For day two of our trip, we had planned a walk along the promenade from Garda to Bardolino. Naturally the teens viewed a walk with suspicion, but it was very manageable. It was only about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace and quite scenic. There was plenty to see along the way and ample café stops if needed. As part of my planning, I was already aware to watch out for bikes! There are plenty making the same journey, but it wasn’t too bad as the promenade is quite wide.

Garden Café

On our arrival we had a pit stop at the Garden Café. Since returning home I see it is only 3.5 on TripAdvisor. However, we were quite content sitting there, the service was friendly, the cocktails strong and the ice cream tasty! If we had checked on TripAdvisor first, we might have skipped on by which would have been a real shame. So, I am glad we were ready to stop and just ventured in without checking first. I do sometimes wonder if other cafes try and sabotage with fake negative reviews, especially when we had no problem with the service there.

Photo Opportunity

Don’t forget to stop at the “I Love Bardolino” barrel for a photo opportunity. My husband was a big fan of this wine by the end of the holiday, so I am glad we spotted the barrel!

Land Train

Seeing as we had already tried the Garda land train, we thought we might as well try the one in Bardolino too. It cost 3 euros each again, but a little sit down to take in the views is always appreciated. It says on the top of the train “explosion of joy”. It’s good but not that good…

Hiring A Boat

We spotted the Ferris wheel (Ruota panoramica a Bardolino) but didn’t hop onboard, instead we decided to hire a boat for two hours and get our fix of lake views that way!

It was 145 euros from Bardolino Rent Boats. We were given an informative booklet with problem solving information (engine not starting, collisions with rocks, bad weather or getting lost). They also provided life jackets for anyone who cannot swim. If you are thinking about a hiring a boat when visiting lake garda have a look at their website. We found the whole experience very professional.

The boat was impressive and very comfortable.  We had to put down a cash deposit too, they were happy to take less than usual when you book on the spur of the moment. They understand you might not be carrying enough cash. We put down 150 euros instead of the 250 euros if booking in advance.

My husband was shown how to operate the boat and away we went. We were following a guide to get to the island, but I think we ended up a little off course. Either way we really enjoyed our time on the lake. I am glad we ended up going out on the boat for two hours, one hour wouldn’t have been enough for us. You can swim from the boat out on the lake, but we just enjoyed journeying around instead.

There are lots of other boats on the lake including quite big ferries, however it is such an expansive space that it never felt crowded.

After our boat ride we walked back along the promenade to Garda. It was quite a relaxed day, as I knew we had our day trip to Movieland the next day and didn’t want to get worn out. We did however stop off at the supermarket to stock up on some essentials. Including salame dolce a fette, which sounds savoury but has nothing to do with salami. It’s a combination of cocoa powder, butter, sugar, biscuits and hazelnuts and well worth sampling!