Lake Garda: The Ultimate Travel Guide Across 5 Towns

The Irish Podcast

In today’s episode we’ll be covering the incredible towns of Lake Garda. We'll be chatting about:

• Why we went to Lake Garda
• The towns of Densenzano, Sirmione, Malcesine, Riva & Limone
• Transport, accommodation, food and fun
• The value for money
• and some overall tips if you're planning on visiting Italy

Make sure you’re subscribed and if you like this episode then please give us a five star rating. You can find us on instagram and tiktok at @altlivin and find out more about us on altlivin.com

SEASON SCOREBOARD

• Salerno: 98
• Florence: 88
• Naples: 88
• Lake Garda: 85.5
• Rome: 85
• Siena: 84
• La Spezia: 79.5
• Venice: 76

FUN FACTS

• The lake is divided between the North and South.
• Mount Baldo is fantastic for skiing in winter and beautiful hikes in the summer summer.
• Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake Freshwater lake.
• It's extremely popular with Irish Tourists.

Transport:

• How to get to Lake Garda? Fly into Venice, Verona or Milan.
• Get the train to Densenzano - 1 hour from Milan, 2hr30 from Florence
• Ferries are divided between the North and South with a handful of fast boats covering the entire lake each day. You can find the ferry timetable here.
• Get a cable cart up to Mount Baldo. Be sure to book in advance! You can book tickets here.

Accommodation:

• Hotels are your best option in Lake Garda
• Best hotel we stayed in Liomone was the Hotel Splendid Palace
• Riva del Garda we stayed in Casa Canarino

Food:

• Densenzano: Trattoria Pizzeria Enoteca Alessi - great carraffes and good beef dishes
• Sirmone: Caffè Pizza Margherita
• Gorgeous breakfast in: Bar La Vinessa
• Malcesine: watch the sunset at Caffé San Marco
• Limone: Hotel Splendid Palace - all inclusive
• Riva: Friggitoria al porto

Fun:

• Densenzano - paddle boats and cheap sun bed hire
  
• Mount baldo in Malcesine - you can see the dolomites and swiss alps
• Riva - Windsurfing, sailing, parasailing
• Gardaland is also nearby

ABOUT SEASON ONE

Irish Expats Cormac and Jane discuss their highs and lows of travel. Season one follows their journey across Italy. Topics include remote working, realistic travel budgets, top tips, and what it’s really like to work and live abroad. In season one, each episode will focus on a region or city they visited on their six-week holiday from Southern Naples to Lake Garda in the North.

ABOUT US

Cormac is a professional Irish bartender having worked in the hotel and bar industry for 8 years. Originally from Leitrim, he studied Hotel Management and Business at GMIT. He was working in Galway in the bar trade for 5 years before he decided to move abroad. His original plan was to work on a vineyard in Northern Italy using WWOOF.

Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is a worldwide movement to link visitors with organic farmers, promote a cultural and educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming and sustainability practices. Find out more: https://wwoof.net

Jane is a communications consultant working in the culture and energy sectors. She has previously produced and promoted international organisations including Web Summit, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and European Capital of Culture projects. After 10+ years of working in Communications & Events, Jane has transitioned to fully remote consulting work. Although regularly travelling back to Ireland for work, she is now based in Florence with Cormac.

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE DAY-BY-DAY GUIDE (FREE)

Here is our day by day excel sheet of our 6 week summer trip across Italy. It includes the following categories: Dates, Transport Methods, Accommodation Links, Fun (Tours, Bars & Excursions), Food and Tips for the following cities:

• Naples
• Salerno
• Sorrento
• Rome
• Siena
• Florence
• La Spezia (and Riomaggiore)
• Venice
• Desenzano del Garda
• Sirmione
• Malcesine
• Riva del Garda

Download the travel guide for free at: https://www.altlivin.com/shop

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