Italian Lakes

[RipplePlease]

Planning on a week’s holiday to either Garda or Como.
2 adults and DCs 17 and 19, going late June this year.
We’ve never been to either before.
We all love good food!
Would like to find a hotel to use as a base for exploring the area around the lake and going for walks, travelling to cities for days out etc.
We usually opt for Fly and Flop type holidays but would like to try something more active, getting out and about each day.
But having a pool would be good for relaxation days.
Any recommendations for hotels etc would be appreciated.

I’ve always used a travel agent to book but I’d like to have a go at booking independently this time.

Some questions:
Would an Airbnb be a good idea in Italy?
Is rail travel an option in the lakes area?
What roughly should we budget per day?
Which airport is closest?

Oooh interested in this too! After visiting Rome and Florence, I’d love to explore more of Italy.

We flew into Verona and had two days there, then got the bus to Lake Garda which took an hour and stayed in Hotel Nettuno, Bardolino. It has a pool and is pretty much waterfront. Bardolino is a beautiful resort with plentiful bars and restaurants. We walked to neighbouring Garda and Lazise from there, and took the bus one day to Malcesine to get the cable car up Monte Bardo which was winderful. After four days we got the train to Venice for two days and flew home from there. So glad we had full days in Verona and Venice rather than trying to do them as day trips. Trains were extremely reliable, busses less so but cheap.
We went in September. I would love to go back.

I've not been to Lake Como yet but I've been to Garda twice. I'd go again and again too. Verona is wonderful, the lake is quite breathtaking, Sirmione is so beautiful, the cable car to Monte Baldo is fun, as is Moviland Theme Park! And you can get a train from Verona to other places (Florence, Milan, Venice and Bologna are all under 2hrs away). Never had a bad meal anywhere.