Our first campervan holiday with kids - Bavaria, Lake Garda and Lago di Ledro 2023

In August 2023 we went on our first holiday abroad in our van Beza, a 9-seat Iveco Daily with a bed behind the last row of seats. The route: Bavaria, Lake Garda and Lago di Ledro, with one night in Austria on the way home. We slept in the van at campsites, and a SUP board travelled in the back.

How we bought Beza is in our post Beza, our campervan. After this holiday and the first winter, Beza got a full rebuild from bare metal.

A check right after the border

On 16 August we left Poland on the A4 motorway. Right after the border the German police stopped us. They were looking for migrants, and inside they found sleeping kids. After they checked all our documents we could go on, but it cost us an extra 30 minutes.

In 2023 Germany did random checks like this near the border. Since October 2023 it has checked its border with Poland all the time, so keep the whole family's documents at hand.

Via Claudia Camping in Lechbruck, for the second time

For our first night we stopped at Via Claudia Camping in Lechbruck am See in Bavaria. We had already stayed there in 2018, on the way home from the Alps and the Dolomites, and we liked it a lot then.

This time we stayed for two nights. On 17 August we put up the awning and the table next to the van and had breakfast outside.

This time swimming was not great. The Lechsee is a reservoir on the Lech river, the water was ice-cold, and there was a lot of rubbish floating on it. The campsite map also showed a small forest pond as a place to swim, but the water there did not move, was dirty and smelled bad. In the afternoon some of us read in the van, and the rest watched cartoons on the TV under the roof.

Over the Brenner Pass to Lake Garda

On 18 August we drove over the Brenner Pass to Italy and arrived at Camping Il Faro in Pieve Vecchia, in Manerba del Garda, on the west shore of Lake Garda. In the evening we had dinner next to the van, under a washing line.

SUP on Lake Garda

On 19 August we stayed at the campsite. We pumped up the SUP board and went out on the lake. The waves surprised us: when yachts passed nearby, they were up to a metre high.

In the evening we went to the beach next to the campsite. The sun was setting over the lake, and the girls made hearts with their hands for a photo. We ended the day with a card game at the table in front of the van.

Lago di Ledro and Camping al Sole

On 21 August we drove to Lago di Ledro, in the mountains above Riva del Garda. The lake lies at 655 m and is much smaller than Garda, about 2 km². We stayed at Camping al Sole, right by the water.

Here we also went out on the lake on our SUP board.

Kids' activities and a mini disco

The campsite has a programme of activities for kids, written on a board for the whole week. In the evenings the entertainment team gathered the kids for games, and on 24 August there was a mini disco on the stage, with dancing and copying the steps of the dance leader.

Ice cream in Riva and the way home through Austria

On 25 August we drove down from Ledro to Riva del Garda. To say goodbye to Italy we had ice cream at the Etabeta gelateria on Via dei Disciplini. Friends recommended it to us: they say it is the best ice cream in Riva.

From Riva we drove to Austria, to spend the night at Feriendorf am Maltschacher See in Carinthia. We arrived at 20:00, and there were no staff at all. The reception was closed and looked as if it had not been used for a long time, even though there were caravans and campervans on the site. We had a booking but no way to get in. We went to ask at the inn next door, and after about 30 minutes of looking for the right person we managed to get in and set up. For a moment we were ready to drive straight home without stopping for the night.

The next day we set off for Poland. We were home on Sunday, 27 August, at 1:30 at night.

Practical info

Checked in November 2026.

Road tolls for a van

• Austria: a 10-day vignette for vehicles up to 3.5 t costs 12.80 €. The A13 motorway over the Brenner Pass has an extra toll: 12.50 € one way.
• Italy: on motorways a tall van pays class B tolls, because it is more than 1.3 m high above the front axle. Cars are class A.
• In Italy a SUP board or bikes sticking out at the back of the car must have a reflective warning panel.

Campsites

• Via Claudia Camping (Lechbruck am See): open all year, rents out SUP boards on the Lechsee.
• Camping Il Faro (Manerba del Garda): a pool with a section for little ones, the beach on Lake Garda is a few minutes' walk away.
• Camping al Sole (Lago di Ledro): pitches right on the shore, a pool, a mini club and kids' activities in season.

SUP on the lakes

• On Lake Garda stay close to the shore and take life jackets. On some parts of the lake a life jacket is required on a SUP, and you can paddle on your own only from the age of 14.
• From Riva to Lago di Ledro it is about 10 km through a tunnel. The old Ponale road above Lake Garda has been open only to walkers and cyclists since 2004.