Discovolante1

I need some expert advice! My girlfriend and I are going to a wedding in Le Marche, Italy in June. Right now the plan is the following:
- Fly in to Rome, spend 4 days there
- Stay in Le Marche for the wedding for 4 days
- Drive to Lake Garda and spend 5 days there (2 in Sirmione and 2 in Riva)
- Train from Trento to Innsbruck for 1 night
- Train to Munich for 3 nights and fly out

Feel like this is a good itinerary and most of it is already booked, but I can't stop thinking about if we should go to Puglia instead of going north (after Le Marche). I can rework my flight to fly out of Rome instead and just do Puglia for the second half of the trip and am tempted to do so. I've been to Munich before but my gf has not and thinks Bavaria would be a good contrast to Le Marche after a lot of time there - we are city people at heart.

For those who have been to both Lake Garda and Puglia - which did you enjoy more? Thoughts?

bilboburgler

Puglia, but you need to switch your northern us/Europe head off a bit.

Discovolante1

Thanks for the feedback. What steers you in the general direction of Puglia vs the lakes?

bilboburgler

Puglia has beautiful small town centres surrounded by some poverty. The people are lovely.

The lakes are more tourist heaven.

I like both but the food and wine is better, the heat and the miles of olive trees is special. I like the Murge.

Jean

You don't say why you picked Garda, Trento, Innsbruck and Munich, although it's a logical route... Puglia is gorgeous in places, but the two ideas are opposites. Garda to Munich is mostly in or surrounded by stunning mountain scenery. Puglia is a fairly flat region with beautiful beaches and charming small towns. It's really your call as to what you'd rather see and do in that week.

FWIW, my personal choice would be to spend most of that week in the Dolomites. I'd spend a couple of days at Lake Garda and the balance in the mountains. I prefer the northern end of the lake to the southern end, but where to stay depends on the sightseeing plans.

As you've only mentioned "Puglia" and not specific places, you should develop a general sightseeing list. Besides thinking about which area sounds more appealing, you should also look at the transportation logistics of both ideas. Where you would pick up the car, where you'd return it, where you'd fly home from. And how much time it would take to get to either area from Le Marche and onward to whichever airport you depart from. You probably wouldn't have to drive or train back to Rome but could depart from a regional airport in either area. On one trip to Garda/Dolomites, we flew into Verona and out of Bologna, on another we flew r/t Venice.

HappyTrvlr

We enjoyed our week in Polignano a Mare on the Adriatic Sea. But also enjoyed Lake Garda, Saló and Malcesine.
Apples and oranges. I am more inclined to return to Puglia though.
Travel requirements vary greatly. We flew to Bari, Puglia from Rome but drove to Lake Garda en route to the Dolomites.

Discovolante1

What makes you more likely to return to Puglia? Purely the flight? For me the logistics of Garda are actually a bit easier than Puglia. Sounds like you enjoyed both so hopefully I have a good time either way

bvlenci

Of the two, I would prefer Lake Garda. It's true that there are lots of tourists (mostly German), but June is not high season for tourists. Anyway, I don't turn my nose up at tourists, when I myself am one.

I feel that I should put in a word for Le Marche, though. It's one of the great secrets of Italy, with mountains, seacoast, and plenty of hill towns and castles in between. (Disclosure: I live in Le Marche.) You could easily spend two weeks here and barely scratch the surface.

Where will the wedding be?

Discovolante1

Thanks for the insight! The wedding will be in Tolentino and we are going to be spending a lot of time in Fermo as that's where the groom is from. Any recommendations? I'll probably stick with Garda and do Puglia in a few years when I have more time and can book a Maseria

whitehall

We enjoyed staying in a trullo home while in Puglia. Here is a summary of our wonderful fall week there a few years back. 7 days/6 nights in Puglia

We have been twice to Lake Garda and yes there are lots of Germans. I even co-celebrated a birthday in a local restaurant with a German in Malcesine. That was another fall trip, a quickee to meet our daughter for a week before gong to Malta. We easily combined parts of the Dolomites with Lake Garda for this brief trip. Here is that report: Copenhagen, Venice, Dolomites, Lake Garda 6 nights!

Although we loved Puglia, based on your existing plans, it seems like Lake Garda, and perhaps the Dolomites, would be your best bet. Have a great trip!