PS - we flew into and out of Verona which is closer to Garda than Venice or Milan.

Yes annhig. That's the one.

Il Castello in Malcesine and Hotel Bellerive in Saló were both good choices for us.

We had two excellent dinners at Di Vino on Via S. Bernardo in Garda. One evening we chose the tasting menu. It was so good that we returned the next evening to try things from the regular menu! We had the Hotel La Vittoria call ahead to make a reservation for us.

Enjoy your stay in Garda, mikster!

That sounds great. We will try it!

I'm wondering now if we really do need a car at all...it sounds like end of June/early July will be very busy with traffic so aside from getting to and from Malpensa I'm wondering if it's really that necessary...any thoughts?

Thank you.

mikster - we were there for a week and didn't have a car. Most of the time we used ferries and once or twice [particularly to get to the water park, which i suspect will not interest you, ] we got the bus.

Hi mikster,

I spent a week in Malcesine without a car. I took the ferry to Limone and the bus up to Riva and back again, and both were fine & great.

However, I found that the busses only ran every 2 hours and were on average 10 minutes late. And if I wanted to go farther than, say, Garda or Riva, it would require a change of bus. I wanted to see the archeological museum at Desenzano, and that was just too far. It would have required two bus changes, and with the busses running 10 minutes late and running so infrequently, I might have gotten stuck somewhere for 2 hours. I investigated taking the ferries, but the regular ferries would have taken 4h in each direction; the fast ferries were only 2h, but they cost around 40€ each way.

I think you'll have better connection at Garda, which is nicely centrally located. I, personally, don't drive when there is good public transport, so I didn't seriously consider driving. I think if I were to return to Lake Garda, I would also stay at Garda for its location. I chose Malcesine because I thought it would be more scenic because of the dramatic mountains.

I guess my advice to you would be to determine in advance where you're likely to want to go, and then study the bus schedules (using the link Rubicund provided). If you can manage without a car, then I would do that.

Have fun as you plan!

s

You don't need a car as has been pointed out several times, but it is lovely to have one to get up into the mountains and seek out little villages and their tiny cafes, often with terraces teetering on the edge of the mountain with some truly world=beating views down onto the lake.

hmmmm....that is a going point RM67. We almost always take a car and will have to give that some good consideration. Any idea how long the drive is from Malpensa to Garda?

ooops...meant to say "good point"...thanks.

I'm not sure as I got the train. I would guess at a couple of hours to the lower part of the lake but hopefully someone will come along who has actually driven that journey. From Verona (if you picked a car up there instead) to the lake is only about 30-40 mins.

we loved this place. not sure what the price is now but we were happy we splurged here at villa fiordaliso in the gardone riviera area


http://www.villafiordaliso.it

.oh I see you already have your lodging. We had a car and found it wonderful for zipping around up and down the coast. Do pay detailed attention to the parking and no parking zones and times..

May I ask what time of year you went lincasanova? Just wondering how busy it will be end of June for traffic. And I assume we can't rent a car in Garda?

I think it was April, around easter or even earlier. We had a car from the Milan airport and stopped to see all the lovely towns along the way.. Verona.. and then Sirmione and up the lake coast on our way to Venice.

I wouldn't worry so much about traffic. These are short distances from town to town.

We were back another time but I don't remember when.. weather was warmer but we didn't stay in Lago di Garda, just showed some friends a few places.

ttt

Have you checked the logistics & travel options of getting from Malpensa to Garda? You can check driving routes here as a start.

www.viamichelin.com

Thank you. Would you say Verona is a must see?

What is a 'must-see' for one person can be very different for another, depending on one's interests & preferences.

Initially, my husband & I considered staying in Verona but decided to go to Cremona after 3 days in Garda. Being a student of the cello, Cremona was a must-see for me with its Stradivari connection & the Violin Museum.

A suggestion: Find out more about Verona to see if there is something to draw you there. You can come back here with specific questions that may come up.

Good luck with your plans!