Best Lake Garda Beaches
Lake Garda Beaches Map
A map of 22 Lake Garda beaches on every shore, with what kind of beach each one is and which are free.
This map plots the ten beaches from our ranked list of the best Lake Garda beaches and twelve more well-known public beaches, so that whichever shore you are staying on there is a pin near you. Each pin says what kind of beach it is.
Coordinates come from OpenStreetMap and were checked one by one against the right town and shoreline in October 2026.
The short answer
There are beaches on every shore. The east and south have the most, usually a strip of pebbles or gravel with a lawn behind. The west has fewer and smaller ones, and the north has two big ones at Riva and Torbole. Most are free to walk onto; you pay for a lounger at a lido, or for entry at a private park such as Baia delle Sirene.
Pick the pin nearest your base first, then use the ranked list to decide whether another beach is worth the drive or the ferry.
The map
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Numbers match the list below.
Southern shore
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3
Jamaica Beach
Flat limestone slabs at the tip of the Sirmione peninsula. Slippery at the edge; no shade.
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7
Spiaggia d'Oro
Long lakefront beach at Rivoltella, on the east side of Desenzano.
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9
Lido di Lonato
Lonato's short lake frontage between Desenzano and Padenghe, with a car park behind.
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16
Spiaggia Desenzanino
On Lungolago Cesare Battisti in Desenzano, with a restaurant beside it.
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17
Lido delle Bionde
On the east side of the Sirmione peninsula, between the old town and the Grotte di Catullo.
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18
Spiaggia Brema
Grassy beach with a bar at Colombare, at the base of the Sirmione peninsula.
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19
Lido ai Pioppi
Peschiera's town lido, on the lakeside promenade north of the old town.
Eastern shore
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2
Baia delle Sirene, Punta San Vigilio
Cove inside the Punta San Vigilio park. Entry is charged and covers loungers and parking.
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4
Spiaggia Val di Sogno
Pebble bay south of Malcesine facing the Isola del Sogno. Loungers can be hired.
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8
Spiaggia di Cisano
Grass under trees, then pebbles, with the lakeside cycle path directly behind.
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20
Lido Mirabello
Loungers, parasols and a bar-restaurant on the Lungolago Cipriani, south of Bardolino's old town.
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21
Baia Stanca
Pebble bay on the Gardesana road at Torri del Benaco.
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22
Spiaggia Posterna
Tiny beach under Malcesine's castle, reached by a lane from the old town.
Western shore
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6
Spiaggia Pisenze, Rocca di Manerba
Cove below the Rocca di Manerba reserve, reached by a path. No facilities on the beach.
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10
Lido di Toscolano Maderno
Long strand on the Toscolano delta, starting near the Maderno ferry pier.
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11
Spiaggia Tifù
Limone's pebble beach on the north-west shore, below the lake road.
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12
Spiaggia Fontanelle
Pebbles in front of a park with a picnic area, a short walk from Gargnano's centre.
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13
Spiaggia delle Rive
Small pebble beach on the gulf of Salò, beside the Porto Sirena marina.
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14
Baia del Vento
Bay at Portese, north of San Felice del Benaco. Known for wind, as the name says.
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15
Spiaggia Romantica
One of Manerba's most popular beaches, at Pieve Vecchia, next to a campsite.
Northern tip
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1
Spiaggia Sabbioni
Wide beach of fine pebbles east of Riva's harbour, with a shaded lawn behind.
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5
Lido Azzurro and Conca d'Oro, Torbole
Torbole's lakefront along Lungolago Conca d'Oro. Calm in the morning, windsurfers from midday.
How to use the map
Pins are grouped by shore: north, east, south and west. Tap a pin for the beach name, its type and a one-line note. The ten ranked beaches link through to their entry on our best Lake Garda beaches list, where there is a fuller description and, for some, a tip. Where a beach is in a town we cover, the pin also links to the town page, for example Sirmione or Malcesine.
The lake is long and the shore road is slow in summer, so a beach on the opposite shore is often quicker by boat than by car. Our Lake Garda ferry guide explains the routes.
Free beaches and paid beaches
The default on Lake Garda is a public beach you can walk onto without paying. On the map these are marked as free, public or town beaches. Jamaica Beach in Sirmione, Spiaggia Tifù in Limone, Spiaggia Brema and Baia del Vento are all tagged as free of charge in OpenStreetMap, and the tourist office in Malcesine lists Val di Sogno as a public beach.
Three kinds of place charge. A lido rents loungers and parasols on or beside a public beach, and you pay only if you want one. A private lido, such as Lido Mirabello in Bardolino, is a managed beach with loungers, parasols and a bar-restaurant. A paid park, of which Baia delle Sirene at Punta San Vigilio is the main example, charges at the gate, with loungers and parking included in the entry. Parking near the popular beaches is usually paid in summer whatever the beach itself costs.
Water quality
Bathing water on Lake Garda is tested through the season by the regional health and environment agencies of the three regions that share the lake, and the results for each sampling point are published by the Italian Ministry of Health on its Portale Acque, linked below. Look up the beach you are heading for there before you swim.
For the northern end we can quote the official result. The Province of Trento announced on 30 January 2026 that water quality was rated excellent at all 39 of its lake sampling points, Lake Garda included, and set the 2026 bathing season from 1 May to 30 September. That covers the beaches at Riva del Garda and Torbole. We have not found an equivalent single statement for the Lombardy and Veneto shores, so use the portal for those.
Sand or pebbles
Pebbles, almost everywhere. OpenStreetMap records the surface of most of the beaches on this map as pebble, shingle or gravel, and the handful that differ are grass (Spiaggia Brema) or bare rock (Jamaica Beach). Water shoes make a real difference, above all for children and on the rock slabs at Sirmione.
Sand is rare and mostly found at managed beaches in the south. Camping Bella Italia in Peschiera, for instance, describes its own beach as sandy; our Bella Italia review has the details. If a lawn matters more to you than what is underfoot at the water’s edge, the east shore between Bardolino and Garda is the stretch to look at.
Good to know
Where are the best beaches on Lake Garda?
Our top three are Spiaggia Sabbioni in Riva del Garda, Baia delle Sirene at Punta San Vigilio and Jamaica Beach in Sirmione, one each in the north, east and south. The full ranking with reasons is on our best Lake Garda beaches list.
Are Lake Garda beaches free?
Most are. You can walk onto the large majority of beaches without paying, and you pay only for a lounger and parasol at a lido. A few private parks and lidos charge for entry, the best known being Baia delle Sirene at Punta San Vigilio.
Are there sandy beaches on Lake Garda?
Very few. Nearly every beach is pebble, shingle or gravel, sometimes with a lawn behind it. Sand is mostly limited to managed beaches at lidos and campsites in the south of the lake.
Is the water in Lake Garda clean enough to swim in?
Yes, as a rule. Bathing water is tested through the season and results are published by the Italian Ministry of Health. In January 2026 the Province of Trento reported excellent quality at all its lake sampling points, including those on Lake Garda. Check the portal for the specific beach before you go.
Which shore of Lake Garda has the most beaches?
The east shore, from Peschiera up to Malcesine, followed by the south around Sirmione and Desenzano. The west shore is steeper and has fewer, smaller beaches. Town pages such as Bardolino and Desenzano del Garda cover what is near each one.
When is the bathing season on Lake Garda?
The official bathing season for the Trentino part of the lake in 2026 ran from 1 May to 30 September. In practice most people swim from June to mid-September. Our Lake Garda weather guide has water and air temperatures by month.