Do you want to reach Garda Lake? Are you looking for the faster way to get to Garda or do you prefer to drive and reach Garda at the end of an itinerary?
There are many solutions to reach the Garda Lake, especially the East Side, which is well connected from different points of view; and from there you could then easily move around the Garda area, visiting many places. But let’s see how to get to Lake Garda depending on the starting point and the transport you use: car, train, plane, bus, boat or even bike.
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Arriving to Lake Garda by plane
When we speak about arriving to Garda Lake by plane you have to understand that the faster way is to land at Valerio Catullo Airport of Villafranca di Verona.
On the other hand, if you are landing at Orio al Serio airport (near Bergamo) you will need approx. 60 minutes to reach the western side of the Garda Lake.
In fact, the distance is short from Valerio Catullo Airport, which is about 20 km from Peschiera del Garda, while Bergamo (Orio al Serio) airport is 90 km from Peschiera.
Keeping this town as a reference point for calculating the distance between the airports and Lake Garda, it is good to know that there is a shuttle service from the Catullo di Villafranca managed by the Verona Transport Company (ATV) which responds to Line 164. This service allows you to reach Lake Garda with an airplane + bus combination.
For those who prefer to take the train after the plane, so you will be able to visit Verona, you have to follow this easy steps:
- Take the bus from the Catullo Airport to Verona (bus leave regularly and get you there in 15 minutes)
- Visit the city
- Reac the Verona Porta Nuova railway station. You can easily reach it by walk from the city center
- From there you can take the train and get off at Peschiera del Garda
How to get to Lake Garda from other places? Up to now we have talked about the airports closest to Lake Garda but we must remember that the airports that can be reached are also those of Milan (Linate or Malpensa), Treviso with Antonio Canova airport, and Venice with Marco Polo airport. All these airports are all about 150 km far away from Peschiera del Garda, so they represent the worst suitable solutions if you want to reach the lake in a short time. Anyhow they are instead useful starting points if you want to rent a car and, with the combination of airplan + rent a car solution, you can get the Garda Lake with travel stops during your way, that permit to you to visit different cities in northern Italy.
How to reach Lake Garda by Car
If you are coming from North the most convenient way is to take the A22 motorway (Brenner to Modena direction) and exit at the Rovereto Sud (Lake Garda Nord) exit. At that point you have to take the SS249 state road towards Mori-Torbole-Malcesine and then follow the directions to Garda.
If you arrive from the South you have to take always the A22 motorway (Modena to Brenner direction) and then you will have to exit at the Affi exit (Lake Garda South). From there you can continue in the direction for Bardolino-Lazise-Garda and Malcesine (or whatever you want).
Coming from the West, however, the best way is to take the A4 motorway (Milan to Venice direction) and you can choose to exit at Brescia East (if you want to visit the west side of Garda Lake) or you can choose to continue and exit to Desenzano del Garda (and also from here you can decide to visit all the west side of Garda Lake) or you can continue again and exit to Peschiera del Garda. After that you have to take the SS249 state road and follow the signals to the right town you want to reach.
How to get to Lake Garda by train or by bus
By Train: first of all you have to know that the only stops near to the Garda Lake are the ones based in Desenzano del Garda and in Peschiera del Garda. There are no other ways to reach the lake by train. If you arrive from Milan you have to take the Milan-Venice line. If you’re coming from Verona you can take the regional train from Verona Porta Nuova station. If you need help on understanding more or on reserve your ticket please contact us.
By Bus: if you start from Verona you can reach Garda Lake using the suburban public ATV buses (Azienda Trasporti Verona – Verona Transport Company). If you start from Brescia you can reach the Garda Lake with suburban public Brescia Trasporti. You can buy tickets at the tobacconist and some tourist information offices.
If you want to travel by ferry on Lake Garda
The navigation on Lake Garda respects different times depending on the season, and for boats and fast services during the summer the races are enhanced.
It is a public scheduled service, Navigarda, with a fleet of about 20 units capable of connecting the shores of the lake in an transversal way, touching all the ports of the Lake.
You will be able to reach the different shores in a short time using not only the ferries but also the faster ways: hydrofoils and catamarans. Please be informed that in every ship you can embark your bicycle.
If you have your own car or motorbike you can embark it on the ferry between Torri del Benaco-Maderno and Limone-Malcesine. There is also a Desenzano-Riva route to connect the Brescia side with the Trentino side.
Contact us if you need more informations about the reservation of the tickets.
