How to Get to Sirmione, Lake Garda

The picturesque town of Sirmione is located on a peninsula that extends out into the lake and its narrow streets, ‘Sinking Castle’ and scenic views make it a very popular destination. However, reaching the town while not particularly hard, it’s not the most straightforward thing either.

During our trip there, Google Maps and even some local signs failed us, so we had to rely on asking around to clear our confusion. Not to mention that we even ended up missing our train to Milano as we departed the Lake Garda region.

That’s why I decided to write this guide on how to get to Sirmione, so you’ll be better prepared than I was!

Sirmione, Lake Garda
Sirmione viewed from Scaligero Castle

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Best tour options

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of getting to Sirmione by yourself (and I have to admit, it is a little bit of a hassle), here are the top three best tour options that I could find.

#TOP PICK
things to do in Sirmione: watch the sunset

From Verona: Sirmione and Lake Garda


Small group tour

4.7/5 stars out of 260+ reviews

Boat trip included

#2nd PICK
Sirmione Lake Garda

From Milan: Verona and Lake Garda Day Trip


2h Verona walking tour

4.5/5 stars out of 150+ reviews

Spend 2h in Sirmione

#3rd PICK
Scaligero castle in Sirmione Lake Garda

From Milan: Full-Day Discovering Garda Lake


You’ll visit both Desenzano and Sirmione

Train and ferry tickets are included

What are the closest airports to Sirmione?

The closest airport to Sirmione is Valerio Catullo Airport in Verona (about 35 km away). Other closeby airports include Bergamo (92 km), Linate (125 km), Malpensa (176 km) near Milan, Marco Polo (158 km), Treviso (169 km) near Venice, Guglielmo Marconi in Bologna (165 km), and Parma (153 km).

As you can see, to get to Sirmione you need to fly to one of these cities. While Verona is closest, Milan is probably the best served since Malpensa is the largest airport in northern Italy and it also has Bergamo and Linate airports.

You could also choose to do a multi-destination trip and visit Sirmione and other charming towns on Lake Garda (for example Limone or Malcesine) together with Venice, Verona, Bologna, Parma, and/or Milan.

Me and my fiance actually did this: We stopped in Verona on our way to Sirmione (though we flew into Bologna and connected by train since there’s no direct low cost to the city from Bucharest yet) and visited the Duomo in Milan before we returned home from Malpensa with an evening flight.

Ponte di Castelvecchio in Verona, Italy
Ponte di Castelvecchio in Verona

How to get from Verona to Sirmione

By bus

First of all, you need to know there’s no train station at Sirmione, you’ll only fine one in Desenzano del Garda and Peschiera del Garda.

Bus station in Verona

This being said the easiest way to get to Sirmione from Verona is to take bus LN026 from the Verona Stazione Fs bus station, located right near the Verona Porta Nuova train station (there’s a shuttle bus connecting Porta Nuova to the airport).

Warning

In my experience, Google Maps is not always accurate in this region, so make sure you double-check the itineraries and the stations or stops that it suggests.
We missed our train to Milano from Peschiera because the app instructed us to get off the bus at Peschiera Bivio Stazione, however this stop doesn’t actually exist on the interurban route to Verona (LN026). So we ended up exiting the bus outside the town, on a high traffic road.
And despite our best efforts, we didn’t manage to catch the train and had to wait several hours for another connection.

The LN026 buses run every hour, but there’s a catch: after 10 AM they don’t go past Piazza Campiello stop, rather you’d be asked to descend here by the driver.

You can then continue your journey to the historical center of Sirmione (Centro Storico stop) with a shuttle bus called Navetta. Your original ticket for Sirmione is valid on this shuttle as well, just show it to the driver as you board.

Take note that the information boards present in the bus stations don’t actually state this, nor is the timetable 100% correct.

We were pretty confused at the end of our trip when we left Sirmione early in the morning and there was no shuttle bus running according to its displayed schedule.

A local however kindly explained to us that the Navetta only starts operating after 10 AM. When it’s earlier than this, the interurban buses go directly to the Centro Storico (Old Town Center) stop.

I’m assuming that the reason for this is probably the fact that many people are visiting Sirmione from Colombare, so they introduced this shuttle for them as it runs more frequently than the buses coming from other locations.

LN026 bus tickets: Verona to Sirmione

You can buy your LN026 bus tickets from the booth in Verona Stazione Fs station, on the Arriva MyPay app ( Google Play | App Store ), or directly on board the bus. A one-way ticket to Sirmione was 3.60 EUR* per person, so we found the bus to be pretty decently priced.

*tickets may be a bit more expensive when buying onboard the bus, but I have no clear confirmation of this

Sirmione shuttle bus stops (Navetta)
Sirmione shuttle bus stops (Navetta)

By train + bus

You can also take the train from Verona to Peschiera and then the LN026 bus. Depending on the type of train you can arrive a bit faster in Sirmione, but it’s more expensive and not really worth the extra hassle in my opinion.

By car

If you decide to visit Sirmione by car, I suggest you leave it in Colombare (there’s more parking space there) and take the shuttle to Sirmione (Centro Storico bus stop). A ticket is 1 EUR, but if you get it directly from the driver it costs 0.50 EUR extra.

By tour

Ultimately, you can also visit Sirmione on a day tour from Verona. This Sirmione and Lake Garda Small Group Tour includes a boat tour of the peninsula (depending on weather conditions) and an optional guided tour of the charming town.

Duomo di Milano, Italy
Milan Duomo

How to get from Milan to Sirmione

By train + bus

Depending on where you land you can take a bus or the train from the airport to Milano Centrale train station. You can then find a connection from there to either Desenazo or Peschiera del Garda.

Upon arrival to either of these towns, you can continue your journey on bus LN026 (and Navetta depending on the time of your arrival) to Sirmione.

Now, if you choose to travel via Peschiera don’t believe Google Maps when it tells you to take the LN026 bus from Peschiera Bivio Stazione Fs bus station. It doesn’t stop there! Rather go to Peschiera – Piazza Battistoni stop.

There are also boats connecting the two towns to Sirmione, but I’d recommend sticking to the bus as it runs more often.

By car

The journey time by car between Milan and Sirmione is usually between 1 hour 40 minutes and 3 hours depending on traffic.

By tour

You can also hop on a tour to visit Sirmione from Milan. Here are a few options:

The two leaning towers of Bologna
The leaning towers of Bologna

How to get from Bologna to Sirmione

By train + bus

You have two options (I recommend the first one with a short sightseeing stop in Verona if you have enough time):

  • take the train from Bologna Centrale to Verona Porta Nuova and then bus LN026
  • take the train to Peschiera del Garda (you’ll probably need to change trains in Verona as there are just a few direct connections between Bologna and Peschiera) and then bus LN026

To get to Bologna Centrale train station from the airport, just take the Marconi Express.

By car

If you decide to rent a car, you should know that the journey from Bologna Airport to Sirmione typically takes 1h 40 minutes to 2h 20 minutes, depending on traffic conditions.

famous Italian cities: Venice
Grand Canal in Venice

How to get from Venice to Sirmione

By train + bus

To get to Sirmione from Venice, you first need to get to Venice Mestre train station (there are buses that arrive here from both Venice Treviso and Venice Marco Polo airports). From there you just take a train from Peschiera del Garda and then continue on the same LN026 bus that I already mentioned several times in this post.

By car

The journey time by car to Sirmione from Venice’s airports is between 1 hour 35 minutes (Marco Polo) and 1 hour 50 minutes (Treviso).

How to get from Parma to Sirmione

By train + bus

Getting to Sirmione from Parma by public transportation is not the easiest since it requires quite a few changes and it usually takes between 3 and 4 hours. For this reason, I don’t really recommend flying to Parma if you want to visit Lake Garda and Sirmione.

Here are your options:

  • Take a train to Brescia, where you change for Desenzano. From there you’ll continue on bus LN026.
  • Take a train to Milano Centrale, where you’ll change for Peschiera del Garda. There, you’ll continue your journey on the same LN026 bus.

In both cases, you can take a bus from the airport to Parma train station.

By car

Travel time by car from Parma airport to Sirmione is around 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Wrap up

No matter which route you take, Sirmione is definitely worth a visit. With its stunning lake views, historical attractions, and delicious food options, this town is the perfect destination example for which Italy is known and loved by many travelers.

Have you already been to Sirmione? If so, what was your favorite part of the town? Let me know in the comments below!


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4 thoughts on “How to Get to Sirmione, Lake Garda”

    1. Hi!
      Hopefully, I found the right transaction in my credit card history: the bus from Verona train station to Sirmione seems to have been 3.60 euros one way. I didn’t fly into Verona airport, but from my online research, it seems that the airport shuttle towards the train station is 6 euros. So it should be around 10 euros in total one way.

  1. You can also buy tickets on board the LN026 bus. We just paid £4.90 one way from Corso Porta Nuova, Verona to Sirmione.

    1. Good to know! Thanks for telling me, I’ll add it to the post.
      Was it 4.90 pounds for just one person? I’m wondering if they updated the prices or if it’s a bit more expensive to buy on board the bus like it’s the case for the Navetta.

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