Lake Garda, Italy

My comments about Lake Garda are based on somewhat dated info (1974-1987 timeframe), based on more visits than I can remember. I don't think that any of the essential things have changed in the past 15 years or so. Taking a drive around the entire circumference of Lake Garda (Lago di Garda in Italian) takes a couple of hours or so - it's about a 60-65 mile circuit. However, you'd be hard pressed not to want to stop along the way, several times, to enjoy walking around some of the towns along the route, and certainly, stopping to eat somewhere along the way. Budget a full day for sure. For whatever the reason, I found that driving the circuit in a counterclockwise direction (i.e., from the eastern to the western side) was more pleasant than the other way around. There are some really nice towns along the lake, the best one probably being Sirmione (which juts into the lake like a finger). Desenzano, Peschiera, and Torri del Benaco are also nice, but almost anywhere along the coast i... Read more