Garda - 3 weeks July

Did you just watch Call Me By Your Name?! I did, and now this is exactly what I want to do summer 2019, so I will be watching this thread-- ;p (sorry I can't help)

Hi Sharon
We stayed in bardolino and hotel nettuno, for their annual wine festival. It was gorgeous, right there m the lake even a pool. You’ll love the lake. You’ll get more responses of other places. Are you staying in hotel, apartment, Airbnb, house and all 3 weeks in one spot?
Aloha

Lake Garda is a glacial lake with the northern narrow part surrounded by majestic mountains. The southern wider portion is on the flat plain. It’s very popular with German tourists and in fact Italian call it “Il mare dei Tedeschi” (the Germans’ Sea).
I find the northern part more beautiful. There are many villages to choose from. The ones I like best on the north side are Malcesine, Limone, Torri del Benaco, Riva, Torbole. Riva is a bit bigger.
On the southern side a visit to Sirmione is a must. It is the most famous town on the lake, so it’s very crowded with tourists in high season, that is why I like to visit it, because it’s worth a visit, but I don’t like to stay there (too many tourists).
I find Limone to be very quaint. But it’s very small, therefore it gets crowded quickly as well.
Malcesine is a nice base, because from there you can visit Mt. Baldo with the cable gondola.
In terms of traffic, yes there is traffic at times in July.. But you should also consider using the ferries, which are not affected by car traffic. Boats timetables are below:
http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/g_illago.html

Jessica- No I've never heard of it, but will check it out!

Princess- I'm looking at AirBNB so we can have our own kitchen/laundry etc.

Roberto- thank you for your helpful information, regarding the German population- I hope to come across many Italians! Do the locals not really go to Garda during July?

The locals go to the sea in July and August. I think 3 weeks at Lake Garda is a bit much. A week, maybe. Aren’t there other places in Italy you want to experience? Maybe do a week at Lake Maggiore and another at Lake Como.

I've toured Italy several times before, and this is a different kind of trip. We're doing an apartment rental, and it's not about sightseeing but more to experience a slower pace. I plan to work remotely for part of the day and not have to pack up and resettle several times.

There will be also Italians vacationing on the lake, some for extended periods as well, maybe not too many spend 3 weeks, but 1 or 2 weeks yes.

Hopefully you found a place with W/D. Dryers are not a necessity there, you can check booking.com and trip advisor (vacation rentals) put your filters in and find something. Happy travels
Aloha