Lake Garda recommendations

[Tinks15]

Please tell me all about Lake Garda…I’m thinking of booking a trip there next year for me & DP for his 40th. He’s always wanted to go to Italy & I’ve heard lots of lovely things.

Please could people share any info they have - nice places to stay, things to see/do, places to eat etc.

Would be looking at booking 4 days there.

Thank you

It’s very big and it’s worth choosing a location that is near the places you want to go. Driving around the lake is time consuming, especially in the high season. The Eastern/ Verona side of the lake is the posher side but the opposite bank is also lovely. It just doesn’t have all the views.

Depending on what you’re into, I would recommend not staying in Malcesine, because it’s very crowded. Personally I think Torri, Garda, Lazise or Peschiera have the best views, especially for sunset.

The weather can be very changeable, much more than anywhere else I’ve visited in Italy. It would be very normal to have rain in the four days. The good news is that it’s unlikely to be more than a couple of hours and it may well be overnight. It does bring the temperature down to a welcome temperature in the summer, but it’s worth remembering that for packing.

I can recommend this hotel

https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/italy/lake-garda/sirmione/hotels/hotel-catullo.html?utm_medium=paidsearch&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADw1NWEIfQFxUhD__Zw4WpmPdDoqU&gclid=CjwKCAjw17qvBhBrEiwA1rU9wzV7zy7ia-3BGjjnV7WKMDVlHhI1b3rqUEz4ebPep3LdNWPTX89p_BoCEIUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I can thoroughly recommend Sirmione as one of the nicest resorts to stay in. I've stayed in Garda Town and Bardolino too, but Sirmione is in my opinion, the nicest. You can get the ferry to visit any of the resorts - we went to a different resort each day for lunch and it's a lovely way to get about and see the Lake.

Hi, I organised a trip to Italy for my husband’s 40th which included a stop in Lake Garda. We flew into Milan, spent a few days sightseeing. The Duomo was amazing. We were trying to be cool and young so stayed at an hostel called Ostello Bello Grande near the main station. We then caught the train to a town called Desanzano del Garda in the south of Lake Garda with lots of nice little cafes/restaurants. Stayed at a hotel called hotel Olivetto which had really cool private saunas in the bedrooms.
We took the ferry to Sirmione which was beautiful and spent the day just pootling about there. There are lots of boat rides from the harbour and the Lake is just stunning.
I would have liked to have gone to bardolino for the cable car or further north but we didn’t have much time. We then caught the train to Venice for more sightseeing and flew home from there. Venice was crowded but we managed to avoid the cruise ship days so not that bad. We literally spent the week eating amazing food and drinking amazing coffee.I would go back in a heartbeat.

We went in October half term but I booked early and got cheap Ryanair flights. I also prebooked the trains. I found the train services really good and reasonably priced. Of the three places we visited Lake Garda and in particular Sirmione was the best.

Thanks everyone that’s very helpful.

Is there anymore recommendations on hotels? Places to stay.

If I’m honest I don’t really know where to start with anything & where to look to find out more info on Lake Garda itself.

The north of the lake is also very beautiful with dramatically different scenery. Well worth a visit during your stay

If you only have 4 days then I’d recommend basing yourselves in Sirmione. Probably half an hour or so from the airport so doable by taxi if you don’t want to hire a car. Sirmione is small, pretty and has some Roman ruins to explore, plus ferry points to explore the lake. The island with a palace in the middle of the lake could also be worth a visit if you have time.

you could spend a day going up to the top of the lake, a day up the cable car, and you’re pretty much done. We have also in the past left luggage at Verona station and had a day in Verona.

We stayed half a week in the north (riva del Garda) and half in the south (Desenzano) and preferred the north by a county mile. We stayed at Du Lac et du parc and it had everything, whether you wanted an active holiday, a pampering one or a foodie one. Visited malcesine, monte baldo, limonli, honestly everything memorable was in the north. Also there was more of a breeze, which was infinitely more comfortable when waiting for ferries etc.