Ideal place as base is Peschiera Del Garda on the south side of the lake. It is a small town with a station providing direct trains to Verona (40 mins) and Venice (90 mins). A family of 5 return to Verona cost 32 Euros. It is also only a 10 min drive to Gardaland. We visited Gardaland in May/June last year and it wasn't too busy.