Lake Garda
Which stations serve Lake Garda, who runs the trains, how tickets work and where the buses and ferries pick up.
There is no station called Lake Garda. The railway only touches the southern shore, at two stops on the Milan–Venice main line: Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione and Peschiera del Garda. Everything else on the lake is reached from those two by bus or ferry, or from Verona and Rovereto by bus.
This page explains how the system fits together. The six route guides below give the times, fares and last trains for Milan, Venice and Verona in each direction. If you are flying in, start with our guide to Lake Garda airports instead.
Book to Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione for the west and south-west shore (Sirmione, Salò, Gardone) and to Peschiera del Garda for the east shore (Lazise, Bardolino, Garda) and Gardaland. For Riva, Torbole and Arco in the north, take the Brenner line from Verona to Rovereto and change to the bus.
Regional trains have a fixed fare and need no booking: €10.50 from Milan to Desenzano and €4.05 from Verona to Peschiera in October 2026. Frecciarossa and Italo are faster from Milan and Venice but priced by demand, so they are worth it only when booked ahead.
Milano Centrale → Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione / Peschiera del Garda
Milan to Lake Garda by train takes 51 minutes by Frecciarossa or 1h 23min by regional train for €10.50, arriving at Desenzano or Peschiera.
Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione / Peschiera del Garda → Milano Centrale
A day in Milan from Lake Garda: which station to use, the morning trains, the last trains back and what is near Centrale.
Venezia Santa Lucia → Peschiera del Garda / Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione
Venice to Lake Garda by train takes about 1h 30min by Frecciarossa; the €13.55 regional route usually needs a change at Verona.
Peschiera del Garda / Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione → Venezia Santa Lucia
Venice in a day from Lake Garda: the morning trains from Peschiera and Desenzano, fares, and the last trains back from Santa Lucia.
Verona Porta Nuova → Peschiera del Garda / Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione
Verona to Lake Garda takes 13 minutes by regional train to Peschiera for €4.05, or a direct ATV bus to Lazise, Bardolino and Garda.
Peschiera del Garda / Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione → Verona Porta Nuova
Verona is 19 minutes from Peschiera by train for €4.05: which station or bus to use from each shore, and the last trains back.
Pick the station by where you are staying, not by which train is fastest.
| Station | Best for | Onward by |
|---|---|---|
| Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione | Desenzano, Sirmione, Padenghe, Moniga, Manerba, Salò, Gardone Riviera | Arriva buses from the station; ferries from Desenzano harbour |
| Peschiera del Garda | Peschiera, Gardaland, Lazise, Bardolino, Garda, Torri del Benaco, Malcesine | ATV buses; free Gardaland shuttle; ferries from Peschiera |
| Verona Porta Nuova | Lazise, Bardolino, Garda and the east shore by direct bus | ATV buses from the station forecourt (Garda Link ticket) |
| Rovereto | Riva del Garda, Torbole, Arco | Trentino Trasporti bus B332 |
Bus lines as listed by the operators and Garda tourist sites in October 2026. Some east-shore lines run in high season only. · Checked October 2026. Prices and times change — confirm with the operator before you travel.
Regional trains have one fixed price. High-speed prices are the range we were quoted one week ahead.
| Route | Regional | Frecciarossa |
|---|---|---|
| Milano Centrale to Desenzano | 1h 23min, €10.50 | 51 min, €15.90 to €34 |
| Milano Centrale to Peschiera | 1h 32min, €12 | 57 min, €19.90 to €36 |
| Verona Porta Nuova to Peschiera | 13 min, €4.05 | Not worth the extra |
| Verona Porta Nuova to Desenzano | 23 min, €4.80 | Not worth the extra |
| Venezia Santa Lucia to Peschiera | From 1h 54min direct, €13.55 | 1h 28min, €17.90 to €21.90 |
| Venezia Santa Lucia to Desenzano | From 2h 03min direct, €14.05 | 1h 33min, €22.90 to €31.90 |
Trenitalia journey planner, checked 7 October 2026 for Wednesday 14 October 2026. Booked six weeks ahead, Frecciarossa fares started at €10.90 from Milan and €13.90 from Venice. · Checked October 2026. Prices and times change — confirm with the operator before you travel.
Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione is the bigger of the two and the one most high-speed trains use. Despite the name it is in Desenzano, not Sirmione. The station sits above the town, roughly a kilometre from the centre and harbour, so allow a quarter of an hour on foot, downhill on the way in. Arriva buses for Sirmione and for the west shore towards Salò leave from the station.
Peschiera del Garda is smaller and closer to the water, about ten minutes on foot from the old town and lakefront of Peschiera. Gardaland is 2 km away, with a free shuttle bus from the station every 30 minutes when the park is open. Buses for the east shore stop here too.
The two stations are one stop apart, about nine minutes by regional train, so getting off at the “wrong” one is easy to fix.
Regional trains are the backbone. Trenord’s RE6 RegioExpress runs Milano Centrale–Brescia–Desenzano–Peschiera–Verona Porta Nuova roughly once an hour in each direction, and Trenitalia regional trains fill in between Verona and Venice. Fares are fixed, seats are not reserved and you can simply turn up.
Frecciarossa (Trenitalia) high-speed trains on the Milan–Venice run stop at Desenzano, and a good number at Peschiera. Italo, the private high-speed operator, serves Desenzano from Milan, Verona and Venice and has a few trains a day that also call at Peschiera. A couple of EuroCity trains between Milan and Venice stop at Peschiera as well.
Trenitalia’s website and app sell regional, Frecciarossa and EuroCity tickets, including Trenord’s. Italo tickets are sold by Italo. Neither sells the other’s trains, so compare both before you pay for a fast train.
A paper regional ticket must be stamped in the machine at the station before you board, and the journey then has to be finished within four hours. An unstamped ticket is treated as no ticket. If the machines are broken, find the conductor as you board.
A digital regional ticket bought on the Trenitalia site or app no longer needs a check-in. It validates itself at the scheduled departure of the train you picked and is valid only for that train. You can change the time as often as you like until that train is due to leave. It is a named ticket, so carry ID.
Frecciarossa, Italo and EuroCity tickets are for one specific train with a reserved seat. No stamping is needed. Cheaper fares are limited and usually cannot be changed or refunded freely.
Children under 4 travel free on regional trains and those aged 4 to 11 pay half. On Trenord trains inside Lombardy the half fare runs to under 14. A full-size bike costs €3.50 on Trenitalia regional trains that carry the bike symbol; Italo takes folding bikes only.
From Desenzano station: Arriva’s RegioLink 204 runs along the west shore to Lonato lido, Padenghe, Moniga, Manerba and Salò every half hour from 7:00 to 23:00, every day, timed to meet the RE6 trains. Line LN026 (Brescia–Desenzano–Sirmione–Peschiera–Verona) is the bus for Sirmione; the Sirmione–Desenzano or Sirmione–Peschiera fare is €2.20. From Salò, line LN027 continues up the west shore to Gargnano, Limone and Riva.
From Peschiera station: ATV buses run up the east shore to Lazise, Bardolino and Garda all year, and in high season line 483 continues hourly to Torri del Benaco, Brenzone and Malcesine. The Gardaland shuttle is free.
From Verona Porta Nuova: ATV buses for Lazise, Bardolino and Garda leave from the square in front of the station. Trenitalia sells this as a combined “Garda Link” train and bus ticket.
Ferries: Navigazione Laghi boats call at both Desenzano and Peschiera. The winter timetable runs from 5 October to 1 November 2026 and again from 13 to 25 March 2027, with a fuller summer timetable in between. See our Lake Garda ferry guide for routes and prices.
No railway reaches Riva del Garda, Torbole or Arco. The nearest station is Rovereto on the Verona–Brenner line. Regional trains from Verona Porta Nuova take between 46 minutes and an hour and cost €6.95; Frecciarossa, Railjet and Intercity trains also stop.
From Rovereto station, Trentino Trasporti bus B332 runs via Mori to Torbole, Riva and Arco. The current bus timetable is valid from 10 September 2026 to 25 June 2027. Guests of hotels in Garda Trentino that issue the Garda Guest Card ride the Trentino Trasporti network free.
Yes, two. Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione and Peschiera del Garda are both on the southern shore, on the Milan–Venice main line. No other lake town has a station; the north is reached by bus from Rovereto.
Not directly. The nearest station is Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione, in Desenzano. From there take Arriva bus LN026 or walk down to the harbour for the ferry. Peschiera station is the alternative, with the same bus line and its own ferry pier.
Not for regional trains: the fare is fixed and tickets never sell out. For Frecciarossa and Italo, booking ahead makes a real difference. On the Milan–Desenzano run we saw Frecciarossa fares from €10.90 six weeks ahead and up to €34 a week ahead.
A paper regional ticket, yes: stamp it in the machine before boarding and finish the journey within four hours. Digital regional tickets validate automatically at the departure time of the train you chose. High-speed tickets with a seat reservation need no validation.
Take a train from Verona Porta Nuova to Rovereto, which takes 46 minutes to an hour by regional train, then Trentino Trasporti bus B332 to Riva del Garda. There is no railway to the northern end of the lake.
Around the southern half, yes. Trains link Desenzano and Peschiera in minutes, buses run up both shores, and the ferries connect the towns across the water. Our ferry guide covers the boats. The far north-west is slower and needs more planning.
© 2026 Best of Lake Garda · Independent guides to every town on the lake, written and checked by Alex Burgoyne and Nicole. No one pays to be listed.
