From the bustling square beneath gigantic St Marks Basilica it takes just under 40 minutes to chug your way back to the campsite. The ferry skirts its way through the lagoon, between smaller, neighbouring islands, and docks around a mile from Ca’Savio on the end of the finger-shaped spit of land. This is actually a part of mainland Italy – a rarity given the many islands around here – and harbours a bounty of different campsites, all capitalising on the top location.
So what makes Camping Ca’Savio the one? Well it’s certainly not the size and exclusive number of pitches. This place is vast, with a staggering 800 spaces and an impressive 50 years of history. Far from out-dated though, it’s the new glamping options that really clinch the deal and make it a prize pick along the coastline. Camping Ca’Savio is the first site in Italy to play host to the iconography of retro Airstream caravans. Furnished within with a double bed and pull-out bed ideal for two children, they have a comfortable practicality and a surprising amount of space. There’s loads of storage room, a gas cooker and a deck with garden furniture outside covered by a handy, inbuilt awning. Meanwhile, their brand new Coco Sweet tents fail to meet with any standard description – they’re a sort of cross breed between family tube-tents, glamping pods and small self catered chalets – needless to say they’re a stylish place to stay.
Onsite, the inevitable buzz of such a big campsite is centred around the swimming pool area, where you’ll also find a pizzeria, the reception block and a small onsite supermarket with some essential grub for dinner. The noise doesn’t clamour around the rest of the site though, such is the screening effect of the blanketting trees, and out on the open beach there is always space to be found for rolling out your towel and dozing in the afternoon sun. It’s a pleasant place to lounge if you fancy a day off from visiting Venice or, in a similar vein, you can leave the coast behind altogether and drive an hour or so north to the Prosecco vineyards that now outsell the Champagne region. It adds real variation to the Venetian city scenes. Take a tour and take a bottle. After all, it would be rude not to.