How to Get to Lake Como: 3 Ways to Arrive

Main Ways to Get to Lake Como

For brevity, I'm going to assume you're in Milan coming from the central train station or one of the three airports, Milan Malpensa Airport, Linate Airport, or Bergamo Airport. Of course if you have your own car, you'll have a lot more options but most highways will take you through or around Milan regardless.

Luckily, since Milan is such a large city, you'll be able to get a train, bus, or flight there from nearly anywhere in the country.

It's also possible to arrive here from Lugano, Switzerland since the lake sits so close to the Swiss border. The train I was on from Milano Centrale was actually heading there after my stop.

The landscape around Lake Como, and in Northern Italy in general, is stunning and sparsely populated outside the cities. It makes for fantastic views and adds to the charm of the area but the green space does bring along less roads and options so keep that in mind and remember your patience is well rewarded by the nature.

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Public Transportation

To arrive at Lake Como via public transportation you have two options: the train or a bus. Once you're on the lake, you'll have a bus or ferries to get around the lake.

Train

From Milano Centrale, you have a few doable options to arrive to Lake Como by train:

• Como (the town): You can arrive to either the Como Nord Lago station or the Como San Giovanni station. Both are in town but the Como Nord Lago station is slightly more central. I arrive to the San Giovanni station though. Just choose whichever works better with your schedule.
• Lecco: Lecco only has one train station, Lecco.
• Varenna: Varenna is one of the most beautiful towns on Lake Como to see from the water but to be honest, I haven't been to the town on foot. We planned to pop over but after seeing the amount of people clogging the alleyways we changed our plans.
• Torno: Technically there is a train station but from what I can see the trains here are few and far between.

It's possible to get trains to either Como or Lecco that take about 40 minutes. Varenna takes about double the amount of time. The only direct trains to the lake come from Milano Centrale train station.

On my Lake Como trip I met up with friends who were flying into the US. They rented a car from the airport and picked me up at the San Giovanni station.

If I were to visit Lake Como again without the access of a rental car, I would take the train to Lecco instead of Como. Como itself isn't that great and definitely not as pretty as the central lake towns. Lecco isn't as touristic and is a more scenic introduction to the beauty of Lake Como.

Bus

Personally, when given the choice, I always choose a train over a bus. I find it far more comfortable and the journey more enjoyable.

But, that said, the bus will give you more flexibility in your final destination. With the train, unless you're staying in Lecco or Como, you'll have to switch to the bus or ferry upon arrival.

Depending on the day you travel and your destination, you can take a bus where you need to go, although you might have to make a transfer.

I recommend using Flixbus to plan your longer bus trips.

Once on the lake, you can rely on Google Maps to show you local bus routes. Just know that the roads around the lake are one-lane and can get backed up. It's not surprising for a bus to be behind schedule.

Ferry

The ferry is the best way to get around the lake, in my opinion.

All towns (as far as I understand) have a ferry dock. The bigger or more popular the town, the more often the stopover, with the smallest of the towns having few ferry options.

This is a great way to reach your final destination if you arrive by train and need to transfer. While the roads are curvy and scenic, you likely won't get great views on a bus. On the ferry, you'll get to actually enjoy the beauty of the lake.

Even once you arrive, the ferry is a great choice to plan your day trips around the lake. Even though my friends rented a car, we only used it to arrive and leave the lake. During our 3-day trip, we got around by ferry.

The only big downside to this route is buying the actual ferry tickets. Maybe you can buy them online with more time in advance but since we were trying to purchase ours last minute, it wasn't possible. In the mornings the line wasn't too long to get them but we did notice people trying to leave Bellagio in the afternoon waiting in lines of 100+ people. This way in early May so I'd expect even more lines in the summer.

Private Car

Having a car, whether you live here and drive your own or you rented one in Milan or another nearby city will give you the most flexibility.

It's definitely the easiest way to arrive if you're staying anywhere other than Como or Lecco.

Just know that there aren't any bridges that cross the lake so driving from one town to another isn't likely the best way to get around. You'll really just use your car coming and going. This is worth it if you plan on driving more in Italy before or after your trip but the expense may not be worth it otherwise.

Rentalcars.com is a great website to book your rental car from anywhere in Italy.

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Getting Around the Lake

An important thing for you to realize when planning your trip to Lake Como is at the southern side of the lake is much more accessible than the northern side.

If you look at a map of the lake, you'll notice now that the main train stations are all on the southern side, making that area more convenient to reach and get around.

There are some stations in the north but the connections aren't as often. It'd be easiest to get to that area of the lake by car or ferry. As I mentioned though, there aren't any bridges over the lake so to drive, you might have to go all the way around the lake, depending on where you're starting from.

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Best Areas of Lake Como to Explore

Lake Como is fantastic. It really is.

It's one of those places that gets a lot of hype but in my opinion, the hype is warranted.

Although I might like Lake Garda more (!!), Lake Como is truly spectacular...if you go to the right areas.

As I mentioned before, the town of Como isn't what you're dreaming of. I've met many travelers who felt like Lake Como was an Instagram trick but after asking more about what they did and saw, they only arrived in the town of Como for a few hours and left.

You will be disappointed if that's the route you go.

The true beauty of the lake is in the center, from the elegant villas to the mountain landscape and stunning towns sprinkled in between. For your trip, I recommend you explore around:

• Bellagio
• Tremezzo
• Villa del Balbianello
• Melzi Gardens
• Varenna

One of the highlights of our trip was walking the Lake Como Greenway. We unfortunately didn't have time for the entire walk but we did about half of it from Villa del Balbianello to Villa Carlotta. This way you'll get to enjoy great gardens, scenic coastal views, and wind around to the hillside towns you'd likely skip otherwise.

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How Will You Reach Lake Como?

Although a dream trip for most visiting Italy, know that it's not the easiest to get to Lake Como. You'll need to put in a little extra effort and give yourself some extra time but once you're here, you're in for a real treat.

My personal recommendation? Take the train to Lecco and a ferry from there to wherever on the lake you decide to stay (ideally Bellagio or nearby for the most central location).