Lake Garda vs Lake Como: Size, Boats, Winter and Which to Pick

Garda Is the Big Open One

Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake, 369.98 km2, up to 51.60 km long and up to 17.20 km wide, with a maximum depth of 346 m and the surface at 65 m above sea level. Three regions share the shore. Lombardy holds the west, Veneto the east, and Trentino the north tip.

The south is low moraine hills left by the retreating ice. The north narrows into a fjord under high mountains, where olives, lemons and cypresses grow in a mild climate. That range of scenery, from flat lakeside towns to alpine water, is what Como cannot offer.

The lakeside towns differ too, from Roman Sirmione to windsurfing Torbole. Compare them on Lake Garda towns before you pick a base.

Como Is the Narrow Y

Lake Como covers 146 km2, the third-largest Italian lake after Garda and Maggiore. It runs 46 km long but only up to 4.5 km wide, with the surface at 198 m and depths over 400 m. Three branches carved by the Adda glacier give it its Y shape.

Garda is about two and a half times the area, our sum. Como's draw is the waterfront villas and gardens, names such as Villa Carlotta and Villa Serbelloni, and the Sacro Monte di Ossuccio, a UNESCO site. It sits about 45 km north of Milan, so a day trip from the city is easy.

Garda needs a bit more planning but rewards it with variety.

Reaching Garda

Verona-Villafranca airport is about 15 km from the lake, with an Aerobus to Verona Porta Nuova every 20 minutes. Brescia-Montichiari sits 30 km away, Bergamo 80 km, Milan and Venice airports about 100 km. The only railway on the lake is the Milan-Venice line, with stations at Desenzano and Peschiera.

A sample regional train runs from Desenzano to Milano Centrale in 1 h 28 min for $11.73 (€10.50). A sample regional train from Verona to Desenzano takes 28 minutes for $5.36 (€4.80). Fares on fast trains move with demand.

Riva del Garda in the north has no station, the nearest is Rovereto with buses on. Details on Lake Garda airports and Milan to Lake Garda.

Reaching Como and Crossing Between the Lakes

Como sits about 45 km north of Milan, and the town's boat pier serves the Como-Colico line up the west branch. There is no direct boat or train linking the two lakes. To cross, you travel by rail through Milan, which eats the better part of a day.

No Como train times or fares are printed here, so check Trenitalia for your own date. If you fly into Milan you can reach either lake by rail. For a trip of 3 days or fewer, our advice is to pick one lake and see it properly rather than split the time.

One Operator, Two Fare Tables

Navigazione Laghi, the state company, runs the passenger boats on Garda and on Como. That makes the comparison clean, since the ticket rules match. Both charge return tickets at double the one-way fare, and both add $1.12 (€1) if you buy on board when the ticket office was open.

Garda sells by zone, with short hops from $1.68 (€1.50) and the longest run, Desenzano to Riva in zone 7, at $19.55 (€17.50). Como sells by stretch, from $3.35 (€3) up to $16.20 (€14.50). Passes differ in what they include, as the table shows.

How Long the Boat Takes on Garda

Garda's size shows on the water. From the last summer timetable, Desenzano to Sirmione takes 20 minutes, an easy hop. The ordinary boat from Peschiera at 9:10 reaches Riva at 14:00, close to 5 hours, our sum from the timetable.

The fast boat covers Desenzano to Riva from 9:20 to 12:15. So a full crossing is a day out, not a commute, and the whole-lake day pass makes sense if you ride more than twice. For a taste without the long haul, the 25-minute Sirmione peninsula cruise is $13, and the 4-hour guided cruise with a stop in Sirmione costs $61.

Como Keeps Its Boats, Garda Stops

This is the decisive fact. Como runs a winter passenger timetable from 2 November to 14 March, with the Como-Colico line and passenger runs via Bellagio and Varenna. Garda stops.

The autumn timetable ends 1 November, and from 2 November to 12 March the only service on the lake is the Maderno-Torri car ferry, a 30-minute crossing. The spring timetable starts 13 March. The Monte Baldo cable car also closes for maintenance from 2 November to 25 December.

So a winter trip without a car on Garda leaves you on buses and trains along the shore, with no way onto the water. The same trip on Como still sails between the mid-lake villages. Winter without a car favours Como, plainly.

What Garda Still Offers in Winter

Garda is not dead from November to March, it just needs a car or patience with buses. Sirmione castle and the Grottoes of Catullus open Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays, so check before you go. The Cascata del Varone waterfall stays open every day except 25 December, from 10:00 to 17:00 in November and December, with tickets sold on site only.

The cable car reopens for its winter season from 26 December to 21 February, giving the mountain view when the boats cannot. For the full picture, see Lake Garda in winter.

A Cable Car to 1,760 m

From Malcesine a cable car climbs to Tratto Spino on Monte Baldo at 1,760 m, a ride of about 20 minutes. The return costs $33.52 (€30) at the ticket office or $31.28 (€28) online for adults born up to 2011. The summer season runs 4 April to 1 November, with a winter season from 26 December to 21 February.

From the top station the whole lake opens beneath you, and the ridge trails suit walkers of many levels. Nothing on the Como side of this comparison puts you on a 1,760 m mountain by cable car. Check the day's timetable at the station, since last rides shift with the season.

More on Monte Baldo.

Wind Made for Sailing

Garda has a reliable daily wind cycle, and it is the reason the north shore lives on water sports. The Peler, a north wind, blows from night into the late morning, usually 20 knots and reaching 30. The Ora, a south wind, starts between about noon and 1 pm and dies at sunset, at Malcesine normally 15 knots.

Torbole is the windsurf base. The Torbole windsurfing course costs $95 for 2 hours. For something calmer, the Malcesine historic sailboat cruise runs 2 hours for $45. Como has sailors, but Garda has the dependable wind.

More at Lake Garda windsurfing.

Roman Ruins and Scaliger Castles

Sirmione packs two heavy sights onto one peninsula. The Grottoes of Catullus are the remains of a grand Roman villa at the tip of the peninsula, built at the end of the 1st century BC. At the neck of the peninsula stands the Scaligero Castle, a water castle of the Della Scala family with its own harbour.

Each costs $11.17 (€10) full, with reduced tickets for EU visitors aged 18 to 25. Better, a combined ticket covering the castle, the Grottoes with the museum and the Roman Villa in Desenzano costs $22.34 (€20) and stays valid 7 days. Both sites close on Mondays, so check before you go.

Plan the visit on Sirmione.

Wine, Olive Oil and a Theme Park

The hills around the lake carry two protected products. Olio Garda DOP has held protected status since 1997, pressed mainly from Casaliva, Frantoio and Leccino olives, and the groves climb the shorelines on both sides. Vineyards produce Bardolino reds on the Veneto side, and the Bardolino vineyard tour costs $40 for 1.5 hours, while the six-wine tasting near Lazise runs $47 for 2 hours.

For families there is Gardaland at Castelnuovo del Garda, opened 19 July 1975. Como has gardens and villas, but no equivalent mix of wine country, olive mills and roller coasters. See Bardolino wine and Gardaland.