Rail holiday travelling to Lake Garda by train
Experience the romance of rail as you travel through Europe by train to Lake Garda in Italy. Lake Garda is the largest of Italy’s lakes and offers a variety of attractions all year round, making it the perfect destination for a rail holiday.
We recommend that you travel by Eurostar to Paris before continuing to Verona on an overnight sleeper train. Change trains and arrive shortly in Desenzano del Garda from where a private car will take you to your hotel, spending 7 nights at either the Villa del Sogno on the Gardone Riviera or at the Bellevue San Lorenzo in Malcesine, then return home by the same route. If you prefer you can use local trains and taxi services to reach your hotel.
A range of other overnight and daytime travel options are also available, including rail journeys travelling through the spectacular scenery of the Alps. One option is to travel from London to Lausanne via Paris, stay overnight then continue the next day over the Simplon Pass into Desenzano del Garda. From here, transfer to the hotel by car. A daytime recommendation for your rail journey home would be to take the breath-taking Brenner Pass route through the Austrian Alps from Verona to Munich, with an overnight stay in the Bavarian capital. Train travel back to the UK from Munich is easy, with simple platform changes at Frankfurt and Brussels.
Click here to download a pdf with full details of some of our rail holidays to Italy.
DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
OUTBOUND OPTION 1 – SLEEPER DIRECT
Day one
Begin your rail holiday by taking the afternoon Eurostar from London to Paris, where you arrive just before 6pm and change to an overnight Thello train to Verona.
Day two
Arrive into Verona at about 8am. A private car will be waiting for you here, and will take you to your hotel on Lake Garda.
OUTBOUND OPTION 2 – OUT VIA LAUSANNE
Day 1
You board the Eurostar around 10am to Paris where there may be time for lunch at the famous Train Bleu restaurant, before you catch the high speed TGV train to Lausanne. You arrive here a little after 7.30pm and stay one night, or more, in the Hotel Angleterre et Residence which looks out over the shore of Lake Geneva.
Day 2
You have the morning at leisure in Lausanne before leaving around 2pm. The railway follows the Rhone up into the Alps before passing through the stunning Simplon Pass and along the shores of Lake Maggiore. After a simple platform change in Milan you arrive into Verona in the evening. A private car will meet you here to take you to your hotel on Lake Garda.
Days three to eight
Spend 6 days at leisure on Lake Garda. On the lower slopes of the hills around Lake Garda are a profusion of lemons and olives, chestnuts and palms, magnolias and camellias. Pretty villages hug the sheltered bays and fishing boats still moor next to sailing boats. Monte Baldo, above the lake, can be reached by cable car and affords spectacular views. At Gargnano on Lake Garda you can see the stone pavilions where lemons were traditionally cultivated.
RETURN OPTION 1 – SLEEPER DIRECT
Day nine
Leave Lake Garda in the early evening to return to Verona, where you board a sleeper train at 9.30pm to travel directly to Paris.
Day ten
Arrive into Paris at about 9.30am, and then finish your rail holiday by taking the Eurostar back to London where you arrive at lunchtime.
RETURN OPTION 2 – VIA MUNICH
Day 9
After breakfast, a private car takes you back to Verona train station. Here you change onto the Eurocity train which takes you northwards, through the Brenner Pass into Austria, onwards across the Alps and arriving into Munich around 4.30pm. Enjoy an overnight stay in the centrally based Eden Hotel Wolff.
Day 10
A little before 10am you begin your rail journey home. You make your way north changing trains at Frankfurt, where you may have time for lunch. Continuing northwards, your train crosses over the Rhine and enters Belgium where you change onto the Eurostar from Brussels to London St Pancras, arriving back in the UK around 8pm.
PRICES
Hotel Villa del Sogno –
First class rail travel from £2,310 per person
Second class rail travel from £2,190 per person
Prices based on two sharing a double or twin room, using the sleeper train service
Bellevue San Lorenzo -
First class rail travel from £2,010 per person
Second class rail travel from £1,890 per person
Prices based on two sharing a double or twin room, using the sleeper train service
What’s included?
Private return transfers from Verona station to your hotel
First or second class travel on the Eurostar (as above)
Double sleeper compartment on Thello sleeper train
At the hotels:
7 nights’ bed and breakfast in a Lake View Room at Hotel Villa del Sogno, or 7 nights’ half board in Lake View Room at Bellevue San Lorenzo.
What’s not included?
Meals other than breakfast at the hotels
Transfers in Paris.
Early check in or late check outs at hotels, although we can arrange this on request.
Supplements for alternative routes
Any services not mentioned above
Dates
This rail holiday can be arranged throughout the year. Timings can vary depending on the month and day of the week.
For more information regarding rail services to and within Italy, view our train guide.