What to see near San Felice del Benaco on Lake Garda

How do you visit Isola del Garda?

Isola del Garda can only be visited on a guided tour, which according to the island's official website lasts about two and a quarter to two and a half hours, depending on the size of the group. Also according to the official website, in 2026 tours run from 29 March to the end of October, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The island lies between Portese and San Felice del Benaco, 200 metres from Capo San Fermo, and is also known as Isola dei Frati or Isola Borghese. Visit Brescia describes it as the largest island on Lake Garda: the main terrace has an Italian-style garden and, further down towards the lake, an orchard with kiwis, lemons, pomegranates and oranges. The villa, in Venetian neo-Gothic style, has a crenellated tower.

Boats for the tour depart from many harbours around the lake, including San Felice, Portese, Barbarano, Salò and Manerba del Garda. The 2026 ticket includes the return boat trip, the guided tour and a welcome drink; for adults it costs from €39 to €49 depending on the fare. These are the 2026 dates and prices: please check them on the island's website before booking.

What is there to see at the Rocca di Manerba?

The Rocca di Manerba is a medieval fortification overlooking Lake Garda, set within a protected area of over 150 hectares with panoramic trails and cliffs, as the museum's website describes it. It is the same Rocca that you see from the garden, the pool and the restaurant terrace of Hotel & Ristorante Sogno.

Inside the reserve is the Museo Civico Archeologico della Valtènesi, opened in 2009: across two levels it tells the history of the area through its archaeological finds. Admission, according to the museum's website, is free; opening hours are published there too and are worth checking before you go.

What is there to see in Salò?

In Salò, Visit Brescia names the Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata as the town's most important religious building: it was built in 1453 on a 13th-century Romanesque structure and dedicated to the Annunciation. Inside you can see the wooden crucifix by Giovanni Teutonico and the Ancona di Salò by Pietro Bussolo, with ten wooden statues, each in its own niche.

You can walk to the Cathedral along the lakefront. Salò is also one of the harbours from which boats depart for tours of Isola del Garda.

Which beaches are there in San Felice del Benaco and Portese?

In San Felice del Benaco, Visit Brescia lists the beaches of Baia del Vento, Gardiola, Porto San Felice and Porto Portese, each with different facilities. Boats for tours of Isola del Garda also depart from Portese.

• Baia del Vento: restaurant, kiosk, sunshade and sunbed hire, pedal-assisted pedalos, SUP, kayaks, public toilets.
• Porto San Felice: bar and restaurant, private SUP and kayak hire, public toilets, cold showers.
• Porto Portese: public toilets, cold showers, two restaurants, bike hire, private SUP hire.

Where can you swim in Manerba, Moniga and Padenghe?

Visit Brescia also points to the beaches of Padenghe, Moniga and Manerba del Garda. Spiaggia Romantica in Manerba, Visit Brescia writes, welcomes thousands of families every summer looking for shade; in Manerba it also lists Pisenze, Dusano, San Sivino–Scasöla and Zocco.

At the harbour beach in Moniga there are bars, pizzerias, restaurants, toilets and showers; in Padenghe, sunbed, pedalo and SUP hire, a bar and free toilets with showers.

Where should you stay to explore this part of Lake Garda?

Hotel & Ristorante Sogno is a four-star hotel in San Felice del Benaco, on the western shore of Lake Garda between Salò and Desenzano, with direct access to the lake. It has a garden overlooking the lake with a pool and sunbeds, breakfast in the lemon gazebo and a restaurant on a terrace at the water's edge, open every day for lunch and dinner.

Guests arriving by boat moor at the hotel's private buoys: Captain Sandro helps with mooring and takes them by tender to the restaurant, a free service for hotel and restaurant guests. The hotel has free parking and a free garage, and bicycles to hire for a fee.