A Dream Day In Italy
A guide to lake como
Welcome to heaven on Earth. When we stepped foot into the town of Como, Italy I legit thought we were on a movie set! This beautiful town sits on Lake Como which is where all the fun begins. 28 miles of lake between 17 of Italys most beautiful towns. Hop on the fairy for the day and explore all this amazing slice of paradise has to offer…
Welcome to Como
Como is such a charming town sitting on the water. Full of shops, eateries, hotels, and still on the main land of Italy. We arrived early in the morning and walked around, shopped, and had a delicious coffee and croissant for breakfast. It feels just like you imagine a small town in Italy! There are stunning views of the Lake, museums, and plenty to keep you occupied if you just wanted to come for the day. However, I cannot recommend getting on the Ferry enough! Actually getting to experience Lake Como’s waters and stop off in one of the towns is a true dream.
how do i get here?
Como sits on the Northern part of Italy closest to the Switzerland border. The closest main town is Milan Italy. Como is the most popular town to see the lake and hop on the main ferry to travel though the water. To get to Lake Como, you can drive if you have a car or rental, or opt in for the train like we did!
TRAIN: You will take the Lake Como train by Trenitalia (the main train system in Italy) from Milan. It is about a two and half hour ride, and will cost between €4.80 - €15. There are other stops in between so make sure you stay on until Como!
DRIVE: Obviously this will depend on where you are coming from in Italy or Europe. If you are driving from Milan it will only take about 1 and half hours and you will follow road 36 to Lake Como, but please look up detailed directions online!
the lake como ferry
Lucky for us there are lots of options for the boat ride. The Navigazione Laghi, the main public ferry service, offers three types of boats. There is a slow service ride, a fast service ride, and the actual ferry if you need to bring your car. They also offer private boat tours if you are interested!
The Slow Service: this boat goes to all the towns in Lake Como at a nice slow pace so you can enjoy the views all the views and get the best chance take photos.
The Fast Service: this boat also stops at all the towns, but at a much faster pace. You can still see all the amazing views and take photos, it just provides you a faster service if you are only here for the day or don’t have a handful of hours to spend on the water.
The Ferry: if you did drive into Como and plan to travel through or stay in one of the towns, or even continue on from here, this would be the service for you. If you do not have a car, take one of the other options as this ferry does not stop in every town.
We opted in for the fast service, Corse Rapide, so that we could go to Bellagio, have a nice lunch and walk around, and make it back before night to get back to Milain. If we were staying in Lake Como for the night I would maybe opt in for the slow service, but we were amazed by the fast ride! Normally it takes about 2 1/2 hours from Como to Bellagio but on the Rapide boat it was only about 45 min! You still stop at all the ports - we just really wanted to see Bellagio!
How much is it? The tickets are sold in one way passes, and ticket booths are located by the docks in every town. It depends on the boat ride and location you go to, we spent €14.80 per person, per way! There is a time table for all the routes, so just give your self a couple extra minutes before departure to buy your ticket.
The boats have plenty of seats, if you opt for the Slow Service, there is an open aired deck for you to sit and get the best pictures. The Fast Service is all indoor seating, but with plenty of large windows for views and images. You can walk around the boat as well to get views of both sides of the lake, which I highly recommend! You can bring your own food and water aboard to have a nice picnic in which ever town you stop at, but keep in mind there are plenty of Pizzerias along the way ;) ha! The staff on board is very friendly and lots of them speak multiple languages so don’t hesitate to ask questions!
welcome to bellagio
There are so many charming towns to choose from on the Lake - it would be a dream to see them all! We opted in for Bellagio because I recognized it from Las Vegas haha! It truly is one of the most popular towns to stop in as well, so I defiantly recommend it if you get the chance. Once you hop off the boat you can spend as much time as you like here, you just have to remember to buy your return ticket! We walked through the adorable cobblestone streets, got lunch, and took some pictures I’ll cherish forever by the water. We ate the BEST pizza and drank Italian beer outside at Antico Pozzo, I dream of it all the time! We saw so many good spots there, I’m convinced you cannot get a bad meal in Italy. If we ever get the chance, I would love to spend a couple days in Lake Como to see more towns, and spend the night here in Bellagio, if you do please tell me about it!!
tips for your visit
I may not be a Lake Como expert but I definitely learned a few things and would have loved to know this before I went!
Spend as much time here as possible! We only had one day to spend in Como and we made the most of it for sure - but I truly know this place has so much to offer if you give it the time!
Bring a jacket! We didn’t go in the heat of summer, so it was still a bit cool, but the breeze of the Lake does keep it lower temperatures regardless!
Do some research! Figure out which town you want to stop at and see what hidden gems it has to offer. This trip was a surprise for me by amazing Rashawn, so we just did everything on a whim! There are tons of markets, farms, olive oil tours and so much more all over Lake Como so just see what you want to do before you go!
Bring a water bottle! This is my tip no matter where you go, but especially when you are by bodies of water! Single use plastic bottles can end up tarnishing beautiful places like this, so always try and make an eco choice and bring a reusable water bottle.
Take a billion photos! Lake Como is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world. Tiny towns along the water, surrounded by Alps and Alpine Foothills, and true Italian charm makes every corner photogenic. Looking back on the photos I took here always brings me joy and something I am so thankful for.
Have you ever been to Lake Como? I want to know what you thought of this magical place! Write a comment, or send me a message! If you are planning a trip here, I cannot wait to hear about it! Ciao!
pin gallery
Eating new foods in new places is one of my favorite aspects of traveling. I have the biggest sweet tooth, so going to a new place and finding their best dessert has been a hobby of mine for some time now! From Churros and Chocolate in Spain, to Chimminy’s in Prague, there was no way I would make it to Italy without getting some authentic gelato! Below are Five Foods we Tried in Italy!