Campsites for Lake Garda and Venice
At the end of April we are taking the caravan across the south of France and into Italy. Then up to Lake Garda, looking for a nice site there, that we can spend a few days exploring. The plan is then to go to Venice area, thinking the coast east of Venice where we can get a watertaxi into the centre of Venice. We did this from the south of Venice 30+ years ago.
Can anyone recommend sites that would be well placed for doing this and also able to ride our bikes safely along the coast.
Hopefully France will have settled down by the end of April 🤞 and we can do this. Plan B is in the making 😉
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TG, Cannot help re Venice but we spent 6 nights on the shores of Lake Garda, 4 nights on the eastern shore based near Bardolino at Camping La Rocca and 2 nights on the western shore near Manerba del Garda at Camping Baia Verde. We much preferred the eastern shore with its lake side level friendly made up paths, cafes and restaurants. From La Rocca it was an easy walk into Garda to catch the ferries. While a nice site, it can be a bit tight for larger outfits but this should not be a problem with a caravan especially if you have a motor mover.
peedee
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Friends recommend Camping Nanzel right on the shore of Lake Garda - but it’s up towards the north end of the lake near Limone sul Garda so maybe out of the way for you.
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TG
For Garda you could consider Bella Italia (not the restaurant!) It's on the southern end of the Lake at Peschiera del Garda, which is an easy walk from the site. There are boat trips from the town on Garda. Sirmione is about 9kms away. It is a large and busy site so I am not sure how you feel about that, the pitching areas are quite peaceful.
My recommendation for visiting Venice is Camping Miramare, at Punta Sabbioni, which is right around the Lagoon. A few minutes walk to the ferry to St Marks. There are cycle routes along the main road to Ca Savio. We have stayed here three times over the years. I am sure you could take the bikes on the ferry and get off at Lido and explore the island.
David
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Tammygirl. Venice never disappoints and we have been there many times always staying near Punta Sabbioni. We tend to have a quick look at St Mark's Square, shudder at the price of a coffee there (do not be tempted to buy even a soft drink near St Mark's Square
) and then armed with a 'street' map, just wonder around the narrow streets popping into churches and seeing masterpieces usually for free - you can't get lost honest!! Grab a snack at a small cafe away from the busy areas. There are dozens of sites on Lake Garda, join ACSI and you will find many listed. An obvious wonderful day out is to get the Lake Steamer all or part way up Lake Garda, this avoids driving on the tortuously slow lakeside road. Agree with DK about Staying at Punta Sabbioni and getting the ferry into Venice, get a ticket that includes a day pass on the Vaperiso water buses in Venice You don't give your exact dates but be aware that there is German holiday early June and sites on Garda and near Venice could well be full. On your route home head north and go via Cortina for some outstanding views joining the Autostrada north of Trento. (Can't find my map at moment but the route is obvious). No problems for any sensible outfit. If you are not in a rush to get home stay a few days in Austria and/or Bavaria.Is your Plan B to go to Venice via Austria? We have done this many times and had some memorable trips spending time in the Moselle area, Bavaria and Austria en route depending on the weather, it can rain a lot in Austria!
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Thanks DK, I'll look those suggestions up sounds like the type of places we are looking for.
Commeyras, thanks for your suggestions. We won't be anywhere near lake Garda or Venice when the German holiday starts. The plan is to have left Italy by then. Slovenia, Austria and Bavaria, Luxembourg and ferry home from Rotterdam. We lived in Germany for 20 years so have visited all these places before (except Slovenia) however that was over 30 years ago. We have Acsi membership and all the usual apps.
Plan B is changing our outbound ferry if things in France haven't calmed down by then. We will give France a miss.
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I can’t help with Garda. We’ve stayed on the lake a few times but I can’t say any of the sites stand out so hopefully other can help you with that. Punta Sabioni is handy for Venice (we prefer camping Al Bateo (next door) to Miramare). There are roads you can cycle on around Punta Sabione but they’re busy with vehicle traffic too and not directly on the coast. If you’re looking for sites on the coast east of Venice with dedicated cycle paths along the beaches then Camping Capalonga in Bibione Pineda is superb. From the site you can cycle about 10 miles along the coast on dedicated cycle paths along thee beach through Bibione to the river Tagliamento then take a 1Euro cycle ferry to Lignano and another 5 or so miles along the coast. Alternatively there’s another cycle ferry from outside the campsite that takes you through the lagoon to Caorle where you can explore the old town and the coastline by bike. The coastal motorway from France through Genoa and east through Italy is challenging, especially towing a caravan. You see very little of the coastline since much of the motorway twists and turns through endless tunnels. However the new motorway bridge through Genoa is amazing but a bit like spaghetti junction near Birmingham, you’re through it before you realise it.
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Dave, thanks for all the info very helpful.
We stayed at Bibione 30+ years ago with our 2 boys, sounds like it has changed a bit. I think it will have to be a stop there as it sounds just perfect. Venice is only a short stay a couple of days at most. Garda probably 4 days will look at your suggestion for Venice.
You say the road from France into Italy is challenging, in what way please. We are used to towing around the north of Scotland. I understood it's a motorway. Is it very steep or narrow. Many years ago we towed a caravan from the Pisa area back to Germany, I remember lots of tunnels on that route.
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Hi Tammygirl,
We stayed at Camping Fusina last year during a 5 week trip to multiple countries.
Had a pitch directly facing Venice on the waters edge & had the bonus of seeing the fireworks of the Festa del Redentore...... this year is 15/16 June....
Access to the site is via an old industrial area & it has some very old & more up to date facilities.... ATM on site, food in restaurant has very generous portions....
Boat trip fares acorss to Venice were 13 Euros return which I thought were reasonable.
From there we went to Zell am See via the Grossglockner Pass, then via Bernkastel Keus & home.... was a pleasant trip despite the heat
Hope this helps.
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TG We stayed on the SW side of Garda at Camping Fornella, San Felice del Benaco. There were dozens of sites but we chose and booked in advance because we had a larger unit and didn't want the hassle with pitching etc.It was a huge lakeside campsite with good facilities but too large for my liking. The surrounding areas were beautiful and we drove down to Desanzo del Garda to catch the train into Venice. It would've been a lot cheaper to purchase tickets in advance!
We then bought a Vaporetti pass which allowed us to use the water taxis all day. You need a mortgage for coffee in St Marks' square and the street vendors drove me nuts! Other than that and away from the crowds it was incredible. If I did the trip again I would camp around Punta Sabbioni and take the Vaporetti from there and because it's so close I wouldn't want to arrive in Venice much before 4pm (when the cruise ship tourists have disappeared)
There were many cycle paths in the area and I believe in 2026 you'll be able to circumnavigate the entire Lake, a mere 140km! What a ride that will be.
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Hi Tammygirl
The motorway east from Genoa towards La Spezia twists and turns through multiple tunnels and requires intense concentration. If you’re heading towards Venice I’d recommend you head north from Genoa and drive to the south of Milan, joining the A4 motorway near Brescia. The A4 is very busy, being one of the main routes west from Eastern Europe but it’ a fast motorway and providing there are no accidents you can maintain a good speed. The motorway system around Venice has improved over the last few years and is no longer a bottleneck. If you do go back to Bibione I recommend you leave the A4 at Portogruaro rather than Latisana. The route to Bibione is far easier that way. You will see lots of changes in Bibione not the least of which are a number of well made dedicated cycle paths from Bibione all the way to Lignano, some along the beach and other inland or along the rivers.
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Dave, thank you very useful info.
I think we will do as you suggest.
A visit to Bibione is on the cards, might mean skipping something else later on but who cares as long as we enjoy what we are doing, we can always go back again another time and fill in the blanks. 😊
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