Italy experts!? Peschiera del garda

[HolidayMouse234]

Hi, going to lake garda end of may/beginning of june with 2 kids 11 and 13. I am trying to figure out where to stay if we want to visit Caneva waterpark and Movieland. And whether to hire a car or not. I prefer not,but can you get around on public transport. Flying to Bergamo BGY. Help?! I booked a place in Cola, but buses are bad around there. Is Sirmione better? I prefer an airbnb with a use of pool to a hotel.

Following! Want to do the same next year.

One thing ive found out is that the use of swimming caps is required in most pools. Good to know 😄

I've stayed twice in Peschiera
Buses are quite unreliable.
If you choose to stay in Sirmione, although stunning, it is a fair way from kids activities. You have to get a ferry over and they're always jam packed so no guarantee you'll get on the one you want.
I'd go onto a booking site and book to stay anywhere in Peschiera itself. The train station is there (we did Verona and Venice on the same trip) and even better, a free shuttle bus goes from the station to the theme and water parks. It's only about 10 mins drive so you could also get a taxi from Peschiera
Peschiera is a gorgeous town, you can walk right along the lake and hire bikes - make your way to the various towns etc on foot.
Have the best time!

I wouldnt hire a car and travel to Lake Garda itself on the train, then get the boat once on the lake. The traffic is awful and easily gets congested as there is only one single lane road around the lake. That said the buses themselves are fine, run regularly and are inexpensive, they just dont run to the timetable once driving round the lake due to the congestion.

We stayed in Lazise, which was a good base and walked to Bardalindo and Garda plus other places further inland. It was May/June time, but rained fairly heavily for a lot of the time we were there. We also took a bus to Verona for a day, and got the train to Peschera del Garda from Milan, then got a bus there but the boat back (the ferry terminal is about 5-10 mins walk from the train station). We visited the island of Sirminone on the boat from Lazise and were glad that we didnt have a car as it would have been more hassle than it was worth.

Also - I fly into Bergamo too - you can get a bus into Bergamo central, then a train straight to Peschiera. The best thing I did was download the Rome2rio app which tells me the different options to reach somewhere.

Thank you! Great info! I looked on uber and it says taxi from peschiera train station to cola (near lazise) is 50€! Is it really that expensive? I will definitely have a look for accommodation in peschiera. Cola seems a bit too far.

Eurocamp have quite a few sites near there.

Stayed in Peschiera for many years, at the Parc hotel with dcs and loved it
the hotel had a shuttle bus into the town centre and train station, there are shuttle buses from the station to the theme & water parks
its a lovely safe little town with nice shops & restaurants

you can get a ferry to all the other towns on the lake

we used to fly into Verona and taxi was approx €50 each way

We stayed b Lazise and it was really easy to get to those places by bus, was cheap too. Taxis were really expensive and quite hard to come by. You can also get to loads of other places from Lazise by ferry.

We stayed in Garda and it was easy to get the bus to Movieland (needed to activate tickets onboard).

I actually had Parc hotel booked but canceled it in favour of airbnb in Cola!! I think im going to have a rethink now. The swimming pools in Parc look like they'd keep dc busy. Did you have a car or how did you get around? This is my main concern.

@HolidayMouse234we used the free hotel shuttle into Peschiera
from there we used the ferry or other shuttle buses

Re-booked Parc hotel 😁 Thank you @princesspadam Also managed to get the price down by £200 from earlier!!

What website should i use to book train tickets from Bergamo to peschiera? Google produces random options..

@HolidayMouse234 I don’t know but trains in Italy are very strict regarding tickets
I never got the train anywhere because the ferry was so lovely

I’ve always used Trainline.

As far as the swimming caps go - Italian culture loves a rule but then quite often ignores it, we’ve been to loads of places where caps are required in theory but never used.

Either at the ticket machine when you get there (Italian tickets are not as complex as British ones) or trenitalia.it (or .com for English) if the route has advance fares. All other sites charge a fee, like thetrainline does for UK tickets, and if you end up being unable to travel due to closures it will be harder to get a refund... which is how we ended up at Lake Garda in the first place as flooding south of Milan meant we had to change our plans the day before we travelled.

The only main difference is that you might need to validate a paper train ticket at a machine before you board (there arent barriers restricting access to all of the platforms like at most train stations located in towns here) so give yourself time to find the validation machine before the train leaves, as like someone else said, the guards are stricter than here. It is actually the same process on the bus around Lake Garda - you can buy a ticket in advance on your phone via the app then validate it before you board (which is easier said than done with dodgy internet!) although you can also buy tickets at a machine in some places.

Re the trains, there are different train operators with different tickets and you can’t travel on the fast express trains with a cheap ticket for the local slower trains. From Peschiera there are both - I’ve seen the staff from the fast train to Milan or Verona making sure people don’t get on it. You get a reserved seat on the fast trains, and the cheap, local, trains are often a lot more crowded. I tend to use Trainline to see what is available as it will show all the services, and sometimes buy via them or go to the individual train operators sites. I’ve also bought tickets online when stood on the platform depending on which is coming in next. Even if I’ve bought via Trainline I still get notifications if e,g the train is running late. Last year I went to Vicenza for the day and there were delays - I got emailed while on the train, and then emailed again to tell me how to get a partial refund from the train operators.

I’ve stayed at Peschiera the last 2 summers, and used the trains a lot in Italy more generally. I’ve had very few issues with them. I’ve used the buses as well though they can end up running v late because of the traffic. The ferries are great but more expensive, and you need to watch the timings of them. But I do enjoy being out on the water. I walk a lot alongside the lake e g up to Lazise and onto Bardolino.

We got caught out this year as the place we stayed for the first time required them. Got my poor little toddler boy all dressed up for the pool and got turned away. My fault for not checking but never seen it enforced before.