Lake Garda, Where to stay

Old Oct 24th, 2016, 12:13 PM
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Lake Garda, Where to stay

Hello Fodorites,

My husband and I are thinking of going to Lake Garda next year for 4 or 5 nights...would like to stay in one place and ferry around from that location, if possible. Wondering what area you think might be a good spot and if you have any hotel recommendations. Budget is about $300 or so a night. Would like to be in an area where we can walk to cafes and restaurants if possible. We have been to Lake Maggiore and a bit of Como and have heard wonderful things about Garda. Also, wondering what your opinion is on time of year to visit. I understand it gets very crowded in the summer,

Thanks very much.
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Old Oct 24th, 2016, 12:34 PM
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Hotel Nazionale in Desenzano del Garda. The town has a huge Tuesday AM market.

Check it out on booking.com. Look up ferry services.
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Old Oct 24th, 2016, 12:34 PM
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At the north end.
Either Riva del Garda, Malcesine, or Limone.
That is the pretty end.
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Old Oct 24th, 2016, 01:10 PM
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It is prettier, but it's not so convenient if OP specifically wants to travel by ferry as stated.
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Old Oct 24th, 2016, 01:30 PM
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I agree with bob that the northern end is more attractive.

You should think about what towns you want to visit and then peruse the ferry timetable to see what can realistically be done in a day. The winter schedule is currently posted, but you can see what towns have ferry service and how long it takes to travel from point to point. I.e., 3 hours from one end to the other. You may decide you'd rather stay at the southern end or somewhere in the middle, but, again, it's up to what you want to do.

Depending on your interests, you may enjoy taking the cable car from Malcesine to the top of Mt. Baldo. From the northern end, you could also take a day to drive into the Dolomites. Lifts/cable cars at some nearby resorts stay open into early September.

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/g_dow...02016-2017.pdf

http://funiviedelbaldo.it/en/cable-car/
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Old Oct 24th, 2016, 02:39 PM
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Agree with those who say the northern end is the best.

I stayed in Malcesine, at Hotel Erika which was very nice and under your budget.

With 4-5 days you could do a boat trip to the towns at the southern end - it takes a few hours but what a pleasant way to spend the day (on a ferry boat).

Here's my trip report with link to photos
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-castles.cfm
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Old Oct 24th, 2016, 02:43 PM
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i agree that the north end is very pretty but it's a long way to the other end of the lake with is also very interesting.

The advantage of staying somewhere in the middle is that you can easily get to both ends of the lake, particularly if you stay somewhere where the fast ferries stop, like Garda itself.

it has a very attractive lake front area, frequent ferry services all round the lake, and a lovely old town which comes alive at night. we spent a week there and saw not only Malcesine, but also Sirmone, and the other side of the lake as well which we liked a lot.
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Old Oct 24th, 2016, 06:26 PM
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My husband & I asked the same question as we planned our 3-night stay at Lake Garda just this past September. We were very happy that we chose to stay mid-lake in Garda. In addition to it being an attractive town, we liked that it had a promenade along the lake shore.

We stayed at the Hotel La Vittoria in a lake-view room with a balcony - lovely! The hotel is situated at one end of the promenade. It is also just steps from the small ferry terminal. The room rate included breakfast and offered parking in a lot that was about 5-10 minute walk away from the hotel. Reception staff was very helpful.

www.hotellavittoria.it/en

One day, we took the ferry across the lake to Salo. We also drove to Sirmione ... where on second thought, we probably should have taken the ferry!

Good luck with your planning!
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Old Oct 25th, 2016, 01:13 AM
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Most if not all of the lakeside villages offer hotels and restaurants, with the larger places obviously offering more of a choice. However, although Garda is a reasonably sized place, it's not quite mid lake and I'd offer Torri del Benaco as an alternative.

I love its small village feel, but there is a great choice of hotels around, try the Galvani, Lido or the Pace. We had a great meal in the Berengario in town.
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Old Oct 25th, 2016, 01:33 AM
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Thank you all. Does Torri del Banco offer decent ferry service?
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Old Oct 25th, 2016, 03:10 AM
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All the villages are linked by the ferry service, with some stops more frequented than others. However, it's well enough connected to catch a ferry in the morning after breakfast and bear in mind that you only need one ferry out and one back each day. The connection to the other villages depends on their timetable.
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Old Oct 25th, 2016, 12:09 PM
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rubicund - the advantage of Garda is that it offers a variety of ferry services including some of the fast ones. if you're only there for a few days, that might be important.

This might help:

http://www.visitgarda.com/en/lake-gara-ferries/
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Old Oct 25th, 2016, 12:36 PM
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Very helpful! Thank you. Would you recommend flying into Venice or Milan if we base in Garda?
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Old Oct 25th, 2016, 04:11 PM
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Would those be direct flights (no connections) to Venice or Milan? Venice is closer, but not by much. If you have to connect somewhere before you reach Italy, Verona is the closest.
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 01:44 AM
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I realsie that Ann, but Torri is well worth staying at rather than Garda, IMO it's a much nicer place. Unfortunately the timetables for next year don't seem to be up and running yet.

Mikster, also bear in mind that the lakeside buses operate between all the main towns and Torri to Riva is around an hour. You can of course get off anywhere you want to visit along the lake.

http://lakegarda.gardasee.de/bus-public-transport
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 05:41 AM
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The northern half of Lake Garda is a fjord which cuts deep into the mountains. The coastline there is as dramatic as on the Amalfi Coast.

On the western shore, the fjordlike section starts north of Salo, on the eastern shore north of Garda.

The southern half of Lake Garda is surrounded by flat country and pretty boring. The only exception is Sirmione which is a historical village.

I personally find Limone the prettiest town on Lake Garda, followed by Malcesine. Gardone Riviera is a beach town with lots of grand hotels, however the scenery is not as dramatic as further north.

Be aware that Lake Garda is very large. The regular ferry from Limone to Sirmione takes almost 4 hours and the fast ferry still 2 1/2 hours. You cannot compare the ferry service on Lake Garda with the short-distance ferries on Lake Como or Lago Maggiore. Here is the winter timetable (in summer, ferries are more frequent):

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/g_dow...02016-2017.pdf

Consider renting a car. The coastal roads of Lake Garda are extremely scenic and you can drive into the mountains. It is really different from Lake Como where a car is useless and the ferries are more convenient.

You are right, in Juli and August, Lake Garda is very crowded. The best times to be there are May, June and September. But April and October may be fine, too (however greater chance of rainy days). For swimming in the lake, September is better than June. May will be too cold.
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 06:09 AM
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Thanks very much. We will rent a car and have decided to stay in Garda. I really appreciate all of the wonderful information.
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 11:04 AM
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I realsie that Ann, but Torri is well worth staying at rather than Garda, IMO it's a much nicer place. Unfortunately the timetables for next year don't seem to be up and running yet.>>

I know it's difficult to choose the best place to stay, Rubicund. You may be right about Torre being a nicer place to stay and I agree about the buses, we used them a couple of times. But Garda's pretty good place to stay too!

Mikster - I don't know if you have an interest in history but if you do, you could get the ferry across to Gardone Riviera and walk up to il Vittoria degil Italiani which was once the home of Gabriele d'Annunzio, one-time soldier, poet and fascist. there is also a nice botanical garden on the way which makes a good stopping off point on the way down [or up!!]

The other trip that we greatly enjoyed was getting the ferry up to Malcesine and then the cable car to the top of Monte Baldo where there is an alpine garden and several nice mountain inns where you can get lunch.

hope you enjoy Garda!
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 11:20 AM
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That sounds great. We also booked Hotel La Vittoria which sounds perfect for us.
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 12:44 PM
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This one?

http://www.hotellavittoria.it/en/

it looks lovely and right next to the ferry landing station.

We stayed a little way way in the town in the hotel Garda, but it does't seem to exist any more. The old town with its little streets and restaurants is just along the prom I seem to remember. Hard to go wrong, really.
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