We stayed at Lake Garda in 2000 and used public transport, and then last October we stayed again but hired a car. I would recommend car hire to see more of the area, and for convenience if you have kids,buggies etc.

Yes, Italian drivers are in a league of their own, but having driven in different areas of Italy, Lake Garda area is a lot better than say Sorrento/Naples Bay area. Now that is scary!!! It really isn't that bad though, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. If we're going to big towns/cities however, we never drive there, but take the train. It's a lot less stressful.

Bergamo airport is not in Milan. It's between Milan and Lake Garda, and it took us about an hour to drive from the airport to Desenzano where we were staying. Dessy is on the main train line east to Verona and Venice and west to Milan, so we find it very handy staying there.

It's very easy to get on the Autostrada from the airport and I think it cost about €8 to exit at Dessy.

The train prices depend on which type of train you get. Eurostar is the most expensive, followed by Intercity, then Regional. Go on the Trenitalia website for prices and timetables. If you get the train you must punch your ticket before you get on the train at the yellow boxes placed around the stations. They're easy to find, but just watch other people if you're unsure.

Bus and ferry prices are very reasonable and reliable. Again, on the buses you punch your ticket before you sit down.

If you've any further queries, just ask. I'll be happy to help any way I can.

Hi Tishtosh, can I ask you a couple of questions re: Lake Garda and DIY?

It's him indoors 40th next year so I'm looking at a long weekend.

My initial thoughts are to stay at the Grand Hotel Gardone Riviera, flying from Stansted to Brescia and hiring a car for the duration - is this suitable?

Because of where we live we are within reach of Birmingham, Coventry, East Midlands, Luton and Heathrow airports (are all closer to us than Stansted) - are there any alternative flights you can recommend?

Many thanks

Hi Harley,

I celebrated my 40th at Lake Garda! I'm sure you'll both have a great time.

Verona and (Milan)Bergamo airports are also close to Lake Garda, so any of the 3 would be fine for hiring a car and driving to Gardone, although Brescia is the closest (I wasn't aware of that airport!). I know that Ryanair fly to Bergamo and Verona.

If you need any other questions answered I'll try to help you.

Thanks for your speedy reply TT

If it's not more than an hours drive then I'll see if I can find a flight to either Bergamo or Verona from an airport closer to home - Stansted can be a bit of a pain for us - M1 and M11

I love Italy and this will be my 7th time!

HD

Hi Harley,

It will be less than an hour to drive from Verona, and around an hour from Bergamo going on the autostrada, which costs about €8 if I remember rightly.

We love Italy too, and have been five times.

Caio!

Hi,

We've just got back from Malcesine, Lake Garda. There's a free transfer bus from Verona airport to lots of hotels around Lake Garda. It's arranged by Garda World, their Disney World equivalent. There's also a Garda World transfer from Bergamo but it's not cheap. We would have connected by train (cheap and reliable) but the timing was late and it would have meant getting a taxi (expensive) from Peschiera to Malcesine. So we hired a car and it's easy to get to Lake Garda from Bergamo.

Last year we flew to Pisa and got a bus to Florence where we stayed for a couple of days. We then got the train to Desenzano. The trains in Italy are great but as Tishtosh said, you MUST validate your ticket at the station before you set off. This is because the tickets aren't dated and you can buy them in advance.

Ciao.