Riva Del Garda recommendations??
 

I plan to travel to Lake Garda in late May with my teenage son. Any suggestions on activities or hotel on the lake? He would like to take sailing or windsurfing classes; so how chilly is the water in late May???

chris - - <BR> <BR>I hope this is not too little too late. <BR> <BR>I am planning to travel to Garda in September, and I have discovered a number of good websites, like and I hope to compile a list of them soon. I will probably use http://communities.msn.com/RexBickers/messageboard.msnw as a repository for such wesite links. <BR> <BR>Although this site is essentially in German (I'm not sure I understand why), here is the listing from Yahoo: <BR> <BR>Regional &gt; Countries &gt; Italy &gt; Regions &gt; Trentino-Alto Adige &gt; Provinces &gt; Trento &gt; Cities &gt; Riva del Garda &gt; Business and Shopping <BR> <BR>Nautic Club Riva - instruction and rental of windsurfingboards, catamarans, dingies, and mountainbikes. <BR> <BR>http://www.nauticclubriva.com <BR> <BR>I hope you find some useful info here - - could you try to come back here and let us know what you find after your trip? <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

Chris, I love the north end of Garda. <BR>We have stayed in Riva 3 times and like the Hotel Sole. However, the village of Torbole is next door and is really the center for the windsurfing crowd. <BR>It will be chilly water--many of the surfers do use wet suits. Good luck !

We were at Sirmione on Lake Garda for May Day - what a blast. We may have been the only American's there so we just sat in the piazza and people watched. People of all ages were there - they were boating, sun bathing, eating gelati and just hanging out. It was one of our best days.

Chris, <BR>We were in Torbole on Lake Garda a couple weeks ago with 2 teenagers. We stayed at Hotel Santoni, Hotelsantoni.com/index.htm. It is across from the lake & caters to the windsurfing & bicycling crowd, (mostly Austrians & Germans) The town is small & very safe. We spent 3 days there, I could have spent 3 weeks just touring the area. It is gorgeous! There are also hiking trails not far from the hotel which take you up into the hills for the most fantastic views of the town & lake. If you do decide to stay in Torbole, be sure to eat at Al Porto Restorante. It's a family restaurant which has a great menu of Italian & German food with very reasonable prices. Check out gardalake.it/index.htm for more info on the area. Have a great time!

Thanks to all for your suggestions! Barb, did your sons take advantage of any water activities? Sounds like you enjoyed your trip. Rex, I will post a follow-up report after my trip.

Our weekend at Lake Garda was fabulous!! We stayed at the Hotel du Lac et du Parc; it has beautiful grounds, a great pool, and best of all...the Nautic Club Riva is on the grounds of the hotel. My son was able to take 3 days of windsurfing classes and he has now received his Beginners certificate so that he can enjoy this sport at other locations. The Nautic Club had all equipment, including wetsuits, and also rent bikes. An easy 20 minute walk away is the town of Riva with good restaurants, shopping and gelato! We can't wait to go back!

&lt;&lt;the Nautic Club Riva is on the grounds of the hotel&gt;&gt; <BR> <BR>but it is fully "open to the public", right? I mean, to non-guests of the hotel? <BR> <BR>They're working on their website (as of today - - looks like things are in the midst of being updated - - hopefully to include English and Italian soon), and there is essentially no information there right now. <BR>

Yes, although the Nautic Club Riva is on the edge of the grounds of the hotel, it is definitely open to the public as well. They are located right on the pathway that goes along the lake from Torbole to Riva. They have all sorts of advertising facing this pathway to attract the public as they stroll/bike/rollerblade/walk/jog by! Although their website is under construction, they did respond promptly to my fax inquiry.

Chris, <BR> <BR>

Chris, Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip to Lake Garda. I'm also planning on returning. It's the perfect place to explore and use as a base for day trip to Venice, Padua & Verona.