Lake Garda is 50 kilometres long and the two ends could be different countries. The south is wide, flat and busy, with theme parks, thermal spas, train stations and the biggest towns. The north is a fjord between mountains, with wind for sailing, cliffs for climbing and a Trentino accent to the food. The east shore has the sunset, the campsites and the Verona buses; the west shore has the grand hotels, the lemon houses and a road that takes twice as long as it looks. Where you base yourself decides what kind of holiday you have, far more than which hotel you book.
We have stayed in every base on this list, in campsites, apartments and hotels, in every month from March to November. Rather than ranking businesses, we have ranked ways to do the lake, each matched to the base that suits it, and linked to our town guides so you can dig into the detail. The order is our honest view of which holidays work best for most people, starting with the one we recommend to anyone coming for the first time.
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 for first-timers
#1 Best for a first visit: the east shore from Bardolino to Garda
97/100
Bardolino · Bardolino, Garda and Lazise, east shore
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If you have never been, base yourself between Lazise and Garda on the east shore. You get the evening sun, a flat lakeside path linking three pretty towns, ferries in both directions, Verona 40 minutes away by bus and the theme parks 15 minutes south. Bardolino is the best all-rounder, with its Thursday market and wine bars, covered in our guide to Bardolino; Garda is quieter and has the better beach walk to Punta San Vigilio. A week here gives you a taste of everything without long drives.
What we love
Sunset side of the lake
Flat promenade linking Lazise, Bardolino and Garda
#2 Best for active couples: Riva del Garda and Torbole
95/100
Riva del Garda · Riva del Garda, Torbole and Arco, north end
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The north end is where you go to do things. Torbole has the most reliable wind on the lake for windsurfing and kitesurfing, Arco has some of Europe’s best sport climbing ten minutes inland, and the mountain-bike trails on Monte Brione and the Ponale road start from the harbour. Riva is the bigger town with the restaurants and the evening life; Torbole is the surf village next door. Start with our guide to Riva del Garda, then Torbole and Arco. The drawback is that it is a long way from the south, so do not plan Gardaland or Sirmione as day trips.
What we love
Windsurfing, climbing, mountain biking on the doorstep
#3 Best for families with young children: Lazise and Peschiera
93/100
Lazise · Lazise, Peschiera del Garda and Castelnuovo, south-east corner
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The south-east corner is built for families. Gardaland, Caneva’s water park and Movieland are all within 15 minutes, the lake is shallow and the beaches are long and grassy, and the campsites between Peschiera and Lazise have pools, kids’ clubs and evening entertainment that let parents sit down. Lazise has the prettier walled old town, in our guide to Lazise; Peschiera has the train station and the canals, in our guide to Peschiera del Garda. The parks themselves are in Castelnuovo del Garda.
#4 Best for a romantic break: Sirmione and Gardone Riviera
91/100
Sirmione · Sirmione, south shore, and Gardone Riviera, west shore
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For a long weekend of thermal pools, castle views and dinner by the water, split your time between Sirmione and the west shore. Sirmione’s old town is car-free and turns quiet and lamplit once the day-trippers leave at six, with the Aquaria thermal spa open late; see our guide to Sirmione. Gardone Riviera, 40 minutes north, has the belle époque hotels, the Vittoriale and the Heller Garden, and a lakefront where nothing happens after 10pm, which is the point; it is in our guide to Gardone Riviera. Three nights in each is about right.
#5 Best for food and wine: Desenzano and the Lugana and Valtenesi hills
89/100
Desenzano del Garda · Desenzano del Garda and the hills south and west of it
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Base yourself in Desenzano if the holiday is about the table. It has the best restaurant scene of any town on the lake, the biggest market on Tuesdays, and a train station that gets you to Verona in 25 minutes and Brescia in 20. The Lugana vineyards start at the edge of town and the Valtenesi rosé estates are 20 minutes up the west shore, so a different winery every afternoon is realistic; we rank them in our guide to Lake Garda vineyards. Everything in town is in our guide to Desenzano.
Malcesine is the best place on the lake to spend a week without driving. The Monte Baldo cable car leaves from the edge of the old town, ferries cross to Limone in 20 minutes and run down the east shore to Garda and Bardolino, ATV buses go north to Riva and south to Verona along the lake road, and the town itself is a tangle of lanes below a castle where a car would be a liability anyway. You can get there from Verona airport by bus with one change at Garda. The castle, the cable car and the boat options are all in our guide to Malcesine.
#7 Best for peace and quiet: the villages above the west shore
86/100
Tremosine sul Garda · Tremosine, Tignale and the Valvestino, above the west shore
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Four hundred metres above the west shore, the villages of the Tremosine plateau and Tignale look down on the lake from cliff-edge terraces, with cows, chestnut woods and hardly any traffic. You need a car, the boats do not stop here, and the road up from the lake is a hairpin adventure, but in return you get August without crowds and evening walks with the whole lake below you. Pieve di Tremosine is the pick for a base, in our guide to Tremosine; Tignale is smaller still, and Magasa in the Valvestino is properly remote.
#8 Best for walkers: Torri del Benaco, Brenzone and Monte Baldo
84/100
Torri del Benaco · Torri del Benaco, Brenzone and San Zeno di Montagna, east shore
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The stretch of east shore between Torri del Benaco and Malcesine has Monte Baldo directly behind it, with marked trails from the lakeside villages up through the olive groves to the ridge, plus the old mule paths that link the hamlets of Brenzone. Torri is the more comfortable base with a harbour, castle and ferries to Maderno; see our guide to Torri del Benaco. Brenzone is quieter and closer to the trails, and San Zeno di Montagna up the hill gives you a head start on the mountain. The routes are in our guide to the best Lake Garda walks.
#9 Best on a budget: camping on the Valtenesi coast
82/100
Manerba del Garda · Manerba, San Felice del Benaco and Moniga, west shore
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The west shore between Padenghe and Salò, the Valtenesi, has a run of campsites and holiday villages on low headlands with some of the clearest water on the lake, and prices well below the east shore for a pitch or a mobile home. Manerba has the Rocca nature reserve and the best beaches, in our guide to Manerba del Garda; San Felice del Benaco has the campsites on the point facing Isola del Garda. It is a car holiday, with Salò and Desenzano 20 minutes each way. We compare the sites in our guide to Lake Garda camping.
Salò · Salò, Toscolano Maderno and Gargnano, west shore
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The middle of the west shore is where we send people who want a real town, good food and no theme parks. Salò has the longest promenade on the lake, proper shops on Via San Carlo and a Saturday market, in our guide to Salò. Fifteen minutes north, Gargnano is a fishing village with lemon houses and one of the prettiest harbours on the lake, with Toscolano Maderno and its ferry to Torri between them. Days here are a swim, a long lunch and a boat trip; nobody is in a hurry.
A week is right for a first visit: enough for two or three towns by ferry, a day in the mountains, a day at a park or on the water and a lazy day by the lake. A long weekend works if you stay at the southern end near the motorway and airport, say Sirmione or Desenzano, and do not try to reach the north. Two weeks lets you split between a south and a north base.
When is the best time of year to visit Lake Garda?
Late May to early July and September are the months we recommend: warm enough to swim, the ferries running a full timetable and the towns busy without being packed. August is hot, crowded and expensive, and the roads round the lake crawl. April and October are lovely for walking and wine but too cool for most people to swim. From November to March many hotels and restaurants in the smaller villages close, though Desenzano, Riva and Sirmione stay alive.
Which side of Lake Garda is best?
It depends what you want. The east shore has the sunset, the campsites, the theme parks and the buses to Verona, so it suits first visits and families. The west shore is quieter, more expensive in the middle around Gardone, and has the lemon houses and the mountain villages. The north is for sport. For a first trip we would pick the east shore around Bardolino; for a second, go north or west.
Do I need a car at Lake Garda?
Not if you choose your base well. Malcesine, Riva, Sirmione, Bardolino and Desenzano all work without one, using ferries and the lake-road buses, and Desenzano and Peschiera have train stations. You do need one for the hill villages of the west shore, the Valtenesi campsites and touring wineries. In August a car is often more hindrance than help; parking is scarce and the lake road jams. Hire one for a day or two if needed.
What is the best base for a family holiday on Lake Garda?
Lazise or Peschiera for families with young children, because the theme parks are 15 minutes away, the beaches are shallow and the campsites have pools and kids' clubs. Older children who want activity are better served by Riva and Torbole at the north end, with windsurfing, climbing and bikes. For where to stay in either, see our pick of the best Lake Garda hotels and our camping guide.
Is Lake Garda expensive?
Middling by Italian standards, and cheaper than Lake Como. A decent three-star hotel is €120–200 a night in high season, a campsite pitch €30–60, and a mobile home €100–250 depending on the month. Eating out runs €15–25 a head for pizza and a drink and €40–70 for a good dinner. Sirmione and Gardone are the dearest towns, the Valtenesi campsites and the hill villages the cheapest. September prices drop by a third.
Should I stay in one place or move around?
One base for a week, two for a fortnight. The lake road is slow, 50 kilometres can take two hours in summer, so moving hotel every couple of nights wastes half your holiday in the car. Pick a base and let the ferries do the moving. For two weeks, a south base like Sirmione and a north base like Riva give you two different lakes; our Sirmione guide and our Riva del Garda guide cover both.
Which airport is best for Lake Garda?
Verona Villafranca is the closest, 30 minutes to Peschiera and under an hour to most of the east and south shore, with buses and a short train ride from Verona station. Bergamo suits the west shore and Desenzano, roughly an hour and a quarter on the A4. Milan Malpensa and Venice are two hours or more and only worth it for a cheap fare. From the north end, Verona is still best, about an hour and a half.
Can I do Lake Garda as a day trip from Verona or Milan?
From Verona, easily: the train to Peschiera takes 15 minutes and Desenzano 25, and from either you can take a ferry to Sirmione for the castle and grottoes and be back for dinner. From Milan it is an hour by train to Desenzano, so a day is feasible but long. A day trip only shows you the southern end. For the mountains, the beaches and the ferries, stay at least three nights; see our beach guide for where to swim.
What should I not miss on a first holiday to Lake Garda?
A ferry ride, ideally the length of the lake from Riva or Malcesine down to Sirmione, because the shore changes completely along the way. The Monte Baldo cable car from Malcesine for the view. An aperitivo on a harbour at 7pm with a glass of Chiaretto. A morning at a weekly market. And one day on the water yourselves, in a hired boat; our guide to Lake Garda boat rentals explains what you can hire without a licence.
Our top pick
