal, the Maestrale from the north-west, develops here. This presses along the coast, becomes stronger and usually blows in the afternoons at 12 to 20 knots. You can get in at Spiaggia Lunga, for example, where the sandy beach is several kilometres long and runs flat into the sea. The following applies: the further left (to windward) you are, the smoother the water, as the small Isola La Chianca blocks the waves. Further to leeward, more and more chop forms, but the wind is somewhat more constant here. With scirocco (southeast), which mainly occurs in the low season, the conditions are reversed - the eastern end of the bay is then better protected from waves, while the western part becomes wavier. Real surf waves can also occur around Vieste, namely when Tramontana is firing from the north to north-east. Small sails are then often rigged. Depending on which part of the bay you choose, you will find a suitable campsite with very short distances to the water. In the eastern part, Camping Oasi (www.oasivieste.it ), where there are also bungalows, playgrounds and pools. Somewhat more central and therefore suitable for all wind directions are Camping Oriente (www.centrovacanzeoriente.it) and the Spiaggia Lunga campsite (www.spiaggialunga.it).

Sardinia/Porto Pollo

41.1955, 9.3188

Porto Pollo, in the north of Sardinia, is blessed with a high wind quota. The narrow strait between Sardinia and Corsica strengthens both westerly and easterly winds. If you don't want to stand in the public car park near the dam, you can go to the Isola dei Gabbiani (www.isoladeigabbiani.it), where there are shady pitches for motorhomes and tents as well as mobile homes right on the water. On site, you can choose whether you prefer to go out on the windward side of the headland in small chops or swim your laps in smooth water on the leeward side. For this reason, Porto Pollo is an absolute tip for intermediates as well as experienced freeriders, foil surfers and freestylers. The best time to visit is from March to June and then again from September to late autumn, when Sardinia offers mild temperatures and regular mistral phases from the west, with everything from light winds to storms possible. In midsummer, the phases with strong mistral become rarer, but thanks to local reinforcements, there are often moderate gliding wind days.

• Windsurfing spot Porto Pollo in Sardinia

Sardinia/Sa Barra

39.0919 8.4415

Quite unknown, but no less attractive for windsurfing fans, is the south-west of Sardinia, more precisely the Sant'Antioco peninsula. This forms a large and sheltered lagoon on its windward side, where everyone from intermediates to slalom or freestyle pros can find their luck. Unlike in Porto Pollo, however, it is not the mistral phases that provide the good wind statistics here, but a local thermal from the north-west that gets going reliably from March to September. If 8 to 11 knots are forecast, 20 will arrive, according to the rough rule of thumb. As Mistral and Scirocco (south-east) are also possible, unofficial statistics show that the region has up to 250 gliding wind days a year. The best location is Sa Barra, where former pro Luigi Maddedu runs a surf centre (www.sabarra.it) and where a small campsite for vans to medium-sized campervans has also been established directly at the spot. The site is limited to the basics, but offers unbeatably short distances to the water.

• The best windsurfing spots around Sant Antioco