The bus terminal is directly outside Verona Porta Nuova railway station in Piazzale XXV Aprile. The important split is simple: since 23 February 2026, ATV city buses depart from the B and D platforms, while extraurban buses use A and C. For Lake Garda, head for C1. For buses toward the Arena and Piazza Bra, start at B1. The Verona Porta Nuova bus bays are much easier once you ignore the dozens of route numbers and first find the correct lettered area.
This layout changed in 2026. Older maps and travel advice that send Lake Garda passengers to B3 are now out of date. ATV moved Garda-bound departures from B3 to C1 as part of the February reorganization. You can check the current Porta Nuova platform arrangement on the official ATV site.
Coming out of the train station: where to walk
After leaving your train, follow the normal station signs for Uscita and exit through the main frontage onto Piazzale XXV Aprile. You do not need to walk toward central Verona before finding the buses. The terminal occupies the piazzale immediately in front of the station.
ATV uses marciapiede for a platform and sometimes corsia for a bus lane or bay. At Porta Nuova you will see combinations such as B1, B2, C1 and C3 rather than one long row numbered from 1 upward.
The most useful landmarks are:
- B1, B2 and B3: the green city-bus side of the terminal.
- C1: the first blue extraurban island beside the central ATV ticket-office area. This is the key platform for Lake Garda departures under the current arrangement.
- A and the other C platforms: other provincial and extraurban destinations.
- E1: a separate stop near the railway-station frontage used by the Verona Airlink 199 airport service. Do not confuse it with the Garda platforms.
The ATV ticket office is particularly useful as a landmark because the official terminal map places it between the B platforms and C1. With a suitcase, finding the ticket office first is often easier than trying to read every destination panel from the station doors.
For Verona city centre, look for B1
If your destination is the Arena, Piazza Bra or the historic centre, you want the urban side of the terminal rather than the blue extraurban platforms. The current departure map lists Arena – Piazza Bra’ – Municipio at B1.
Several city routes can serve that direction, and the exact line mix changes between weekdays, evenings, Sundays and holidays. That makes the destination wording more useful than memorizing one bus number. At B1, check that the bus display or stop panel includes Arena, Piazza Bra’ or Municipio before boarding.
Other urban destinations are split between B1, B2, B3, D1 and D2. For example, buses for Borgo Roma, the Fiera, Borgo Trento or western residential districts may leave from a different B or D platform even though they all stop at Porta Nuova. Do not assume that every city bus uses the same island.
For Lake Garda, go to C1
Lake Garda services are extraurban buses. Under the February 2026 arrangement, the principal Garda destinations are grouped at C1. These include services toward places such as Castelnuovo del Garda, Peschiera del Garda, Gardaland, Lazise, Bardolino and Garda, depending on the route and season.
This is where old information causes the most trouble. Lake-bound buses previously used B3. Since 23 February 2026 they have been shifted to C1, while B3 is now part of the urban departure arrangement.
Which Lake Garda line should you take?
Do not choose solely from a line number remembered from a previous trip. ATV changes the lake network between summer and winter timetables.
For the summer 2026 timetable, valid from 8 June through 9 September, two especially useful departures from Verona are:
- Line 163: leaves Verona Porta Nuova from C1 and runs via Bussolengo and inland stops before reaching Colà, Lazise, Cisano, Bardolino and Garda. Individual journeys can vary in their intermediate stops.
- Line 164: leaves C1 and runs toward Castelnuovo del Garda, Peschiera, Gardaland, Pacengo, Lazise, Cisano, Bardolino and Garda.
ATV marks line 162 as inactive during the summer 2026 operating period, even though 162 appears in winter schedules and on older Garda information. This is a good example of why searching for a particular route number can send you in circles. Check your travel date on the official ATV Lake Garda timetable index, then match the departure to C1.
If you are still deciding which lake town makes the most practical base, the differences in rail, bus and ferry access are covered in our guide to choosing where to stay on Lake Garda.
Why the timetable may say A1 even though you need C1
This catches people who open an ATV PDF and scan it too quickly. A timetable normally contains both directions.
On the current summer timetables for routes such as 163 and 164, a bus leaving Verona for the lake is shown as Verona Stazione FS – C1. In the opposite half of the timetable, a bus arriving in Verona from the lake can show Verona FS – corsia A1.
So if you are standing at Porta Nuova waiting to travel outward, make sure you are reading the Verona to Garda half of the timetable. The A1 reference you spotted may simply be the arrival lane for the reverse journey.
Peschiera, Lazise, Bardolino, Garda or the northern lake?
Your destination matters because “Lake Garda bus” is not one single service.
- Peschiera del Garda: line 164 is the straightforward bus option from Verona in the current summer timetable. Because Peschiera also has a railway station, checking the train can be sensible if the next bus is a long wait.
- Gardaland and Pacengo: look particularly at line 164 rather than boarding any bus that merely says Garda.
- Lazise and Bardolino: several seasonal route patterns may serve them, so compare the next departures rather than waiting for one specific line number.
- Garda town: it is an important interchange as well as a destination.
- Torri del Benaco, Brenzone, Malcesine, Torbole and Riva del Garda: in the summer network, you will commonly continue from Garda on line 484. Do not assume your bus from Verona continues all the way to the northern end of the lake.
If you are linking Verona, Garda towns and other Italian cities on the same trip, you can organize the rest of your Italy route around the actual transfer points rather than treating the lake as one transport stop.
Buying and validating the ticket
The least stressful option is to sort out your ticket before the bus is ready to leave. Porta Nuova has an ATV ticket office and ticket machines, and ATV also sells digital tickets through its Ticket Bus Verona app.
ATV’s onboard rules require passengers to validate their travel entitlement each time they board. With a paper ticket, use the validator promptly after getting on. If you are using an eligible bank card as your ticket, present the same card to the reader on each boarding. Onboard ticket purchase is available on supported services but can carry a surcharge, so it should be the fallback rather than the plan.
If a validator is not working, tell the driver immediately. Do not simply sit down with an unvalidated ticket and assume the fault will be obvious during an inspection.
What to do with a suitcase
ATV distinguishes between small hand baggage and larger luggage. Its current passenger rules allow one piece of hand baggage up to 55 × 40 × 20 cm free of charge. A larger suitcase requires the applicable baggage ticket. On an extraurban journey, ATV specifies the tariffa 2 extraurbana for larger luggage.
Extraurban services may use coaches with luggage space underneath, but vehicle type can vary. If the luggage hold is open, follow the driver’s instructions about putting your case below. If the bus has no usable hold, keep the case where it does not block doors, the aisle or wheelchair space. ATV rules also prohibit using a passenger seat simply as luggage storage.
Allow a few extra minutes at C1 if you have a large case. Boarding an extraurban bus can take longer than stepping onto a city bus, especially when several passengers need luggage loaded.
Strollers and reduced mobility
The terminal itself is at street level, so finding the platforms does not require going up to a separate bus-station floor. Accessibility of the actual bus depends on the vehicle operating the journey.
ATV permits wheelchairs on suitably equipped buses using the central door and designated area. Strollers can also remain open where the vehicle has the appropriate restraint space, although wheelchair users have priority for that area. If you need a ramp or assistance, make yourself visible to the driver before boarding rather than waiting until the doors are about to close.
Sunday, holiday and late-evening departures
The platform logic does not suddenly reverse on Sundays: city services still use the urban departure areas and Garda buses remain on the extraurban side. What changes is the timetable. Fewer journeys may run, route numbers can differ, and some seasonal services operate only on particular days.
Late in the evening, check the destination as carefully as the departure time. A late 164, for example, may use a different stopping or connection pattern from a daytime journey. If you need Peschiera and have just missed the bus, check the train departure board inside Porta Nuova as well. Peschiera is on the main railway line, so the train can rescue a missed connection far more easily than waiting for another road service.
For Lazise, Bardolino, Garda or towns farther north, a missed final useful connection is more awkward. Check whether a later train to Peschiera plus an onward bus still works before buying anything. If the onward public transport has finished, a taxi may be the only practical same-night option.
If you cannot find your bus
Use this order rather than walking randomly between platforms:
- Confirm the destination and departure time on the current ATV timetable.
- Make sure you are reading the direction from Verona, not the reverse journey into Verona.
- For Garda-bound services, go to C1 under the current terminal layout.
- Read the front display on the actual bus. Look for your town or the route’s final destination.
- If the display is unclear, ask the driver: “Va a Peschiera?”, “Ferma a Lazise?” or “Va a Garda?”
- If the published platform and what you see on the ground disagree, ask at the ATV ticket office beside the central platforms. Temporary operational changes can override the normal bay.
The single most useful thing to remember at Porta Nuova is the 2026 split: B and D for Verona urban buses, A and C for extraurban services, with Lake Garda departures at C1. Once you have the correct lettered platform, the station stops feeling like a puzzle of unrelated bus numbers.