Karen_Montebello

I've always turned to the wonderful people on this board for help and I need some ideas again...We'd like to take a trip with our two kids on a two week trip to Lake Garda. Kids are 4 and 2 and it will be there first time travelling......any tips on where to go, and stay, what to do and if public transport i.e. buses and trains are good

caroline_edinburgh

The south end of the lake, particularly the south east, is more family-oriented, with theme parks, large campsites with kids' facilities etc. Trains from Venice go as far as Peschiera and there are decent-ish bus services round the lake from there, or you can get buses from Verona, opposite the railway station. When we went (to Malcesine, not with kids) we got the train to Peschiera and the bus from there, but going back to Venice airport we stayed on the bus to Verona and caught the train there. Where will you ve travelling from ? I seem to remember one or more of the budget airlines fly to Verona from the UK.

There are various boat services operating between different towns on the lake - when you are there, you can just wander down to the nearest place they dock and see what you fancy. We just hopped between Malcesine and Limone : I had wanted to visit Sirmione but didn't fancy 4 hours on an open top boat in 32 degrees.

annhig

Hi Karen,

we spent a great week with our kids - then a bit older than yours, but not that much - staying in Garda itself, actually at the Hotel Garda, which was ideal and very family oriented.

IMO, staying along one of the sides of the lake is better than at either end, as it gives you better access via the boats to all parts of the lake. also the buses are excellent from Garda, which acts as a bit of a hub for them and for the boats.

you will find Gardaland and a water park near-by, as well as lovely walks, the cable-car to the top of the mountain at Malcesine, day-trips to Verona, Venice and Padua etc. etc.

Good luck!

PS - definitely go for a hotel or apartment with a swimming pool - when it's hot it's a great way of cooling off hot and grumpy children - and adults!

qwovadis

Hotel Vittorio is a nice hotel in Desanzano di Garda

GardaLand kind of a wannabe disneyland knock off might

be of interest to kids... best for me the pearl of Garda

www.sirmione.com Hotel Eden my fav there for price

Pound and Orwell loved to stay there lakeview rooms

great food for me from 120 euro or so...

Ferry around the lake from there simply wonderful

Karen_Montebello

Wer are travelling from malta so probably we will get ryan air to verona

Karen_Montebello

@Annhig.....where is hotel gard, is it www.hotel-garda.it?

annhig

Karen , i definitely wrote hotel garda, [not gard] but this isn't it - it's not actually in Garda, which is where ours was.

perhaps it's gone out of business - it was a few years ago.

i will have another look and see if I can find it - it amy have been renamed of course.

have you come up with anywhere else that we could help you with?

zeppole

Peschiera del Garda is loaded with flat terrain, kid-friendly places, swans to gawk at. So is most of the southern end of the lake, but Peschiera has a ferry dock, a good train connection and easiest access to Gardaland (where I've never been, but your kids may be too little to care). There is also an aquapark there.

Verona's centro is largely pedestrianized and would be an easy place to have kids in tow. Just be aware of the opera festival when the crowds swell.

Just be careful when you book in Peschiera del Garda that you stay somewhere between the train station and the docks if you would like to move about on day trips. There are other nice parts of Peschiera del Garda, but they would mean too long a walk to train or ferry to move about.