Lake Como

Lake Como and Bellagio Day Trip from Milan

Milan, Italy
  • 9 hours (approx.)
  • Pickup offered
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

For a Lake Como day trip from Milan, look no further. A great way to discover the timeless beauty of the Italian lakes, this experience includes a walking tour of the chic lake town of Como plus a Lake Como cruise to see snow-peaked mountains and luxury lakeside villas from the water. In the summer, visit the village of Bellagio for free time to eat and explore. In the winter, take a gondola ride from Como to Brunate to soak up the lakeland views.
  • Day trip to Lake Como from Milan
  • Take a scenic cruise on Lake Como to admire the beautiful lakeside villas and gardens
  • Dock in the delightful town of Bellagio (summer only)
  • Take the funicular to Brunate for sweeping views of Como (winter only)
  • Enjoy free time to shop, dine and sightsee in the city of Como

Why Travellers Choose This Tour

Cruise on the lake, explore by foot, and enjoy a seasonal trip to discover Lake Como’s charm.

What's Included

  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Professional guide
  • Boat ride on Lake Como
  • Funicular ride to Brunate (Nov - March only)
  • Visit of Bellagio (Apr-Oct)
  • Gratuities
  • Food and drinks

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

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Pickup points

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Please note: you must notify the local tour operator about your hotel details at time of booking, by selecting one of the available hotels from the drop down menu at the check out

What To Expect

One of the largest bodies of water in Italy, Lake Como's best sights vary with the time of year you visit. On this tour, travel with a guide to discover the highlights of the area around the lake with an itinerary tailored to the season. Food and drinks are at your own expense throughout the day.

Winter Tour: (November to March)

Relax on the morning journey from Milan to Lake Como. Hop out to stretch your legs on a tour of Como, the lake’s main town, and learn about its key sights around the historic center. From town, take the gondola to the village of Brunate, a serene spot in the hills above Como.

Gaze down at the lake, flanked by the Rhaetian Alps, and then make the most of some free time for lunch. Return to Como by gondola before the highlight of your day: a Lake Como boat tour. The water offers the best vantage point to see the lake and shorelines; keep an eye out for chic villas and luxury hotels as you cruise. Cernobbio’s opulent Villa d'Este hotel is one such sight with its grandiose façade and tropical gardens. 

After your return to shore, enjoy some free time to see the sights at your own pace, shop or perhaps sip a coffee. Then, finish your time in Como with a visit to the Basilica of Sant’Abbondio, a Romanesque-style 11th-century church, before your return to Milan. 

Summer Tour: (April to October)

After your coach journey from Milan, start your tour of Como with a look inside two of its historical attractions: the Basilica of Sant’Abbondio. Continue into Como’s historic center, and use your free time to get to know the town at your own pace with some sightseeing or shopping for Lake Como keepsakes.

Meet back with your guide for a scenic cruise around Lake Como, admiring the hillside villas and hotels, and pose for photos against the backdrop of the alps.

Return to dry land in time for your trip to the colorful seaside town of Bellagio, which many pinpoint as a highlight of the lake. Spend some time at your leisure here to explore and perhaps savor lunch. Later, cruise to Cadenabbia, then return to your coach for the journey back to Milan.

Cathedral of Como (Duomo)

1 hour Admission Ticket Free

Lago di Como

2 hours Admission Ticket Included

Funicolare Como-Brunate

1 hour Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Most travellers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

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Featured review
elizatalaga
Alejandro was an amazing guide! We learned so much and had an incredibly beautiful time!! So worth it!!

Reviews

4.5
1,884 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travellers.
Showing 1-10 of 1,884 reviews
Well guided tour!
Dona_C, June 2023
We liked the guides very much. The tour was very well planned. I loved seeing the homes and landscaping from the water. My only complaint was the lack of accommodations for seniors. The seating on the boat was totally inappropriate for anyone with mobility issues and the bus was more tightly packed than any we have encountered in all our travels. I would highly recommend the tour to younger friends, not to people in my age group unless they were very fit.
Nice experience, be careful about the meeting point
Roxana_M, June 2023
Very nice experience, professional tour guide, but meeting point in Central Station was not clear, we called the Customer service but was not reacheable until after bus departure at 08:30. We asked for refund, but when they said it was not possible, we took the train to Como and reunited with the group for the boat trip to Bellagio.
Perfect day!
Richard_P, June 2023
Perfect experience beginning to end! Our guides were fantastic. The all-day schedule was perfect allowing time to dine and wander. Thank you! I recommend choosing the Cairoli/Visitor Center pick-up location. Easy! Highly recommend this guided tour of Lake Como.
Long Day, Delayed Due to Window Shattered
Deanna_F, June 2023
3-stars for the beauty of the region, otherwise 2-star at best. They directed us to the incorrect pickup and paid a taxis when the pick up was right across from our hotel. The tour used the car carrier boat transport which took twice as long as the other boats to get around. I was told we would be back with plenty of time to catch our 7:40 train back to Florence, but the delays and then the bus driver hitting a tree and breaking out the back glass on a family with a baby and several other passengers was horrible. This delayed us 3-hours waiting for another bus and I had to find a last minute hotel and change all my trains. We have asked for a refund of the tour plus reimbursement for the hotel and trains. Hopefully they do the right thing as this is my 8th tour since April and they have gotten a ton of my business.
Memorable!
Sue_S, May 2023
Overall a great experience. We needed more time in Bellagio though, and less time in the city of Como. Bellagio was the high light of the day.
A wonderful experience in one day trip.
Fatemeh_M, May 2023
I had a very good time during traveling to lake Como and Bellagio. Andria was our tour guide. Hey was very helpful and professional tour leader I recommend this trip to everyone who wants to have a wonderful experience in one day tour..
Location great. Boat trip needs attention
gsmareglia, May 2023
Como and Belliago were beautiful and certainly worthwhile visiting and the tour guide Lena was fantastic. However, I was extremely disappointed in the tour itself. We spent half an hour waiting for the boat to arrive with a number of other large tour groups in the sun only to be herded onto the boat like cattle. There were insufficient seats for everyone once we got on board and the top deck was fully exposed to the weather. Only 1 person serving in the cafe meaning that 20 minutes of your 2 hour boat trip was spent waiting in line. The ear pieces made it hard to hear the tour guide particularly when you were crammed in with other tour groups. Bus trip back was scenic and enjoyable.
Poorly organized and disinterested tour guide
Nora_M, May 2023
We were looking forward to this day tour but it ended up being poorly organized, and our tour guide, Eduardo, did not care about the customers at all. From the beginning of the tour, the headsets were not functioning well for anyone in the large group of 30. As a result, we were unable to learn about any of the places we saw. Eduardo, the tour guide, was uninterested and made everyone stand in the pouring rain, when he missed the correct boat. We enjoyed seeing Bellagio, but would definitely not recommend this tour company.
Beautiful day to spend Lake Como and Bellagio
SUNDER_G, May 2023
Beautiful scenic route lovely places and lots of time to wander Long day albeit Guide was lovely and very helpful This is more a taster as it’s difficult to encompass the beauty of Lake Como in 1 day Slight confusion about pick up , however the operators are clear that they only start the tour from Milan Visitor Centre so hope this helps
Crowded boat ride and no seats. Poor headsets.
Marc_L, May 2023
The boat ride was very crowded and most of our tour did not get seats for most of the ride. The headsets barely worked and it was very hard to understand the tour leader.
Very comfortable trip. Well organized.
Lisa_C, May 2023
Our tour guide, Lena and her driver were very professional and conscientious keeping large crowds together. The bus was comfortable and walking very reasonable. Great overall experience.
Poor Operator for this excursion. Don’t need a guide for Lake Como
Patrick_H, May 2023
This Viator tour was at the end of our 5 family member trip around Italy. The brochure offers two meeting points 15 min before departure. I chose the Milan central train station and the directions link takes you to a spot just outside the train station. Mind you, this is the downtown train station in Milan meeting at 7:45 am on a workday so it’s bustling with many cars and pedestrian traffic. I showed up at 7:50 and did not see a group. After waiting a few minutes, I texted the operator on WhatsApp which is the provided communication method. After a few more texts and calls to operator office # where I received VM that the office did not open until 8:30 (a few calls after 8:30 showed they don’t open at 8:30 either). After dealing with this for an hour, I along with my 3 adult children figured out how to get to Lake Como on our own and had a great day. The operator never responded to me and I contacted Viator support who denied my refund. I was within 100 meters of the group meeting place on time and a simple response from the operator to my multiple attempts to contact would have connect me to the group in 3 minutes. The tour operator simply did not want to refund the $450 and Viator corporate just rolled over in their favor. Everyone knows traveling points can be confusing and the operator has minimum responsibility to respond to patrons as they navigate this. I’ll also note that we spent > 3000 euros in Italy on Viator tours and this how we were treated. Word to the wise, if any issues occur on the excursion Viator will side heavily with their local operators. The bigger takeaway is you DO NOT need a guide for Lake Como. They just hold your hand on the train and ferry you across the Lake and does’t include any food or drink and the cut you loose on your own for extended time. I quickly realized we had a better experience than if we went on a tour to Lake Como and doing it without paying for a companion guide
Crap
Michael_C, May 2023
I was at central station 30 minutes before departure. Unfortunately I wasn't able to locate the bus as the station is massive. Several other tour operators were in the area but none of them knew of this tour operator. The tour departure time of 8am is early. As of 7:45am i was trying to call and text but their customer service opens at 830am. If u run tours that begin b4 customer service opens it's an issue Avoid this company. As of now they refuse to give me my money back
Should have been a fantastic tour but the disengaged, distracted tour guide was a train wreck
Michael_V, May 2023
The tour should have been great - and would have except for luck of the draw. There were two guides split across 2 buses; our guide barely took her nose out of her social media & WhatsApp long enough to share minimal information. As we were on the boat ride on the lake, we were standing near enough the other guide to hear a constant feed of what appeared to be very interesting information - our guide, on the other hand, spoke maybe one tenth the amount of the other guide. Our guide was reading what little she did relate by reading from her phone while the other guide rattled everything off from memory. (She stated that she had been a tour guide for several years, so I chalk this up to indifference, rather than being a newbie. Newbies I can handle and I always enjoy engaging with people learning a job; this was not the case for our guide - she spent easily 80% of her time with us on her phone). Because of the hit-or-miss chance of getting a really poor guide, I would definitely not recommend this tour.
Very peaceful and charming place.
Kimberly_M, May 2023
Bellagio was amazing! Best stop on the journey. Boat ride was pleasant. Tour guide was a bit erratic. Pee stop had good cappuccino.
Great experience
Maja_R, May 2023
Great tour, excellent guide, recommend. Worth price definitely. Our guide was Anna. She’s amazing woman
I see why George Clooney lives here!
Janine_M, May 2023
Beautiful day with beautiful scenery. Such a nice day with a boat ride, seeing and few towns, a great tour. Excellent lunch recommendation from Andre…really appreciated the information!
Can’t recommend enough!!
Natalie_M, May 2023
I can’t recommend this trip enough. It was a day filled with astonishing views and plentiful history behind the sites. Andrea was our tour guide and he was absolutely wonderful. We had such a great time and would highly recommend .Plenty of time to explore on your own as well as guided walking tours.
Bus left without me.
Enrique_R, May 2023
Would have been a 5 but given that there was chaos when leaving the boat to go catch the bus back to Como town and disorganization which caused me to follow wrong group and thus being left behind. Then I had to find my own way back to Como. This made experience not good. Otherwise Lake Como was a nice time.
Sights gorgeous-Tour Guide Disinterested
DebbieR, May 2023
Beautiful scenery! Lake Como and Bellagio were gorgeous and a must see if you have the time. However, suggest you book another tour company as our guide was not good. He seemed disinterested and tired and in fact slept through nearly the entire bus ride up. I would have liked to hear some information about the Lake as we reached it and the towns we were passing through.
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