Lake Garda?

Lake Garda is popular with Italians, although Rick thinks Lake Como has more of what tourists are looking for. Also enter Lake Garda in the gray Search box above; it has been a frequent topic of conversation on this forum.

Norma & Chris,

My mom & I visited part of Lake Garda & Lake Como a few months ago and enjoyed both very much.

We were in Lake Garda on a day trip (from Verona) and cruised the lower lake and visited some of the lakeside villages such as Lazise, Garda and Bardolino.

I guess it would depend on what you want to do & see while you are there.

Here is a good post you may want to read: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/lake-como-vs-lake-garda-area

Roberto's comments on above post are very helpful.

All those lakes are beautiful.

I'm not exactly sure why Rick Steves would think that lake Como has more to offer to the tourist. Actually of all the lakes Lake Como is the one that offers the least amount of activities and towns on Lake Garda or Lake Maggiore are just as quaint as Varenna. Maybe it's the ease of train transportation from Milan to Varenna that swayed him (in fact I think that the Como branch is better than the Lecco branch). And lake Garda is not popular with Italians only. In fact the majority of license plates there during summer are probably German and Dutch. I presume Varenna must be full of Americans carrying RS' guidebooks.

However my recommendation is to choose a lake in function of your overall itinerary.

If for example you plan to be in the Dolomites and Venice area only (i.e. the North-East), then lake Garda makes more sense, because lake Garda is right there while lake Como or lake Maggiore would be a significant detour. If you intend to visit only Piedmont or fly into Malpensa (basically the North-West) then lake Maggiore/lake Orta makes more sense. But if the city of Milan is in your itinerary, then lake Como is an easy trip from there.

All of the lakes have their "charms" but Como and Maggiore are easier for visitors from a transportation point-of-view, while Garda is a bit awkward in that way. At the south end only Peschiera and Desenzano have rail stations, while Sirmione can only be accessed by bus, taxi or rental car. At the north end towns, access is by boat, bus or rental car.

I agree with Roberto that it would be good to base your choice of which lake to visit on how well it fits with your overall Itinerary. Keep in mind that July is likely going to be very busy and all the lakes will be packed with tourists.

Thank you so much for all your help. With a country as beautiful as Italy, it is very hard to make a mistake - or a decision :)

We think Garda has more to offer the active traveler ( hiking, swimming, windsurfing) and is prettier than Como but you really need a car.