I'm travelling with husband and three adult children 30, 29, 26 who like the outdoors. They hike, swim, snorkel, windsurf while my husband and I like beautiful sights, ruins, museums, villas. Which lakes would you recommend? I'm also thinking of going to Venice on this trip.
Posted by
San Diego
1540 posts
There is lot to do at all of them I did a google search for:
water activities lakes in italy
Found list of all the things offered each lake. I have been to all 3 and though I am not a water sport person while in Italy - really enjoyed each lake.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15269 posts
You could also do all 3 if you have the time. Each will need about 3 (or 4) nights
Based on your requirements, if I had to choose one only, I'd probably choose Lake Garda in your case. Not because the others aren't as beautiful. All 3 are. However Lake Garda has these advantages:
- it offers the most outdoor activities and things to do for your adult children, including a famous aquatic theme park and a safari park, in addition to being the most popular wind surf lake in Italy.
- it is close to plenty of historic/art sights for you and your husband: Sirmione, Verona, Vicenza, Palladian Villas, Valpolicella Wine region.
- it is also the closest to Venice (just over 1 hr by train).
Posted by
Mpls, MN
1003 posts
Have been to Lake Como & Garda and agree with Roberto that Lake Garda would offer more activities. We did have a car and enjoyed the villages from Riva del Garda on the north side of the lake to Sirmione in the south and villages on East side of lake. Didn't make it to west side. Was an easy drive to Verona too, which is lovely. Cld also visit Venice, Padova/the Scrovegni Chapel (flew into Venice & spent a night in Padova and saw the S. Chapel, cked into our agriturismo the next day near lake garda) and Vicenza. We drove to Mantova, which was very untouristy, and visited the Palazzo Ducale which is the famous residence of the Gonzaga family. Also stopped in Borghetto sul Mincio, on the Mincio river& home of the best tortellini in Italy they say. There is an old castle and the road goes right thru it & they have a tortellini festival here every year. Google this place for pics to see how charming it is. One day we decided to drive to Bolzano to see Otzi the iceman as our kids thought that would be cool to see. Unfortunately, the wait was too long. We did enjoy our day here though. Buon viaggio!
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10261 posts
Hi Yvonne,
I would agree that Lake Garda would meet your needs the best, and isn't far from Venice.
I see you are from Sacramento. We have a travel group here and we enjoy helping people plan their trips, and just talk about travel in general. It's a lot of fun. We meet on the 3rd Saturday of each month in North Natomas. This month that is tomorrow. You can see the details under in our post under Travel Group Meetings.
Sacramento Travel Meeting - Saturday July 16th @ 10:00