Caravanning on Lake Garda, any advice

[manfieldp]

Next summer 2007 I plan to take my van to Lake Garda, any advice or personal experiences on excellent caravan sites.

also the best(easiest,nicest) route to take from Calais. I plan to take 4 days to get there (reims,Dijon,Geneva, 2 days in Switzerland then thro Mont blonc) and 3 days to come back.

If you have already done this, what was it like?

Any hints and tips would be appreciated.

Regards

Phil

 

[Anita_5109950]

We stayed at Camping La Quercia in Lazise this year. We weren't terribly impressed.

It is a very large site with 'everything on it', and we couldn't have wanted more in the way of amenities, facilities etc, but we felt that the eating areas were very understaffed, it was not uncommon to have to wait an hour for food, and then up to another 45 minutes if you wanted dessert.

Being on the lakeside, it was also on quite a steep slope, and our pitch was right at the top of the site, away from the lake and shops. This meant a ten minute walk each way to get fresh bread etc each day, fine going down but quite a hike coming back.

We had one of the largest pitches, which was 90m2 but some of the smaller pitches looked quite tight. The access roads on site were quite narrow at times, which I would imagine could cause problems getting onto a smaller pitch.

I don't know if you have children to be entertained, but there were plenty of free courses for them, swimming, canoeing etc and there was horse-riding on site and as well as a large swimming pool (4ft deep all over) with slides, there was also a large sports pitch, basketball field and table tennis area. There was also a gym.

As I said, there is plenty on the site, but unfortunately the poor service in the restaurant and eating area, together with the situation of our pitch was a definite downside to the holiday.

We went Dover-Calais, stayed in Langres for one night, and Sursee in Switzerland for the second night, Camping Sursee is definitely to be recommended as a quiet but very friendly overnight stop. We crossed to Italy through the St Gotthard tunnel.

 

[manfieldp]

We stayed at Camping La Quercia in Lazise this year. We weren't terribly impressed.

It is a very large site with 'everything on it', and we couldn't have wanted more in the way of amenities, facilities etc, but we felt that the eating areas were very understaffed, it was not uncommon to have to wait an hour for food, and then up to another 45 minutes if you wanted dessert.

Being on the lakeside, it was also on quite a steep slope, and our pitch was right at the top of the site, away from the lake and shops. This meant a ten minute walk each way to get fresh bread etc each day, fine going down but quite a hike coming back.

We had one of the largest pitches, which was 90m2 but some of the smaller pitches looked quite tight. The access roads on site were quite narrow at times, which I would imagine could cause problems getting onto a smaller pitch.

I don't know if you have children to be entertained, but there were plenty of free courses for them, swimming, canoeing etc and there was horse-riding on site and as well as a large swimming pool (4ft deep all over) with slides, there was also a large sports pitch, basketball field and table tennis area. There was also a gym.

As I said, there is plenty on the site, but unfortunately the poor service in the restaurant and eating area, together with the situation of our pitch was a definite downside to the holiday.

We went Dover-Calais, stayed in Langres for one night, and Sursee in Switzerland for the second night, Camping Sursee is definitely to be recommended as a quiet but very friendly overnight stop. We crossed to Italy through the St Gotthard tunnel.

Thanx Anita

I will probably go for a CC approved site, Children are all grown up, looking for peaceful surroundings as a priority

 

[manfieldp]

We stayed at Camping La Quercia in Lazise this year. We weren't terribly impressed.

It is a very large site with 'everything on it', and we couldn't have wanted more in the way of amenities, facilities etc, but we felt that the eating areas were very understaffed, it was not uncommon to have to wait an hour for food, and then up to another 45 minutes if you wanted dessert.

Being on the lakeside, it was also on quite a steep slope, and our pitch was right at the top of the site, away from the lake and shops. This meant a ten minute walk each way to get fresh bread etc each day, fine going down but quite a hike coming back.

We had one of the largest pitches, which was 90m2 but some of the smaller pitches looked quite tight. The access roads on site were quite narrow at times, which I would imagine could cause problems getting onto a smaller pitch.

I don't know if you have children to be entertained, but there were plenty of free courses for them, swimming, canoeing etc and there was horse-riding on site and as well as a large swimming pool (4ft deep all over) with slides, there was also a large sports pitch, basketball field and table tennis area. There was also a gym.

As I said, there is plenty on the site, but unfortunately the poor service in the restaurant and eating area, together with the situation of our pitch was a definite downside to the holiday.

We went Dover-Calais, stayed in Langres for one night, and Sursee in Switzerland for the second night, Camping Sursee is definitely to be recommended as a quiet but very friendly overnight stop. We crossed to Italy through the St Gotthard tunnel.

Just a quick Question,was the route from Langres to Sursee difficult terrain, I have a volvo S60.

Or would I be better sticking to motorway, thanx 4 your help

 

[Themass31]

My self the wife and our two children went to lake garda this summer for three weeks and I have to say it was great, you must ask for a big pitch though as they like to cram you in and try to keep your awaning facing away from the lake as you get some great storms with some good winds we did this and had no problems. have a great time.

craig

 

[manfieldp]

My self the wife and our two children went to lake garda this summer for three weeks and I have to say it was great, you must ask for a big pitch though as they like to cram you in and try to keep your awaning facing away from the lake as you get some great storms with some good winds we did this and had no problems. have a great time.

craig

Thanks for the note of caution, will do

 

[Bazz1]

Hi Philip, just be aware that in Italy some sites have restrictions on the length of your van, as they only have short pitches. I seem to remember some one last year saying that one of the Camping sites had several larger pitches, but you have to book these in advance, Bazz.

 

[Fourtrack]

Philip

We stayed at Camping Weekend 3 years ago. Beautiful site and fabulous facilities. However pitches in Italy tend to be smallish so if you hafe a bigger van tell them before you get there. I didn't and had some difficulties but all sorted well when a small local van was moved for me off a larger pitch. Area is Fantastic and my partner will tell you it was her best caravan holiday.....Ever!!

If you can orivate message me somehow with e mail address i can let you have my travel diary records. anything else I can help with then shout

DavidC

 

[manfieldp]

Thanks all

most helpfull I looked the Weekend site and it does look impressive, not worried about the prices but a recommendation goes a long way

Phil

 

[MikeA]

Hi Philip

Have stayed at a couple of sites on Garda. We booked into Camping Eden at San Felice about six years ago via Select Sites. It was a bit too hilly for my liking and also pretty small pitches.

The next time we went, about four years ago, we booked direct off the internet into Piana di Clodia at Lazise. It was very good, with a friendly and professional welcome. It is a large site with a huge choice of pitches, many very large by continental standards. Whole rows of fully serviced pitches. It is a site with lots of hustle and bustle, which will suit some people more than others. The pool complex is about the biggest I've seen - I seem to recall there are five largish pools all clustered together. It has its own thin area of beach on the lake. One quirk was that they didn't take credit cards so you had to plan a bit to cope with that.

Have fun,

Mike A

 

[MikeA]

oops, sorry a typo - it should be Piani di Clodia.

Website //www.pianidiclodia.it/en/

Cheers,

Mike A