Lake Garda: radial tour based in a Hotel 4 stars

Dolce Vita at Lake Garda

This wonderful cycling tour combines a fantastic mountain panorama, refreshing bathing pleasure, 4-star hotel comfort and Italian culinary delights: This is a perfect mix to enjoy the “dolce vita” of Italy without having to pack the suitcase every day. Welcome to a cycle tour spoiling all senses: high arts and culture in the cities Trento, Verona, Brescia and Mantua – not only the renaissance palaces of the city of Romeo and Juliet invite to stay, you will also love the dome place and the antique forum in Trento and Brescia. Enjoy the flair of Piazza Sordello in Mantua. Then there is Lake Garda – precious blue-green – for resting and relaxing or enjoying a refreshing swim. Another way of pampering yourself is tasting the local wines. Great Italian wines grow here, e.g. Valpolicella, Lambrusco, Bardolino, Lugana! 

Hotel Lido International – Desenzano 4****

This hotel was renovated recently. Within a few minutes by foot you reach the beautiful harbour city of Desenzano. A lot of spots, beautiful promenades and narrow alleys are inviting you to pause. The rooms are equipped with terrace and lake view. The beautiful terrace, the sunbathing area, the splendid pool and the private shingle beach assure a great stay in relaxing atmosphere after your bike tours.

Hotel Lido International

1. day Desenzano Arrival

Individual arrival to the hotel in Desenzano. After arrival you will have a personal tour information. During the information you will also get the bikes (if booked). We recommend taking a stroll through the old town.

2. day Ecxursion Trento approx. 50 km + boat and transfer

In the morning transfer to Trento (old town with dome, castle Buonconsiglio). Along the river Adige you cycle via Rovereto to Mori. Here you leave the river and cycle west to Lake Garda. After a brief climb you cycle down to Torbole and Riva. Enjoy your boat tour across the Lake back to Desenzano!

3. day Excursion Verona approx. 55 km + train ride

Transfer to Verona. The city of Romeo and Juliet with renaissance palaces, the Roman arena and many cosy places. Enjoy a stroll through the city. Over soft hills, past cypress trees and vineyards you cycle on to the south bank of Lake Garda.

4. day Excursion to Mantua approx. 65 km + train ride

Follow river Mincio southwards to Mantua. The 1000 year old city of the Gonzaga will enchant you with art and beauty. Visit Castello S. Giorgio and Palazzo Ducale, Piazza Sordello with the house of Rigoletto, the dome, Piazza Broletto and the old city hall, Piazza Erbe with justice-palace, clock tower, Rotunde S. Lorenzo and Basilica S. Andrea. Return journey by train.

5. day Excursion into the history of Italy approx. 50 km

Today you follow solitary roads, through vineyards, peach orchards and kiwi plantations to Solferino. Here Garibaldi won the famous “Battle of Solferino” and united Italy. Back to Lake Garda you cycle through the wine growing area Lugana.

6. day Excursion to Brescia approx. 60 km + train ride

Leaving Sirmione you cycle to Cavalgese di Riviera, enjoying unforgettable views of the Lake. Along Naviglio Grande Bresciano (canal with cycle path) you cycle on to Brescia, a city of Roman origin with many more points of interest. Return by train.

7. day Desenzano Departure

After breakfast your nice cycle holiday ends. Of course you can also stay some extra days on Lake Garda.

Worth knowing about your bike trip

Below please find more information about your bike trip. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us by phone: 0049 - (0)6421-886890.

Arrival by train

Desenzano is easily accessible by train. The train station is about 1,5 km (20 min. walk) from the hotel Lido International. We recommend to take a taxi from the station to get to the hotel Lido International. Current schedule information and price information can be found at:

Train schedule information Deutsche Bahn

Train schedule information Trenitalia

Arrival by plane

There are four airports near the Lake Garda. Verona, Venice, Treviso and Bergamo can be reached cheaply from many German and European airports. Please use a shuttle bus or a taxi to the train station and go by train to Dezenzano.

Lufthansa

Alitalia

Arrival by car

In Austria there are tolls (Brenner) and motorway fees. A vignette is compulsory on the motorways in Austria. You can buy vignettes at petrol stations just before or at the border. In addition, there are tolls for the Brenner motorway on the Italian side from the Brenner Pass to Desenzano del Garda/Sirmione.

Parking facilities at the hotel

There are free parking facilities near the hotel. A reservation is not possible. Detailed information on parking at your hotel, you will receive together with the travel documents two weeks prior to departure.

Condition of the bike paths

The route is mainly flat, but there are also some hilly sections to master on almost every day (especially on the 5th day). You ride on cycle paths, side roads and sometimes on dirt roads. When entering and leaving the bigger cities, you have to expect more traffic at times.

Available rental bikes

If you choose to rent a rental bike for the tour, we take it to your hotel and pick it up. You can choose between unisex bikes either with 7-speed gear shift and coaster brake or 27-speed gear shift and freewheel or electric bikes. All unisex' bikes have a low opening that makes mounting and dismounting much easier. The bikes are suitable from 150 cm in height. You simply specify your wishes at time of booking.

Touring information and rental bikes

The personal route information with rental bike takes place on the day of arrival in the hotel between 6 pm - 7 pm. You will find the exact time in the welcome letter upon arrival at the hotel. In exceptional cases also on the first day of cycling at 8 am in your hotel. If you do not take part in the tour information, the documents are deposited at the reception of the arrival hotel. The rental bikes are also available at the hotel. A short message in advance is desired!

Special dates

Special dates are bookable on request. 

Cycling in italy

In Italy, warning vests are mandatory outside closed areas at night and at dusk.

Costs which are not included in the travel price

A possibly resulting tourist tax is not part of the travel price and therefore it has to be paid locally in the hotel.

7 days hotline service

In case of chain breakdown, flooding or other bad surprises that makes a continuation of your tour impossible: no problem, we also work during weekends and you can reach us 7 days a week in case of emergency.

Passport and visa requirements, health regulations

For EU citizens, there are no special passport or visa requirements and no health formalities to be considered for this trip.

Corona travel information:
Before booking your trip, please inform yourself about the measures in place to contain the Corona pandemic.

An up-to-date overview of applicable measures and travel and safety advice regarding Covid-19 for all countries in the EU and Switzerland can be found here:
https://reopen.europa.eu/en/

You can also find more information on our website at:
Corona virus and holiday planning

Travel insurance

The tour price already includes the statutory insolvency insurance. In addition, we recommend that you take out travel cancellation insurance upon receipt of your travel confirmation in order to protect yourself against financial disadvantages in the event of travel cancellation, interruption of travel, illness or accident.

Lake Garda

The Lake Garda Region is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and impressive natural regions in Europe. The sight of the lake alone to Goethe was worth a detour. The mild climate, the lush mediterranean vegetation and picturesque villages in front of an impressive mountain landscape, which then changes into a gentle hilly landscape covered with wine and olive trees - all this is simply the epitome of romantic Italy, the "country in where the lemons bloom." The continually moving glaciers around 10,000 years ago created the largest Italian lake. The lake covers an area of ​​370 km², is 52 km long and has a width of 4 km in the north and about 17 km in the south.

Lake Garda

Desenzano

With its approximately 20,000 inhabitants, Desenzano is the largest city on the lake and far less dominated by tourism than the neighboring cities. Around the port and in the old town beautifully restored commercial houses attest to the long tradition of Desenzano as one of the most important commercial centers of Upper Italy.

Desenzano

Sirmione

A wide moat divides Sirmione's traffic-calmed old town from the mainland, which narrowly stretches four kilometers into Lake Garda and makes the much-visited town in the truest sense of the word the icing on the cake of the southern lakeside. Next to the only bridge, there is a beautiful water castle and the romantic, colorful old town makes dreams of Italy come true. To the north, the park-like top of the island invites you to an idyllic walk with a charming lake view.

Sirmione

Rovereto

Just a few kilometers from Lake Garda, Rovereto is a beautiful city in the Vallagarina, around the imposing Castel Veneto (the seat of the Historical War Museum). Rovereto is known all over the world for the PEACE BELL that rings on the hill of Miravalle every evening one hundred times to remind of all the fallen of all wars.

Rovereto

Trento

Trento or Trient? Trient or Trento? What can be more symbolic for the city between Dolomites and Lake Garda than the presence of both names. For centuries it has been a melting pot of Italian, German and Austrian culture. The neat Renaissance and Baroque architecture, which is found in the palaces and churches of the city, has southern charm and at the same time reminds us of the abundance of Central Europe.

Trento

Verona, Arena

The Arena of Verona is a well-preserved Roman amphitheater. Originally it had a size of 152 x 123 m, now only 138 x 109 m at a height of exactly 24.1 meters, but it is still the third-largest of the ancient amphitheaters after the Coliseum in Rome and the Arena of Capua. The arena was built in the 1st century from white and red limestone, which was partially taken for construction in the Middle Ages. Today, the arena is used for the world famous opera performances and now seats 22,000 spectators on 45 stairs on two inner rings.

Verona, Arena

Mantua

South of Lake Garda, Mantua lies on the river Mincio, which leaves Lake Garda at Peschiera del Garda. Along the river, a beautiful cycle track leads to Mantua. Still little noticed by foreign tourists, Mantua offers a beautiful city flair, both within the medieval city walls as well as outside in the green parks surrounding the three lakes surrounding Mantua.

Mantua

Solferino

Solferino is a small town ten kilometers south of Lake Garda in the Italian province of Mantua. The town was made famous by the Battle of Solferino on June 24, 1859, which was a milestone on the road to Italy as a state. The Geneva businessman Henry Dunant arrived in the evening of the battle in Solferino and seeing the thousands of victims he developed the idea to found the relief organization Red Cross.

Solferino

Brescia

The Lombard capital of Brescia is about 30 kilometers from the south-west of Lake Garda and is worth visiting, not only for its numerous art treasures. The cultural monuments of the city provide an almost complete testimony of the past 2000 years. On a tour of Brescia's old town you will find ancient buildings, early Christian sacred art, Romanesque and gothic churches as well as impressive squares and palaces.

Brescia