So for this summer, the kids had just one mandate…”No monuments, No cathedrals”..Honestly, I’d had a fair bit of ‘historical and cultural’ travel this last 1 year, so was happy to comply.
Hence our agenda for summer 2019 – Give ourselves one base for 6-8 days – minimal packing and unpacking (and our 16 day vacay was split into 2 zones so to say..).
We had no daily itinerary or sightseeing schedule; just the outdoor activities we usually, hardly ever get to do.
I zeroed in on Lake Garda. Bardolino specifically.
Getting there was convenient and the region looked beauutttifful. It seemed lively and buzzing in the evenings; and most importantly there was ppllleennnnty for the kids to do..
The latter 2 points are where Lake Garda scored for us, over Lake Como.
Bardolino turned out to be even lovelier than I d expected…and after visiting the other lake shoring towns, all 5 of us felt it was the perfect choice for an extended stay….
The region is picture perfect just as it is…straight out of a travel brochure. No professional photography required ?
Endless calm and clear blue waters, as far as the eye can see. Clearest of skies.
Quaint and charming, yet ITS NOT one of those areas with fuddy-duddy, classic towns that bore the kids.
There is soooo much fun stuff to do with the kids (all ages…honestly…my 13 and 17 year olds have had a blast. If it was closer to home, we d go back every year)..
Especially, for those with younger kids, I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun the little ones were having.
Jumping into the lake from these diving platforms they have (its something I’d only so far seen in the movies).
Swimming in the lake (a first for me ? ), with gueese alongside (another first ? )… waters clear enough to drink..
We ve rented bikes and gone from one town to the other alongside the waterfront, stopping as we felt, for a picnic or a dip in the lake (they actually have wide cycling paths all the way to the next town…and families spanning ages 5-70 were cycling along together..Wow)…
And then there’s kayaking, jet skiing, wind surfing, pedal boating and paddle boarding ? …
In fact Dad’s had a blast as well, just relaxing and watching us do all this fun stuff..’Blissed out’ as he puts it.
Bardolino’s lake fronting ‘Centro Storico’ is actually quuuuite large..Much much bigger than what you would imagine in a ‘small’ quaint town..
There’s a massive number of bars and restaurants..Lane upon lane of small shops and boutiques (granted most of the shops have similar things, but I did actually find a few great buys this time..I normally don’t outside of the bigger cities).
The food was fabbbuulllous.
Amonst other things, M and the boys have had enough ‘Spaghetti con Vongole (pasta with clams) to last them the whole year and they’re still craving for more. All 3 were disappointed though wherever they ordered Calamari (squid)…so maybe this is’nt the region for it.
I honestly have to mention how lovely the local people are..Super. Friendly, helpful, easy going..
Lake Garda is also the region for theme parks – there s loads of them. We opted for Movie Land and Caneva (both just a short distance away from Bardolino). Going post lunch gets you substantially better ticket prices….by then the sun’s also so much more bearable, getting parking is easier and the lines for the rides are much shorter (GardaLand’s open until 11pm and Caneva until 730 in the evening).
Quite a few of the lake-shoring towns are very close to each other…And the drive is ‘dreamy’.
I have yet to see so many endless swathes and swathes of vineyards as far as the eye can see. And right by the ‘highway’, you could stop and touch them…literally endless stretches.
Not even in Tuscany, did we drive past sooooo many of them.
Garda is the town that we cycled to ( 5kms away)..Its quite tiny. Quaint and sweet. 2 ‘must try’ restaurants –Thai Orchidee and Bussola.
9 kms from Bardolino..Lazise is the really pretty one.
..Straight out of a movie set..including the small ‘Disneyesque’ turrets; some very stylish boutiques and fab bars and restaurants.
Lazise is especially beautiful in the evenings..Try to get there in time for the ‘picture perfect’ sunset.
There are 2 caricature artist on the main promenade.. The lady artist is really very good.
Sirmione is a half hour from Bardolino. Its a tiny walled town and you feel you’re walking across a moat to get inside..
Its very pretty, very posh, very expensive ? ? . There s an entire ‘piazza’ of Gelaterias. Look better than they taste. Scaligeri’s the only one worth trying.
Turns out we saved the best for the last…
Riva del Garda and the Northern side of the lake is stunnnniiinggg.
And im going to give write about it separately as in that 1 hour drive, the landscape quite actually felt like we had crossed over into another country. It was WOW. (ofcourse)..but so different.
Just remember to take the panoramic route….that’s a must do.
Its been the perfect family holiday – Total WE time. This one’s made it to our top 3 ‘best holidays’ ? ? . My younger one’s actually coined it ‘blog-worthy’ ? .
‘Domus Rosada’ our apartment, actually helped so so much to make this week perfect..I can’t imagaine having had a more ideal place (or better hosts). Airbnb scores once more..
Bardolino is an hour and a half s gorgeous drive from Milan (142kms); and renting a car would be my strong recommendation (but if for any reason you choose not to – the public transport is quite convenient).