Lake Garda gets over 20 million visitors per year, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. So if you’re wondering what the nearest airport to Lake Garda is, you aren’t alone!
Nearest Airport To Lake Garda
What Is The Nearest Airport To Lake Garda?
Verona Airport (VRN) is the nearest airport to Lake Garda.
This doesn’t necessarily mean this is the best airport to fly into, however.
There are a number of factors to consider, such as where you are flying in from and whereabouts in Lake Garda you are heading.
When looking at the map of Lake Garda you will notice it spans three regions (Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige). There is a total of 90 miles of coastline and the lake itself covers 143 square miles – it’s big! So which part of Lake Garda you are heading to is an important factor in deciding which airport to land at.
The closest airports to Lake Garda in distance order are;
- Verona Airport (VRN)
- Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY)
- Milan Linate Airport (LIN)
- Venice Airport (VCE)
- Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP)
In terms of where you are flying from, there are also a few things to consider. Does your nearest airport at home have direct flights to the best airport to fly into? You also need to consider the cost of the flights. For example, a number of low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair fly from Europe into Malpensa at affordable prices.
Below we run through each airport you could fly into for Lake Garda, discuss some key points and describe the best way to get to Lake Garda from that airport.
Verona Airport To Lake Garda
Verona Airport is an international airport, that (pre-pandemic) welcomed over 1 million passengers per year.
The airport itself is situated just outside of Verona city center. There is a shuttle bus that takes you from the airport to the train station, Verona Porta Nuova, for €6.
As mentioned above, Verona is the closest airport in terms of distance to Lake Garda.
It’s also the best option if you are staying on the Veneto side of the lake (South East), like Peschiera del Garda, Bardolino, Malcesine, or if you are heading to Gardaland.
Getting from Verona Airport to Lake Garda
Getting from Verona to Lake Garda is relatively straightforward.
If you aren’t planning on hiring a car whilst in Lake Garda, then we would recommend getting the train. The train from Verona Porta Nuova station goes directly to Peschiera del Garda & Desenzano del Garda. They run regularly, are affordable and you can book them in advance, via Trainline.
If you aren’t staying in the above towns then not to worry, as these are connected to the other towns on this side of the lake by buses or ferries.
If you want to avoid public transport, then you can hire a direct transfer or get a taxi to your destination in Lake Garda.
How much is a taxi from Verona Airport to Lake Garda?
As an example of costs for direct transfers and taxis, see the table below;
These are more expensive options than a train, but they are quicker and you can head straight to your destination as soon as you land, which is always a bonus.
| Destination | Transfer Method | Cost |
| Peschiera del Garda (South of the lake) | Taxi | €29 – €35 |
| Malcesine (North of the lake) | Taxi | €69 – €85 |
| Peschiera del Garda | Private Transfer | €80 |
| Malcesine | Private Transfer | €145 |
Which airports fly into Verona from the UK?
From London, you can fly directly to Verona from Stansted (STN) and Gatwick (LGW).
You can also fly directly to Verona from Manchester (MAN), Bristol (BRS), Newcastle (NCL), and Birmingham (BHX).
Both Ryanair & EasyJet fly from the UK directly to Verona, so there’s always a possibility of getting a cheap flight.
Where else can you fly into Verona from?
From the United States, you can’t get a direct flight into Verona. The majority of journeys would require two layovers. The first is in either JFK or SFO airport, then from there, you can fly into Frankfurt (FRA) before making the final journey into Verona.
From the rest of Europe, the majority of main airports fly directly into Verona Airport. If you can’t get a direct flight then you may also need to fly into Frankfurt before heading onto Verona.
Discover more: How to get from Verona Airport to Malcesine
Milan Bergamo Airport To Lake Garda
Bergamo Airport (BGY), or Orio al Serio Airport, is the third largest airport in Italy, behind Milan Malpensa and Rome.
The distance from Bergamo airport to the southern section of Lake Garda is 87km (54 miles). To drive, it would take roughly an hour (traffic depending).
As the airport sits to the east of the lake, Bergamo is a good option if you are visiting the west side of the lake or the southern part of the lake.
Getting from Milan Bergamo Airport to Lake Garda
With it being a busy and popular airport, there are multiple public transport connections to Lake Garda.
You can get a train from Bergamo train station to either Desenzano del Garda or Peschiera del Garda, on the southern shores of the lake. From here, most towns around Lake Garda are connected via either ferry or bus.
There is a bus from Milan Bergamo Airport to Bergamo train station, which takes around 10-15 minutes.
Which airports in the UK fly into Milan Bergamo Airport?
Most of the major airports in the UK fly into Milan Bergamo Airport. You can direct flights from Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Stansted.
Ryanair seems to cover most of these routes, so you get a flight for a reasonable price.
Where else can you fly into Milan Bergamo Airport from?
Bergamo Airport is an international airport, so flights come in from all over the world.
There are no direct flights from the US to BGY, and the majority of routes require you to stop twice.
Milan Linate Airport To Lake Garda
Milan Linate airport is the closest airport to Milan, and like Bergamo, it’s a good option to fly into if you are heading to the south of the lake or the west of the lake.
With it being the smallest airport of the three Milan airports, the majority of flights are domestic, with the busiest route being Rome.
Getting from Milan Linate Airport to Lake Garda
If you are heading to the southern shore, such as Desenzano del Garda, Sirmione or Peschiera del Garda, then you can get a direct train from Milan Centrale train station to either Desenzano del Garda or Peschiera del Garda.
There is a shuttle bus, called the Air Bus, that takes people from the airport to Milan Centrale train station.
You can get tickets from Milan Centrale to Peschiera del Garda for as little as €11.50 (although some trains can be more expensive). Trains take between 57 minutes and 1 hour 32 minutes to get from Milan Centrale to Peschiera del Garda.
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Which airports in the UK fly into Milan Linate airport?
At the moment, you can only fly into Milan Linate Airport from London. British Airways fly to Milan Linate (LIN) from Heathrow (LHR), whilst ITA Airways fly into Milan Linate from London City Airport (LCY).
Where else can you fly into Milan Linate Airport from?
As mentioned before, the majority of routes to and from Linate airport are domestic. You can fly into the airport from some of the major European cities, such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt & London.
You can’t fly into Milan Linate from anywhere outside Europe at the moment.
Venice Airport To Lake Garda
Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE) is the 5th busiest airport in Italy. Situated roughly 126km (78 miles) from Lake Garda, flying into Venice is viable, especially if you are visiting the east coast of the lake.
The added bonus is you could even stay in Venice for a few days before or after visiting Lake Garda.
Getting from Venice to Lake Garda
From central Venice, you can get a train directly to Peschiera del Garda.
You can get the train for as little as €13 (although some prices can go up to €28), and the fastest train takes you there in just 1 hour and 15 minutes.
There are two shuttle buses that take you from Venice airport to Venice train station. The ATVO bus runs every 30 minutes, whilst the ACTV bus runs every 15 minutes. Both buses cost €8 one way and the journey takes roughly 25 minutes.
Which airports in the UK fly to Venice Airport?
Most of the major UK airports fly to Venice (VCE) airport, such as Stansted, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol. Both EasyJet and Jet2 fly into Venice from the UK, so if you book early enough you can find a reasonably priced flight.
Where else can you fly into Venice Airport from?
In the peak summer months, you can get a direct flight from the US to Venice airport (VCE) from New York (JFK), Atlanta (ATL) & Philadelphia (PHL).
During the rest of the year, the majority of major airports in the US fly into Venice via either London Heathrow (LHR) or Madrid (MAD).
Milan Malpensa Airport To Lake Garda
Malpensa airport is the biggest of the three airports that serve Milan and the surrounding area, and it’s also Italy’s second biggest airport in terms of passenger numbers behind Rome airport.
In context to Lake Garda, Malpensa airport is situated on the ‘wrong’ side of Milan and is actually much closer to Lake Como than Lake Garda.
Getting from Milan Malpensa Airport to Lake Garda
There are no direct trains from Milan Malpensa airport to Lake Garda, so to get to Lake Garda via train, you would need to get a train from the airport to Milan Centrale station, and then pick up a train from there heading to either Desenzano del Garda or Peschiera del Garda on the southern shore of Lake Garda.
The total journey time for all of this, including train changes, can take between 2 hours 30 minutes – 2 hours 50 minutes.
Once you reach either Desenzano del Garda or Peschiera del Garda, you can take either a ferry or bus to reach your final destination in Lake Garda.
Alternatively, you could hire a car from the airport and drive to Lake Garda. To the southern shore, the journey time would be around 2 hours, but you could always stop off in Brescia on the way for a sport of sightseeing and to break up the journey.
Like most major airports, there are plenty of car hire companies in the airport for you to choose from.
Which airports in the UK fly into Milan Malpensa?
You can get flights to Milan Malpensa from Stansted, Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh plus some other UK airports (depending on the month of travel).
Both EasyJet and Ryanair fly into Malpensa from the UK, so if booked early enough you can find yourself a bargain flight.
Where else can you fly into Milan Malpensa from?
In the peak summer months, you can get direct flights from New York (JFK) and Atlanta (ATL), whilst you can get connecting flights with stopovers from most major airports in the US.
As well as the main European airports, you can also get direct flights into Malpensa from Tunisia, Cairo, Marrakesh, and Sao Paulo.
Lake Garda Airport FAQs
Which airport is closest to Gardaland?
Verona airport (VRN) is closest to Gardaland. There’s even a bus that goes directly from Verona Airport to Gardaland.
The line 482 bus service runs from 5 am in the morning to 8 pm at night and the journey time from the airport to Gardaland is roughly 40 minutes.
How do you get from London to Lake Garda?
You can get a direct flight from a London airport to all of the nearest airports to Lake Garda, which are;
- Verona
- Bergamo
- Milan Linate
- Venice
- Malpensa
