Lago di Garda

Back in october 2016, 5 colleagues and myself escorted a group from the MSC Splendida to Lake Garda and Venice.

This was the first time I had been to Lake Garda or known locally as Lago di Garda. I was really looking forward to seeing this region of Italy and the famous lake that bring millions of visitors each year to this area of northern Italy.

The lake is the largest in Italy and also has numerous small islands, from the main towns you can take the lake ferry which does a round trip so you can see the full beauty of this lake and the area.

We travelled from Genoa, which on the coach was approx 4 hours, we was slightly delayed due to a road accident but nothing much could be done about that.

If you was to fly direct to this region, the nearest airport is Verona, but it is also accessible from Milan and Venice (Venice is approx. 1 hour 45 minutes by road).

We stayed here for 3 nights and the hotel in Peschiera del Garda is huge and very beautiful but with limited dining options, just a few hundred yards from the hotel was a very quaint village with several places to eat and by all accounts reasonable in price with good quality and service. It was also approx 10-15 minute walk to the Lake’s edge and a regular bus service took you to the main towns of Lazise or the opposite way to Sirimone or you could venture further and go into Verona.

Once we arrived it was a bit too late to go out and explore, but through the magic of a Trip Advisor App, we went to a beautiful family run restaurant about 15 minutes by car. My colleague is a bit of a foodie, so we went along and had the most amazing meal. The restaurant, like many in the country side, is also part of a working farm, so lots of the produce was as fresh as could be. Your table is for the evening, so there was no rush and we could stay as long as we wanted.

On our second day we decided to walk to Lazise via the Lake and the scenery was outstanding, although overcast it hadn’t rained and the walk was pleasant approx 8km with beach, wooded areas and lovely lake side bars and restaurants.  By the time we arrived into Lazise, the heavens decided to open and it was a quick dash to a restaurant to rest our feet and have some lunch.

After arriving back to the hotel, we managed to get an hour or two before it was time to try another local restaurant, where the food and wine was absolutely amazing. Again another recommendation from Trip Advisor and another working farm restaurant. The cost at the end surprised us all that for what we ate and drunk did not break the bank and we nearly rolled away from the restaurant full and happy.

The following day the rain had arrived and we decided to take a taxi into Lazise rather than risk the walk again in the wet weather. We had a mooch around the town and could really see what an beautiful place this area and the lakes would be in slightly better weather.

We picked a lakeside restaurant for lunch and was amazed at the views, you could see right across the lakes and had this been the summer, sitting outside would have been a must.

The restaurant we chose here was so lovely that after lunch we just stayed there, the staff did not push us to leave, in fact they encouraged us to stay. Then it became wine and cake time.. after indulging, we then knew it was time to go. I can assure you after the meal at lunch and cake in the afternoon, there wasn’t any need for dinner!

I would like to return to Lake Garda, even though it did rain one of the days we was there, it was still a place of beauty. I can imagine that the lakeside is bursting in the summer months, we not just visitors from other countries and areas but also the locals to the region.

If you haven’t been, then I suggest to put it on the list, it certainly is a spectacular place and different from other areas of Italy I have visited before.

Dawn

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