Seeking advice. How difficult will it be to get from Lerici to Riva de Garda. Is a car necessary?? If it is a challenge, what other beach town in northern Italy might work? Thank you!
Hello jpenacooke, and welcome to the forum!
You are asking about Lerici on the bay of La Spezia and Riva de Garda at the very northern tip of Lake Garda?
That's quite a trek but it should be doable - even with a car driving straight it would probably be 4 hours if everything well perfectly.
You would need to get from Lerici to La Spezia (bus or taxi) and then by train from La Spezia to Verona. This section is probably 4 hours with the best timing. Local train to Florence and fast train Florence to Verona. This will involve at least two changes along the way - one on the way to Florence and then one in Florence.
From Verona you would either need to take the train to Rovereto and then the bus to Riva de Garda. Or combo some combination of two buses (the first leaving from Verona train station) and/or a ferry from one of the lakeside towns like Malcesine. Or take the train a few minutes out of Verona to Peschiera del Garda and then either a bus or maybe a long ferry the entire length of Garda if they offer one you can catch.
I think this trip would take a minimum of 5 hours driving and 7-8 hours using public transportation. If you want to do this I would suggest breaking it up with some time in Verona rather than a whole day using basically every form of public transportation in Italy.
I think you might have more luck if you describe what you're looking for and see if people have suggestions about destinations and a possible itinerary,
=Tod