You’ve found it: the perfect pitch on Lake Garda, shaded by olive trees, a short stroll from the water, with a pool the children will love. Then you check your dates. July? Full. August? Full. If you’re planning a summer in Italy, that sinking feeling is all too familiar. Garda is one of Europe’s favourite lakes, and its best campsites go early. But forty minutes east lies another Alpine lake, with vineyards on its shores and a car-free island in the middle, where finding space is usually far easier.

Why Lake Garda campsites sell out by February

Lake Garda’s most popular campsites fill up early because demand from across Europe is enormous, and many families book their summer holiday in the first weeks of the year. By the time most people start planning, the best pitches and mobile homes for July and August have often gone.

Garda is the largest lake in Italy and, for many British, Dutch and German families, the default choice for an Italian camping holiday. It’s easy to drive to from northern Europe, it has plenty of beaches, and it offers more family attractions than any other Italian lake.

The booking pattern is striking. In the UK, searches for camping on Lake Garda peak in January, when families sit down after Christmas to plan the summer. Holiday operators reserve large blocks of accommodation on the big resort sites well in advance, and many regular guests rebook for the following year before they’ve even left.

The result is simple: if you start looking in spring for a peak-season stay, you may find the choice limited, or the remaining options expensive.

What you are actually paying for at Garda

On Lake Garda, you pay a premium for location, famous names and the most extensive resort facilities of any Italian lake. That premium is worth it for some families, and less so for others.

Here’s what drives the price:

• Demand. When a destination is this popular, prices follow, especially in school holidays.
• Big resort sites. Many of Garda’s best-known campsites are large holiday parks with water slides, entertainment teams and multiple restaurants. These cost more to run and to stay in.
• The famous postcode. Sites near Sirmione, Peschiera and Lazise, close to Gardaland and the busiest beaches, command the highest prices.

None of this makes Garda poor value. It simply means you should know what you’re paying for, and ask yourself whether you’ll actually use it.

Lake Iseo: forty minutes east, a different price bracket

Lake Iseo is a smaller lake between Bergamo and Brescia, around 40 minutes’ drive from Garda’s southern shore, and it generally offers a quieter holiday at more accessible prices. Many visitors drive straight past it on the motorway without realising it’s there.

What you’ll find:

• Monte Isola, a large, car-free island in the middle of the lake, reached by a short ferry ride.
• Franciacorta, Italy’s leading sparkling wine region, whose vineyards begin at the lake’s southern shore.
• Real lakeside towns such as Iseo, Sarnico and Lovere, where daily life carries on around the visitors.
• Calm water that’s well suited to swimming, paddleboarding and kayaking.
• Easy access from Bergamo airport, roughly 40 minutes away by car, with direct flights from the UK and Ireland.

Our complete guide to Lake Iseo covers the lake in more detail.

Side by side: pitch prices, crowds, water quality, driving times

Garda offers more choice and more attractions; Iseo offers more space, easier availability and shorter transfers from Bergamo airport. Here’s how they compare on the points that matter most when booking a camping holiday.

Before booking on either lake, it’s worth checking the latest bathing water classification for the specific beach you’ll use. Both lakes publish monitoring results each season.

What Garda has that Iseo does not

Garda has more of almost everything: more attractions, more water sports, more resort facilities and easier access to Verona. It would be misleading to pretend otherwise.

• Theme parks. Gardaland, Italy’s best-known theme park, is on the southern shore. There’s nothing comparable on Iseo.
• Wind and water sports. The northern end of Garda, around Riva del Garda and Torbole, is one of Europe’s classic spots for windsurfing and sailing.
• Famous sights. Sirmione’s castle and Roman ruins, Malcesine’s cable car up Monte Baldo, and the pretty harbours of Lazise and Bardolino.
• Verona. The city of Romeo and Juliet, with its Roman arena and summer opera season, is a short drive from the eastern shore.
• Scale. With so many campsites, you have more choice of style, size and facilities.

Who should still choose Garda

If your holiday depends on theme parks, windsurfing or an evening at the Verona opera, Garda is the right lake for you. Iseo is a great alternative, but it isn’t a like-for-like replacement.

Choose Garda if:

• your children have their hearts set on Gardaland or a campsite with a large water park;
• you’re keen to windsurf, kitesurf or sail;
• Verona is a must on your itinerary;
• you’ve already found a site you love with space on your dates.

If that’s you, book as early as you can. If not, read on.

Getting between the two lakes for a day trip

Lake Iseo and Lake Garda are close enough to visit one from the other in a day, about 40 minutes apart by car. Staying on one doesn’t mean missing the other.

• By car: take the A4 motorway between Desenzano del Garda and Rovato, then follow the signs to Iseo. The drive covers roughly 50 km (30 miles).
• By train: trains run from Desenzano or Peschiera to Brescia on the main Milan to Venice line, where you change for the regional line to Iseo. Allow around an hour and a quarter, depending on connections.

Many families staying on Iseo spend a day at Sirmione or Gardaland, then return to a calmer lake in the evening. It’s a good way to enjoy the best of both.

Campsites on Lake Iseo

Lake Iseo has campsites around much of its shoreline, from small family-run sites to larger holiday parks with pools and entertainment. If you’re used to Garda’s resort parks, you’ll find the atmosphere more relaxed and the scale more human.

If you’re not sure how Italian campsites work, from check-in times to the tourist tax, our guide to what camping in Italy is really like explains the differences from British and Dutch sites.

One option on the southern shore is Camping del Sole, on the edge of Iseo town. It covers around 90,000 square metres along the lake and has:

• three swimming pools, including a 25-metre pool, a fun pool with a slide and a shallow pool for young children;
• two beaches with direct lake access, with both sand and lawn areas;
• a range of accommodation, from touring pitches to mobile homes, chalets and glamping tents;
• a restaurant, a lakeside bistro, a beach bar and a mini market;
• dedicated areas for guests with dogs.

Iseo’s historic centre is a flat 800-metre (half-mile) walk along the lakeside path, about ten minutes on foot, so you can go out for dinner or an ice cream without taking the car.

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