Lake Garda

[pyg]

Would love some help pls! Looking to go to Italian Lakes next summer, have read great reviews about Garda. We have 3 kids aged 12/11/6 and would like self-catering with a shared pool so there are other kids to hang out with, & ideally a few other facilities eg table tennis etc. We have stayed in lovely agriturismos in Tuscany but I can't find anything similar in this area. DH not keen on the camping/campsite option. Hear this area is not cheap and we have a decent budget for the right thing (within reason!) as we will use airmiles to fly there so would prefer to spend the money on some nice accommodation. Recommendations much appreciated!

BUMP I am interested to, I have kids of similar ages.......Is Lake Garda to busy in the summer ? Some one please help.......

I don't know about self-catering but would suggest staying in Peschiera or Desenzano as they both have railway stations and it's easy to visit Verona/Venice, or Brescia in the other direction.

Very busy in July /August and the road on the east side is often very congested. The southern end is seen as more family friendly in terms of the types of places to stay, theme parks and easy access to the lake beaches but for watersports and hiking the northern end is better. I think the agriturismo complexes tend to be set back from the lake in the hills. There is a large complex of hotels and apartments/chalets near Peschiera.

We stayed in Riva del Garda 3 years ago, pre-kids. Was early September. Utterly beautiful place, gorgeous weather. Would definitely return.

We went on honeymoon to Malcesine (pronounced mal-chesney). Stunning part of the world, been back twice already. It's halfway up on the right-hand side of Lake Garda, stayed at the Casa Barca. Can't fault it. It does fill up with Germans at the weekend cos it's so close to the border. Great for day trips to Verona, or cruise down to Sirmione (it's a bit more touristy). Great weather, a fab cafe culture and the ice-cream is to die for!!

I've stayed just across the lake from the last poster who was in malcisne, in limone....beautiful; utterly stunning! Very family oriented. I would absolutely recommend!

pyg, I know you said you weren't keen on the campsite option but have a look at Canvas holidays campsite on Lake Garda called 'Camping Eden' - they have "posh" lodges as an alternative to tents and mobile homes. The views from the site are stunning (the campsite is on what used to be a terraced olive grove), there are two pools (the one at the top of the site as a couple of big water slides which I'm sure your kids would love), a play area and there seemed to be a lot of children around when we stayed there.

I've stayed at peschiera. It's lovely. We went with eurocamp. Bloody marvellous site! Walking distance up the lake.

Make sure you visit Verona for the day. Very easy by bus. Also get a boat ticket. It's good fun just hopping on and off.

I also recommend lake maggiore. It's smaller and more boutique-ified. A bit more refined.

Can I also recommend going by train across France/Italy? It's a beautiful trip. 9am train, One night in Milan and train/bus to cannero. We stayed cannero hotel.

We went last year with eurocamp (last 2 weeks in august). Compared to previous holidays in france, it was much better value in terms of eating out, cost of food etc. It was absolutely stunning. I didn't find it too busy but I live in London so am not a good measure of crowds etc. All in all it was very civilised and I liked the little lakeside beaches. My girls are 8 & 9 and both enjoyed it.

The only downside was the weather. It was by all accounts the worse summer in that region for years. On day 1 we had to go and buy some warmer clothes and we had rain for a short period most days or evenings. Interesting to hear what other people have experienced. It seemed that all of europe had a blip of bad weather during this time.