Italian Lakes
Lake Garda in Winter 2026-27: Which Boats Still Run, Christmas Markets and Where to Stay
Lake Garda in winter: passenger boats stop on 2 November 2026 and only the Torri to Maderno ferry runs. The Christmas markets, the buses and the best bases.
Lake Garda's passenger boats stop on 2 November 2026 and do not return until 13 March.
Until then, the only scheduled boat on the lake is the car ferry between Torri del Benaco and Toscolano-Maderno. Everything else moves by bus or train, and that decides which town works as a winter base.
It also shapes the Christmas plan. Two of the lake's Christmas markets, in Arco and Riva del Garda, open on 13 November at the northern tip, in Trentino, where the railway does not reach. This guide sets out what runs, what opens and where to stay between November 2026 and March 2027.
Quick answer
Passenger boats: the Desenzano to Riva del Garda service runs until 1 November 2026 and returns on 13 March 2027.
The only winter crossing: the Torri del Benaco to Maderno car ferry, seven departures each way, 30 minutes, no service on 25 December.
Christmas boats: not announced for 2026. In 2025, extra boats ran between Desenzano and Sirmione from 20 December to 6 January.
Markets: Arco and Riva del Garda from 13 November, Canale di Tenno from 28 November, and Garda's Christmas programme from 27 November.
Best base without a car: Desenzano for the railway, Riva del Garda for the markets.
Monte Baldo cable car: closed for maintenance from 2 November to 25 December, then open for the winter season until 21 February.
Which boats run in winter
Navigazione Laghi, the government-run operator of the boats on Lake Garda, has published its winter timetables for 2026-27.
The passenger timetable covers two short windows: from 5 October to 1 November 2026, and from 13 to 25 March 2027. In those weeks, boats work the long route between Desenzano, Peschiera and Riva del Garda, calling at towns that include Sirmione, Lazise, Bardolino, Garda, Salò, Gardone, Malcesine, Limone and Torbole, with fast services that carry a supplement.
Between the two windows there is one boat. From 2 November 2026 to 12 March 2027, the timetable states, only the Torri to Maderno ferry operates.
The car ferry timetable gives seven departures in each direction. Every crossing takes 30 minutes.
From Maderno: 8:10, 9:25, 10:50, 12:10, 14:20, 15:50 and 17:20.
From Torri del Benaco: 8:45, 10:10, 11:30, 12:50, 15:05, 16:40 and 18:00.
The ferry does not run on 25 December, and the timetable lists no other days off. Tickets bought on board cost one euro more per passenger, piece of luggage or vehicle, unless the ticket office on shore is closed.
The crossing joins the Veneto shore at Torri del Benaco with the Lombard shore at Toscolano-Maderno. In winter it is the only way across that does not go round the lake.
Christmas boats: what happened in 2025
Navigazione Laghi has not announced extra Christmas boats for 2026. In 2025, its Christmas service was announced on 4 December and ran from 20 December 2025 to 6 January 2026, except on Christmas Day.
It had two parts. Between Desenzano and Sirmione, 16 return trips a day ran from 10:00 to 19:00. A shuttle linked Peschiera, Lazise, Bardolino and Garda with six return trips a day.
A similar service may come back. Until it is announced, it cannot carry a plan, and in 2025 the announcement came in the first week of December.
Lake Garda Christmas markets 2026
Arco. The Arco market opens Friday to Sunday from 13 November to 13 December, and every day from 4 to 8 December. From 18 December to 6 January it opens daily, except 25 December. Hours are 10:00 to 19:00, and 10:00 to 20:00 on Saturdays, with late openings until 22:00 on Saturday 5 and Saturday 19 December. On 24 and 31 December and 6 January it closes at 18:00, and on 1 January it opens from 11:00 to 19:00.
Riva del Garda. Di Gusto in Gusto fills the historic centre on 13 to 15, 20 to 22 and 27 to 30 November, on 4 to 8, 11 to 13 and 18 to 20 December, and every day from 23 December to 6 January. It usually opens from 10:30 to 20:00, and until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. On Christmas Day it opens from 11:00 to 21:00, and on New Year's Eve from 10:30 until 03:00.
Canale di Tenno. The hill village above Riva holds its market on 28 and 29 November, from 5 to 8 December and on the weekends of 12 and 13 and 19 and 20 December, from 9:30 to 18:00.
Garda. The town council lists the opening of Natale tra gli Olivi on 27 November 2026, followed by more than a month of events and concerts. Market days and hours have not been published.
Sirmione and the rest of the lake. No 2026 programme has been published for Sirmione, Desenzano, Peschiera, Lazise, Bardolino, Malcesine or Limone. In 2025, Christmas in Sirmione ran from 28 November to 10 January, with an ice rink in Piazza Montemurro and a Santa's village on single days rather than a market open every week.
Getting there and around without a car
The southern shore by train. Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione and Peschiera del Garda stations are on the railway between Milan, Brescia and Verona, served by Trenord's RE6 regional line.
From Verona airport, the direct buses to the lake run only in summer. For the rest of the year, the airport's own advice is the bus to Verona Porta Nuova station, which runs every 20 minutes, then a train to Desenzano or Peschiera.
Sirmione. Arriva's LN026 bus links Desenzano station with Sirmione on a winter timetable that runs until 8 June 2027, with fewer services on Sundays. A single ticket between Sirmione and Desenzano or Peschiera costs two euros and twenty cents. The Sirmione shuttle bus that runs in the warmer months stopped on 27 September.
The western shore. Arriva's LN027 runs from Desenzano through Salò, Gargnano and Limone to Riva del Garda, with only a few services a day.
The northern shore. Riva del Garda has no railway station. The nearest is Rovereto, on the Brenner line and served all year by Trenitalia and the Austrian and German railways, according to the market's travel page. From Rovereto, Trentino Trasporti's B332 bus runs to Riva and Arco, while the B205 links Trento with Arco and Riva. Single fares are set by distance, from one euro ten, plus fifty cents when bought on board.
Between Arco, Riva del Garda and Nago-Torbole, the on-demand Bus&Go runs until 31 December 2026, from 9:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 01:00, at two euros a trip, paid in cash on board. It covers the market evenings.
The eastern shore. On the Veneto side, the buses for Garda, Bardolino and Malcesine are run by ATV, Verona's transport company. Check its winter timetable before choosing a base there.
A winter trip can combine the lake with the mountains. Rovereto sits on the same Brenner railway that runs north to Bolzano, the gateway in our guide to the Dolomites in winter without a car.
What stays open
In Sirmione, the Rocca Scaligera opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 to 19:15, and the ticket office closes at 18:30. The castle is closed on Mondays, 1 January and 25 December.
The Grotte di Catullo, the Roman villa at the tip of the peninsula, is harder to plan. The official pages give different hours, and the museum's English page mentions earlier last entries in winter. Check the day before.
The Malcesine to Monte Baldo cable car closes for maintenance from 2 November to 25 December 2026. Its winter season runs from 26 December 2026 to 21 February 2027.
In Riva, the MAG museum in the Rocca opens Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 18:00.
Where to stay in winter
Desenzano is the practical base without a car. It has the railway station and the bus to Sirmione, and in 2025 it was one end of the Christmas boat route to Sirmione.
Riva del Garda is the base for the markets. Di Gusto in Gusto is in town, Arco is a Bus&Go ride away until 31 December, and Rovereto station is reached by bus.
Arco suits a quieter stay with the market on the doorstep, on the same buses.
Sirmione works for two nights around the castle and the lakefront, with the bus to Desenzano for everything else.
Malcesine makes more sense from 26 December, when the cable car reopens. Before that, with no boats and the cable car closed, it has less to offer a winter visitor.
If you are still choosing between the two big lakes, our comparison of Lake Como and Lake Garda sets out the differences.
The mistake to avoid
Do not plan a winter stay on Lake Garda around boats. From 2 November 2026 to 12 March 2027, the only crossing is the Torri to Maderno ferry, and its last departure leaves Torri at 18:00. Everything else is a bus ride round the shore.
The same goes for the markets. A hotel in Sirmione and an evening at the Riva market sit at opposite ends of the lake, with no boat between them and only a few direct buses a day. Choose the base by the market, not the other way round.
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