Bologna to Italian Lakes by Train

The Italian lakes are very charming, but moving only by public transport could be a limit or waste of time. For example from Bologna to Iseo Lake you need three different trains (Bologna > Verona - Verona > Brescia - Brescia > Iseo). On top of that railways are usually on one side of the lake and not all villages are connected.
And wineries are often in the countryside...
In my opinion, the rent of a car is a easier solution to visit lakes. Keeping even in mind that the easiest to be reached (for a daily tour) from Bologna are Garda and Iseo. Or even other little ones, like Ledro, Levico, Caldonazzo. Going to Como lake or Maggiore takes some hours and being much bigger they deserve at least a couple of days.

If you think you will be renting a car be sure to get IDPs for all drivers before you leave home
IDP is required by law, agencies can and will ask for it and will deny your rental if you don’t have

Get at your local AAA for about $20

To get to Lake Garda you would need to train to Verona (~50 minutes on the fast train or 1.5 hours on the slow train) and then head over to the lake by train or bus. The train only serves the very lower part of the lake - like Peschiera - in 12 minutes and while those towns are interesting it is as crowded as you think it is during peak summer months.

You can take the bus from Verona bus station up the eastern side of that lake or the ferry from the bottom of the lake.
https://www.lakegardareview.com/lake-garda-ferry-timetables.html

Malcesine and the upper part of lake is a popular area but getting there and back would be a bit of struggle unless you're looking for a long, leisurely lake vacation. Check out the cities - maybe Garda or Bardolino - and choose one for the lakeside experience. I think you would need to spend at least 2 nights to make it worth it. Even an overnight will mean a couple of hours of travel on two days back to back.

From Bologna look into Ravenna, Modena, Ferrara, Parma and see what appeals to you.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Oh, I wanted to add if you want to rent a car I would think about doing that in Verona. The train is twice as fast to Bologna and it saves you driving out of Bologna. There are several rental places across from the train station area and it's about an hour to the town of Garda from there.

Before you drive in Italy read up on ZTLs in general and in the town you are about to visit before you go.
Check on toll roads and make sure your rental car has an automatic way to pay tolls.
Add at least 25% to Google drive times - especially in rural areas.

Enjoy,
=Tod

This is all great food for thought. We've already decided to visit the nearby towns by train (Ravenna, Parma, Verona, etc) but might need to consider renting a car if we want to see a lake or two. The tip about getting out of town by train and then renting a car further along the route is good advice.

I always get an IDP prior to travelling in Europe. Have never had to show it (because it's mainly a translation of driver information into the local language) but I still like to have it as a souvenir. Plus it makes me feel that much more prepared.

What are the "ZTLs"? Something to do with local traffic laws perchance?

As usual, thanks all.

Mike

Disregard my question about ZTLs. I ran into this the first time I drove in Italy, trying to find our way to our accommodation in Montepulciano in 2003. Several locals immediately let me know about my mistake. Lesson learned.