Have just begun to research which part of Lake Garda to visit for a day trip from Verona using trains/buses.

We will be in Verona last week of May.

Was originally contemplating

Bus Verona to Malcesine with ferry trips to Limone and Riva

However the new summer timetable shows that these ferries wont be running then.

Is it better to visit Sirmione by train/bus or visit Malcinese by bus (without the opportunity for further ferry crossings to explore)

Or can you suggest other options ( but not interested in car hire)

We are also travelling to Varenna for a week after this so will have time to explore Lake Como then.

Thanks

You have easy bus connections of bearable travel time from Verona to the towns on the southeastern shore of the lake. Lazise is the prettiest among them, and well worth a visit itself. From there you can catch a ferry to Sirmione.

Of course there are ferries running. For late May, however, you don't need the summer timetable but the spring timetable.

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/file2...era%202015.pdf

Thank you Quokka, just came back to edit my post and you beat me to it- I just re read the Spring timetable and saw that the ferries to those destinations were actually there after all!

Do you have a link to the bus connections that you mentioned?

If going to Sirmione, which is a spectacular archaeological site as well as a usually overwhelmed tourist mobbed Bellagio typ place in the daytime you can take a train to Pescheria del Garda which is a few miles from Sirmione with boats and buses going there.

Boats will take you around the alke and you could return to Verona by bus as quokka outlines. To me the highlight of Lake Garda was nits northern fjord-like tip - at least do a boat ride up there.

for info on Italian trains check www.trenitalia.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Those are regional trains so are dirt-cheap and a flat fare ticket - no reason to buy ahead and with a ticket you can just hop on any regional train (but not the faster trains which probably do not even stop at Pescheria del Garda anyway - it's all of 14 minutes by train from Verona.

Pescheria del Garda is a unique town worth bopping about a bit - has some Napeleon-era fortresses in the town center itself. You could easily walk to Sirmione on the peninsula if you want.

Buses in the lake Garda area:
www.apt.rovereto-tn.it
www.apt.trento.it
http://tech.atv.verona.it/atv_www/or...ocalita_P.html Bus Verona
http://tech.atv.verona.it/atv_www/or.../pdf/62-64.pdf
http://tech.atv.verona.it/atv_www/or...urb/pdf/80.pdf
http://www.trasportibrescia.it/uploa...tivi/LN027.pdf
http://www.trasportibrescia.it/uploa...tivi/LN008.pdf
http://www.trasportibrescia.it/oraristampabili.asp http://www.trasportibrescia.it/uploa...Mappa_NORD.pdf
Check whether these timetables will be valid when you plan to travel.

The absolute highlight for me on Lake Garda is the palatial weird bizarre estate where Italian writer and gadly inventor and adventurer - kind of the Howard Hughes of Italy in that regard - holed up for the final years of his life after being stripped of honors for his fascist leanings (if I recall correctly).

Anyway the house, a hefty upward trek from the boat dock in Gardone Riviera, is simply bizarre and a surprise awaits at every turn - extremely sensitive to light he had the house light-proofed with thick black shades on windows.

Many of his inventions and planes and boats he did his adventures in are on display - one boat uniquely serving I think now that was a swimming pool on top of the villa - anyway another gem along the shores of Lake Garda.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vittoriale_degli_italiani




It is where the Italian writer Gabriele d'Annunzio l

you're right, Pal about the palace of D'Annunzio - an interesting place indeed. However quite difficult to get to on a day trip from Verona, I would have thought, as, as you say, it's quite a walk up the hill from the boat dock at the Gardone Riveriera. I also think that the far north of the lake - Riva - is going to be too far for a day trip - barely time to get there and it would be time to come back.

Better I think to concentrate on the south-eastern end.

Thanks everyone for your valuable insights-

annhig, yes we are now thinking it best to focus on the south-eastern part of lake.

Perhaps on this trip we'll explore the region Peschiera to Garda.

The more I read about Sirmione, the more I fear it not to be what we are looking for.

As much as I believe the northern region of Lake Garda sounds beautiful I don't think a day trip from Verona will do it justice, as so much time will be spent on simply travelling.

The trains from Verona stop at Desenzano and Peschiera. I much prefer Desenzano, as it has much more to offer and has great ferry connections across the lake.

The assertion above that you could easily walk to Sirmione from Peschiera depends on how good a walker you are, as it's around 7 miles. Don't be put off by what you read about how busy Sirmione is, it's still a quaint place that won't be madly busy in the last week of May and I've stayed there several times.

Heading up to Garda will take over an hour depending on the ferry that you catch and might be a bit too far. Try Bardolino, which is a lovely little place with some nice restaurants and a revamped lake front.

Well yes I was in Sirmione in summer when it is overrun completely with tourists - in off season these type tourist traps - most of the stores there seemed tourist stores - take on a whole different look and feeling so Sirmione would make a great base.

Funny I stayed in Desenszano - a neat laekside resort but though Peschieera had a lot more interesting look what with all the old fortifications and seemingly older town center.