We included Locarno because we flew into and ot from Zurich, and took the scenic Treno Gottardo over the Alps to reach it. With two nights there, we had a full day to take the Postbus from the train station stop into Val Verzasca to spend the day hiking from the famed Ponte di Salti up to the stone village of Sonogno, about 8 miles on a path along the river. This was a highlight and not nearly as busy/crowded as I expected from reports of the bridge’s Instagram fame. In late September the river was low in places but still aqua-blue, crystal clear, and beautiful.
https://www.ascona-locarno.com/en/explore/valle-verzasca
Locarno itself is, well, a city, and not particularly worth visiting in its own right if it is not on your route, apart from the Valle Verzasca. But the lakeside hotels make a nice relaxing place to spend 2 nights, and there are nice nearby Italian restaurants, as well as a pedestrian path along the lake for 2+ miles. My husband fell in love with Locarno because, in his words, it offers the best of two worlds—-Swiss cleanliness and organization, and Italian cuisine and language. Also, since it is on Lago Maggiore, one can take a ferry from there to the towns along the lake, including in Italy.
In the same trip, we spent a week hiking around Lago Maggiore with HF Holidays, and the day we spent hiking above Cannobio, then ending in town, was the best. Most of the other hiking was too easy for us, and not as scenic as we expected, so I would not recommend that HF Holidays trip for you.
But one I would recommend is their new Brenta Dolomites trip, which is offered in early September. That might be a better fit than Malcescine if you have the time. I had a trip to the Brenta Dolomites planned with my sister and her family 20 years ago, but had to cancel due to health reasons. I have been trying to get there ever since, but like you we don’t rent cars so needed a guided hiking trip. We will be going there next July with the company we used for hiking Val Gardena, Tre Cime, etc. 2 years ago. (Mountain Hiking Holidays). But had I know HFH was going to offer a trip there I would have chosen that.
https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/holidays-and-tours/discover-italys-brenta-dolomites?format=pdf&vid=3628
They also offer 2 different hiking tours around Lago di Garda, but we are perfectly happy doing that independently. On our way to Malcescine we spent 2 nights in Salò to break up the ferry journey from Desenzano (coming by train from Locarno). This is a lovely, untouristy town on the west side of the lake, south from Malcescine; appreciated by my Italophile husband as the “last stand” place for Mussolini—-he set up a government there late in the war. In addition to viewing his former headquarters (just a walk past), we walked to the next village of Gardone di Riviera to visit the very interesting Heller Gardens, full of quirky art and beautiful plantings.
https://www.thecollector.com/italian-social-republic-salo/
https://hellergarden.com/
