On the water
Six volcanic lakes and a hundred and thirty kilometres of coast, and the closest of them is half an hour from the middle of Rome.
32 things to book18 placesthe nearest is in Rome itself
The lakes are the surprise. Bracciano keeps private motorboats off the water, which makes it one of the best sailing and paddling waters in central Italy and remarkably quiet for something forty minutes from a capital city. Albano, Vico, Bolsena and the Rieti reservoirs each give a different kind of day.
The coast gives you the other half: sea kayaking under the Circeo cliffs, boats out to the caves at Sperlonga and Gaeta, and the islands. Everything below has an operator with the equipment.
The difference between the two halves of this page is not really the water, it is the wind. The lakes sit inside craters with a rim the whole way round, so they stay flat on days when the coast is unusable — which is why a first paddle or a first sailing lesson almost always happens on one. The sea is the better day when the forecast is kind, and the caves along the southern coast are places you reach from a boat or not at all.
Nearly everything here is a session with an instructor and the equipment included, which is why it works for people who have never done it. The condition that comes up most often is being able to swim: where the operator asks for it, the card says so, and it is their requirement rather than a caution of ours.
Some of these confirm online in a minute. More of them take the booking on the phone, and the number is on the card. Either way the weather moves the date rather than the price — an instructor will look at the wind the day before and tell you, and on the lakes that conversation is usually short.
Flat water, no swell, and something on every shore worth stopping for. Bracciano is the big one and carries no private motorboats, so it is quiet in a way that surprises people who have just come off the Lungotevere. Albano is smaller and steeper-sided, with the crater wall going up on every side of you. Nemi is the little one, and the one people go to for an evening rather than a day.
Best fit for this section first, then whatever you can book today. Closest to Rome breaks a tie. Never by who pays us.
On the waterA course of four lessons on the lake, board and wing included, with the club that runs them.
€400 per booking
Books on Sporting Club Sabazia
See the day
On the waterThree hours paddling across Lake Albano, gear included, children from six up.
€42.40 per person
Books on ckacademy.it
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On the waterNinety minutes on Lake Bracciano with an instructor: board, paddle, dry bag.
€15 per person
Books on Sporting Club Sabazia
See the day
On the waterKayak rental on Lake Albano below Castel Gandolfo.
See the day
On the waterA sailing base on the Lake Bracciano shore at Polline, inside the regional park, with its own beach.
See the day
On the waterFour guided outings from the beach club on Lake Albano, all the same length and the same price: on a paddleboard along the Francigena shore, aboard the club's sailing boat, on f…
See the day
On the waterA lakeside beach club on Lake Albano at Castel Gandolfo.
See the day
On the waterGuests sit on a floating platform out on Lake Nemi and are served by staff.
See the day
On the waterAn hour on Lake Nemi on a stand-up paddleboard with a federal instructor, board and gear included.
See the day
On the waterA guided canoe outing along the shores of Lake Martignano, run inside the regional park programme of naturalistic events.
See the day
On the waterA water sports centre on the Bracciano lakefront, affiliated to the Italian Sailing Federation.
See the day
On the waterScheduled navigation on Lake Bracciano linking the three lakeside towns of Bracciano, Anguillara Sabazia and Trevignano Romano.
See the day
On the waterRental base on Lake Bracciano with single and double kayaks, stand up paddle boards, rowing boats, pedalos, electric motor boats, water bikes, Hobie Cat 16 catamarans, Laser and…
A sports club — you join them for the day
See the day
On the waterA summer water park on the shore of Lake Bracciano at Trevignano Romano, with inflatable water attractions for all ages, sun loungers, umbrellas and a lunch service.
See the day
On the waterA small water park on the edge of Latina, built around children: slides, a spray park, a shallow lagoon and shaded lawns for the adults.
See the day
On the waterA guided outing in six-seat Canadian canoes to reach the hidden corners of Lake Turano.
See the daySailing out of the marina at Ostia, sea kayaking under the Circeo cliffs, and boat days along the Sperlonga and Gaeta coast where most of what you have come to see is at the foot of the rock rather than on the beach. The islands are the longest day on this page, because the crossing is part of it.
Best fit for this section first, then whatever you can book today. Closest to Rome breaks a tie. Never by who pays us.
On the waterForty-five minutes from Piramide by train, then you take the helm off Ostia.
€45 per person
Books on barcadicarta.it
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On the waterForty caves along the Circeo promontory, twelve aboard, two hours and a quarter.
€40 per person
Books on ilovecharter.it
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On the waterCast off at 9:30 for the Blue Grotto of the Dolls, snorkel kit on board.
€60 per person
Books on Gaeta Escursioni
See the day
On the waterAn hour and a half out of the harbour to the Grotta Azzurra, with a swim stop.
Books on Sperlonga Escursioni
See the day
On the waterNo boat: a cable tows you across, and one hour on it is enough to find out.
€25 their price
A sports club — you join them for the day
See the day
On the waterA canoe trip starting at the springs of the Cavata river below the medieval town of Sermoneta, paddling five kilometres along the edge of the Monticchio spring-water nature monu…
See the day
On the waterA guided paddle on the Tirino, a spring-fed river inside the Gran Sasso national park whose water is clear enough to see the bottom the whole way.
See the day
On the waterEvening boat trip leaving at 18:00 and returning at 21:00, with an aperitivo on board.
See the day
On the waterThe boat leaves Le Forna at about 10:45 and follows the coast past the Grotte di Pilato, Chiaia di Luna, Capo Bianco, Lucia Rosa and Cala Feola, with four swimming stops.
See the day
On the waterShort boat trip along the sea caves of Ponza sold by the island's travel agency.
See the day
On the waterA day out under sail from the Porto Turistico di Roma at Ostia.
See the day
On the waterA surf school at Ostia Lido with programmes for children, teenagers and adults, a summer surf camp and an adaptive surfing programme.
See the day
On the waterA CONI-accredited water sports school on the Ostia seafront, at the VLounge beach club.
See the day
On the waterA kitesurf school working several spots on the Roman coast, with a base at Fregene.
See the day
On the waterA kitesurf school working the Fregene, Focene, Maccarese and Passoscuro spots north of Rome.
See the day
On the waterAn SSI diving school based at Frascati that organises guided dives on the coast north and south of Rome, including Santa Marinella and Tor Paterno, plus try-dive sessions, cours…
See the dayDriving time from the middle of Rome, on the road network and without traffic. It tells you whether the day stands up; it is not a timetable.
Ponza is an island: you get there by ferry, not by road, so there is no driving time to give.
Getting there
The day stays yours: you leave when you want, stop where you want, and come back when the light goes.
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Localrent, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See prices on LocalrentNo parking to find, no wrong turns, and you leave when the day is done.
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Welcome Pickups, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See prices on Welcome PickupsNot for most of these — they are guided or instructed sessions with the equipment included. Where swimming ability is required the activity page says so, because the operator requires it.
For most of what is on this page, yes. It is the operator's condition rather than ours, it is recorded per activity, and it is printed on the card. Paddling on a lake is the mildest version — buoyancy aid on, shore in sight the whole time — but the instructor will still ask you.
Bracciano or Albano. They are the two closest to Rome, and a crater lake has no swell to learn on top of. Bracciano is the bigger and more open of the two and the one the sailing and wing foil schools use; Albano is the more sheltered, and small enough to paddle across in a morning.
On the lakes, with the operators who run all year — the card carries the season where they publish one. The sea season is shorter at both ends. If it is January and what you actually want is to be in water, the hot springs north of Rome are open, outdoors and better in the cold.
Plenty: pedalos and canoe rental on the Castel Gandolfo shore, the water park on the Trevignano lakefront, and paddleboard sessions that are really a swim with a board in it. Where a minimum age applies the operator publishes it on the card, and the lakes are the half of this page to look at first.
A few days for anything with an instructor or a boat, and longer in July and August when the same instructors are running every day. Rental — a kayak, a paddleboard, a pedalo — is usually a matter of turning up, and the cards say which is which.
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