The rowing regatta is traditionally held on Lake Garda on  May. It is open for every boat with oars, be it canoes, the traditional bisse boats, harpoon or dragon boats. The only thing that matters is that they neither have sails or an engine.

The Gardalonga comprises two different routes, both starting from the gulf of Maderno: the longer route, the GardaLonga, which gives its name to the entire event, leads to the western shore of the lake down to Gardone Riviera, then to Salò and the Isola del Garda, before taking the reverse route to Maderno. The route is 25 km long (equalling 13.5 nautical miles).

The GardaCorta route is shorter, 12 km (equalling 6.48 nautical miles), taking the GardaLonga route down to Salò and then going back to Maderno.

The event takes place on Saturday, 1 May 2021.