Bike rental in Porto Cesareo, inside the Ionian marine reserve

Delivery to Porto Cesareo, or collect in Lecce and ride over

There is no SalentoBike depot in Porto Cesareo. Instead we load the bikes, set each saddle to its rider, bring them to your door and come back for them when your stay ends. The surcharge depends on how far your address is from us, campsites included, and it is in the quote before anything is booked. We ask no deposit, and payment happens on delivery, when the bikes reach you.

To avoid it, use one of our three depots, where pickup and return come at no extra cost: Via Ribezzo 2D in Lecce, Via D'Annunzio 13 in San Foca or Via Roma 163 in Calimera; collect at one and hand the bike back at another if that suits your plans, still at no charge. Lecce is the most convenient pickup for Porto Cesareo: roughly 28 km by road, a gentle ride west across the plain, and we send the GPX track. Heading further down the Ionian? A route published on Bikemap runs from Lecce through Leverano, Porto Cesareo and Santa Caterina to Gallipoli, mostly paved; to end your rental down there, read how a rental can close in another town. Collection details: our Lecce page.

By bus, without the bike. Between 13 June and 13 September 2026, line 104 of Salento in Bus links Lecce with Porto Cesareo and goes on to Sant'Isidoro, Porto Selvaggio and Gallipoli; in the June and September timetable the 09:00 from the City Terminal reaches Via Garibaldi at 09:56. Bicycles are not mentioned, so travel by bus yourself and let us bring the bikes.

Which wind, which shore: the Ionian rule

When one of Salento's two seas is rough, the other tends to be calm. A north wind, the tramontana, or a north-easterly grecale leaves the Ionian quiet. A pure east wind, the levante, makes Gallipoli up to Sant'Isidoro the calmest stretch of all, the classic day for Porto Selvaggio and the white beaches of Porto Cesareo and Torre Lapillo. The southerly scirocco and the south-westerly libeccio are what stirs this side up.

Our habit: on a scirocco morning, pedal south-east towards the park while you are fresh, and let the wind carry you home along the dunes. Spring and autumn are the sweet spots; in high summer, ride early or late and carry more water than you think you need.

In town: the Strea boardwalk, the island and Torre Cesarea

Start with the easy one. Since 23 June 2024 a raised cycle and pedestrian walkway in beech wood links the centre to the Strea peninsula, south of the harbour, inside the marine reserve. Ride it slowly: it is shared with people on foot. Offshore lies the Isola Grande, better known as the Isola dei Conigli, about 2.5 km long; people reach it swimming or by boat.

In the centre stands Torre Cesarea, the largest local tower (1568–1570, rebuilt in 1622), now used by the Guardia di Finanza and seen only from outside.

North to Torre Chianca, Torre Lapillo and Punta Prosciutto

Torre Chianca and the Roman columns. Five monolithic columns of cipollino marble, each 9 m long and dated to the 2nd century AD, lie on the sandy bottom about 80 m off Torre Chianca, at roughly 4.5 m depth. They came from Karystos, on the Greek island of Euboea, and sank with their ship; they were found in 1960. No diving licence needed: lock the bike near the tower, swim out from the small inlet beside it with a mask and fins, and on a calm day you see them from the surface.

Torre Lapillo. Also called Torre di San Tommaso, completed in February 1568, 17 m high, with a visitor centre inside.

Palude del Conte and the coastal dune. Further on the shore turns rocky, then sandy again towards Lido degli Angeli and Punta Prosciutto. Behind the dunes lies the Palude del Conte e Duna Costiera regional reserve, around 900 hectares of reed beds, brackish basins and springs. Near the ruins of Torre Castiglione, sinkholes have reached the water table and formed the pools locals call spunnulate. Punta Prosciutto marks the border with the province of Taranto.

Dunes are off limits. A municipal ordinance in force until 30 September 2026 bans walking on, crossing or stopping on the dunes outside marked paths and boardwalks, even where fences are missing, with fines from 25 to 500 €. Leave the bike at the access point and walk the boardwalk to the sand.

Over the border: the Salina dei Monaci at Torre Colimena

Past Punta Prosciutto you are in the province of Taranto. Just before Torre Colimena, in the municipality of Manduria, lies the Salina dei Monaci: about 25 hectares of brackish water closed off from the sea by dunes, worked for salt since Roman times. Pink flamingos have made it their home, and herons and swans can turn up too. Beside it, the 16th-century tower of Torre Colimena is one of the best preserved on this coast. Coast road out, inland lanes back: an easy half-day; pack binoculars.

South to Sant'Isidoro and the pine woods of Porto Selvaggio

Towards Nardò the coast becomes low rock and small coves. The road passes Sant'Isidoro and reaches the Porto Selvaggio e Palude del Capitano regional park: about 1,120 hectares and 7 km of high, unspoilt shoreline guarded by three towers, Inserraglio, Uluzzo and dell'Alto. The pines were planted by the State Forestry Corps in the 1950s, and a local campaign turned the area into a park in 1980 instead of a holiday-home development.

A gravel loop published on komoot, from Porto Cesareo into the pine forest and back, runs about 45 km, mostly paved, and we send you a GPX track for the park. Inside the park the tracks are dirt and in places rock, so this is a day for the Checkpoint or an e-bike. Riders who know the park repeat one tip: bring water, and fill your bottles before leaving Porto Cesareo.

Evenings in town: the ZTL and via Pellico

From 21 June to 13 September 2026 a limited traffic zone with gates on via Muratori and via Albano works every day from 20:00 to 01:00. Via Silvio Pellico, the street of fishmongers, is pedestrian on weekdays from 18:00 to 01:30, and on Sundays and holidays from 10:00 to 13:00 and 16:00 to midnight; bicycles are allowed through, so ride at walking pace.

Pick a ride by the time you have

Our bikes on this flat coast

Trek Domane AL, endurance road bike: the ride in from Lecce and the long tarmac run towards Gallipoli. No rack fits this frame. See our road bikes.

Trek Checkpoint ALR, gravel with 42 mm tubeless tyres: our choice for the park tracks at Porto Selvaggio and the sandy edges near the Palude del Conte. See our gravel bikes.

E-bikes (our e-bikes). The Rockrider is suspended and heavier, and its battery unclips so you can charge it in your room; expect 70 to 80 km. The Trek weighs about 17 kg and does a bit of everything; one battery sits inside the frame, and a second, removable one can be added for longer days.

Tell us how tall each rider is and we arrive with the right frames: we carry sizes XS to 61, which fits people between roughly 1.50 m and 1.97 m tall.

What it costs, and what is on every bike

Every rental includes a helmet and a lock, lights for both ends, a frame bag and a phone mount, plus a pump, puncture tools and one spare tube; ask and we add a Garmin mount, free. On top, if you want them: clipless pedals in SPD, SPD-SL or Look (5 €), a rack carrying two panniers at 2 € per day (the Domane cannot take one), and the Trek's second battery at 10 € per day. Delivery, to a campsite too, is charged by distance; pickup and return at our three depots cost nothing extra, cancellation is free, no deposit is asked and you pay on delivery. Full list on the home page; other towns on bike rental in Puglia; the next Ionian town south is on our Gallipoli page.

Send us your address in Porto Cesareo, Torre Lapillo or Punta Prosciutto, your dates and each rider's height, and we come back with the full price; GPX tracks for every ride on this page come on request.