Lake Garda Tickets: Ferry Passes, Cable Car, Castles and Parks Compared

Every ordinary one-way fare comes from a zone matrix, zones U to 7. The cheapest hop is $1.68 (€1.50), the longest, Desenzano to Riva, is $19.55 (€17.50). A return ticket costs exactly double the one-way fare.

Buying on board adds $1.12 (€1) per passenger, bag or vehicle, though the surcharge is not applied when the ticket office is closed, so at a quiet pier you may buy from the crew at no extra cost. Fast services marked SR cost the ordinary fare plus a supplement of $2.79 (€2.50) in zone 1 up to $6.70 (€6) in zone 7, and no reductions apply on them. They also carry no bicycles, and the captain can limit bikes on any run.

Children aged 4 to 11 pay the child fare, and all tickets are valid only on the day of issue. Bicycles pay $3.91 (€3.50) to $7.71 (€6.90) depending on zone. The full fare table is below.

Day and 3-Day Tickets

The day and 3-day tickets let you travel a whole day with no limit on stops, which is the closest thing on the lake to a hop-on hop-off boat. The whole-lake day ticket is $44.13 (€39.50) for an adult, $35.30 (€31.60) reduced and $22.34 (€20) for children 4 to 11, and the 3-day version is $88.26 (€79). It is the only pass that includes the fast boats.

The Alto lago and Basso lago half-lake passes are $30.16 (€27) a day, or $60.33 (€54) for 3 days. The zone passes, Nord, Centro, Ovest and Est, cost $26.25 (€23.50) a day, valid that day only. All of them let you get off and back on as often as you like within their area.

The Car Ferry Ticket

The only car ferry on the lake runs between Maderno on the west shore and Torri del Benaco on the east, and there is no car ferry between Malcesine and Limone. The crossing takes 30 minutes and the service runs all winter, stopping only on 25 December. A car up to 3.50 m long pays $13.74 (€12.30), up to 4.50 m pays $16.65 (€14.90) and over 4.50 m pays $20.56 (€18.40), driver included.

A motorbike up to 250cc is $10.95 (€9.80), a bicycle $10.28 (€9.20), an adult foot passenger $8.38 (€7.50) and a child 4 to 11 $4.25 (€3.80).

Discounts and Family Offers

Happy Family is the deal to know if you travel with children: buy two full-price day tickets and up to two children aged 4 to 11 ride free, bringing a family of four on the whole lake down to $88.26 (€79) instead of $132.95 (€119) at separate prices, our sum. The same scheme gives $60.33 (€54) on the half-lake passes and $52.51 (€47) on the zone passes. Touring Club Italiano and ACI members get a reduced fare for themselves and one companion by showing the Show your Card membership card, valid on one-way, return and day tickets but not on night cruises or vehicles.

Take a simple day out from Sirmione. Sirmione to Garda and back on single tickets costs $25.70 (€23), which is just under the Est zone day pass at $26.25 (€23.50), so a plain round trip does not justify the pass. Add a stop at Bardolino and the single tickets come to $29.61 (€26.50), our sum, against the same $26.25 (€23.50) pass.

That is the pattern on the east shore: the zone pass pays from the third hop. The same holds in the north. Malcesine to Limone, Limone to Riva and Riva back to Malcesine totals $27.93 (€25) in singles against the Nord zone pass at $26.25 (€23.50), so even the triangle is close.

Long legs change the maths. Desenzano to Riva and back costs $39.10 (€35) on ordinary boats but $52.51 (€47) on fast boats with the supplement, our sum, while the whole-lake pass at $44.13 (€39.50) already includes the fast services. The rule is simple: a zone pass pays from the third hop, and the whole-lake pass pays whenever you take a fast boat on a long leg.

The table sets out each sum side by side.

An adult return from Malcesine to the top costs $33.52 (€30) at the ticket office and $31.28 (€28) online, so booking ahead saves $2.23 (€2). One way is $24.58 (€22), or $22.34 (€20) online. Juniors, born 2012 or later, pay $20.11 (€18) return, $17.88 (€16) online, and one way $16.76 (€15) or $14.52 (€13) online.

The mid station at San Michele is $13.41 (€12) return, or $11.17 (€10) online. Children up to 1.20 m tall ride free with a free ticket from the office, and no family fare is listed, so build your own sum. For two adults and two juniors online, return, our sum is $98.31 (€88).

Cabins leave every 30 minutes, weather permitting, and the ride to the top at 1,760 m takes about twenty minutes. The cable car closes for maintenance from 2 November to 25 December, then runs a winter season from 26 December to 21 February. Two official pages give different last-ride times, so check the day's timetable at the station.

All the options are on Monte Baldo cable car tickets.

Sold Only at the Gate

Cascata del Varone, the waterfall park above Riva del Garda, sells tickets on site only. An individual ticket is $7.82 (€7), and families pay $21.23 (€19) for two adults and one child, $26.81 (€24) for two plus two and $31.28 (€28) for two plus three. Malcesine castle sells its tickets at the castle itself, and its prices are on the Malcesine castle page.

Limonaia del Castèl in Limone publishes no price and takes bookings by phone on +39 0365 954008. Plan these stops on the Varone falls page.

Sold Online First

Il Vittoriale in Gardone Riviera sells through its own online shop, and no gate price is printed, so buy there before you go or phone +39 0365 296511. Isola del Garda can only be visited with the owners' guide and booking is compulsory, with no visits on Saturday and Monday. Adults pay from $43.57 (€39) to $54.74 (€49) including the boat, depending on the departure port.

Parco Giardino Sigurtà sells cheaper tickets online only, on its own site, on Tuesdays and Thursdays until sold out, while the gate price is $20.11 (€18) for adults and $11.17 (€10) for children 5 to 14. The Grottoes desk in Sirmione takes cards only. Start from Isola del Garda and the Vittoriale.

One Voucher for Several Museums

The GardaMusei association sells a voucher called the One Garda Ticket online, a single voucher covering member museums, archaeological sites, wineries and family attractions around the lake. Il Vittoriale's page about it prints no price, so before counting on the voucher for your budget, check the voucher's own page and see which of your planned stops are actually members. The Ministry's own combined ticket for the castle, the Grottoes and the Desenzano villa, $22.34 (€20) for 7 days, is the one bundle with a printed price.

The state sites are the most generous. At Sirmione castle, under 18s enter free, and EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay only $2.23 (€2). On the ferries, children aged 4 to 11 pay the child fare, and the Happy Family deal gives up to two children free day tickets with two full-price adults.

On the Monte Baldo cable car, children up to 1.20 m tall ride free with a free ticket from the office, and juniors born 2012 or later pay reduced fares. Cascata del Varone sells family tickets for two adults with one, two or three children. Heller Garden charges children 6 to 11 $5.59 (€5) and under 6s go free.

Isola del Garda charges children 5 to 12 from $25.70 (€23) with the boat, and infants up to 4 are free. Sigurtà's child ticket for ages 5 to 14 is $11.17 (€10) at the gate. Match the ages to the cut-off before you buy, because 11 or 12 changes the price at several gates.

More family planning is on Lake Garda with kids.

From 2 November to 12 March the only boat on the lake is the Maderno-Torri car ferry, so no passenger ferry tickets exist in that window. The Monte Baldo cable car shuts for maintenance from 2 November to 25 December, then runs its winter season until 21 February. Heller Garden closes from 1 November to 1 March, Sigurtà closes after 15 November, Isola del Garda stops visits at the end of October, and Malcesine castle drops to weekends in November, then opens daily from 5 December to 6 January.

What stays sold all winter: Sirmione's castle and Grottoes, closed on Mondays, Cascata del Varone, open every day except 25 December, and Il Vittoriale, open all year. Gardaland runs seasonal and event openings, so check the park calendar before buying. If your trip falls in the cold months, read Lake Garda in winter first.