6 Best Lago di Como Cruises in Italy

No visit to Lake Como would be complete without a boat trip on its waters. The best perspective of its beautiful villages and the surrounding Alpine mountains is obtained by sailing on the lake itself. Aware of this, there are many tours and boat trips organised to get around and enjoy all that Lago Di Como has to offer.

If you have already seen all the attractions of Milan, a visit to the lake is one of the best excursions you can do if you are travelling around the Italian city. And to make this excursion as fruitful as possible, you should complete it with a boat trip. Here you have all the information about the different options of boat trips on Lago di Como.

The best option

Como Lake and Bellagio Day Trip from Milan

This guided tour from Milan will take you to the most beautiful villages around Lago di Como.

This complete tour also includes a one-hour boat ride on the lake itself, from where you will have the most amazing views of your trip to Milan.

From £75 at Hellotickets

The best way to discover Lago di Como and the beautiful landscapes that surround it is by taking an organised excursion to Lago di Como and Bellagio. The tour, which lasts about 11 hours, includes transport, which will make you forget about the logistics of getting there.

Moreover, the boat trip included in the tour will allow you to sail the waters of one of the largest lakes in Italy and enjoy one of the most spectacular views of northern Italy, with the snowy backdrop of the Alps.

Recommended if... You want to enjoy a comfortable boat trip on Lago di Como without having to find your way around and get to know the surrounding villages with an expert guide.

However, if you prefer to explore other ways, here are some more options:

One of the best options to go to Lago di Como is to book one of the excursions from Milan. This way, you will get to know some of the most popular towns in the region such as Bellagio, Lecco, Lugano or Verenna. This type of tour usually includes the transfer from Milan to the city of Como, the accompaniment of an expert guide and a cruise on the lake. Are you up for it?

Another option to take a trip on the waters of Lake Como, in addition to booking your excursion to Lake Como, is to book a full day boat trip voucher. The starting point for the boats is the town that gives its name to the lake, Como, a town located on the southern shore of the lake and the closest to Milan, so we can call it the "access" to the lake. Most of the boats and tours we are interested in leave from its port.

At the ticket offices located at the Como dock you can buy vouchers that will allow you to move freely to the town of Varenna, located more or less in the central part of Lago Di Como and stopping in many of the villages that lie between these two towns.

This type of voucher allows us to travel around the lake freely, choosing ourselves which stops to get off at and stopping to admire the villages. In this case, it is important to know all the timetables that you can check beforehand on the official website of the Lake Como transport

Interesting details

• Price: 25 € per day or 72 € per week.
• Duration: Depends on the destination you choose. From Como to Varenna about 1 hour.
• Means of transport: Boat.
• Advantages of this option: It gives us total freedom to move around the lake and get off at the stops we want.
• Disadvantages of this option: You have to keep an eye on departure times and there is no local guide.

Lago di Como is synonymous with luxury. Not for nothing is it home to luxurious villas, some of the best hotels in the world and the place chosen by many celebrities for their holidays. And, as such, there are also luxury options for a boat trip on its waters, as well as, of course, booking an excursion to Lago Di Como at a more affordable price.

There is the possibility of hiring a small private yacht with a skipper on board to cruise the lake in luxury. There is a wide range of prices depending on the boat, the extras and the duration, but generally the minimum is around 200 € per hour. The minimum includes the skipper, drinks and meals on board, plus a tour of the lake with a chance to stop for a swim.

It's an experience more suited to very special occasions, but it's the best way to immerse yourself in the luxury that surrounds Lago Di Como.

Details of interest

• Price: from approximately 200 €.
• Duration: booked by the hour.
• Means of transport: small private yacht.
• Advantages of this option: it is a truly luxurious experience.
• Disadvantages of this option: price.

Not all of the experiences you can book to experience Lago di Como are focused on tourism or luxury. There are also experiences for leisure and fun on the water and at Lago di Como you can hire sailing boats which are ideal for this purpose.

This type of boat has two skippers to navigate the lake and take you to the best areas to enjoy a swim and a day of relaxation and fun away from the more touristy routes.

The price usually starts at approximately €125 per person for half a day. But there are also possibilities to hire the boat for a whole day. In addition to the skippers, these trips include drinks and lunches on board, although these are limited. If you choose this option, don't forget your swimming costume, sunglasses and, above all, your desire to enjoy yourself.

Interesting details

• Price: from approximately €125.
• Duration: there are half-day and full-day options.
• Means of transport: sailing boat.
• Advantages of this option: it is the best from a recreational point of view.
• Disadvantages of this option: it is somewhat expensive and not recommended if you want to see interesting villages and places on Lake Como.

For those looking for the most economical option with the least amount of time available, you can opt to book an excursion to Lago di Como. Tours depart from the city of Como for as little as an hour and cover part of the lake.

It stops in less crowded villages such as Tavernola, Cernobbio, Moltrasio, Torno and Urio. Although less known than others such as Bellagio or Varenna, these villages are equally beautiful and with the advantage of being less crowded.

With this tour you have the option of getting off at any of these stops, although if you stay on board you will cover the entire distance covered by these villages in just one hour. Enough time to see much of Lake Como. The great advantage of these tours is that the prices are much cheaper than the other options. They start from around €9 per person.

Interesting details

• Price: from 9 €.
• Duration: 1 hour.
• Means of transport: boat.
• Advantages of this option: the cheapest option and the quickest if time is short.
• Disadvantages of this option: there are no stops in the most important towns.

To book a boat trip on Lake Como there are two options. Either you book in advance online or you get your tickets at the ticket booths at the docks from where you take the boats.

For guided tours and private boats the best option, and the only option in most cases, is to book online. To take a normal boat with stops in the various villages, you can easily get your ticket at the ticket office.

But especially in summer, when it is high season and demand is very high, it is advisable to book your Lake Como cruise tour in advance online to avoid queues and waiting.

To get the most out of a boat trip on Lake Como it is advisable to keep a number of things in mind:

• If you are visiting the lake in summer, bear in mind that it is a very touristy area and the crowds are very high. Bear this in mind when booking your excursion to Lago Di Como from Milan, getting your tickets or booking a hotel if you are staying in the area.
• Summer temperatures are very high so sunscreen, sunglasses and swimming costumes are a must.
• As there are dozens of towns worth visiting in the area, it is advisable to decide what to see in Lago di Como in advance and make a tour to find the tour that best suits your tastes.

If you have already seen all the attractions of Milan, I recommend you to book your excursion to Lago Di Como from Milan. The surrounding villages are popularly known as the most beautiful in Italy.

The list is very extensive so you need many days to see them all. As we don't always have that kind of time, I'm going to make things easier for you by leaving you this link with a list of the 10 most beautiful ones around the lake

To sum up, if you have to prioritise some of them, I recommend you to visit Bellagio and Varenna. They are two of the most beautiful and also the most accessible. Outside of the best known, Nesso is a real hidden gem and one of the most picturesque. Whichever one you choose, you're sure to be disappointed.