Where to stay in Lake Garda?

[boooey]

Just me and DP, late September.
I’m bamboozled by all the different areas around the lake ! help!
We won’t have a car, we’ll hire bikes some days, walking around too. Near nice restaurants and coffee shops ? A lot of people mention going to Verona for the day too? I know it’s gorgeous I just don’t know where to stay !

Salo is beautiful

If you don't want to have a car while you are there, it is a good idea to stay in the south of the lake so that you can get the train the places (and boats to other places on the lake). I would suggest Desenzano or Peschiera.

This is a nice hotel to stay in and close to the town centre and the station: Hotel Nazionale

Oh and as well as going to Verona, also go to Brescia. It is about 15 minutes by train in the other direction and well worth a visit though nowhere near as touristy as Verona. But Verona is a must.

We stayed in Bardolino and it was lovely.

We went to Lake Garda car-free so stayed in Desenzano - you can get boats to lots of other places around the lake, and trains for day trips to Venice or Verona. It's a nice town in its own right as well, with plenty of restaurants and cafes and some interesting historical bits (Roman villa etc).

We stayed at the Lido International, which is right on the lakeside, with a pool, lovely views (make sure you get a room on the lake side) and an easy walk into town.