Trying to keep an open mind. We’d planned to rent a car, but trying to see if this can work via public transport.
Can’t change these-
Depart Milan early on April 11
Spend night in Bolzano April 12
Be in Verona by 10:00 a.m April 14
Wd like to see Sanctuary of Madonna della Corona and Malcesine between Milan and Bolzano. We’re open to a tour or driver. Suggestions? Thanks so much!
Those two are on opposite sides of Monte Baldo and do not combine very well for a single day’s drive. And I recommend Malcescine as a place to stay, not just visit for a few hours—-it is well off the path between Milan and Bolzano, or between Bolzano and Verona.
Your plan with a car has you overnighting in Malcescine on your way to Bolzano. If you did that, you could include Spiazzi and the Sanctuary as a stop on your drive south from Bolzano to Verona. Have you given up on the car rental plan?
If so, and the Sanctuary is a must, you could hire a private driver to take you from Bolzano to Verona with a stop at Spiazzi, but you would need to pay for the waiting time while you visit the sanctuary.
Although consolidators like Viator are thoroughly denigrated on this newsboard, this is exactly what you should look into. If you care to try to "buy local", you could wait until you arrive, and see if there are any tour-bus companies near your hotel. That's what we did in Lisbon years ago, and got a great 11-hour bus tour that made three or four major stops, one of which was Our Lady of Fatima shrine. Now, for a visitor who did not go strictly for "faith" reasons, a guided tour and 40 minutes of free-time at Fatima was PLENTY for us. We didn't feel rushed or regimented by an oppressive "tour guide." OTOH, I also was interested in the Bom Jesu shrine, which was not on any commercial tours. We had a car for a few days, so we saw it that way.
In another country, I commented to the local provider, "I wanted to pay you directly, but the tour I wanted wasn't on your web site, only on Viator." They replied, "Yeah, that's how it is." I'm saying, Google what you want, and see if you want to dedicate a day or half-day to the outing.
It's partly a matter of budget. I don't understand why so many posters here "imagine" that they are going to get a one-way transfer of 150 miles, with a two-hour stop, and an empty return by the driver, with $8 a gallon gas, for 120 Euros! This is not an urban Uber trip home from a bar.
Thanks all. We have not given up on driving, just exploring if public transportation is a reasonable option for these stops. Yes, we originally planned to overnight in Malcesine.
We aren't married to Malcesine, it just has such glorious reviews and looks delightful for us.
Is there perhaps a similar, equally lovely place on Lake Garda closer to the Sanctuary that wd make this portion of the trip workable with public transportation?
Thanks so much!!
There really isn’t anyplace on Lago di Garda that connects easily with Spiazzi, because of the steep rugged mountain ridge that runs along the east side of Garda. Look at a map that shows some relief, like Google satellite view, and you can see the problem.
It is possible to get to Malcescine by public transport—-we were going to do that on our way to the Dolomites last September, until British Airways changed our flights and cut a day off the time we had available to spend at Lago di Garda. That combined with a problem in the Trenitalia schedule on the day we needed to travel made it impossible. Our hotel on the lake, Hotel Venezia, was going to arrange a shuttle to pick us up at the Verona train station and take us to Malcescine. Most of the hotels will probably arrange this, for guests traveling without a car. After our stay, we were to take a shuttle to the north, meeting the train heading to Bolzano at Rovereto.
But, as explained, we had to cancel that part of the planned trip. So we stayed 2 nights in Desanzano del Garda, at the southern end of the lake, instead of 3 nights at Malcescine. Desenzano is pleasant enough, and we enjoyed visiting Sirmione from there, but the south end of the lake is nowhere near as scenic as the northern end, around Malcescine. We were there for 3 nights 20 years ago (traveling by rental car) and I still want to go back.
One can also reach Malcescine by ferry from Peschiera del Garda, on the train line between Milan and Verona. But that would take more time than the shuttle from Verona.
Honestly, as you have only one night on your way to Bolzano allotted to Malcescine, I don’t think it is worth the trouble you would take to get there by public transport. A car would be much better, and then you could stop in Spiazzi to visit the Sanctuary on your drive between Bolzano and Verona. Apparently it is a short 20-minute walk from the parking lot. I imagine your luggage would be safe in the car in a place like that, well off the beaten path.
