Lake Garda with 2 children
 

HELP! My family (hubby, 6 & 8 year old children) would like to visit Lake Garda in early July this year as part of a trip to Europe from Australia. I have heard it is great there for children so hope to stay 3 or 4 nights. However, we have absolutely no idea where to stay on the lake. We will be coming from Mont Blanc and then moving on to Venice afterwards. Can anyone advise on what area to stay in and perhaps some accommodation ideas (with a pool) and some sights to see. We will not have a car of our own so may either hire one or use public transport. Thanks in advance!

First, I strongly advise car rental (hire) for getting around Lake Garda. And I am a little bit hesitant to recommend any place as I have no personal experience traveling with children under age 14.

I was sure that a recommendation of Hotel du Parc would be a good fit. I have not stayed there, but I did visit the place, and it seemed awfully nice.

But I took a look at its details on tripadvisor.com and it sounds like it has rested on its laurels a little too long - - and might now be a little bit shabby/over-priced/not a good value.

The good news is that I bet that you can rely on the recoemmndations you read at TripAdvisor. You don't mention a target price range, but choices #4 (Madrina), #7, (Villa Mulino) and #8 (Bisesti) all look like they would be worth checking out.

Only you know what style of travel (day attractions, etc) works for you two and your kids but there is so much to like in and around Garda. Sirmione, for starters should be able to delight any family. Malcesine is fabulous, even if only for an afternoon stop. You take your car on a ferry to cut across the lake and do a "half-circumference" taking in the wonderful northwest corner of the lake (Limone sul Garda and "on around the top" to Riva), returning back down the eastern edge of the lake.

Trentino - - only about an hour away is also a great day destination - - and there are dozens of castles for visiting in the vicinity.

It sounds like a great segment of a itinerary that will be fantastic in its many other parts.

Best wishes,

Rex

Your kids will love Gardaland! I know, it seems crazy to go all the way to Italy and go to an amusement park but my kids really liked it and we definitely hung with Italians more than tourists the day we were there! Sirmione is a delightful town as well, they have what seems to be a gelato district, you know, like a financial district but with gelato stores instead of companies.

Thanks for the suggestions. Where is Gardaland? Since we will have been travelling fairly constantly for 3 weeks prior to this leg of the trip, an amusement park sounds like a great idea for the kids at this point! Regarding the driving... a but nervous about it since we drive on the opposite side of the road... Is the traffic ok & do the roads make for easy driving?

Gardaland is in Peschiera del Garda, on the southernmost shore of the lake. There is a train station in Peschiera del Garda. In addition to the amusement park, there are boat rides to other nearby towns, swans to feed, bike rentals, ice cream parlors and lots of other kid friendly activities. From Peschiera del Garda, you can also take a very short train ride to Verona, where you'll find a Roman arena in much better shape than the one in Rome and a wonderful castle, with bridge, moat, etc. It's a nice flat town with a shady piazza.

Before you book a hotel in Peschiera del Garda, look on Google to see where it is in relation to the amusement park, the train station and the boat docks. Taxis are plentiful in town (and right at the train station) so don't worry if you can't walk to all 3 locations from your hotel. But just make sure you are not in one of the hotels along the lakefront that veers up into Fornaci and other areas that are more remote from town and the attractions.

The most spectacular scenery of Lago di Garda is quite a distance north, and you would need a car for that. But if you are just looking to relax with the kids, the holiday atmosphere and boat trips from town to town plus Gardaland will give you a real break.

Hi bambi1. We spent nearly a week in an apartment, the website is below. It was near Riva del Garda and you would definitely need to rent a car because there are some great day trips nearby as stated above, Malcesine, Sirmione and Limone. The apartment itself has nice sized rooms, small kitchen and opens to either an outside terrace or patio on the lower floor, there is a nice swimming pool and play yard for children also. We do not have children but I would mention that it is a very child friendly environment.

http://www.residenzaleduetorri.it/en/residence.asp

Susan

Thanks to you all! This information is great! Sirmione has been mentioned... Is it a place to stay at or visit for the day? I think we will stay in the southern area of the Lake, just for convenience and it seems to be the place to go for children (although the north does sound spectacular... maybe for a future trip). Sooo.... any suggestions for which area to stay at? We will probably arrive in at Verona train station.Thanks again!

When I visited Italy with my kids, then 4 and 2, we stayed in an apartment in Verona for a week and went to Gardaland from there. Before we went to Verona we stopped in Sirmione and stayed a night there, and yes, it is a place to stay. There is a "strip" of hotels before the gated city.

hi, stayed 3 times at Peschiera Del Garda with kids. This has atrain station with direct trains to Venice, pretty town - as prev mentioned by Zeppole - plenty of boat trips on lake, free bus to Gardaland nearby & plenty car hire options. Always stay at Camping Bella Italia - on the far edge of town but just 10 mins walk along the lake pathway, it has hotels/apartments/lodges /2 restaurants/pools etc, great for kids.http://www.gardalake.com/bellaitalia/index.php
Totally recommend it

Have just today looked at the camping options and Bella Italia looked great for kids so was happy to hear someone else's experience there.

Thanks again to you all. Am much better equipped now to finalise our plans!!!

Another vote for hiring a car. Sirmione is my favourite place on the lake and as a poster above has said, there is a line of hotels leading down to the town almost as soon as you turn onto the promontory leading to the walled town. It's about 3K from the main road to the walls.

The Hotel Olivi is within the walls and has a pool and was a good choice when we stayed there. It's a 5 minute stroll back into the village, where the ferries dock and all the restaurants, ice cream parlours and shops are. The scenery at the North end is lovely, especially around the Malcesine area, where there is a cable car up to Monte Baldo.

Public transport is good round the lake, especially on the East, more visited side, but a car gives you much more freedom.

bambi 1 - if u want any more info about bella italia just give me a shout!you will love Lake Garda, we got stuck there cos of the volcanic ashcloud last year & it was no hardship being stuck.........

We stayed in Riva del Garda at Feeling Hotel Luise - hotel was fine, nice pool, kid friendly, close to lake but not ON the lake as such. There was a regular boat that we used for trips to Limone and Malcesine and we didn't feel that we needed to hire a car.

As an adult couple without children we stayed for a week in Malcesine a couple of years ago and took a few trips from there. It's quite scenic around the northern end of the lake although personally I liked it the least of anywhere I've stayed in Italy in about 20 trips - I think because it felt the least Italian and most aimed at package holidaymakers (mostly British & German). But I know the southern end of the lake is very popular with families with children for the amusement parks and family-friendly campsites. (I'd except Sirmione from that, though - it seemed to me a nicer place for adults, maybe on a a romantic break - although we were not there during the school holidays.) Agree it seems a long way to come to visit amusement parks which are presumably pretty similar in Oz - but since you have small children it would be a nice part of the holiday for them, before moving on to Venice which is not really a destination for children.

We didn't have a car - we got there from Venice by train & bus, and did boat trips to other towns on the lake.