Sirmione is probably the nicest village on Lago di Garda, situated in the southern part of the lake. The location is quite unique as the peninsula lies about 4 km from the lakeshore. As old romans appreciated the spot already some ruins such as the Grotte di Catullo an be visited today. Another sight you will not miss is Castello Scaligero that welcomes visitors at the entrance of the Sirmione.
To reach the thermal bath Aquariva we just crossed the village following the main route. After having paid a hefty fee of almost 40 EUR for a 5-hour stay (there are no shorter options) we were handed bathrobes and electronic bracelet tickets and changed.
I was surprised to see the how few changing cabins were provided but they were clean. What I really didn´t like is the system to store your belongings. First you have to put everything into a garment bag, that is then stored away via an electronic system that reminded me of the carousels used in laundry shops. The place of storage is saved into the bracelet. For retrieval the bracelet is used again.
As the lockers for valuables are tiny my handbag didn´t event fit in so I had to squeeze it into a garment bag. When we retrieved our things it seemed easy for us to take someone else`s things if we wanted to. So I am not so sure about the system...
There are several pools, the nicest being the outdoor eternity pool. Unfortunately the water in this pool is not exactly hot thus the pool was mostly empty.
There is another big outdoor pool which is warmer.
The exceptional thing about the Aquariva is the location: it is directly on the lake. What I hence enjoyed the most was just lying on lounge chairs on the decks just above the lake and enjoying the view. (See Google Maps: 45.495189,10.603716 )
Enjoy!
