North Germany to Lake Garda Italy...TIPS?!?

[Bullitproof]

Hi fellow GSer's......
Off to Lake Garda in April for 2 weeks, 2 up and was wonsering if anyone had any tips or tricks to make life better or easier.....
We are spending one night in München then the reast in Italy. No Camping!! as the Missus insisted on doing the Hotel thing..... so if anyones been there and discovered any great rides or restuarants or anything worth checking out then please let me know.
Thanx

 

[wessie]

Firstly, I'm not going to recommend any roads. As you are going in April the high passes will be very cold if not snowbound. You'll just have to suck it and see based on the prevailing weather conditions.

www.alpineroads.com will give you information about which roads are open/closed

Lake Garda is a lovely area. I was there in 2003. I used Torbole as a base from which to explore the area. It's a nice town at the northern end of the lake just a couple of miles from the very swish Riva del Garda.

I stayed in this 4* hotel http://www.torbole.com/clubhotellavela/ Very friendly staff and nice food. Right in the middle of the resort about 100m from the lake shore. Small supermarket and a petrol station nearby.

We ate out at http://www.onbenaco.com/hotellagodigarda/default.htm
They have a nice terrace that looks out onto the lake. We liked the location and excellent food, so ate there three times.

 

[Bullitproof]

Thanx bud. Got some usefull info and the alpineroads.com was very good

Cheers

 

[ebbo]

I always fancied staying in this hotel http://www.terrazzadelbrivido.it overlooking lake Garda, its around ¾ of the way up on the West side. Check out the fantastic view on the webpage marked terrazzo, its pictured in Motorcycle Journeys through the Alps & Corsica by John Herman

 

[verona]

Hello, myself and girlfriend actually live 25 klm from Lake Garda. As mentioned above, April is a bit early it usually doesn't start warming up until end of May. Personally I prefer the Verona side of Lake Garda i.e. the side where Garda itself is and it is also good for trips into Verona which is a must see. It will also be very quiet at that time of year.

As far as roads through Austria it does depend very much on the weather but if it is good I would suggest following any of the A or B roads equivalent rather than the Brenner Pass. I will be going through that area around the beginning of April with a van and will be able to give you a weather update if you are interested. Whatever you do, have fun.

Jay

 

[wessie]

Personally I prefer the Verona side of Lake Garda i.e. the side where Garda itself is and it is also good for trips into Verona which is a must see.

Really? I agree about Verona as a good place to visit. However, I passed through the Garda/Bardolino areas. It seemed a bit Centre Parcs/Disney to me i.e. theme parks and hordes of people on mountain bikes.

I prefer the more sedate northern/western sides of the lake where you can relax in peace after a day exploring the area on the bike.

Although, as you say, in April it will be fairly quiet everywhere.

 

[Bullitproof]

Thanx for the help fellas
I have been reading up as much as I can on the different routes throught the alps down to Lake Garda and there seems to be loads of ways, and most say to avoid the Brenner Pass..........

Jay I think I will send you a email or two with some more detailed questions if thats alright, I need to plan routes that are suitable for 2 up, and and and......
my email address is
[email protected]

PS: The best bit of this is I NEED to order more stuff from TT. Saftey reasons of course

 

[Neil W]

If you're going to Munich a good tip is that on the main autobahn into the city from the north there is an information point. Stop there as they also do hotel bookings. For a v. small fee they will sort you out a hotel in your price bracket, book it and provide you with a map to it. If you haven't been to Munich before its well worth an overnighter. Once there use the U bahn, cheaper and easier than using the bike in the city. Only problem with the hotels is if there is a conference on at the exhibition halls and the hotel prices double

 

[The Phantom Pieman]

The passes will not be open til end of may / early June ... some lower level ones might be ...
But my experiance says different !

 

[verona]

The passes will not be open til end of may / early June ... some lower level ones might be ...
But my experiance says different !

Last year we went through the Brenner Pass at the end of April. I am not sure about other passes but I think the Brenner Pass is open all year round and bullitproof will have to go that way if all else is closed.

Bullitproof, I have sent you an email.

 

[bingbong]

Hello, myself and girlfriend actually live 25 klm from Lake Garda. As mentioned above, April is a bit early it usually doesn't start warming up until end of May. Personally I prefer the Verona side of Lake Garda i.e. the side where Garda itself is and it is also good for trips into Verona which is a must see. It will also be very quiet at that time of year.

I agree with Verona on this, I live in Bergamo and have spet quite alot of time around Garda on my days off. If you just ride the road around the lake you will miss alot of great little towns. Take the time to turn down towards the lake to the town/villiage centres. My favourite stops are Garda town, Salo and Gargnano. For exploring, there are some smaller lakes just to the west of Garda its easy to just pick a circular route and have a day out. Perfect GS country. If you get lucky with the weather it really is a fantastic place to be.