ann5901

We are planning a week to 10 day trip in June with our two teens (13 yo girl and 16 yo boy) and are thinking of Lake Cuomo or Lake Garda (with side trip to Venice?). Are these appropriate destinations with kids? They are good travelers but not too keen on museums!! (although they will tolerate a little)We do plan to rent a car.

Guy18

First of all, unless I'm mistaken, Cuomo is a New York politician, but not a lake in Italy! It's "Como."

I have been only to Lake Como and only for 3 days. It is, ideally, a place for romance. Beautiful vistas, quaint villages, outdoor cafes. Definitely not a museum place, although there are villas which, along with their gardens, can be visited. That said, your children might enjoy hiking and watersports which abound on the lakes. I know that there are windsurfing centers at two of the villages in the north of Lake Como (Domaso and Colico). Others would know more than I do, but that's a start.

LoveItaly

Hi ann, while my daughter when a teen loved Lake Como and Lake Maggorie (especially Isola Bella) I truly believe she would have been very bored spending a week to 10 days in the lake region. She wasn't really into museums either..although enjoyed a bit.

What she loved was Venice and Rome plus various small towns etc. Every child is so different it is sure impossible to say what your two would like but it seems to me if it is possible for your family to spend some nights in Venice I would think your teens would really enjoy their visit there. BTW, my daughter was and still is a "big city" type of person..which is why Rome is her absolute favorite location in Italy. She even ended up marrying a gentleman born and raised in Rome, LOL.
It is so hard to answer what someone else would like. I would suggest that you get your teens involved in doing some research (you know how great they are on computers) and let them add input into your family's vacation plans. Best wishes.

jtrandolph

We spent a week in Desenzano, on Lake Garda. There is a market in the town which should really turn teenagers on....my SIL bought a great leather jacket...and boat tours around the lake.

You can also drive around the lake...we had intended to drive up into the Alps one day, but there was flooding. We didn't do museums, there, but there are ruins on Sirmione (a peninsula next to the town)which they might find fun to climb around. One is vast ruins of a villa begun, supposedly, in the first century and the other is a castle.

We had a two-bedroom apartment in Desenzano...Residence il Sogno.. which was within walking distance of town and very nice. We had a 4th floor apartment with a very large living room and huge terrace. This made it possible for us to eat breakfasts in and any other meal we wanted to cook, and to pack lunches for outings. There is a wonderful kind of deli in town..Gastronomo Geronimo ... with bread, meat and Russian and seafood salad and baby marinated artichokes and pate, and cheese, and there are greengrocers everywhere.

From here we also took day trips to Verona (look for the sign pointing to the "Juliet balcony&quot and Mantua.

We also drove to Battaglia, I think is is called, where the Italians fought the Austrians for uniting the country. There is a memorial tower here. That might not interest the teenagers, but the ossario in the nearby chapel might. Behind the altar are hundreds of skulls and below that, in the crypt, their stacked bones.
Remnants of the fierce battle.

We took the train from her to Venice for three days. I would think that teenagers would love Venice...who doesn't like boating on a canal and wandering around twisty alleys.

Have a great trip.

Doble_Vergasser

With 2 teens and ten days, I would think you want at least two locations (unless you have already seen all of Italy).

We have overnighted at Lake Garda (Riva del Garda) and would love to get back there. The town of Torbole is a windsurfing center (apparently very popular with Germans). There are at least two good websites that might give you ideas for diversions. The topo and scenery at the north end of Garda are very dramatic.

Lake Como would offer a lot of different towns to visit. There is golf (the Villa D'este website offers their own course (expensive) plus several others ).

The primary thing at either lake is the scenery. Some of the nearby mountains tower literally a mile above the lake. It's a toss up between the two really.
I would say half a week in Venice and research what near by towns you could day trip to.

fun4all4

We haven't been yet, but we are taking our 2 sons, 12 and 15, to Lake Garda in June for 4 nights as part of our trip. We chose Garda over Como because of its reputation as a family oriented area. For example, there is windsurfing on the Lake as well as the amusement park, Gardaland, in the area. It is also a good location for day trips.

While a week in the area sounds great, with 10 days, I would most likely split my time with one other area. I am biased, though, as we come from the US and it is a long and big trip for us so we like to see as much as we can within reason. Also, we were interested in spending some time in cities and some time relaxing.

Good luck and have a great trip!