Lake Garda - good central locations to stay without car

I am by no means an expert....but when I was planning my Lake Garda visit last time, it seemed like you're either north or south. We didn't want a car, so we stuck with the train areas, meaning we were south. We visited Garda town and Sirmione one day from Peschiera because anything much farther north would take up more time (though we could have managed maybe one more center to south area if we tried really hard). I wouldn't have wanted to stay in Garda as it seemed to tiny, so you're going to need to find someplace that is as big as Pescheria (takes about 8-10 min to walk across) or larger for me to want to base myself out of.

You're right, central is best, as it would take half a day to get to the other side from the very end. Just saw you won't have a car.....meaning will you be relying on a ferry from Peschiera or Sirmione after a train? or will you be busing from places?

Torri del Benaco seems large(r), but most of the bigger towns are north and south. I would also check ferry schedules to compare how easy it will be to get to/from places.

I want to know what the real experts say! I want to go back one day! (haven't been to Como, but I am enchanted by Garda, so we shall see)

Gardone Riviera is a great location - there are numerous ferries all round the lake every day. You can get to just about very town on the lake quite easily. If you have a car, there is a car ferry from Toscolano Maderno to Torre del Benaco on the other side.
I spent weeks every summer there for a number of years.

I was on Lake Garda last week. I'd been advised by people on this forum (mainly Roberto) to stay in the north. I chose Malcesine and visited Limone and Riva del Garda on daytrips. When I left Malcesine, I had a driver to the train station in Peschiera del Garda, so I saw the southern lake as well. To me, it was nowhere as beautiful as the northern, which is mountainous. Both Limone and Malcesine were overrun with tourists (including me!). The lake is HUGE (largest in Italy and I think I read sixth in all of Europe), so you need to manage your expectations of what you can see. Buses were packed. Boats are slow but were pleasantly cool in the hot weather last week. Though I didn't use the Servizio Rapido, it didn't seem to be all that much faster. You don't mention the length of your stay, which would factor in.

When I visited Lake Garda several years ago, I decided to stay in Peschiera del Garda, as it provided good access to both the rail station and the boats that travel up the lake. While there I visited Limone sul Garda and Sirmione but unfortunately didn't have time to get to Malcesine.

The hotel that I chose was right next to the rail station, and the boat docks were about a 15 minute walk as I recall. I travelled to Sirmione by taxi, but found the town to be unpleasantly crowded that day so I didn't stay long.

I 've been there around 15 times. Motorbike/.tent, car/tent, car/mobile home, plane/mobile home.

Always staying on a camping site between Bardolino and Garda. Even when we arrive by car we take ferries around. Buses are quicker and cheeper, but I can go by bus at home.

Our favourite camping site is https://www.camping-serenella.it/en/. Easy to walk to both Garda and Bardolino.

Limone is our favorite town on Lake Garda. We spent three days there and loved every minute. The view of the lake surrounded by mountains was spectacular. Sirmione is nice to visit, but more crowded and doesn’t have the same atmosphere.