Words & photos: Sarah Thornely( supjunkie. co. uk) and Sarah Perkins
When you’ ve dreamt of a trip for many years, it’ s got a lot to live up to – would our Lake Garda dream deliver?
PADDLER 31
CIAO BELLA
AN ITALIAN( AND AUSTRIAN) ODYSSEY
Words & photos: Sarah Thornely( supjunkie. co. uk) and Sarah Perkins
When you’ ve dreamt of a trip for many years, it’ s got a lot to live up to – would our Lake Garda dream deliver?
Sarah Perkins and I have talked and almost walked this trip many, many times. It finally came to fruition in 2025 – Sarah had a work trip coming up near Lake Garda, where she used to live. Combining this with a race in Austria that was on our bucket list, it was the perfect opportunity to get planning. When I say get planning, I mean Sarah P gets planning! She has been our‘ tour guide’ on many trips, booking accommodation, as well as incredible and unique places to visit, and, more importantly, the best places to eat. Being a‘ local’ in Italy for some seven years, Sarah knew all the hot spots.
We also wanted to connect with an Italian friend who lives and paddles on Lake Garda, Nicola Volani, who is part of the Paddle Logger family – look him up on Instagram for some stunning shots and videos.
LAKE GARDA
With vans loaded with all the toys, we spent a couple of days driving through Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Austria until we arrived in the small town of Nago-Torbole at the northern end of Lake Garda. Our accommodation was perfect, a gated hotel within a two-minute walk of the lake.
The winds on the lake are fairly set in their ways, with the Pelèr blowing north to south in the morning and then a complete switch around in the afternoon, with the Ora blowing from the south – more about that later from Sarah P! It could not be better for paddleboarding first thing, and for Jonny to go wing foiling in the afternoon. There are more local names for the different winds in this region, and this week they challenged us with their irregularity! This was not a bad thing; it kept us on our toes. We popped to the lake edge in the morning, and once we had scoped out the conditions, we were ready to play.
But first, a visit to Lago di Tenno, a small but perfectly formed lake up in the hills some 570 metres above sea level. A walk down the medieval steps led you to this sapphire-blue lake, truly unique and stunning, and we had a fun few hours paddling and taking many, many photos! It’ s a destination for many walkers and cyclists too, and I wonder if they were bemused by us on our carbon race boards!
PADDLER 31