Lake Garda in Winter

Tourists will be fewer than at other times of the year, but restaurants will be largely open because, guess what, the tens of thousands of local residents who live around the lake year round like to go to restaurants too.

The most beautiful part of the lake is in my opinion the northern section, although Sirmione on the south is a popular tourist destination. Since you go in winter, if you are interested in more life, you might consider Riva, on the northern tip of the lake. Being the second largest town on the lake (after Desenzano in the south) with approximately 20,000 population, it probably offers more than the smaller villages at that time of the year. From Riva you can visit Malcesine, Limone, Torbole, among others, very cute smaller locations reachable by car or even ferry for a nice boat trip.

Please make sure your rental car is equipped with snow tires and preferably also carries chains. It is mandatory on most roads in Northern Italy from mid November to April. Personally at time of the year I would rent an All wheel drive vehicle to visit the Dolomites. It is more expensive but I wouldn’t skimp on that. Also get zero deductible insurance coverage for peace of mind. It’s not that expensive (about $4 a day). Just be careful driving on snow. I know you don’t get a lot of snow in Temecula (although I visited friends living there when mountains around were covered with snow). But I count you have some experience driving on snow near Big Bear lake. If not take a drive now. I think they are having some these days.
Check rental rates on:
www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com
(Both are part of the same corporate group and work exactly the same, but prices vary, so check both)

Thank you, Roberto! I'm so glad to hear that things will be open. We have discovered otherwise in some places (everything shutting down in off-season) we had considered. We are taking your advice and looking at hotels now. Thank you again!

We have been in Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Mt., Yosemite, and Big Bear often enough over the years (not much snow in Temecula, lol, three times in 25 years that we have lived here), so we have SOME experience with driving in snow, although our roads get cleared pretty quickly. Not sure if that will be the case in the Dolomites, but we have reserved a 4 wheel drive and we are ready to explore. We are basing ourselves in Bolzano and would like to see Merano, Castlerotto, and Ortisei before making our way across to Cortina (if we can get through the mountains), then to Pordonone and down to Venice. Any advice with Dolomite towns while I have you here?

Thank you again! You are so helpful!

Snow in Bolzano and Merano is not too common. Both are very low in altitude. Ortisei at over 1200 m above sea level (4000ft) is more likely to have snow. But snow is definitely there on the high passes around. Snow removal in the Alpine region is in my experience much more efficient and fast than in many parts of the Sierra Nevada in California, so don’t worry about that. Roads will be cleared very quickly unless there is some kind of extraordinarily strong weather event, which sometimes happens.
I would stay in Ortisei. Bolzano never made me feel I’m in the mountains. It’s like going to visit Lake Tahoe and staying in Reno. Not the same.

Okay, thank you, ALL that is great to know regarding snow removal and Bolzano/Reno. We had thought to make Bolzano a base from which to make day trips, but I'm not fond of Reno at all and we are now checking out places in Ortisei as from your description it does sound better. We want the alpine feel for sure. Not having a lot of luck with vacancies this late, at least for a reasonable price, so we may be in Bolzano after all . . . live and learn for next time. Appreciate ALL your advice!!!

We enjoyed staying in Saló, south west side of lake, on our way to the Dolomites and Malcesine , NE side, on the way back. This was in June so I don’t know what it would be like in winter.

We stayed at the Hotel Astoria in Riva in September and would highly recommend it. It's a short walk to the lake but near the town center. We also stayed in Silandro, Bolzano, Merano, and Caldaro while self-guided biking. Of these, I would not recommend Bolzano as a place to stay (too big and industrial for my taste), but would Merano. We also visited the Dolomites and stayed at the .Hotel Zum Wolf in Kastelruth. Kastelruth is a small picturesque Alpine village that offers a bus ride directly from the hotel to the Alpe de Siusi, where you catch a gondola to ski or hike. I can tell you that the road from Bolzano to Kastelruth is steep and windy and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is a must. Enjoy one of the most beautiful areas we've travelled to.

Thank you so much Larry! Sorry for the delay in thanking you, but I had not seen your response. Kastleruth is the same town as Castlerotto, I think? German name vs. Italian name? I'm very much looking forward to seeing it even though I am dreading the drive on those steep twisting roads! I believe we do have 4 wheel drive. Thank you again for the info