International Camping Ispra

The lake and mountain views are gorgeous, and the staff were super friendly and helpful, speaking English with us. We stayed midweek in the off season, when it was very quiet. Friday night got busier, with music by the pool and people arriving for the weekend. The place is set up for summer family holidays, with plenty of areas for kids to play and a kids' pool. You can pay extra for a pitch right at the lake edge. The toilet blocks are a bit tired, but they're cleaned regularly.

Lovely staff, good facilities, and amazing views.

We enjoyed our stay and would probably return for the pool, though I'd rate the campsite closer to three stars than four. The kids' pool is amazing. Unusually for an Italian pool, there's no swim cap rule or insistence on budgie smugglers. Pitches are roomy and grassy, each with electricity, with quite a few trees for shade, and the site is right on the lake. There isn't a shop on site, but three supermarkets are within a five-minute drive. The restaurant's evening pizzas are fantastic, though there was little or no shade from the evening sun and it was uncomfortably hot. The activities have to be booked through the app. It might work well in Italian, but the English version wouldn't work for us. We wanted a pedalo, but couldn't book one, and staff couldn't book it for us either. If the app doesn't work, you can't book activities or a sunbed. We drove ten minutes down the road to a boat hire place instead. I showed my ID, paid the hire fee, and off we went, easy as that. The toilets were nice, but could have been cleaned more often. It was busy, so they inevitably got a bit dirty between cleans. The beach was unusable, with thick mud that you sink into. A smaller section was clear of mud but strewn with sharp rocks that looked like construction debris, not the smooth stones you'd usually find in a lake. The rubbish area needs much better management. The large bins have no lids, so there are lots of flies and maggots, and there was a rodent problem too. I saw many long-tailed nasties around the bins early in the morning. Luckily, they're a reasonable distance from the pitches. As with any lakeside campsite, bring mosquito repellent.

It's right beside a beautiful lake, and it could have been a perfect campsite. Instead, arriving felt like walking into a Euro disco. It was SOO loud! The pool area was far too busy, and campers had to pay for sun loungers, so everyone ended up lying on the floor. How ridiculous. They should use a wristband system like the rest of Europe. The sanitary facilities badly need renovation, though we did have a nice hot shower.