You do not need a licence to hire a motorboat on Lake Garda. Italian rules let anyone over 18 take out a boat of up to 40 horsepower with a quick briefing, and most harbours on the lake have at least one operator with a row of open 5–6 metre boats for exactly that. Prices are consistent around the shore: roughly €60–90 an hour, €150–220 for a half day and €250–400 for a full day, plus fuel, with a deposit held on a card. Hire is thickest in the south and east (Sirmione, Desenzano, Bardolino, Garda, Malcesine) where the water is calm; in the north around Riva and Torbole the afternoon wind limits you to mornings; and on the west shore Salò and Manerba are the launch points for Isola del Garda.
We have hired boats from every area on this list, and we have also spent more hours than we can count on the Navigazione Laghi ferries, which for many people are the better deal. The list is ordered by how much you get for a day on the water: where the coastline is worth seeing from the lake, how far you can safely go in the time, and how easy it is to find a boat without booking weeks ahead. Named operators appear only where we have used them ourselves; elsewhere we describe the harbour and let you choose.
Some booking links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through one we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or the order of the list. How we choose
1Our top pick
Best first rental
#1 Sirmione peninsula by licence-free boat
96/100
Sirmione · Sirmione, hire pontoons by the old-town harbour and the Lugana shore
€€€€
The Sirmione peninsula is the single best thing on the lake to see from the water: the Scaliger castle with its walled harbour, the Grotte di Catullo ruins on the tip and the pale rock shelves of Jamaica Beach, all within twenty minutes of the hire pontoons. Boats go out from the small harbour outside the old town and from the Lugana shore just south of it, at €70–90 an hour or €280–400 a day for a 40 hp open boat that seats six. The water here is shallow, calm and warm, and you can anchor off the tip for a swim. Our guide to Sirmione has the rest of the peninsula.
What we love
€70–90 an hour, €280–400 a day
Castle, Grotte di Catullo and Jamaica Beach from the water
The harbours at Bardolino and Garda have hired boats for decades, and Consolini Boats is the name we know best, with a fleet of licence-free runabouts from about €60–80 an hour and €250–350 a day. From here the obvious route runs north past the villas and lidos to Punta San Vigilio and the Baia delle Sirene, where you can anchor off the cove, then on to Torri del Benaco for lunch and back: a comfortable half day. South takes you along the Cisano and Lazise shore. The water is calm and the bays are shallow enough for children to swim from the boat. Our guide to Bardolino covers the town afterwards.
The top of the lake is where the cliffs go straight into the water, and the only way to see the Ponale road, the waterfalls after rain and the sheer rock below Pregasina properly is from a boat. Hire is concentrated on the Riva harbourfront and at Torbole, at €70–90 an hour, but the rules are different here: the Ora wind blows every afternoon from around 1pm and operators will not send a 40 hp open boat out into it, so bookings run 9am to 1pm. Use the morning to run down the west shore towards Limone and back. Our guide to Riva del Garda has the hire pontoons and the sailing schools for the afternoon.
Malcesine · Malcesine harbour, below the Scaliger castle
€€€€
Malcesine’s little harbour below the castle has a couple of hire pontoons with licence-free boats at €70–90 an hour and around €300 a day. South of town the shore breaks into small pebble bays, Val di Sogno with its tiny island, then the coast towards Cassone and Brenzone, and none of them are properly reachable except by water or a long walk. Head north and you are under the cliffs of Tempesta with the Busatte path above you. The afternoon wind reaches here too, if less fiercely than at Torbole, so mornings are calmer. Read our guide to Malcesine for the castle and the cable car.
Desenzano is the biggest town on the lake with a railway station, and its old harbour and marina have several operators offering licence-free boats at €60–85 an hour and €250–350 a day. Sirmione’s castle is 20 minutes east across the bay, the Rocca di Manerba cliffs and coves are 40 minutes north, and Isola del Garda is a long but feasible full-day run. The southern basin is calm and the shallow bays at Padenghe and Moniga are good swimming stops. See our guide to Desenzano del Garda for the harbour bars when you tie up.
Salò sits at the back of the lake’s largest sheltered gulf, which makes it the calmest hire on the west shore, with boats on the lakefront at €65–90 an hour. Twenty minutes south-east puts you off Isola del Garda, the lake’s only sizeable island, where you can circle the neo-Gothic villa and swim in the shallow channel between the island and the San Felice shore, though landing is for guided tours only. North along the coast are the belle époque villas of Gardone Riviera, including the Vittoriale’s hillside seen from below. Our guide to Salò has the promenade and the bars for afterwards.
Manerba del Garda · Porto Dusano and Porto Torchio, Manerba; Portese, San Felice
€€€€
The small harbours at Manerba (Porto Dusano and Porto Torchio) and Portese in San Felice del Benaco are the closest launch points to Isola del Garda, ten minutes away, and to the coves under the Rocca di Manerba, where Isola di San Biagio and its shallow channel are a favourite anchorage. Hire is smaller-scale here, a handful of operators with licence-free boats at €60–85 an hour, so book a day ahead. The bays are shallow and the water is warm, which makes this the best area for a boat day with children. Our guide to Manerba del Garda has the walk over the Rocca for a land-based view.
San Felice del Benaco · Departures from Salò, Gardone, Portese, Manerba, Sirmione and Garda
€€€€
The only way to set foot on Isola del Garda is on a guided visit organised by the family who own it. Tours run from spring to October from a rotating list of harbours, usually including Salò, Gardone, Portese in San Felice, Manerba, Sirmione and Garda, and take about two hours: the boat crossing, a walk through the terraced gardens and the ground floor of the Venetian-Gothic villa, and a glass of wine. Expect to pay roughly €30–40 per adult, boat included, and to book online in advance because sailings are limited. It belongs to the parish of San Felice, and our guide to San Felice del Benaco covers the shore opposite.
Lake-wide, main piers at Riva, Malcesine, Garda, Sirmione, Desenzano and Salò
€€€€
The public ferry company runs slow boats, fast hydrofoils and two car ferries (Maderno–Torri del Benaco and Limone–Malcesine) that between them call at almost every town on the lake. A short hop between neighbouring towns costs a few euros, a long run from Riva to Sirmione on the slow boat takes most of a day and costs around €15–20, and day passes for free circulation on a section of the lake are the best value if you plan to hop on and off. Timetables shrink sharply from October to March. The car ferry crossings are the cheapest way to get a proper open-water view of the lake with a coffee in your hand.
Sirmione · Jetty beside the Scaliger castle, Sirmione
€€€€
If a day’s hire is more than you want, the wooden launches that leave from the jetty beside Sirmione’s castle do a circuit of the peninsula in about 25–30 minutes for around €10–15 per person, passing the castle walls, the villas, the Grotte di Catullo and Jamaica Beach with a commentary. Bertoldi Boats is the long-running family operator here; there is rarely a wait of more than one boat. Longer trips to Isola del Garda or across to Desenzano are also sold from the same jetty. It pairs well with a morning in the old town from our guide to Sirmione.
No, as long as the engine is 40 horsepower or less, which covers the standard open hire boats at every harbour on the lake. You need to be 18, show ID, leave a card deposit and sit through a ten-minute briefing on the controls, the no-go zones and the wind. Anything bigger, including the classic wooden Rivas, needs an Italian or recognised foreign boat licence or comes with a skipper.
How much does it cost to hire a boat?
Around €60–90 an hour, €150–220 for a half day and €250–400 for a full day for a licence-free 40 hp boat seating five or six, plus fuel, which is charged on return and usually comes to €20–50. Prices are highest at Sirmione and in August. Deposits of €300–500 are held on a card. Splitting a full day between six people works out cheaper than most organised tours.
Where is the best place to hire a boat?
Sirmione for the sights, Bardolino or Garda for calm water and long-established operators, and Salò or Manerba for Isola del Garda. The north around Torbole and Riva is the most dramatic but mornings only. If you are staying on the east shore without a car, Malcesine, Garda and Bardolino all have hire pontoons a minute from the ferry pier.
Is the lake dangerous for small boats?
It can be in the north. The Ora wind builds from around 1pm every summer afternoon and kicks up a real chop between Torbole and Limone, which is why northern operators only hire in the morning. The south and the eastern bays are calm most days. Wear the life jackets, stay within sight of the shore, and head back the moment the operator calls, which they will if the wind picks up.
Can I land on Isola del Garda from a hired boat?
No. The island is private and landing is only allowed on the official guided tours, which include the boat from one of several harbours around the south-west shore. You can circle it and anchor in the shallow channel on the San Felice side for a swim, which is one of the best stops on the lake. Read our guide to Salò for the nearest departure points.
Do I need to book boat hire in advance?
In July and August, yes, at least a day ahead and more for full days at Sirmione, where the pontoons sell out by mid-morning. In June and September you can usually walk up in the morning and get a boat within the hour. Booking by phone or online is standard, and most operators will hold a boat with a card number. Bad weather cancellations are refunded or moved.
What should I bring on the boat?
Sun cream, hats, plenty of water, a towel each and water shoes for the pebble coves. Shade on an open boat is limited to the bimini top, if there is one. Take a dry bag for phones and cash for fuel and lunch. Most people pack a picnic and anchor off a beach from our pick of the best Lake Garda beaches, which is cheaper than mooring at a restaurant.
Are the ferries a good alternative to hiring a boat?
For seeing the lake, yes. A slow-boat day pass lets you hop between towns for less than a single hour of hire, and the car ferries between Maderno and Torri del Benaco or Limone and Malcesine give a proper open-water crossing for a few euros. What you lose is the freedom to anchor and swim. Many visitors do the ferry on one day and a morning's hire on another.
Can I hire a sailing boat or a boat with a skipper?
Yes. Torbole and Riva have sailing schools and charter companies that rent dinghies and catamarans by the hour and offer skippered day sails in the afternoon wind, and Sirmione and Desenzano have operators with skippered classic wooden launches and larger motorboats by the hour. Expect €150–250 an hour for a skippered classic boat. Our guide to Desenzano del Garda has the harbour details.
Our top pick
