Garda Trek: 3 x Hiking & Trekking at Lago di Garda

When you put all three routes of the Garda Trek together in an overview, you can see the beautiful imaginary crown on the northern shores of Lake Garda. There are parts where the routes cross, but apart from that they are stand-alone routes.

It can be difficult to decide which of the 3 routes suits you best. However, since there are multiple variations of the Garda Trek, there is bound to be a suitable hike for you among them. All three treks have different levels of difficulty, and therefore each hike is suitable for a different type of hiker.

Lake Garda is a good year-round hiking destination, but this does not mean that every variant of the Garda Trek is suitable to be walked year-round.

If you choose the Low Loop, you will not stay in a mountain hut and the trails are in a lower part of the mountains. You'll spend the night in a hotel, so you won't be hampered by the limited period when mountain huts are open.

During the Medium Loop, you stay overnight in both mountain huts and hotels. So you will have to deal with the mountain hut season. The season begins in mid-June and ends in mid-September. Before and after this period, the rifugios close their doors, as it can snow heavily in the mountains. Staying overnight at the huts is not possible during the off-season.

The Top Loop is a hut-to-hut tour and, like the Medium Loop, will only be accessible for part of the season.

A hiking vacation near Lake Garda means that there are several options available to stay overnight. During the Low Loop you will stay in a hotel, during the Medium Loop you will get acquainted with higher elevation mountain huts combined with lower elevation hotels, and during the Top Loop you will stay mainly in mountain huts.

Rifugio’s

Austria and Germany have the Alpenverein, South Africa has the Mountain Club of South Africa and the United Kingdom has the British Mountaineering Council and the list goes on. Italy also has its own association and it has been going by the name Club Alpino Italiano, CAI for short, since 1863.

The province of Trentino has its own section within the CAI, Società Alpinisti Tridentini, or the SAT. The SAT is responsible for the trails of the Garda Trek and the mountain huts where you stay during the Medium and Top Loop. Currently, they are responsible for 35 mountain huts spread throughout the region.

The advantage of staying overnight in huts is that you don't have to bring a tent, cooking gear and food for your multi-day hike. The rifugios vary in size and accommodation options, but they all offer a shower, a good night's sleep including half board with tasty local food

Hotels

During the Medium Loop, you will pass through several villages. For example, the second stage will end in Ceniga and the third stage in Bolognano. In both villages you will stay in a hotel. Don't expect big chains, but small-scale accommodations. Should all hotels be full, we will book an alternative in the area. The same goes for the Top Loop.

The routes of the Garda Trek all have Riva del Garda, just north of Lago di Gardo, as their starting point. From this place you walk makkeling towards the first stage of the walk. The walk starts on SAT402, on Via Monte Oro, near the covered parking lot.

By car:

Riva del Garda is easy to reach by car. Driving south from Munich, follow the A22 towards Garda Trentino, exit Rovereto Sud/Lago di Garda. From the south, do the same. The trip takes about 13 hours from Utrecht and 12 hours if you start in Brussels.

By bus or train:

If you want to travel to Riva del Garda by public transport, you will do so via Rovereto train station. By bus it will take you about 45 minutes to travel between these 2 destinations.

From Munich you can travel to Rovereto by train in about 4 and a half hours. This is a direct connection that goes past Bressanone and Bolzano and ends in Venice.

In addition, it is good to know that public transportation between the different places around Lake Garda is well organized, so you can easily move from A to B by bus or ferry.

By plane:

The nearest airports are Verona and Milan Bergamo. Travel time between Milan Bergamo and Riva del Garda is between 3 and 4 hours if you travel by public transportation. From Verona, it takes about 2 and a half hours by public transport.

The average cost for the Garda Trek varies by trek.

The Medium Loop is a trek where you stay in both hotels and mountain huts. Costs average between €100 and €150 per night.

A hut trek, the Top Loop for example, need not be expensive. The rifugios you encounter on the trek are often basic, but offer everything you need to get back on the road the next day well rested and recharged.

The average cost is about €100 per day. This includes itinerary, navigational aid, your accommodation in a rifugio, and half board in the form of breakfast and dinner.

In addition to the basic costs, you will of course need pocket money during the tour. Think about lunch (exclusive), snacks and a well-deserved drink when you arrive at the next hut. We recommend taking into account an amount between €50 and €70 to cover these costs.