Trips to Lake Garda, Italy

Trips to Lake Garda, Italy

The best travel time for Lake Garda

Lake Garda is clearly a summer destination. Although there is also a ski area with a fantastic view with the Monte Baldo, there is almost nothing going on down by the lake in winter.

From March, Lake Garda slowly awakens from hibernation. Until April, however, there is only a little more going on during the Easter holidays, otherwise you have many sights almost to yourself. During this period, temperatures vary between 5 and 20 degrees and it can rain every other day.

In May, temperatures slowly climb above 20 degrees, but the rain usually stays until the middle or end of the month. It’s still too cold for a beach holiday, but May isn’t bad at all for sightseeing and exploring the nearby towns.

According to The Motorcyclers, the season really gets going in June, July and August. All of a sudden the hotels and restaurants are full and the temperature is around 30 degrees. This is the best time for a bathing holiday on Lake Garda.

My favorite month is September. The big summer holiday hustle and bustle is then over, but the temperatures are still up to 25 degrees. The lake is still reasonably warm, so you can still go swimming on sunny days.

In October it can rain one day at 13 degrees, but the next day you might be able to jump into the lake again at 20 degrees. You should not plan your time at Lake Garda too strictly so that you can react flexibly to the weather.

During the autumn holidays there is one last seasonal swing before many restaurants and hotels close their doors again for the winter at the beginning of November.

How much time should you plan for Lake Garda?

In summer you can easily spend two weeks on Lake Garda. This gives you enough time to relax, to explore the sights around the lake or, for example, to take a trip to Verona.

In spring and autumn you can spend a week or two hiking, cycling or sightseeing.

If you only want to graze the highlights around Lake Garda, a week’s stay is sufficient.

If you are heading to the lake from southern Germany for a long weekend, you should check out what there is to see and pick your favorites beforehand. You won’t be able to do everything, but a break at Lake Garda is always a good idea.

 

Security

Lake Garda is a very safe travel destination. Even where there are many tourists, pickpockets are rarely heard of. Nevertheless, you should of course take good care of your belongings and keep an eye on your handbag and backpack. Opportunity makes thieves.

Locomotion on site

If you travel to Lake Garda with your own vehicle, you can of course easily drive everywhere yourself. In the most visited places like Malcesine or Sirmione, finding a parking space is not only expensive, but often really annoying.

With the ferry

If you don’t have a car or motorbike with you or just don’t feel like driving, the ferry is the best way to explore Lake Garda.

There is a panorama ferry that cruises leisurely across the lake and various connections with a faster hydrofoil ferry.

Both ferries take you from Riva del Garda in the north to Desenzano in the south and back. In between, the ferry stops at numerous other locations.

So you could get on the ferry anywhere and drive a whole loop across the lake.

However, you are on the road all day and cannot get off in between, otherwise you will not come back in the evening. So this option would only be for absolute shipping fans, because you are only on the ferry between 7 and 11 hours.

Of course you can also drive simple routes. The shortest route costs 3 euros, the longest route from Riva to Desenzano costs up to 20.50 euros.

It is also possible to take a bicycle with you. There is a surcharge of 3 to 6 euros for this.

You can get tickets at the ticket booths in the ports where the ferry docks. In a few smaller ports there are no ticket booths, there you buy your ticket from the ship staff when boarding.

Information on where the ferry stops can be found on the ferry company’s website .

Alternatively, there are of course many ferries that are specially designed for holidaymakers and do panoramic tours.

By bus

Otherwise there are many regular buses that travel around Lake Garda. But there is no bus that goes around the lake. The locations are connected by buses, each serving a specific section of the route there and back.

The buses are super cheap. A trip from Riva to Malcesine, for example, costs just 3 euros. You can get your ticket directly from the bus driver.

Of course there are also sightseeing tours that take you around Lake Garda.

Trips to Lake Garda, Italy