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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Just booked a holiday in Lake Garda!

64 replies

RipplePlease · 29/01/2026 11:35

Me, DH and DCs 17 and 19.
Our hotel is in Garda, the Regina Adelaide.
Never been to Italy as a family . Staying on bed and breakfast.
Can anyone recommend any restaurants…activities..days out.
We’d like to go to Verona and/or Venice.

OP posts:
Original poster
RipplePlease · 29/01/2026 11:35

Going end of June for 7 nights.

OP posts:
Zov · 29/01/2026 15:04

Ooooh, I've always kinda fancied this. I will be interested to know how it is. Smile

I hope it's lovely for you! 😘

gerispringer · 29/01/2026 15:14

Book a trip to Isola del Garda A little private island with lovely house and gardens. Sirmione is a peninsula on the southern end of the lake with lovely outlook, posh shops and restaurants and a spa, very touristy but beautiful, you can get there on the ferry. The teenagers might enjoy hiring a motor boat and swimming in the lake. Saló is an interesting little town with a lovely market and has a museum which has an exhibition about the short time Mussolini held his government in this part of Garda - if you are interested in history. The local buses are really good and cheap and the ferries go all over the lake but more expensive. RIva at the top of the lake is worth a visit as is Malcesine with a cable car up the mountain.

gerispringer · 29/01/2026 15:16

Don’t bother with Limone unless you go early morning - lots of narrow streets shops selling touristy stuff and overpriced bars. Very hot and crowded.

Moltenpink · 29/01/2026 15:17

Watching as I’ve also just booked!

JustNotFeelingItToday · 29/01/2026 15:23

This thermal lake was probably the highlight of the trip for us https://www.villadeicedri.it/eng/parco-termale.php

We did Gardaland which was great fun. We also liked Riva del Garda which has a cable car and a cool waterfall https://www.cascata-varone.com/it/

We didn't mind Limone, yes it's touristy but we just soaked that up and drank limoncello spritz.

We had a car and villa. Not sure if you'll have a car or not? But it is useful for getting around. There's so much to see and do all around the lake, there's something for everyone: theme parks, castles, watersports, nature, sights, markets, shopping, eating, cycling. It's great.

Thermal Park Villa dei cedri - Colà di Lazise

https://www.villadeicedri.it/eng/parco-termale.php

CrochetMadRosie · 29/01/2026 15:26

We went when our children were similar ages and they loved it.

I recommend this app for the buses
around the lake and to Verona. We went by bus to Verona and it was very easy.

The Cablecar at Malcesine was wonderful. Expensive but we all loved it. Take warm clothes for exploring the top! You can pre-book and skip the huge queue (we did that while we were in the main queue and then moved over to the much shorter pre-booked queue).

Have a fantastic time!

Just booked a holiday in Lake Garda!
TheToteBagLady · 29/01/2026 15:32

I’ve also just booked Grin

Malcesine.

We have been before, but 10 years ago. It’s absolutely beautiful, wherever you go, and you can criss cross all around the lake on the ferries

Interested in seeing more recent reviews.

we did a day trip to Venice by bus, but I think most people get the train from Peschiera.
We enjoyed the experience of Venice, it was always something we wanted to do, but I don’t think I would go back

OrinocoGlow · 29/01/2026 15:34

Good choice! It's so beautiful there. From Garda you can easily walk or cycle to Bardolino which is a lovely town, where we stayed, and it's all flat. The bus to Verona is easy, we got tickets from the tourist office in Bardolino and it's a beautiful city with loads to see. It's also good to hire a speed boat to take out on the lake for a couple of hours.

Food is pretty good everywhere we went and reasonably price. The atmosphere is lively and friendly and family orientated so it's just lovely.

Bring mosquito spray!

PizzaPowder · 29/01/2026 15:42

Hire a car and make your way around the lake. Each town is prettier than the last. I want to go back now! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

DemonsandMosquitoes · 29/01/2026 16:07

Last year we had two nights in Verona, five in Lake Garda (Bardolino, loved it) and then two in Venice. Was so glad we stopped over in Venice and Verona rather than racing round each in a day. Take the cable car up to Monte Baldo on a clear day. Trains were very reliable and cheap. Buses less so and very busy!!

jazzybelle · 29/01/2026 16:13

Malcesine is absolutely lovely. It much easier to do the cable car there in mid-late afternoon, when the queues have died down. Limone is also a lovely little place and it's easy to book trips to Venice and Florence.

BirdyBedtime · 29/01/2026 16:35

All of this is making me very nostalgic. We had our honeymoon at Lake Garda 22 years ago. My favorite place was Malcesine and the cable car. Bardolino was the first place I had chilled red wine which was quite the surprise.

BirdyBedtime · 29/01/2026 16:42

Hope you enjoy it

Lindy2 · 29/01/2026 16:45

BirdyBedtime · 29/01/2026 16:35

All of this is making me very nostalgic. We had our honeymoon at Lake Garda 22 years ago. My favorite place was Malcesine and the cable car. Bardolino was the first place I had chilled red wine which was quite the surprise.

We also had our honeymoon at Lake Garda 22 years ago!

We stayed in Limone. As it was early season it wasn't too busy. We did daytrips to Verona and Venice. Malcesine and the cable car were good too.

I would love to go back.

OccasionalHope · 30/01/2026 10:20

The north is good for water sports.

theres a really good castle ruin at Arco north of Riva, you can get the bus there if you don’t have a car.

ABeerInTheSunshineMakesMeHappy · 30/01/2026 14:56

I wouldn’t recommend trying to travel to the other side of the lake unless you can get a direct ferry as roads round the lake can be really busy, especially as you get down to the southern end, although if you have a car you may decide to brave it! The west shore is certainly quieter.
From Garda you can walk around the lakeside to Bardolino (or hire bikes if you prefer). There is a mini golf at Bardolino if your family is into that sort of thing.
The ferry is quite pricey but I would recommend using it to visit Sirmione.
You can get a bus down to Peschiera where you’ll be able to get the train to Verona, Venice and Milan, but I think you can also get a bus to Verona.
Malcesine is worth a visit with the cable car up Monte Baldo - but don’t bother if it’s cloudy.
We did a really good wine tasting and vineyard tour a few miles inland from Lazise (where we stayed).

Original poster
RipplePlease · 31/01/2026 12:17

We won’t be hiring a car so will use the ferries, bus and train.
Dies anyone know what prices are like eating out?

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ABeerInTheSunshineMakesMeHappy · 31/01/2026 16:15

Eating out I would say similar to the UK - not over expensive but not cheap either. Tends to be cheaper if you stick to pasta or pizza. From what I can remember, there is plenty of choice for eateries in Garda.

BeautifulTulips · 31/01/2026 16:54

This sounds great, have you booked a package or separately ?

Original poster
RipplePlease · 31/01/2026 18:38

We’ve booked through Tui/Citalia.

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Original poster
RipplePlease · 31/01/2026 18:38

A package.

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RainyDaysAndGlumDays · 31/01/2026 18:41

Coach tour into the Dolomites. I have never seen anywhere so beautiful.

cherrytree12345 · 01/02/2026 08:16

Agree about the Dolomites we went last year, we were told to take a jacket as it gets chillly. The day we went (September) was gorgeous just had short sleeved t shirts on and loads of hang gliders flying above us. The best day of our holiday. Also had coach trip to see the Earth Pyramids- they were amazing too