# Italian Lakes in April 12



## pgjohnso (Jan 8, 2009)

We have just booked Norfolkline Ferry (Dover-Dunkirk) with CC for £48 return !!! for a two week tour to the Italian Lakes leaving UK 31 March taking in Easter . Intend to go via Luxenbourg (cheap diesel) but would like any advice on Lakes and Sites during April.


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## Markt500 (Mar 23, 2010)

I don't have any info for you, other than that we may see you there as we leave for two weeks in Italy on the same day! Whaoo


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

All I can say is dont miss out Maggiore and Lake Orta (within and hour of each other). Superb Sosta at Cannobio on Maggiore which is lovely town about 5 miles south of the Swiss border.

Orta is a hidden gem and is the most Westerly of the big lakes. Its smaller though, about the size of Windermere but IMO the most beatiful of them all. There is a free Sosta at the Sacra Monte above the Town of Orta which is perhaps the most interesting and stunning town in the ITalian lakes. The Sosta is nothing to write home about but its quiet and free and handy (ish) for the town. The view from the chappels (there are 21 above the Sosta) down to the town below and the lake and Island is superb.

Como and Lugana are terrific as well but the sites we stayed at on both were pretty grotty. We took a ferry on Como to see various parts of the lake and some of the towns. Good luck with working out the ferry timetables!

Not sure what the weather will be like in April though. Could be mixed but then again it was mixed last year in July!


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Garda*

If you stop at Garda, Camping Butterfly or Camping del Garda at Pechiera del Garda are in a convenient spot for trains and buses. Trains to Verona and Venice, buses all over the place

Manerba del Garda has a lovely site called Camping Baia Verde.

Both reviews on my blog here

Baia Verde is lovely.

You can do the Italian portion toll free if you wish.

Russell


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

*Lakes April*

 Ciao, hope you enjoy your trip.
Weather in April will be variable to fair. It will be busy, but should not be a problem as long as:
you get to wherever you're heading very early on Good Friday.
Good Friday is not recognised as a holiday, but in the evening every town and village has a 'Christ Crucified' procession of some sort, and traffic gets clogged from about 17:00 onwards.
You must not miss the opportunity to witness one of these processions.
you stay put on Easter Sunday and especially Easter Monday - these are both important holidays; and roads will be horrendous.
You will find shops etc. open Good Friday and Saturday.many will be closed Sunday/Monday.
Wherever you head for it will be beautiful and interesting.
Try these sites for camping/soste/info
www.camping.it
www.turismoitinerante.it
www.camperonline.it

saluti,
eddied


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## Hydrocell (Jan 29, 2011)

Hi pgjonso 

We have travel this route for the past two summers here’s a little info on stops and route we took.


We have travelled to Venice the last two years running we found this route was the best for us and apart for the toll on the Swiss Boarder and the toll on the A4 in Italy.
We try Austria the toll there was 32 euros and 8 euros for the Burner past each way the Austria toll only lasts for 10 day and the Swiss lasts for twelve months from January to December. 
Our route is as follows.
From Calais to Dunkerque on the A16 then onto the A25/E42 to Lille then onto the A7 Towards Namur on the A15 then pickup the A4/E411 to Luxemburg for our first stopover at Luxemburg at Alzingen Camp site good site good facilities and easy to get a bus just outside the camp in to the city. Best to fill up with fuel as it’s cheaper here; this campsite is in the ACSI book page 199 item 447 last year we only paid 11 euros per night with electric.
From Luxemburg we A3 down to the A8/E29 towards Saarbrucken onto the A620 to junction 3 then turn onto the N61 towards Strasbourg and pickup the A35/E25 towards Basel where you will come to the boarder were you will need a Vignette you can pay the attendant at the boarder all other camps they charge 28 euros but for us Brits they charge 40 euros I complained bitterly last year about this and nearly got arrested but ended up paying 40 euros but I’ve since fund that you can bye one online for 28.50 euros.
Anyway back to the route A2/E25/E35 towards Luzern for our next stopover.
Continue on the A2/E35 to the Italy Boarder and onto the A9 towards Milan from the A9 you’ll A8 follow this road around Milan to the A4/E66 towards Venice our next stop was at Lake Garda just off the A4 We stopped Perchiera de Garda at a camp called Butterfly at 15 euros per night great camp right on the lake in the ACSI book on page 771 Item 2031.
From here just follow the A4 to Venice however we followed the A4 around to the air port and followed the N14 to portegrand and followed the road to Lido de Jesolo and on to Cavallino to Camping Cavallino this camp site is highly recommended in the ACSI Book page 740 Item 1937 15 euros per night right on the beach short bus ride to port Sabbioni for the ferry the Venice. There are around 28 camp sites in this area so plenty of choice.
One other thing before I go I used last years ACSI book so page numbers and camp numbers may differ, as for the vignette I found two for sale on ebay because we tow the car on a trailer I needed two only cost £30 for them both so it may be worth a look. 
I hope this helps
Regards
Ray


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## Senator (Apr 24, 2008)

pgjohnso said:


> We have just booked Norfolkline Ferry (Dover-Dunkirk) with CC for £48 return !!! for a two week tour to the Italian Lakes leaving UK 31 March taking in Easter . Intend to go via Luxenbourg (cheap diesel) but would like any advice on Lakes and Sites during April.


Now I am really jealous! :lol:

We have made several trips over the years to Lake Garda, and never been disappointed.

If you go to the campsite review section of this site you can see many camping sites visited by members. The only problem is they are spread over different regions!

On each occasion we have stayed at Camping Spaggia D'oro at Lazise, which is a lovely setting although the site is like many others - expensive!

We have never booked. In fact many of the sites don't accept bookings, so you just turn up and hope there is a space. I should have thought that at the time you are looking to visit there shouldn't be a problem.

The last time we went we also stopped in Luxembourg on the way down.

Generally we do the trip over two days with a night stop in France just before Basel. It is a long drive although parts of it (Switzerland) are lovely. At peak times (summer) expect a long queue at the Selisburg tunnel when travelling home - last time we did it it was a 2.5 hour queue up a hill! :evil: Cars were dying all over the place with cooked clutches and overheating!  Fortunately our motorhome made it despite the clutch probably losing 10K miles of wear 

Have a great time 

Mark


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