Lake Garda & Verona

This year, we went on our family holiday to Lake Garda and Verona. We flew from Cork to Milan Bergamo and got a private transfer to Bella Italia Campsite in Peschiera Del Garda. This town is set on the south of lake Garda just over an hour transfer from the airport. Verona airport would be a closer option but flights at the time were not available from Cork. We stayed with Eurocamp in a 3 bedroom azure mobile, which sleeps up to 6 people. The mobile was equipped and had a separate toilet and shower room. We booked a linen package to include bed sheets, bath towels and beach towels. While the living space in our mobile wouldn’t have been huge we had an extra large deck area outside to enjoy.

Bella Italia has plenty of facilities to entertain children. It has 4 pools with slides for the bigger kids and an area for the smallies. The pool area has a snack bar close by. There are zones set in various locations throughout the park to entertain all ages from toddlers to teens such as a bouncy castle park, soccer pitch, tennis courts and carousel rides. The park also has a kids club and provides nightly entertainment for all ages. There is an onsite supermarket, green grocers and shop to buy all the essential water gear. There is a few restaurants on site and a bar but if I'm being honest I preferred to eat out in Peschiera as there was some lovely restaurants in the town. The park provided a tourist train into town which took no more then 7 mins and cost only a few euro with a service running every hour. The town was only a 15 minute walk away along a scenic path.

We spent 9 nights in the campsite and did a variety of day trips. We spent two days in Gardaland theme park which catered for all ages with rollercoasters, a Peppa pig world which my little girl just loved. She even got to meet the “real” Peppa so she says. My son was delighted to go to the on site Legoland waterpark which we paid extra for but it was well worth the evening pass. There is a free shuttle from the train station in Peschiera to Gardaland but there is also a public bus just outside the main gate which will pass by Gardaland on a regular basis.

Another day we went by ferry to Lazise which was a lovely little town to spend a few hours. There is a big children's playground outside the castle walls and some lovely restaurants by the lake to relax and enjoy a meal or drink. We got a bus on our last day there to Malcesine in the north of the Lake. This is where we got married some years ago. It’s a fabulous town with a Castle in the centre, definitely worth exploring. There is a cable car to the top of the mountain with lovely views over the lake. The bus journey is only an hour and cost us about €15 one way. Another town worth visiting is Sirmione which has a lovely spa.

We had our final night in Verona. We arranged a taxi with reception in the campsite. The drive took less then 30mins. We stayed in a lovely boutique hotel which was only a 10 min walk to the Arena. Verona is very easy to get around, we took a tourist train around to see some of the sights. Of course we walked to see the famous Romeo and Juliet's balcony. We also took a tour of the Arena and ate our last pizza by the Arena while listening to a concert inside.

I would highly recommend a holiday in Lake Garda and a short break in Verona for families or couples. There is so much to do. Whether you decide to stay in a campsite or book a hotel I can help you to plan an itinerary to remember. Get in touch to start planning your next Italian escape.