A Guide to Visiting Lake Garda
We’ve been to Lake Garda almost every year since my daughter was born nearly 6 years ago. I’d always heard people talk about Lake Garda and Lake holidays in general but couldn’t picture it until I saw a family friend’s photos and I was just in awe of how beautiful it all looked. It is SUCH a perfect place for a family holiday and also I think one of the best value places you can visit - even in the peak of the summer holidays. I mean, Italy is always a good idea for the culture, the food, the crumbly old buildings, the passionate people who love babies.
You can pretty much always get cheap flights to Milan and then drive or get the train to Lake Garda. You could fly to Verona or Venice too but we can never find cheap flights there from our nearest airports.
We first went when our daughter was 6 weeks old and she absolutely hated the car so Italy was perfect to use the trains to get around. I’ve written more about that trip on my original blog here.
We’ve since gone back almost every year staying in various Airbnb’s around the lake and last year we drove there for the first time to camp! We’ll definitely plan to go back again. It’s just so stunning, everything is really easy there & geared up for families but not in a tacky kind of over touristy way, there are buggy friendly paths almost the whole way around the lake too. And being by the water everyday with views across the lake is just good for the soul!
✈ we’ve both flown with @easyjet to Milan which always seems to have really good value flights, even in August! Then picked up a car 🚙 & drove 2 hours to lake Garda. Or last year we drove via Germany & Austria. It’s only a couple of hours from the mountains which makes for an epic road trip - more on that soon.
The first thing to note is just how huge the lake is. Don’t expect to see every part of it. I’d choose just one or two corners of it. If you’re going for the first time I’d recommend basing yourself in either Riva or Pescheria. Or splitting your trip to stay in both places to explore each end of the lake from there.
With the huge lake in the middle, and pretty old towns to visit all around it, you can choose between using the ferries, buses or driving to get between them all. There are little beachy bits all along the lake shore that you can swim from, or hire a boat, or jump off a jetty.
Riva
Riva del Garda is one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been! The views through the mountains there are more Como like. Literally looks like a film set, unreal. Make sure you walk from Point View all the way along to Pini beach. It’s got lakeside views, grassy areas, swimming spots, playgrounds & beach cafes the whole way along. Then the walk round from the marina at the end towards Linfano isn’t to be missed either. Again Riva has an old town behind the shore, it’s bigger than most towns. There are pastel coloured buildings, bougainvillea, palm trees, it’s framed by the Dolomites & there are sweet little quiet streets adorned with fairy lights that come alive in the evening. Such a great atmosphere. Don’t miss this supermarket/deli for picnic supplies to take down to the lake with you, felt a bit like an Italian whole foods but really reasonable.
Last year we had a few nights in Riva before our campsite near Bardolino & because we booked it last minute we could only find an Airbnb in Arco, a little town just 10 minutes north of Riva. Surrounded by vineyards & with a quaint, traditional feel it made for a nice base and then we could easily drive into Riva & park for free each time so I wouldn’t worry if you can’t stay directly in Riva, look into Arco instead.
Pescheria
🏡 on most of our trips there we’ve stayed in cheap Airbnb apartments in Pescheria del Garda which is a really well connected town with the train station & has such a beautiful town for evenings full of fab restaurants, gelato shops, ridiculously pretty views & kid friendly splash fountains in the church square. It almost looks like Venice with the waterfront. The only thing that lets Pescheria down is that the water isn’t the best for swimming. You definitely can swim there, lots do, and we have but compared to the northern parts of the lake it’s a bit murky!
Pescheria’s main beach area is Lido Cappucini which can get busy as there’s a huge Bella ITALIA campsite directly behind it. It’s still worth a visit if you’re staying in Pescheria; we’ve spent many days on this beach. But the best beaches we’ve found are around Riva or Garda.
The walk from Lido Cappucini to Pescheria along the lake is one of my favourite walks & views ever under the huge trees. Just stunning.
There’s a sweet road train that runs through Pescheria that our kids have loved & this playground is worth the walk up the steep hill. Amazing views up there.
THE best gelato in the whole of Lake Garda is here - Gelateria La Romana, don’t miss getting a chocolate lined cone.
Don’t miss these fountains to splash in either, its a fun place to spend an evening after dinner.
Limone
On previous trips, everyone told us that Limone is the most beautiful town on the lake. It was always a bit too far from Pescheria for us to go for a day with the kids but last summer we stayed in Riva for a few days so it was really close. It’s incredibly scenic but not very buggy friendly with tiny up & down streets. Definitely more Como like. It wasn’t our favourite with the kids. But it is spectacular. We spent a morning there and had a bit of beach time at Spiaggia Cola.
If you’re near Limone or Riva, don’t miss this raised coastal walking/cycling platform, it’s very impressive with incredible views. Parking is limited near it though if you’re not cycling around it. We found a space on the road a bit further along.
Garda - as in the town Garda - is set amongst a large horseshoe bay and has the best bit of water and beaches that look like little Greek bays. To get to our favourite beach, walk all the way through Garda town, past the marina to this beach - Spiaggia Corno di Garda . It’s dreamy. It doesn’t have much shade past mid morning though and is quite narrow. But the water is always crystal clear here. If you’re in the area, lunch at Taverna San Viglio is always special too.
Garda is definitely a gorgeous town worth stopping at, it’s got the marina at the front and a well connected ferry then a historical town set behind it. The best way to enjoy it is just to walk the whole way along, taking in all of the views. Don’t miss the large market scene here. We would often pick up picnic supplies and cornettis from the town and then take them to the beach.
Bardolino, Cisano, Lasize and Garda all are connected with a beautiful buggy friendly boardwalk with the most stunning views. They’re all quite similar with crumbly, charm filled old shuttered towns set behind the lakeside access. Great for picking up some morning pastries, picnic supplies, an afternoon gelato or going in for dinner in amongst a day by the lake.
We camped at a family friendly site right on the lake in between Bardolino and Garda - see this post for the full review.
Lasize has this rare sandy beach area which is good for children here in front of some campsites
Sirmione is incredible & very different to all other towns with a medieval castle & unique Jamaica beach {named because the water literally looks like you could be in the Caribbean}. But it gets extremely crowded. Worth seeing but not somewhere we keep going back to like the others.
📍Gardaland/Movieland/Aquacanva parks are just 15 minutes up the road from Pescheria. We haven’t been yet but probably will when the children are older. There’s a Lego water park too which looks good which is part of Gardaland.
📍Salo & Desanzo also worth a visit if you have more time but only if you’ve exhausted the other towns above first in my opinion!
🏛 further afield but very do-able for day trips are Verona & Venice by train or car. Both are incredible cities to explore!
🍑 look up the market days as they’re well worth a visit. I’ve bought some favourite dresses from here!
🧳 don’t forget your water shoes & mosquito repellent!
🍕 we found the food really reasonable compared to a lot of Italy/Europe. Don’t miss the pistachio filled brioche croissants, the pizza/pasta, aubergine parmiagana & of course, gelato! Gelateria Romana is our favourite with a chocolate tap for lining your cone. I’d say that it’s not the most authentic Italian food compared to that we’ve had in Rome/the Amalfi Coast & Puglia but you can’t really go wrong with Italian food in general.
- Let me know if you want any of the Airbnb links; none were amazing but they were budget friendly. Make sure you find aircon!
- Taking the ferry is a fun way to get around the lake. As is paddle boarding as it’s often so still.
- We’ve always been around August & September time. August does get very hot but that makes the lake perfect for cooling off in.
- You forget a lot of the time that you are on a lake until you see a duck swimming past!
So many happy family memories to look back on & being by the tranquil water with the best views & fab food really is something special. 🫶💫
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