Desenzano or Sirmione on Lake Garda

dudara

Am planning to spend a few days at Lake Garda in early May, and have been looking around Desenzano or Sirmione.

Does anyone have any opinions on either and why? Also, if there's another location to consider, please share

coleen

Desenzano is more a working town with good transport links. Sirmiano is more touristy. We liked Malcesine and it was well served by transport to visit other towns. I like to get the feel of places by looking on YouTube and Google maps.

himeytheone

Riva del Garda

vicwatson

himeytheone wrote: »

Riva del Garda

+1

Walter Sobchak III

Riva del Garda definitely. Top end of the lake. Lovely and picturesque. Good restaurants. Well served by transport whether it be by bus or ferry to other locations on the lake.

Zaph

We were in Torbole at the top end of the lake a couple of years ago. It's a nice spot, but pretty quiet and there's not much by way of bars and restaurants. However it's only a few minutes from Riva del Garda, and if we were going again that's where we'd stay. It's got a lot more going on but isn't as crowded as Sirmione (wasn't in Desenzano so can't comment on there). The only thing is that unless you have airport transfers organised you'll probably need a car if you're staying at the top end, I wouldn't like to be going there by public transport as it would probably take an age. We flew into Verona and used the motorway that runs parallel to the lake to get to the top of the lake, but obviously if you're not in a hurry you can drive along the lakeside.

guestus

we stayed in Peschiera del Garda as it was very close to Verona airport and had great links to everywhere around the lake and to Verona and Venice as well. Sirmione is very very pretty but out of the way, it's very nice for a day trip but it's not great if you want to visit other places. Malcesine the same, very pretty but quite far up north and far from the airport. We visited Desenzano as well, it has better transport links than Sirmione but still not as good as Peschiera. Peschiera itself might not be as pretty as the other ones but still has good restaurants, shops, nice port etc. We used to take a bus in the morning and stop along the way in the pretty little villages, went up to malcesine and limone sul garda, went to verona and venice on day trips, it was a great holiday.

Living Off The Splash

We stayed in Desenzano for a week and loved it. We rented an apartment. You can travel across the lake to Sirmione very easy. I have been to Sirmione twice but never stayed there. It gets incredibly busy during the day and is much smaller compared to Desenzano.
There is the upper town in Desenzano where the locals live and it is worth a visit for the cheaper prices. We were also able to get a local bus up along the lake to Salo. I think we were the only people on the bus. Salo is beautiful with a wooden boardwalk running along the lake.
We enjoyed sitting in the local bar overlooking the small harbour in Desenzano of an evening watching the lake fishermen unloading their catch.

Living Off The Splash

We also stayed in Riva de Garda. This town is in the shade by late afternoon because of the mountains. We also walked to Torbole. A lovely walk. Torbole has a different vibe. You can hop on the ferry to the opposite side of the lake to watch the sunsets.
I would stick with Desenzano for the moment. Fly Ryanair to Bergamo and get a train from there. I haven't looked at the Ryanair flights recently but from memory they got in late when we travelled and as a result we overnighted in Bergamo. Not cheap.

dudara

Thanks all for the input, we've decided to go with Sirmione for now, as we're only there for a few nights as part of a bigger trip.