Lake Garda

Lake Garda was nothing short of breathtaking. Being the largest lake in Italy, there is so much beauty to see. You can work around the lake to see it all. This is definitely a place worth checking out while in Italy!

Transportation and Accommodation

Transportation

Lake Garda has a public bus system that can be used to go around the lake. The app Ticket Bus Verona allows you to purchase bus cards, or you can go to the bus station and get tickets in person (which is what we did).

Note: The bus schedule was tricky to navigate during our weekend stay. We quickly realized that the weekend bus schedule was much less available compared to the weekdays. In retrospect, I would have done more research on alternate transportation methods ahead of time, or adjusted the itinerary accordingly. On Sunday we were on the completely other side of the lake and had to get back to where we were staying. Although Google maps showed that the bus was running from our location, it was not operating due to the limited weekend schedule. We resorted to taking a hour-long taxi ride.

Other than that hick-up, the bus system aided us well in getting around the lake.

Accommodation

There are various towns around the lake that you can stay on, each offering a different atmosphere and environment. We stayed in Riva Del Garda, a cute town with shops and restaurants by the water located at the north-tip of the lake. Riva Del Garda is filled with medieval architecture and surrounded by beautiful mountains and glistening water. There are many hikes and trails you can do in Riva Del Garda, as well as castles to explore and lots of shops to go to. Riva Del Garda is a good starting point of activities and not too far a bus ride from the train station. This was our airbnb: link. It was a great location and a good accommodation for our group of 6.

Itinerary

Day 1

On our first day we took the train to Lake Garda from Florence and arrived at night. The walk to our airbnb from the bus stop was only about 5 minutes. The hostel was nice and centrally located in the town and was easy to navigate. The first night we all got dinner and walked around the town a bit. We went down to the port and hung out by the water before we called it a night. 

Day 2

Our second day started with a coffee run and sitting by the water. Everything was closed when we were trying to look for coffee at around 8am, but we were lucky and found one cafe that was open. This was the first time we could fully see the beautiful mountains and rock surrounding the water. We walked through the town and went to the bus staition to take the bus to our first stop, Limone Sul Garda. We were making our way up the west side of the lake. At this stop we went to a beautiful beach called Cola Beach and swam for a while. The water was so blue and clear, and the temperature was a little chilly but very bearable. We were even paid a visit in the water by some swans. After taking a dip, we took the bus to Porto Di Gardone Riviera, a stunning little town where we got lunch and explored the vibrant, green surroundings. Our last stop of the day was Desenzano Del Garda, on the southern end of the lake; a lively town with beautiful history and a view of the lake-shore. We did not have much time here, but we made the most of it by walking around the town, grabbing some food, and enjoying a gorgeous sunset. This was the day that we messed up the bus schedule, so we taxied back to Riva Del Garda. We met some local friends along the way so we headed out to get some drinks with them next to the water, played some piano in a pub, and danced the night away.

Day 3

Our third day started bright and early! We checked out of our Air Bnb and started the day with a trip to the supermarket and a relaxing stop at Torbole Beach. We decided to explore the east side of the lake this day so we took the fairy from Riva Del Garda to Sirmione in Malcesine. We saw a castle while we were on the ship so we headed straight there, where we found The Scaliger Castle. The castle has a $5 entry free, offering panoramic views of the lake and mountain sides and a mini museum. While exploring the castle, we saw a small beach below us with a rope swing above the rocks. We ventured to the beach after exploring the castle and swam for about 30 minutes. We ventured to next beach on the other side of the castle which we could see from the top. This beach has white sand and crystal clear water. Perfect for a afternoon dip! After that we walked to the bus stop and took the train back to Florence.