Lake Garda

[Vitrolinsanity]

I’m planning Lake Garda in August with an 18 and 20 (fellas). I’m doing air bnb. Where to stay that will have a bit of a buzz for them, and fabulous food for me?

We stayed on the south west of the lake, which is stunning and not quite as busy as the south east but close enough to visit. Will you have a car? I’d add a day in Verona (we visited in the pouring rain and loved it so I can only imagine how amazing it is in the summer), Sirmione and Garda Land (owned by Merlin and it is an Italian Alton Towers a worth it if you like theme parks). You can also go north up the lake on boat trips and go on a gondola to get the views.

We stayed on the south west of the lake, which is stunning and not quite as busy as the south east but close enough to visit. Will you have a car? I’d add a day in Verona (we visited in the pouring rain and loved it so I can only imagine how amazing it is in the summer), Sirmione and Garda Land (owned by Merlin and it is an Italian Alton Towers a worth it if you like theme parks). You can also go north up the lake on boat trips and go on a gondola to get the views.

No we won’t have a car. Plan is to get the train from Verona, but also go in for a day visit. Thanks for the theme park tip (NOT my thing but the boys may fancy)

Check if you are there mid August for Ferragusto - great festival and lots going on including fireworks on the lake. I like Bardolino but not been to other areas to compare.

DS and friends did a cycle trip round Lake Garda at the beginning of May. They took it easy and did it over 2 days - about 50 miles a day. They are serious cyclists and took their own road bikes, but I guess you could hire bikes. It seemed to be a good cycling area.

Bardolino is really nice and has things going on and gorgeous food! You can walk from there to Garda in about 45 minutes in one direction and to Lasize which is just a bit further in the other direction. You can also get the boat to almost everywhere else and there's a really good bus route too which takes you to Malcesine more quickly than the boat. Lake Garda is one of my favourite places

I love Riva del Garda in the north but if your boys want nightlife, might not be the best. I think Peschiera might be the largest town so best for night life (also on the train line from Verona). We also liked bardolino but again may not be buzzy enough for your boys!

Sorry I’m wrong - it’s Desenzano del Garda that’s the biggest town. Not sure if it’s best place to stay though.

We're off to Desenzano on Saturday for about the 20th time!

It's an excellent transport hub as you can get the train to Milan, Brescia, Verona or Venice. You can catch bus to all sorts of places and it's also the main port for the lake boats.
It's a busy little town with a large weekly market and lots of social events.

Next week the famous Mille Miglia car race will be passing through there and Sirmione which is very easily accessible and absolutely beautiful.
Outstanding gelato there too 🙂

There's also night clubs in Desenzano and it's very big on watersports.
It's one of the biggest towns on the lake, not Peschiera (which is quite small) as suggested by a previous poster.
There's also an out of town shopping and cinema complex not too far away.

We stayed a few years ago.

agree with staying in the southwest and best for trainline
day trip by train to Verona can sometimes be matched with operas at the colesium, a different experience
hiring a self drive boat for the day is also amazing and fun

If you do reconsider the car hire a day trip to mount baldo/ cable car has amazing views, and the northern end of the lake is so different

I think that Dezenzano is one of the least picturesque towns on the lake, but it’s definitely a winner when it comes to accessibility if you and your teens want to get out and about. Apart from the train links to the other cities and to Peschiera (for the theme parks/water park), it is also best for accessing the lake ferries, particularly to Sirmione, but there’s also a faster boat you can get to the northern end of the lake.

We like to stay in Lazise, quite close to Peschiera for the trains and also for the theme parks, but IMO it’s a lot prettier. We visited last week after around 12 years. In terms of evening entertainment other than the traditional restaurants/pizzerias, DS and his partner (mid 20s) found a sports bar and a rock pub. (Probably not to everyone’s taste and more for older people from what I could see!)

I think we love Des as it's a bit more of a proper town and not too picturesque and touristy 😁
Although if you go up to the castle and along to Rivotella there are beautiful views.

We love Sirmione but by goodness it can be a crush!
Mind you, don't you think you'd be hard pressed to find an ugly town on the lake?

I can definitely see the attraction of staying in Dezanzano - in fact we stayed there the first time we visited, on a coach holiday in the 90s! I’ve not been up to the castle, so something to add for my next visit (so many places to go and to revisit lol).

They have lots of events at the castle. Concerts, exhibitions etc.
The past three years they've held Lego events and three quite important art exhibitions on Lichtenstein, Warhol and this year it's Futurism.
Not to every ones taste perhaps but my husband is a retired art lecturer so it keeps him happy 😁

I can thoroughly recommend the Park Hotel, right on the lake and amazing food!