Lake Garda Loop

Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake and one of the great spectacles of northern Europe — a vast expanse of blue water pressed between the Alpine foothills and the Po Plain, stretching 52 kilometres from north to south and offering entirely different landscapes at each end. The full loop of 160 kilometres encircles this diversity completely, moving from the dramatic limestone cliffs and near-fjord scenery of the northern shore to the palm-lined Riviera of the south, where the climate is mild enough for olive trees and lemon groves. This is a route that changes character almost continuously, never settling into monotony.

The western shore, served by the Gardesana Occidentale road, is the most dramatic stretch: a narrow carriageway carved directly from the cliff face, threading through tunnels and emerging onto ledge-like viaducts with the lake below and the rock wall above. Limone sul Garda, one of the most famous villages on this shore, claims to be the northernmost place on earth where lemons can be grown outdoors, and its harbour-front and old lemon terraces are genuinely picturesque. The eastern shore, the Gardesana Orientale, is slightly wider and faster-moving but no less beautiful, with the vineyards and olive groves of the Bardolino DOC wine zone and the cable car station at Malcesine rising through the rock to the plateau of Monte Baldo above. Sirmione, at the southern tip, is the most visited point: a medieval castle on a narrow peninsula jutting into the lake, with Roman ruins and thermal springs just beyond.

For a VW T3, the Lake Garda loop is comfortably achievable. The road is generally flat to gently undulating and the Gardesana roads are well-maintained, though the western shore in particular is narrow in places and requires care when meeting tourist buses. The tunnels on the western shore are low and the road surface can be damp inside them — maintain steady speed and use headlights. Parking around the lake varies enormously: some towns have good van-friendly areas, while Sirmione and Riva del Garda in summer require patience. Early morning arrivals at the busiest points are strongly recommended.

The ideal times to drive the Garda loop are April, May, and early June, when the lakeside gardens are in full bloom and the tourist season has not yet peaked. September and October are excellent with warm, clear days and the vineyards turning gold. July and August see very heavy traffic — particularly on summer weekends, the western shore road can be gridlocked — and finding parking in the resort towns becomes genuinely difficult. The lake is navigable year-round and even in winter the southern shore retains a pleasant mildness.