This is the second post in a three part series about our August 2026 trip to Italy including Venice and Lake Garda with a family of four— the kids were 5 and 6 at the time of travel. The first post focused on the logistics for our Italian trip. This post is going to dig deeper into our experience with four days in Garda itself. I will cover Venice in a later post.
Why go to Lake Garda with Kids?
Lake Garda is Italy’s largest lake, and is situated in the northern part of the country between Venice and Milan. It has a series of towns and villages surrounding the area which allows for unique experiences around the lake.
We decided to travel to Garda because it is less than 90 minutes from Venice with a direct train option. We planned our trip around a nonstop flight to Venice, and did not want to spend much time traveling between locations in Italy. Many thanks to a Panama Pal who suggested Garda after her experience. Once we learned about the amusement parks Gardaland, and Movieland, we knew Garda would be a fabulous destination for our family.
Planning for Lake Garda:
We booked our stay at the Enjoy Garda Hotel over seven months prior to our departure. We requested two adjoining rooms at the time of booking. We found the hotel when looking at our options on the American Express and Chase Sapphire Reserve travel portals. We wanted to use points to cover some of our stay, and also take advantage of any perks available through either card. We also wanted to stay near the Peschiera del Garda train station so we could take the train from Garda to Venice for the second park of the trip.
Next, we picked the Enjoy Garda hotel because it was a slightly nicer option than some of the other camp style family hotels around the lake. While those may be awesome accommodations, based on the mixed reviews we read, we decided not to take a chance on them.
After booking our hotel, we started to research transportation options. When we learned that the Venice airport is not connected to the train line, we opted for a car service to take us from the Venice airport to Garda. Dragging two sleep deprived kids from the airport to the train station after a red eye flight seemed like too daunting of a way to start this trip. We researched a few car service options online, and learned that the service provided by the Enjoy Garda hotel was actually the cheapest option. We were able to reserve directly with the hotel, and did not have to pre-pay for our ride.
The only other thing we planned in advance for Garda was purchasing tickets for Movie Land. After having the kids watch an exhaustive number of Youtube videos about Garda to prepare for our trip, we learned that Movie Land would actually be the better amusement park for our family instead of Gardaland. We learned that the height requirements for Gardaland are more than Movieland, and that our almost seven year old would still be too short for many of the rides. We booked passes with date flexibility so we could see how the kids adjusted to the time change, and to be able to pivot for weather. Due to the extreme heatwave that overtook Italy in 2026 we also booked a pass that had the option for Caneva Land; the adjacent water park.
Experience in Lake Garda:
Day 1
Lake Garda far exceeded our expectations. It was the perfect introduction to Italy for my children. The hotel van was where it was supposed to be when we arrived in Venice, and there was cold water and car seats for the kids available in the van. This made loading exhausted kids into the vehicle super easy, and the comfort of the cushioned car seats resulted in the kids falling asleep immediately. The drive to Garda was easy!
When we arrived at the Enjoy Garda Hotel our rooms were not yet ready. After some complimentary espresso, we were able to safely store our bags in a conference room, and change into shorts for the warm day ahead of us. Having the Minu Stroller and Toddler Carrier with us for this part of the trip was critical. We were able to explore the area immediately surrounding our hotel with two exhausted kids.
We started our day in Garda with more coffee and pastries at the Pasticceria Peccati di Gola cafe which is across the street from the hotel. Had I planned ahead, I would have seen that this bakery is on the app Too Good to Go, and would have ordered a surprise bag in advance. Then, we walked around the older part of the town with a quick stop for lunch too.
A dip in the Enjoy Garda pool after our rooms were ready was an awesome way to help the kids to normalize after their jet lagged day. We ended up spending a part of every afternoon at the pool. This seemed to really help the kids reset after exploring in the mornings and prepare for dinner in a restaurant.
We got two adjoining rooms on the third floor. Each room had a mini fridge and balcony. The rooms were clean and also had a coffee set-up we did not use. I learned at check out that if you book your stay directly through the hotel that you can get a room with a garden room. That would make for an even quieter and enjoyable stay.
On our first night in Garda we grabbed pizza for dinner at Pizza Express because it was one of the only options open at like 4 PM. While it worked for jet lagged kids, we had much better pizza for the duration of our trip. The gelato from Gelateria Peschiera though was sublime. The melon flavor was a standout with our family. Finally, I also spent time during our first evening walking to the Penny grocery store less than 800m from the hotel.
I used our Mesh Beach Bag to carry back some wine, vegetables, fruit and Italian snacks for our time in Garda. One thing I learned later in the trip is the store closes at 8— so stock up on wine or beer since it is not an option to run out for more after the kids go to bed. Also, our Travel Cutting Board was a new purchase for this trip and helped with the Penny grocery haul. We made the kids eat some fresh produce every day, and it was nice to have a knife and cutting board ready to go.
Day 2
The Enjoy Garda Breakfast was an incredible way to start our first full day in Garda. There was an amazing variety of food and pastries including sandwiches, hot food, etc. My favorite thing from day two was a chocolate and hazelnut cookie-like pastry that went really well with the multiple lattes I had from the self-service coffee machine.
My husband wanted to see Sirmione castle, so we decided to make that our first real stop of the trip. We decided to take the bus since there was a stop directly in front of the hotel. THIS WAS A MISTAKE. The bus was over 70 minutes late and was super crowded. It also did not go to the castle. It unexpectedly offloaded about a 40 minute walk from the castle. Once again, our toddler carrier saved us. We put our five year old in it and walked for about 20 minutes before stopping at Ristorante Pizzeria Erica for lunch.
Ristorante Pizzeria Erica was a huge hit for our family. The pizza was so much better than the night before, and the view of the lake was stunning. My husband got the octopus dish which he enjoyed, and even successfully convinced the kids to try too!
After lunch we walked the rest of the way to the Sirmione castle. We did not purchase tickets in advance, so I waited in line with my travel fan to cool me down while the kids and husband explored the town of Sirmione. It was about a 30 minute wait for us to gain castle access. The castle itself was pretty basic inside, but the top offered incredible views of the Garda region. After exploring we got gelato to cool off before taking the ferry back to Peschiera del Garda. The ferry ride was a much more enjoyable experience than the bus.
After a dip in the Enjoy Garda pool, we cleaned up and walked to Al Canal for dinner. We sat outside and had a beautiful view of the canal during our dinner.
Day 3
We decided to spend our third day at Movie Land. We knew where was a free bus from the Peschiera del Garda train station so we walked to the station after breakfast. We learned that the bus pickup for the amusement parks is a total cluster. We ended up walking back to the Enjoy Garda hotel and buying bus tickets from the tobacco shop instead. The bus was once again late, and crowded, but we still made it to the park shortly after it opened.
Everyone wore a swim suit to the park– I paired this swimsuit with a tennis skirt and water shoes. I also got a dry bag for our belongings. This was a must since many of the rides at Movie Land have a water component. The wet bag kept our phones and wallets dry, and allowed us to bring a bottle of sun screen for the hot day. The 5L size was more than enough for a single day at the park.
For lunch we stopped for fish and chips that were very reasonably priced by American theme park standards. We paid 44 Euro for lunch for four people which felt like a steal.
Our family really enjoyed the rides at Movie Land. They were accessible for our family, and had fun themes that everyone could relate to despite everything being in Italian. Our one big regret was not doing the Super Jet ride right after the park opened. We should have rushed to the back of the park first to ride that ride since it had super long lines for most of the day. The return bus ride from the park to the hotel was empty since we left around 4PM, and we were able to get seats for the ride home.
After another quick dip in the hotel pool everyone regrouped for dinner at Raffilu- Grandi Pescied Altro. We had a table that faced the open square so the kids were able to run around and explore while the adults had a leisurely and delicious dinner.
Day 4
For our final day in Garda we decided to get ferry passes for the lower region of the lake. While trips to Mt. Baldo, Limon and other northern parts of Lake Garda looked incredible, we decided to focus on staying closer to our home base to make the day more enjoyable for our young kids.
We learned our lesson to not trust the bus system in Lake Garda, and opted for ferry passes to explore the region. Our first stop was Garda which was so cute. There were some beautiful pottery stores, cute shops and just an incredibly cute downtown. We had an amazing risotto lunch at La Losa Ristorante Pizzeria overlooking the lake. It was such a beautiful way to wrap up our time in the Lake Garda region.
From Garda we took the ferry to Bardolino where we walked to the family friendly Azienda Agricola S.Zeno winery. We enjoyed a quick tasting in the cellar, and the kids enjoyed eating the bread and cheese that came with the tasting. I would 100% recommend this winery to families. The owner has her own children, and was so welcoming and kind to mine.
We then explored the church, got some gelato and walked around before taking a ferry back to Peschiera del Garda. We had our final swim in the pool before it started to rain. We walked to Ristorante Pizzeria Sosta e Gusta where we had the best pizza of our entire trip for dinner.
Day 5
Our final day concluded with a rainy (but easy) walk to the Peschiera del Garda train station for our train ride to Venice. We learned the only food options are vending machines, so plan to get food in advance if you want snacks or lunch for your train ride.
Lessons Learned about Lake Garda:
- Avoid the bus in the Lake Garda region. They are frequently delayed and are not a reliable transportation option.
- You can swim in Lake Garda, and there are cute areas with small slides into the water and beach umbrellas for rent. While we did not partake, it looked like such a fun way to spend a day in Garda.
- The Lake Garda region is very friendly for children. The towns are an accessible size to walk around with smaller legs, and there are plenty of places to stop for pastries or food along the water for a stunning rest stop.
Travel Gear for Lake Garda:
- Dry bag: This came in handy for our Movie Land day. It kept everything dry on the water rides.
- Travel Cutting Board: Everyone was able to eat produce thanks to this cutting board we used for apples, peppers and other veggies.
- Travel fan: A must-have on hot days.
- Check out my Amazon Storefront for a full list of my recommendations. Please know I can make a commission from products that help offset the cost of maintaining this blog.
Final Thoughts on Lake Garda:
Lake Garda was such an amazing introduction to Italy for my children. The towns around the lake with castles and forts made Roman history come to life, but did not require walking 20K or more steps a day like a visit to Rome demands. It is such a beautiful and idyllic place for families.
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