Practical Information for visiting The Lake Garda Riviera

The shore's most useful fact: Peschiera del Garda has a railway station on the Milan-Venice line, with fast trains from both. Verona is 15 minutes, Venice about 1 hour 30.

From Peschiera, buses run the length of the shore to Malcesine, and ferries connect every town on the lake, crossing to the Lombard side as well.

The ferries are the right way to move here. The shore road is narrow, heavily trafficked in summer and slow, and parking in the towns is limited and paid. A day pass costs less than parking in two of them.

Verona Villafranca airport is about 30 minutes from Peschiera; Venice, Milan Bergamo and Brescia airports are all within reach.

Cycling is excellent in the south, where the morainic hills are gentle, and demanding in the north where the road is cut into cliffs.

The Monte Baldo cable car from Malcesine, with rotating cabins, is the one piece of transport that is also an attraction.

Mobile coverage is complete along the shore and in all the towns, and good on Monte Baldo's cable-car route, with weak spots in the mountain's valleys and on the ridge paths.

EU visitors roam on their own plans; others can buy a prepaid SIM in Peschiera or Verona, with a passport for registration. Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, campsites and lakeside bars, and many towns run public networks along the waterfront.

The Veneto shore is a safe, heavily touristed area. The real risks are the water, the mountain and the road.

• The lake is large and deep, and its wind is sudden. The afternoon Ora can raise a serious chop within minutes, and swimmers and small craft get caught out every summer. Check conditions before going far from shore.
• Water temperature drops sharply with depth even in August; cold shock is a genuine hazard away from the shallows.
• Monte Baldo is a proper mountain. Weather changes fast, the cable car can close in wind, and paths are exposed. Do not go up in shorts because the shore was warm.
• The shore road is narrow, winding and busy, with tunnels and cyclists. It is the shore's most common source of accidents.
• Summer crowds bring the usual petty theft in busy harbours and car parks.

The shore towns have pharmacies and health centres, with seasonal reinforcement; hospitals with emergency departments are at Peschiera, Bussolengo and Verona, and the northern shore is served from Verona or across the border in Trentino -- from Malcesine that is a real distance, worth knowing.

EU visitors with a valid EHIC are treated on the same terms as residents; non-EU visitors should carry travel health insurance. Pharmacies operate a rota, extended in summer.

Tap water is safe to drink. The practical considerations are sun exposure on open water, cold shock when swimming out of the shallows, and altitude and weather change on Monte Baldo.

Single emergency number: 112, free from any phone, covering police, fire and ambulance.

On the lake: 112 also reaches the lake rescue services. Give the nearest town and, if you can, your distance from shore.

Mountain rescue: 112, which coordinates the Soccorso Alpino for Monte Baldo.

Nearest emergency departments: Peschiera del Garda and Bussolengo, with Verona's larger hospitals about 30-40 minutes from the southern shore and considerably further from Malcesine.

Lost passport: contact your own country's embassy or consulate, most of which are in Rome or Milan.