Northern Italy itinerary with Venice and lakes by train

Thoughts:
Don't stint your time in Venice.
Verona is worth a day (train).
Find somewhere to stay in Peschiera or Desenanzo at the bottom of Lake Garda (train), then use lake steamers to visit other towns round the lake.
I know a lot of people like spending only one or two nights everywhere.
I like basing myself, getting to know a place and travelling out to other places each day.

Varenna is easily reached by train. To visit other places on Lake Como, there are ferries. Make sure to have enough time in Venice. I would advise against any day trips from Venice. It takes a while to get back and forth to the island Venice is situated, additionally, Venice is a more expensive place to stay, so base yourself somewhere less expensive to visit other parts of northern Italy, I've never been to Lake Garda.

Thanks Christine!

Lisa
Do you have flights booked yet?
I am guessing into Venice?

If you fly out of Milan take a look at Stresa on Lake Maggiore

You can easily get to MXP from there with no need to stay in Milan

There are a number of smaller towns/cities between Venice and Milan
Verona is lovely, Mantua, Cremona, Brescia, Bergamo just to name a few
Other than Verona none are overtouristed

Give Venice 4 nights with no day trips other than Burano/Torcello/Murano

I would spend a minimum of 4 nights (without daytrips) in Venice. I highly recommend staying in the Dorsoduro district which is quieter and much less crowded than San Marco Square.

Verona is a smaller beautiful city. I would spend at least 2 nights here. I really don't care for daytrips (unless that's the only time you have ) because then you will be seeing the destination at its worse, when it's overcrowded with daytrippers.

We enjoyed staying in Varenna on Lake Como last June. It is crowded but much less crowded than Bellagio. You can easily reach Varenna by train from Milan. And then take ferries around the lake to Bellagio and Menaggio and the various villas. We also enjoyed visiting Menaggio. It's less crowded than Varenna so it could be a nice place to stay overnight. It's just that it takes a bit longer to get there: train to Varenna, walk or taxi to the ferry port, and then ferry across the lake to Menaggio.

Just did that this last April! For Lago di Garda, I was able to get a deal on a hotel in Sirmione. Just a really cool place to stay! Very busy with day trippers during the day, but just quiet and peaceful in the evening once they have cleared out! But you would need the ferry or a car for the northern part of the Lake unless you can figure out the bus. But carefully check the ferry schedule to see if it goes where you want to go when you want to go: https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/en/ Would recommend visiting the extensive Roman ruin "Grotte di Catullo e Museo Archeologico di Sirmione" at the end of the Sirmione peninsula.

For Lago di Como, I would recommend Lecco as a base! Much cheaper hotels (mine was just across the boulevard from the lake!) and cheap ($3-5!) and frequent regional trains the entire east side of the lake, including Varenna, as well as a direct bus to Bellagio that runs mostly right along the edge of the lake right up against the mountain! And lots of ferries connecting various towns too. I did not run into long lines/waits for the ferries when I was there in April, but if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time I was reading about long queues for tickets, to board the boats, etc. That scared me into just taking the bus from Lecco to Bellagio. Check out Orrido de Bellano (easy to get there by train) and Nesso, a little town between Como and Bellagio that has that little stone bridge way down at the waters edge with a long bunch of stairs to get down there from the bus stop way up on the road. But worth it! The Trenitalia app on my phone was the way to go when hopping around by (usually) the regional trains. You could purchase a ticket online that was automatically validated -- sometimes just minutes before actually getting on the train. Just too easy.