limone sul garda recommendations
 

My family and I (2 adults, kids age 7 and 12) are planning a 5 day trip to the northern part of Lake Garda early next August. After looking at various towns, Limone Sul Garda seems to be the one with the most beautiful panoramas and places to walk around. The Hotel Leonardo da Vinci is one possibility.

I am looking for hotel recommendations there. All hotels there are within our budget, so price isn't an issue. We definately need a kid-friendly pool (not cold), and prefer pretty settings with flowering plants and charming walks over fancy glitz.

Any suggestions? Is it important to be near the lake, or higher up in the town? Are there other towns besides Limone that we should consider instead?

Thanks! Mike Sips

It seems to me that Limone sul Garda is quite isolated, but perhaps that is a plus in your mind. I can't argue with it being panoramic. I stopped by there at one of the hotels - - pretty much just for the view, on the "high road" which leads toward Riva - - so I know nothing about the town itself, which is steeply down the hill from the hotels up on the road.

If you haven't looked this over already, I would encourage you to search Limone sul Garda on www.tripadvisor.com

There are two hotels with much more info than all the others combined: Splendid Palace - - 5 user reviews, pretty much all glowing and Hotel La Limonaia, seven reviews - - quite mixed in opinions.

Leonardo da Vinci gets the number 3 ranking in their system - - which can be skewed by a low number (one, in this case) of very favorable user reviews. Both LdV and Splendid Palace have write-ups from Lago di Garda magazine excerpted there.

Best wishes,

Rex

I stayed in Malcesine this past summer and day-tripped to Limone and Riva del Garda. My recollection is that there is a waterfront promenade in Limone which is very nice, but once you get off that, the streets rise pretty steeply and there is not much to see and do. Riva is larger, but, again, once you leave the waterfront, it's nothing special. Malcesine is my favorite. I think the views are equal to Limone's, the town is not as steep, and it's very pretty with a medieval atmosphere. I love the Hotel Castello, with a pool, pretty garden, beautiful lake views, private beach, and parking. Take the cable car to the top of Monte Baldo (go before 9:00 or the lines get long), and take the ferry to Limone and Riva.

Thanks for both of your replies.
Was Malcesine crowded? One of the tripadvisor links says it is overrun with German package tours.

Mike S

The "Fodorites" trip to Italy in the fall of 2001 was to, and all over Lake Garda in September. The signs were everywhere that the region is very popular with German speaking tourists - - far more so than English speaking visitors, for example.

But over run with? I don't think so. On the other hand we were there Sep 22-29. August could be a fairly different picture.

Of course, "over run with" is "over run with". It doesn't make any difference if they are Germans, Greeks, Thais or Texans, does it?

My family has vacationed on Lago di Garda 5 times.

July and August were crowded with lots of traffic. Bear in mind the road around the lake is only 2 lane and it can be quite slow going - especially on Saturdays and Sundays when the villa/ apt rentals turn over.

Sept. is far less crowded, but colder and cloudier. Swimming was not as inviting during that month.

All in all I would opt for dealing with the crowds and going during the warmer months.

Limone is probably the most picturesque town along the lake - but it is quite vertical. The lake promenade is short - I would think your family would feel isolated there.

I agree with Dick Patterson that Malcesine would be a better option - it can be VERY crowded (I think we had to wait over an hour to get the cable car to Mt Baldo last year), but there is so much more to do there.

Riva is also an option as it is bigger.

And with your kids I would recommend the hokey Gardaland on the south portion of the lake.
And do take a day trip to Verona and see the Arena.

This is a big destination for German tourists, true. But also bear in mind that the northern portion of the lake was actually part of Austria so German -speakers are quite prevalent.

Thank you, Rex and Queenie. Just to be clear, I have nothing against Germans or any other ethnicity. I was simply quoting the comment in roughguides.com. Crowds, however, are a turnoff, so if Malcesine is more crowded than other places in August, I will probably look elsewhere. Rive del Garda may be an interesting possibility. Mike S.

We just spent 3 days at the lake in September, which wasn't crowded at this time and was warm enough to swim in the pool AND the lake. I actually love the top, narrow part of the lake, Riva del Garda, the mountains coming down to the lake are spectacular...we have only driven up there, but not stayed there, so I don't know what there would be to do. We stayed in a great hotel, in the town of Gardone Riviera which is on the same side as Limone Sul Garda but a little farther south...Grand Hotel Gardone Riviera. They had a nice pool, a few docks right over the water, nice rooms with balconys, good restaurant. The boat dock was also about 10 feet away so it was easy to vist any of the other cities on the lake. I would say the town is small, although there is a slightly bigger town up above, but it was a perfect place to stay and drive or take boat trip from.

We are planning a few days at Lake Garda in late May early June, can't decide where to stay. We will be driving down from Innsbruck enroute to South of France, would be interested in comments on which side of the lake has the better road. Thinking of possibly Gardone Riveria or maybe Gargnano, any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks,

Having driven both sides, I would definately say that the east side is closer to Innsbrook and probably an easier road. That said the west side is spectacular with tunnels and twists and great views....and not dangerous or difficult. It's also possible to drive down the east side, across the bottom, and back up the other side...Gardone Riviera only about 20 mins(?) up from the bottom.

Thanks Susanna, still somewhat undecided where to base, have looked at Gardone Riveria but also like the look of Gargnano, is this the larger town further up that you refer to? We have done both Lake Como, Bellagio etc. also Lake Maggiore several times in the past and my husband reckons one lake is much the same as the other so having difficulty in convincing him to stop off at Lake Garda. So that said need to stay somewhere where there is a bit to do, I guess it won't be too busy at end of May. Ideas please.

We spent several days at Torri del Benaco and loved it. We really enjoyed the Gardesana hotel right on the water by the boat landing. Since it is about half way up the lake on the Eastern shore it is easy to get to anywhere else on the lake.

I might have to agree with your husband, there isn't much to do, but then isn't that the idea. Our friends stayed up at Gargnano a few years ago and liked it, and I do think that the town is a bit bigger. I think that Salo is a bigger town and that Sirmione has a castle to visit, Malcesine has the lift up the mountain, Gargnano has Moussalini's house, Gardone Riviera has Vittorial Gardens and WW1 museum, but in general Lake Guard doesn't have as many famous attractions as the other two lakes.

I took a trip with children that age to Lake Garda. We stayed in Malcesine, but found ourselves going to Riva del Garda a lot, and wished that we had stayed there. I thought that the beach area in Riva was nicer with more things to do than by Malcesine, although the town center of Malcesine is medieval and charming.
You can easily take a day trip to Venice--we did and the kids really enjoyed it.
The scenery in northern Lake Garda is quite beautiful; I think much more scenic than the southern end where the lakeside is quite flat.

Thanks all for the help, will now make the big decision. Looks like its between Gargnano and Malcesine.