You can rent a boat at Lake Garda from around €80 for half a day in a 40-horsepower motorboat (no licence required) up to €600+ a day for a 200hp speedboat or sailing yacht with skipper. Price is driven by engine size, season, whether a skipper is included, and the harbour you launch from. Booking 1 to 2 weeks ahead is normal in July and August; outside peak season you can often walk on the morning of. Fuel and a refundable deposit are almost always extra. Drivers under 18 are not accepted by any reputable operator.
Note: Some links below are affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend operators with strong independent reviews and clear cancellation policies.
Quick picks: which boat suits which trip?
| Boat type | Power | Capacity | Licence needed? | Price/day | Best for | Book via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open motorboat 40hp | 40hp | up to 6 | No (under 40hp) | €120–180 | Couples, day trips | |
| Pontoon / family motorboat 80hp | 80hp | up to 8 | Yes | €200–300 | Families with kids | |
| Sailing boat with skipper | — | up to 10 | Skipper provided | €400–700 | Couples + groups | |
| RIB / speedboat 150hp | 150hp | up to 6 | Yes | €350–500 | Watersports, north lake | |
| Bareboat sailing yacht | — | up to 8 | ICC / Sea licence | €280–500 | Experienced sailors |
Table of contents
- Do you need a licence to rent a boat at Lake Garda?
- How much does it cost to rent a boat at Lake Garda?
- Best places to rent a boat by lake region
- What to bring & what’s included
- How to book (and avoid the common mistakes)
- Best routes from each launch point
- Boat tours if you don’t want to drive
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Guides
Do you need a licence to rent a boat at Lake Garda?
The short answer: most tourists do not need one, because the rental fleet is deliberately built around the Italian licence-free threshold. The Italian rule (Codice della Nautica da Diporto) lets anyone over 18 with a valid ID drive a motorboat as long as all three of the following apply: the engine is under 40 horsepower, the hull is under 10 metres, and the boat is not used more than 6 nautical miles offshore — easy on a lake. Almost every “no licence” rental you will see in Sirmione, Peschiera, Bardolino and Garda sits right at that 40hp ceiling.
Once you cross any of those thresholds — a 60hp pontoon, a 150hp speedboat, a sailing yacht — you need a patente nautica. Italy accepts a few recognised foreign equivalents, in particular the ICC (International Certificate of Competence) for visitors from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and most of the EU. The US Coast Guard licence and bareboat charter certificates from the RYA or ASA are generally accepted for sailing yachts, but every operator decides individually — always email a scan of your licence before you book.
The clean way around the paperwork is to rent skippered: the captain holds the licence and is also a local pilot, which on a 52 km lake with afternoon thermal winds is genuinely useful. Skippered boats add roughly €150 to €250 to the daily rate and, for first-timers on the north lake, are by far the most relaxed option. All rentals also require lifejackets on board (the operator provides them), a refundable deposit of €300 to €1,500 held on a credit card, and third-party insurance — which is included in the rental price for any boat you book through Click&Boat.
How much does it cost to rent a boat at Lake Garda?
A licence-free open motorboat (40hp, 5 to 6 seats) costs roughly €80–110 for a half-day (typically 4 hours, 9.00–13.00 or 14.00–18.00) and €120–180 for a full day (around 8 hours). In July and August add 20–30%. A larger family pontoon with an 80hp engine and a sun canopy runs €200–300/day, and a 150hp RIB suitable for the choppier north lake is €350–500/day.
Sailing has two price worlds. A bareboat sailing yacht (you skipper it yourself, ICC required) on Lake Garda is €280–500/day depending on length — most are 28 to 40 feet. A skippered sailing day on the same boat is €400–700/day because you also pay the skipper. Multi-day charters from Riva del Garda or Torbole drop the per-day rate by 15–25% once you book three nights or more.
Three costs catch people out. Fuel is almost never included — expect €30–50 on a half-day in a 40hp boat and €60–120 on a long day pushing a 150hp engine. Pay attention to the return policy: some operators charge €120/hour or a flat €80 “refuelling fee” if you return below half a tank. Mooring fees apply if you tie up at a paid marina for lunch — Sirmione, Limone and Malcesine harbours charge €5–15 for a couple of hours. The refundable deposit is held on your credit card from the moment of pickup and released after the boat is inspected on return, usually 5 to 10 working days later.
Best places to rent a boat by lake region
Lake Garda runs 52 km north to south, and the renting experience changes character every 15 km. Pick your launch point by what you want from the day — calm water and easy first-timer driving in the south, dramatic scenery and serious wind in the north.
Sirmione & Peschiera (south shore)
The south shore is the easiest place to rent. Peschiera del Garda is 25 minutes from Verona airport and sits at the southern tip of the lake, where the water is shallow, calm and protected. The marina at Peschiera and the smaller harbours around Sirmione together host the largest licence-free fleet on the lake — at least a dozen operators between them, most with 40hp open boats lined up by the dock. This is where first-timers should book. The trade-off is volume: in August the south bay can feel busy on the water, with rental boats, the regular ferry and private day-trippers all moving between Sirmione and Peschiera.
Desenzano & Salò (west south)
A short hop north on the west shore brings you to Desenzano del Garda and the elegant lakefront of Salò. Fleets here are mid-sized and slightly more upmarket — fewer entry-level rentals, more pontoons and consoles. Salò is the natural launch point if you want to combine Isola del Garda (25 minutes by 40hp boat) with a long lunch on the lakeside — many restaurants reserve a buoy or short-stay mooring for guests. Parking is easier than in Sirmione and the harbour exit faces directly out to open water.
San Felice del Benaco & Manerba
The most underrated stretch. Smaller, family-run operators line the Manerba and San Felice peninsulas, and the water in their bays stays glassy until mid-morning. From Manerba beach you reach Isola del Garda in 10 minutes and Isola San Biagio (Rabbit Island) in five. This is the right area if you want a quieter, slightly more local rental day with a clear plan to anchor and swim somewhere photogenic before lunch. Bring a dry bag — many of the operators here are off the main tourist drag and don’t supply much beyond the lifejackets.
Malcesine & Torbole (north east)
The north of the lake is wind country. The morning Pelèr comes down from the Alps at 25 to 35 km/h, and from around 1 pm the Ora wind blows steadily north from the south. The combination makes Malcesine and Torbole world-class for sailing and windsurfing, but it also means the water is choppy by early afternoon. Power-boat rentals here exist but are fewer; most fleets focus on sailing yachts, dinghies and windsurf boards. If you book a motorboat in the north, plan to be off the water by 2 pm or take a skipper.
Riva del Garda (north tip)
Riva is sailing yacht territory — charter schools, ICC-required bareboats and a long tradition of multi-day cruising. Expect alpine-market pricing: bareboats here run 10–20% more than the same boat in Sirmione. The reward is the most dramatic scenery on the lake, with the Brenta Dolomites rising vertically out of the water on the west shore. Skippered sailing days from Riva typically run as a downwind run south to Limone, lunch at anchor, then a beat back home on the afternoon Ora.
Bardolino & Garda (east shore)
The east shore between Bardolino and Garda is the middle ground: calmer than the north, less congested than Sirmione. A handful of operators rent 40hp open boats and 60–80hp consoles directly from the lakeside promenade. From Bardolino, Punta San Vigilio is a 15-minute cruise north, and Sirmione is 30 minutes south — making this the most flexible launch point if you want to see both ends of the south basin in a single day.
What to bring & what’s included
Every licensed rental in Italy must supply lifejackets for every person on board, a basic anchor, paddles or oars (on small craft), a fire extinguisher (on inboards), and a copy of the boat’s papers. On boats over 7 metres you also get a marine VHF radio and a simple chart of the lake. The operator hands over the keys, a fuel-level reading photographed with your phone (do this — it protects your deposit), and a 10-minute briefing on how the throttle, starter, blower and anchor work.
What you bring yourself: a valid passport or national ID for everyone in the booking; your driving licence or boat licence (the operator will photocopy it); a credit card with €500 to €1,500 of headroom for the deposit hold; serious sun protection because none of the licence-free boats have a sun canopy; refillable water bottles (no shop on the water); soft-soled, non-marking shoes — flip-flops slide on a wet deck; a dry bag for phones, wallets and a change of T-shirt; and a windbreaker. The lake can sit at 32 °C onshore and feel ten degrees cooler when you are running at 30 km/h in a head wind.
How to book (and avoid the common mistakes)
The simplest route is to book online via Click&Boat . It is the largest aggregator of Lake Garda rentals — most of the local operators in Sirmione, Peschiera, Salò and Riva list their fleet on the platform. The advantages are real: 24-hour customer service in English, an insurance option (Skipper Plan) that caps your liability if you bump the dock, transparent reviews from verified renters, and protection if the operator cancels at short notice. Pricing is the same as direct in most cases because operators absorb the commission.
Booking directly with a local operator can be 10–20% cheaper on bareboat motorboats in the shoulder season, but you lose the customer-service buffer and, more importantly, the cancellation protection. If the weather turns and the operator decides not to launch, getting your deposit refunded from a Sirmione harbourside cabin in late August is a different experience from doing it through a platform.
Three mistakes worth avoiding:
1. Not checking the wind forecast. The afternoon Ora picks up almost daily from May to September and turns the north half of the lake choppy by 2 pm. A 40hp open boat in 1-metre waves is uncomfortable, slow and wet. Check windguru.cz/altogarda or the Meteotrentino forecast the night before and plan the day around it — north in the morning, south in the afternoon.
2. Trying to drive the full lake in a day. Lake Garda is 52 km long. A 40hp open boat tops out at 30 to 35 km/h flat-out, which sounds fine until you realise you are also stopping for swims, anchoring for lunch and dodging ferries. Plan to cover roughly half the lake in one direction, or about 30 km of cruising, and turn back with two hours of daylight in hand.
3. Ignoring the fuel rule. Photograph the fuel gauge at pickup, ask the operator exactly what level the boat needs to come back at, and find out the per-litre or per-hour refuelling penalty in advance. A €120/hour “refuelling fee” on a half-empty 60-litre tank can wipe out the rental saving.
Book 1 to 2 weeks ahead for July and August, especially for skippered boats and pontoons (the family segment sells out first). Outside peak season, mornings often have availability the same day; afternoons are easier still.
Best routes from each launch point
Three routes that work consistently. None of them tries to cover the whole lake.
South loop — Peschiera → Sirmione → Desenzano → Manerba → return. Around 40 km of cruising, four hours including swim stops. The defining views are the Scaliger castle and the Catullus Grottoes from the water (the only angle from which you really see the Roman villa’s footprint), then the Salò bay opening up to the west. Anchor for a swim off Punta Grò between Sirmione and Manerba — sandy bottom, 3–4 metres deep, and you usually have it to yourself. This is the easiest first-timer route.
Mid-lake — Salò → Isola del Garda → Punta San Vigilio → return. About 30 km, three hours. The classic west-shore day. From Salò you reach the south side of Isola del Garda in 25 minutes and can circle the island slowly to photograph the neogothic palace from the water (you are not allowed to land — the island is only accessible on the official guided tours). Then cross east to Punta San Vigilio for an aperitivo at the Locanda, anchor in the Baia delle Sirene cove for a swim, and head home with the wind behind you. Best run as a morning-departure trip.
North run — Torbole → Limone → Malcesine → return. Roughly 35 km, four hours, but this one belongs to confident drivers or skippered boats only. The north lake is the dramatic stretch — sheer Dolomite cliffs on the west side, the Goethe-famous castle of Malcesine on the east. Run north to Limone in the morning calm, walk through the lemon terraces, lunch at the harbour, then ride the Ora wind south back to Torbole in the afternoon. If you have any doubt about the wind, take a skipper for this route.
Boat tours if you don’t want to drive
If renting feels like too much commitment — the licence questions, the deposit hold, the fuel rule — organised boat tours cover most of the same water with zero stress. Two-hour group cruises from Sirmione and Bardolino start at around €25 per person. Half-day sunset cruises with prosecco from Salò or Garda run €40–60. Full-day group trips to Isola del Garda (including the gardens and palace tour) are €40–55 and book out fastest. From Sirmione and Limone, fast shuttle tours combining both villages in one afternoon cost €30–45.
You give up the freedom to anchor where you want and the option of swimming off the boat, but you gain a guide who knows the lake, predictable timing, and no driving. For a single day of sightseeing with a non-driver group of three or four, the maths often favours an organised tour over a 40hp rental.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I rent a boat at Lake Garda without a licence?
Yes. Italian law lets anyone over 18 with a valid ID drive a motorboat under 40 horsepower, under 10 metres, on inland water. Almost every rental fleet at Lake Garda is built around this rule — the boats you see lined up at Sirmione, Peschiera, Bardolino and Salò are all 40hp open craft for exactly this reason. You will fill in a short form, hand over a credit card for the deposit, and after a 10-minute briefing you are on the water.
What’s the cheapest place to rent a boat at Lake Garda?
The south shore — Peschiera del Garda and Sirmione — has the largest fleet and the most competition, which keeps prices honest. Off-peak (May, September, October) a half-day 40hp rental can start at €80. The east shore between Bardolino and Garda is a close second, often slightly cheaper than Sirmione itself but with fewer boats to choose from. The north (Malcesine, Torbole, Riva) is the most expensive on a like-for-like basis.
Do I need to bring my own fuel?
No, but you do pay for what you use. The boat is handed over with a full or near-full tank, and you return it at the same level — fuel is charged either at pump price (€1.90–2.20 per litre) or via a flat refuelling fee written into the contract. Expect €30–50 of fuel on a relaxed half-day, €60–120 on a long full-day cruise. Always photograph the gauge at pickup.
Is it safe to drive a boat on Lake Garda?
For a competent adult, yes — Lake Garda has no commercial shipping, marked navigation routes, helpful local authorities, and clear water that makes hazards visible. The two real risks are afternoon wind in the north (the Ora can build from glass to 1-metre waves in 30 minutes) and ferry traffic between Sirmione, Bardolino and Garda. Stay 200 m clear of moving ferries, check the forecast, wear lifejackets in choppy water.
Can I take a rental boat to Isola del Garda?
You can sail or motor around the island, anchor offshore in calm water and photograph the palace — and most renters do. You cannot land. The island is privately owned by the Cavazza-Borghese family and is only accessible via their official guided boat tours from Salò, Manerba, San Felice, Gardone, Garda or Barbarano. Plan to combine a private rental for the circling and swimming with a separate organised tour if you also want to see the gardens and palace inside.
What’s the difference between Click&Boat and direct rental?
Click&Boat is an aggregator that lists most of the Lake Garda fleet in one place, includes insurance (Skipper Plan), 24-hour multilingual support and verified reviews, and protects you if the operator cancels. Direct rental — walking into a harbour office and booking on the spot — can be 10–20% cheaper in shoulder season but offers no buffer if anything goes wrong. For first-time renters, especially in the high season, book through Click&Boat. For experienced renters in May or October, direct can save money.
When should I book?
For July and August, book 1 to 2 weeks ahead — the family segment (pontoons, 6+ person consoles, skippered boats) sells out first, especially for weekends. For May, June, September and October, 3 to 5 days is usually enough, and mornings often have last-minute availability. Sailing yachts and multi-day charters from Riva and Torbole should be booked 4 to 8 weeks ahead in peak season because the fleet is small.
Related Guides
- Things to Do in Lake Garda
- Best Boat Tours at Lake Garda
- Sailing at Lake Garda
- Things to Do in Sirmione
- Lake Garda Day Trips from Verona
Renting a boat is the single best way to see Lake Garda — from the water you understand the lake’s scale, you reach beaches and bays cars cannot, and you choose your own pace. Licence-free 40hp boats put a full day on the lake within reach of any adult with an ID and a credit card, from around €80 in shoulder season. In peak weeks of July and August, book 1 to 2 weeks ahead, take the morning slot, and pick your route around the afternoon wind. Compare Click&Boat operators by harbour and lock in the boat first — the rest of the day falls into place around it.