Lake Garda With Kids: The Absolute Best Things To Do!

We traveled to Lake Garda recently with our daughters and this is my guide to the best things to do in Lake Garda with kids!

Lake Garda is the biggest and cleanest lake in Italy. And the villages surrounding it are so picturesque. It’s so pretty and enchanting here that you’d be forgiven for thinking that Lake Garda is not kid-friendly. But, in fact, Lake Garda is one of the best places in Italy to vacation with kids. That’s because it’s home to two huge theme parks, several waterparks, and an awesome Zoo.

In fact, Lake Garda is often referred to as the Orlando of Italy because it is home to two of the best theme parks in Italy – Gardaland and Movieland.

Would you believe, an impressive 22 million tourists visit Lake Garda every year? Many of them are families, so, it’s safe to say it’s one of the most popular family destinations in Europe. And that’s because the weather is great in the summer (not too hot), it’s easy to get around and there are loads of family-friendly things to do here.

However, I will add that if you’re traveling to Lake Garda with kids you should aim to base yourself in Bardolino, Peschiera del Garda, or Riva del Garda as these are the most family-friendly towns.

In this blog post, I will share with you all the best things to do in Lake Garda with kids as well as the best hotels for children here.

Is Lake Garda worth visiting with kids?

Yes, Lake Garda is definitely worth visiting with kids. As I said, it’s often described as the Orlando of Italy as it’s home to two huge theme parks (Gardaland and Movieland), 3 waterparks, and an excellent zoo – which you can drive through in your car (like a safari).

There are also lots of other things to do in Lake Garda with kids like hopping on a unique cable car to the top of Monte Baldo and exploring a waterfall within a cave (Varone Waterfall).

Because it’s a lake most of the beaches here have pebbles instead of sand. Which means less clean-up afterward. Overall, Lake Garda is relaxed, easy to get around, and has lots of family-oriented hotels. Plus, if you stay close to the lake itself (not inland) the weather here never feels too hot thanks to a consistent breeze.

What is the cutest town in Lake Garda?

We stayed in Bardolino, a pretty village on the eastern shore of Lake Garda. It sits at the base of the lush Morainic Hills. Bardolino is quite a big village and it’s filled with pastel-colored buildings that house lovely clothing stores and great restaurants. And we may be biased as we had such a great time there, but we reckon it’s one of the cutest towns in Lake Garda.

Another one of the most picturesque towns in Lake Garda is Limone Sul Garda on the northeast of the lake and Garda, next to Bardolino.

As for the most family-friendly towns in Lake Garda, those would be Bardolino (where we stayed), Peschiera del Garda, and Riva del Garda.

BEST Things to Do in Lake Garda With Kids

1. Gardaland

One of the biggest theme parks in Europe is located in Lake Garda. Gardaland is home to a theme park with 40 rides, the brand new Legoland Water Park, a SeaLife Aquarium, and a Peppa Pig Land for the younger kids!

Gardaland is honestly huge and there’s a ride for everyone. Thrill-seekers (like me and my husband) loved the Blue Tornado rollercoaster but we also had heaps of fun on the Raptor and Oblivion rides. As I said, there are over 40 rides at Gardaland so it’s fair to say you could spend a full day in the theme park section alone.

Only recently opened here is the Legoland Water Park. Yep, you guessed right – a themed Lego water park featuring colorful slides, a lazy river where you get to customize your boat with Lego bricks before floating away, plenty of interactive water games, and lots of themed areas. The Jungle Adventure section looks really fun!

There’s even a Peppa Pig Land where you can meet the life-size characters from the show, visit Peppa’s House, and ride on rides like the hot air balloon ride.

And finally, the SeaLife Aquarium is a great place to spend some time out of the sun. Here, you will get to see over 5,000 sea creatures from sharks to stingrays to starfish.

If you fancy staying the night there are three themed hotels to choose from – Gardaland Hotel, Gardaland Adventure Hotel, and Gardaland Magic Hotel.

Buying tickets for Gardaland:

A day pass to Gardaland costs from €39 when you book online in advance. FYI, the ticket will cost you €50 if you walk up on the day! You can also purchase hotel and park passes which work out great value for money!

A good idea if you’re not sure what day to go is to buy an open-date entry ticket to Gardaland, which costs from €47!

2. Caneva World Resort

Caneva World Resort is two fun parks in one place – the Caneva Aquapark and the Movieland theme park. Which means one great day away from your hotel!

The Caneva Aquapark is a Caribbean-themed waterpark that’s spread over 100,000 square meters! Here, you’ll find several water slides (there’s one for every level of bravery), a few relaxation zones and, a couple of different pools.

Movieland is also located here and as you can guess, it’s a theme park based on famous movies. With a similar vibe to Universal Studios in Orlando. Rides here include Horror House, Magma (a fast-moving truck ride), Kit SuperJet (a jetboat ride), and Brontoring a fun ride for younger kids. There are around 20 rides here in total as well as several movie sets that you can stroll through including Little Italy and the U.S Army Set.

Throughout the day you can catch several live shows and performances around the park. We loved the U.S. Army Stunt Show.

A ticket for Movieland and Caneva Aquapark costs €42 per person. You can choose to just visit one and a ticket for only Movieland or Caneva costs €34 per adult and €28 for kids.

3. Boat trip to Isola del Garda

From pretty much every town along Lake Garda you’ll be able to see the standout Isola del Garda – the biggest island in the lake. Home to a lush park and the eye-catching Villa Borghese Cavazza a Venetian neo-Gothic villa. You can catch a shared boat to the island from Manerba del Garda or book a private tour from Sirmione which fits up to 6 people.

Kids will love seeing the lake from on-board a speedy and luxurious boat and getting to see the island up close. A fun fact to tell them is that the island was originally called Skull Island because it was said to have been inhabited by pirates and over 100 Gallo-Roman tombstones can be found on the island!

The private boat tour from Sirmione is 1.5 hours long and includes Prosecco for the grown-ups as well as a knowledgeable local driver who will tell you all about the history of the island. This tour costs from €346 per boat which fits up to 6 people.

4. Parco Natura Viva

Parco Natura Viva is a zoo with a difference. It comprises of two sections – the Fauna Park which you can walk through, and the Safari Park which you must drive through.

The Fauna Park is a huge area of around 240,000 square meters where you can walk through different sections like Asia, Africa, America, Oceania, Madagascar, etc. You’ll see animals like hippos, monkeys, pink flamingos, and more! There’s a greenhouse in the center which is where you’ll see parrots and caimans. And there’s also a reptile house where snakes. turtles, lizards, etc. live. To walk through the Fauna Park from start to finish will take around 4 hours.

The Safari Park is a unique African Safari-type experience. As you drive through you’ll get the chance to see giraffes, zebras, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and more just steps away from your vehicle as they roam through the wild, fenceless area. It will take around 30 minutes to drive through this section. Not to worry if you don’t have a car there is a jeep safari service available for an extra fee – you can drive one of the park’s jeeps or have someone drive you through.

A daily ticket to Parco Natura Viva costs €24 per adult and €15 for children aged between 3 and 12. Kids under 3 are free.

5. Monte Baldo

Standing tall (at a whopping 6,000 feet) over the town of Malcesine is Monte Baldo which you can ride to the top of in a cable car (aka funivia). This is a unique, state-of-the-art cable car system as the cars rotate their axis during the journey to the top, thus allowing you to see a 360-degree view along the way.

Once you hop off the cable car, if the kids are keen you can hike to the very top of the mountain. From here, you’ll be treated to arguably the best view in all of Lake Garda!

6. Varone Waterfall

Varone Waterfall aka Parco Grotta Cascata Varone is a waterfall within a cave and it stands at 70 meters high. It’s such a stunning natural attraction and a must-see during your time in Lake Garda.

There are two viewing points of the waterfall, the first is in the Lower Cave and the second is in the Upper Cave, from here you can witness the full power of the waterfall! The walking path to the two viewpoints is easy enough but you will get a little wet and it can be slippy so sturdy footwear is a must!

After checking out the waterfall be sure to spend some time in the adjoining nature reserve, which is so photogenic!

7. Cycle or walk between the towns

If your kids need to burn off some energy why not consider renting a bike and cycling one of the many bike paths dotted along the lake? There are bike rental stores in pretty much every town here and a day’s bike rental is cheap.

The Bardolino Lake Garda Promenade Walkway connects Bardolino with the town of Garda. They are two of the prettiest towns on the lake. It’s flat and easy and is around 2 km long. Along the way, you’ll pass several small beaches and Cafes, so you can stop where and when you please. We walked this path a few times during our vacation (with a two-year-old and baby in a double buggy) and found it very easy. If you want to cycle the path, you can rent bikes from Bardolino or Garda. Our friend used Cisano Bike Rent & Service in Bardolino.

Another good cycling path in Lake Garda is the 10-km-long path that connects Lazise to Punta San Vigilio. It’s rated as easy and the small port of Punta San Vigilio is well worth spending an hour or so. The San Vigilio hotel here has attracted many famous faces throughout the years, such as King Charles and Napoleon!

The Via del Ponale is one of the most popular cycling routes in the area, it connects Riva del Garda with the Ledro Valley and is rated as easy, too. There are wow-worthy views of Upper Garda to be seen along the way and it’s around 10 km long.

8. Have a beach day!

After all the time spent at theme parks and water parks, it’s likely you’ll be looking to have at least one relaxing day during your vacation to Lake Garda with kids. So, why not have a beach day? There are loads of beaches sprinkled along the lake from the popular Bracco Baldo Beach in Peschiera del Garda to the picturesque Sabbioni Beach in Riva del Garda.

But, as we were staying in Bardolino we spent a lot of time at the small beaches along the pathway between Bardolino and Garda. There are several and we tended to just walk along until we found a quiet spot. The water here was glistening but the floor of the lake was quite muddy.

One of the most family-friendly beaches in Lake Garda is the one at Malcesine as the water here isn’t muddy. And the water is quite shallow.

9. Parco Cavour

Parco Cavour is a fun water park close to Lake Garda, it features 12 attractions spread throughout different themed sections like the Rainforest, Adventure Rock, Iceberg, and the Water Lagoon (this is the perfect spot for young kids!)

We had lots of fun on the Kamikaze slides and we also loved the Kneipp Path where you can walk along river pebbles which is said to have great health benefits.

A day pass to Parco Cavour costs €25.50 per adult and €19 for kids.

You can book a skip-the-line ticket for Parco Cavour here from just €24!

10. Go Canyoning!

A fun and exhilarating thing to do with kids aged between 6 and 9 is to go canyoning. If you don’t know what that is, it essentially involves rock climbing, jumping from small cliffs and sliding down rock faces through a scenic canyon. It sounds heartstopping but it’s completely safe and you’ll have an instructor with you at all times as well as all the safety gear. This tour is 2.5 hours long and costs from 55 per person.

Definitely one to try if you have a daredevil kid (I know, my two will love it when they’re old enough!)

How many days is enough in Lake Garda?

I recommend allowing 5 days in Lake Garda, 3 days at a minimum. We spent a week here and it was the perfect amount of time to spend with two toddlers.

With 5 days, you’ll get to tick off the best things to do for families in Lake Garda like spending a full day at Gardaland and Movieland and even get to squeeze in a visit to Parco Cavour or Parco Natura Viva. A 5-day Lake Garda itinerary also gives you enough time to have a relaxing day at the beach or exploring one of the cute towns on the lake like Bardolino.

Where to Stay in Lake Garda

If you’re traveling to Lake Garda with kids, we highly recommend basing yourself in either Bardolino or Peschiera del Garda as both offer plenty of family-friendly hotels and are close to attractions like Gardaland and Caneva World Resort.

In Bardolino –

Hotel Ca’Mura – This is where we stayed and we loved how spread out the hotel is – there are gorgeous gardens to explore, a huge pool, and a small kids pool. As well as that there’s a kids club, tennis court, volleyball court and, onsite restaurant. Our apartment was authentically Italian and nice and cool during the day. The only downside is it’s located outside of town and at the top of a steep hill so the walk up from town was tough.

Sisan Family Resort – a 4-star resort with a mini waterpark/ water playground and two swimming pools. The rooms here are three-bedroom apartments that are spacious and feature a small living room and kitchen as well as a patio area. There’s also a kids club and nightly entertainment for the kids in high season. Rates are around € 375 per night.

La Rocca Camping Village – A 4-star camping village, a short distance from Bardolino La Rocca offers apartments, mobile homes, and pitches (for a tent or RV). There’s a large swimming pool, mini splash park, on-site shop, Cafe, and restaurant. They offer a junior/teen club, nightly shows, and a spa. It’s also right on the beach.

In Peschiera del Garda –

Gasparina Village – A quiet holiday village consisting of 120 apartments, a kids club, and a super lagoon pool with slides. The apartments come with a kitchenette and are spacious and comfortable. The resort is car-free too! Handily, it’s located just 1.5 km to Gardaland.

Gardaland Hotel – This hotel is located within the Gardaland theme park. It’s a 4-star hotel with 247 rooms (including 36 themed rooms), two bars, a restaurant, and a free shuttle bus that takes you to Gardaland. The hotel offers various packages like free second-day park entry.

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Thanks for Reading!

Tell me – what did you think of our guide to things to do in Lake Garda with kids? Is there anything we have missed? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

While you’re here, why not check out some of my most popular Italy blog posts –

How to Spend One Day in the Cinque Terre

How to Spend 3 Days in Cinque Terre: The Perfect Cinque Terre Itinerary

Best Activities in Cinque Terre (5 Unique Things to Do)

Where to stay in Monterosso Cinque Terre

Last Updated on August 6, 2024 by snaphappytravel