Lake Garda Travel Tips: Plan the Trip Decision by Decision

From Milan

Milano Centrale to Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione takes 52 minutes by high-speed train, at a fare that moves with demand, or 1 h 28 min by regional for a fixed $11.73 (€10.50). To Peschiera del Garda the high-speed run takes 57 minutes and the regional 1 h 38 min to 1 h 42 min for $13.41 (€12). The high-speed train is faster but the price climbs as the train fills, so book early or take the regional and pay the same on any day.

From either station, buses and taxis run to Sirmione, which has no station of its own. Full routes and fares on Milan to Lake Garda.

From Verona and Its Airport

Verona-Villafranca airport sits about 15 km from the lake, and an Aerobus runs every 20 minutes to Verona Porta Nuova station. From roughly June to September the public bus to Garda stops directly at the airport, which saves the detour through the city. From Verona Porta Nuova, the regional train to Peschiera takes 13 minutes for $4.52 (€4.05), and to Desenzano it takes 28 minutes.

On a weekday afternoon the regionals leave Verona at 43 minutes past the hour. Check the day's timetable on Trenitalia's site before you go, because the pattern shifts with the season. More on Verona to Lake Garda and the airports.

From Venice and to the North Tip

Venezia Santa Lucia to Peschiera del Garda has direct high-speed trains in 1 h 28 min, and the cheapest regional combination takes 1 h 46 min to 1 h 54 min for a fixed $15.14 (€13.55). From Desenzano, a direct high-speed train to Venice takes 1 h 36 min at a dynamic fare, or the regional with a change takes 2 h 03 min for $15.70 (€14.05). The north tip is different: Riva del Garda has no station.

Ride to Rovereto and take the Trentino Trasporti bus the last stretch, and note that tickets cannot be bought on board. Bologna has a direct train to Rovereto, so that arrival works for a north-shore base too.

The south is the practical shore: Desenzano and Peschiera sit on the Milan-Venice line, and Sirmione, the castle and the Roman ruins are a short bus or boat ride away. The east shore in Veneto runs Lazise, Bardolino, Garda, Torri del Benaco and Malcesine, joined by ATV bus line 164 from Garda down to Peschiera and Verona, and lines 483/484 from Malcesine through Garda to Peschiera and up to Riva. The west shore, with Salò, Gardone Riviera and Limone, links to the others by boat in season and by the car ferry from Maderno all year.

The north tip, Riva del Garda, Torbole and Arco, belongs to Trentino and connects by the Rovereto bus rather than the lake line. Without a car, base within walking distance of a station or a ferry pier, and you can reach the rest by public transport. Compare towns on where to stay and the Lake Garda towns.

The four shores are drawn side by side on the home page, along with what to see in Lake Garda.

Boats

Ordinary fares are set by zone: $1.68 (€1.50) for the shortest hops up to $19.55 (€17.50) for Desenzano to Riva at the far end of the matrix. Return tickets cost exactly double the one-way fare. Tickets bought on board carry a $1.12 (€1) surcharge when the ticket office is open, so buy at the window.

The whole-lake day pass at $44.13 (€39.50) is the only pass that includes the fast boats, which otherwise add a supplement by zone. Budget time as well as money: the ordinary boat from Peschiera to Riva takes close to 5 hours end to end. Zone fares, passes and timetables on the ferry.

Buses

ATV runs line 164 linking Garda, Bardolino, Lazise, Gardaland, Peschiera and Verona, and lines 483/484 running Malcesine to Garda to Peschiera and Riva to Torbole to Malcesine down to Torri and Garda. In the north, Trentino Trasporti buses link Rovereto station with Torbole, Riva and Arco, and tickets cannot be bought on board. Sirmione has its own shuttle from Colombare running April to October, with tickets in the Arriva Italia app, and on-board tickets cost more than the machines and shops.

No bus times are printed here, so check the operator's timetable on the day you travel.

Car and Car Ferry

A car is hardest to use in Sirmione. Sirmione's ZTL runs 23 March to 13 October, fines range from $92.73 (€83) to $372.03 (€333), and the main car park for the old town is Piazzale Monte Baldo, where the SirmioPark service shows free spaces in real time. Pedestrian-only afternoons block even exits on 31 season days.

The one car crossing is the Maderno-Torri ferry, a 30-minute run between the west and east shores mid-lake. A car up to 4.50 m pays $16.65 (€14.90) one way with the driver included. It keeps running in the months when the passenger boats stop, except on 25 December.

There is no car ferry between Malcesine and Limone. Rates and routes on car rental.

Bike

The south is flat moraine country, which is why cycling works there. The full-day e-bike rental at $39 from Peschiera puts you on a 15 km paved track away from cars, with hotel pickup included and your own route for the day. Riders must be at least 155 cm tall. Bikes travel on the ordinary boats for a fee by zone, $3.91 (€3.50) in zone 1 up to $7.71 (€6.90) in zone 7, but the fast boats do not carry bicycles at all, and the captain can limit bikes on any run.

More routes on cycling Lake Garda.

The biggest one: from 2 November to 12 March no passenger boats run anywhere on the lake, and the only crossing is the Maderno-Torri car ferry. The Monte Baldo cable car closes 2 November to 25 December, then runs a winter season 26 December to 21 February. Malcesine castle drops to weekends only in November and again from 9 January.

In Sirmione, the Scaligero Castle and the Grottoes of Catullus close every Monday, and also 1 January and 25 December, so do not build a Monday around them. The Varone falls near Riva close only on 25 December and run shorter hours the rest of the winter. Gardaland runs its own event seasons, including Magic Halloween from 12 September to 1 November and a winter season, so check the park calendar before fixing a date.

More on the lake in winter and the best time to visit.

Every town sets its own tourist tax. Bardolino charges $1.68 (€1.50) to $2.79 (€2.50) per person per night depending on accommodation type, exempts children up to and including 14, and collects for at most 20 consecutive nights. Ask your hotel what your town charges, because rates differ around the shore.

The state sights share a combined Sirmione ticket at $22.34 (€20), valid 7 days, covering the Scaligero Castle, the Grottoes of Catullus with the museum, and the Roman villa in Desenzano, which is the price of the castle and the Grottoes bought separately at $11.17 (€10) each, so the Roman villa comes free on it. Note that the Grottoes take cards only, cash is no use at the gate. For the full picture see what a lake day costs.

Children

Under-18s enter the Sirmione castle free, and children up to 1.20 m ride the Monte Baldo cable car free with a ticket from the office. On the ferries, the Happy Family offer gives free day tickets to up to 2 children aged 4 to 11 when two full-price day tickets are bought, with family prices printed for the whole lake and for the partial passes. Theme park days need care: the Gardaland one-day ticket at $50 is fixed-date and non-refundable, so fix the date only once you are sure,.

Ideas by age on the lake with kids.

Couples and Slow Days

Two short bookings beat a packed schedule. Pair a boat hop with a tasting: the Bardolino vineyard tour at $40 is a 1.5 hour small-group visit for up to 10 people with five local wines, olive oil and local food on a terrace above the vines. Or take to the water: the Malcesine historic sailboat cruise at $45 runs 2 hours from Malcesine harbour on the Siora Veronica, a sailing boat from 1926, with a drink on board included.

Both cancel free up to 24 hours ahead. More on the local drops at Bardolino wine.

Travellers With Dogs

Dogs on a leash can swim on all of Sirmione's beaches, from Jamaica Beach below the Grottoes to Lido di Lugana, which is unusual and makes the south shore an easy choice with a dog. Fires and barbecues are forbidden on every one of them, and rules on individual beaches vary, so check the notice boards. Ask the ferry crew and each sight before you bring a dog aboard or inside.

Beach list on Lake Garda beaches.

Infopoint Sirmione stands at Viale Guglielmo Marconi 8 near the castle, phone +39 030 7285327. Staff answer in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish, and an outdoor digital totem works round the clock. It opens daily May to September from 10:00 to 18:00, with shorter hours in the shoulder months and listed holiday days only in winter, so phone ahead off season.

For boats, Navigazione Laghi's Garda office is in Desenzano, phone +39 030 914 9511. If you arrive by car and need the last stretch into Sirmione's traffic-free centre, the taxi rank is in Viale Marconi, phone +39 030 916082, and taxis may drive to booked accommodation.