Lake Garda & Verona - Where to Base With No Car?
 

My sister and I will be travelling to Verona over the Easter weekend. We'll have 4 days, three nights (Saturday - Tuesday). We fly in and out of Verona, but would like to spend a couple of days on Lake Garda. We're interested in doing some hiking, which seems best at the Northern end of the lake. Beyond that, we'll be looking to enjoy the good food, wine, and wandering the towns. We have initially been drawn to Malcesine, but are concerned it's too far from Verona. We don't want to feel rushed, so want to be realistic about how far we should be going. Wondering if anyone has recommendations for where to set our base for exploring? We understand that transport schedules will also be challenging because it's the shoulder season and a holiday time, but we will be relying on public transport (buses/trains/ferries).

We're in our late-20s, so will be relatively budget-conscious; ideally finding accommodation around 100-150 euros/night. We'll also be travelling with only carry-on (small backpacks).

A tentative 4-day itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Verona - ~10am - Bus to Malcesine via Garda
Day 2 (Easter Sunday): Hike Monte Baldo
Day 3: Boat tour around Northern end of lake or visit to wineries - Return to Verona
Day 4: Explore Verona - Fly out of Verona ~7pm

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Take the train from Verona to Brescia and then a bus around the northern part of the lake. but really if you take the train to say either of the two towns at the southern edge of the lake and do a day boat (pass) that will visit all around the lake as well as Sirmione, the Bellagio of Lake Garda but a place with formidable Roman ruins to visit. This will give you plenty of time in northern part of lake - get off at a nice town and any town. Boats are frequent in season. These are regional trains that have a flat-fare dirt cheap rate - no reserved seat- just buy tickets at station. For lots on Italian trains check www.ricksteves.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.trenitalia.con - Italian Rail site for schedules and fares, etc.

You need to verify that the Malcesine cable car is operating in April. On one Garda website, it mentions the cable car operates "10 months of the year." On the cable car's website, it mentions operating "everyday from 23th of december 2018 till 10th of march 2019." It could be that it doesn't run from mid-March to mid-May. Just verify before you go too far in your planning.

https://www.visitmalcesine.com/en/ca...lake-garda/105

https://funiviedelbaldo.it/en/timetable-rates/

IMO, direct ferry service between the south end of the lake and Malcesine isn't all that frequent in April, but it might be good enough depending on what other towns you want to visit. FYI, Easter Monday is a holiday, too.

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/doc/p...era%202019.pdf

Hi awaymann,

A few years ago, I based in Malcesine without a car (I splurged for private transport from the Verona train station). Though I loved the town, I didn't find it a great spot for convenient travelling.

The ferries were either too expensive (about 70€, as I recall, to take the fast ferry to the southern part of the lake) or took too long (again, as best I recall, it would take about 5h for one way on the slow ferry). The busses seemed to always be 10 minutes late, and they only ran about every other hour. That meant I risked missing a connection and being stuck somewhere for 2 or 3 hours. So before you make Malcesine your base for sure, get the bus and ferry schedules in advance -- hopefully they're better these days.

When I think about returning to Lake Garda, I think about staying in Garda town. It's far enough north to have the beauty of the mountains, but it is mid-point for good transport links. I think it's where the busses would connect.

Have fun as you plan!

s

There are tons of buses between Verona railway station and Garda (1 hr journey) and connecting buses from Garda to Malcesine - Riva. There is absolutely no need to make the detour via Brescia. https://www.atv.verona.it/orari_linee_bus_extraurbani
If you prefer to go by boat, take a taxi from the airport to Peschiera boat's pier (10 kms) and board there the boat that leaves at 11.35 and arrives at Malcesine at 14.05. Nice panoramic cruise with stops at Lazise, Bardolino, Garda, Torri e Brenzone. Navigazione Laghi | Lago Maggiore | Lago di Garda | Lago di Como

Book your hotels well ahead; many Germans and Austrians spend the Easter week around Lake Garda

Again, no need to detour via Brescia-you can catch a train from Verona direct to Peschiera del Garda or Desenzano (same train). Peschiera is on the south eastern corner of the lake and you can catch a bus up to Malcesine from there. Good idea to move back to Verona for the night before your flight.

When we visited Lake Garda in July two years ago, the lines for the cable car to Monte Baldo were horrendously long. The people at the front had been there for two hours. I imagine it wouldn't be much better on Easter. Someone at the ticket desk advised us that it would be better to return at around 1 PM, which we did. This doesn't really give you much time for a hike though. I would plan to arrive well before the first departure, maybe an hour before. There were also long queues for the way back, but not as bad as those in the morning, and at least we were admiring the view rather than a parking lot.

We plan to take the cablecar for our second visit in early May. So, we checked directly with them, and they nicely responded to an email within one hour:
"the cablecar will be closed until 30/03, it will be open everyday since 31/03 until middle november for the summer season."

Thank you for all the advice! Given the feedback, we will base ourselves in Garda town. Seems like we'll be able to navigate the area more easily from there. With that in mind, does anyone have recommendations for Garda town hotels or bed and breakfasts?

Thanks again!