Most people are keen to experience Milan to Como – how best to do the trip? Read on to find out what the most practical ways are to do this and what to do when you’re in Como itself.
Doesn’t matter if you’re skinted or minted, there’s an option for everyone!
How to get to Como from Milan – options
Generally you can get to Como from Milan in 3 ways:
Hire a car and drive there yourself, but the roads are windy, parking isn’t easy in Como and you can’t have a drink or two and drive back on the same day easily!
You could hire a driver and car to get dropped off and then get picked up, this is expensive though, very expensive when you compare the cost of doing this by train. It’s about 200 euros or so one way in a regular car.
You could take a train from a station that’s close to you in Milan and get off at Como station, there’s only one main station in Como.
Milano Centrale is popular BUT it’s a big, busy station, we took the train to Como from Garibaldi station, not too far by taxi from our hotel Aethos The Yard Milan.
It takes roughly an hour to get to Como from Milan by train. Seemed to be only one class of travel.
Choose a train where you don’t have to change. They run quite regularly during the day.
COST by train from Milan to Como – RETURN is; wait for it.. just 10 euros per person!
So this is by far the most reasonable and quite comfortable way of getting to Como from Milan.
When in Como what should we do
That depends on your interests but most people want to see some of the villages around the lake.
The town itself though is a nice place to walk around and explore if you have time, there are plenty of little restaurants and shops.
There are picturesque squares and cobbled streets just about 10 minutes walk away from the station. Just follow everyone!
But the real draw is to see the lakeside and ideally stop off at some of the villages round the lake.
If you only had a day how best to see the villages around Lake Como
If you had a car then it’s easy to drive from one village to another or you could spend some time in just one or two villages.
We think a great way to experience Como is to take a boat and do the hop on hop off option as you feel like. That’s all within the same fixed price of just 8 euros so about AED 35 !
There are 2 types of boat trip you can take, the water taxi type boat open to the general public or you could hire a boat and skipper via a private boat taxi arrangement and customise your experience.
The second option is much more expensive though, we were told nearer 900 euros for a private boat taxi. Of course if you’ve booked a hotel to stay at then you could ask to be collected by the hotel’s own boat service.
Do book your boat tickets IN ADVANCE if you can, the queues are very long so you waste time hanging around.
The public boat taxi is just 8 euros per person for hop on hop off arrangement that takes you around the lower part of the lake.
There are 5 villages you could see via this route, so it’s amazing value for money!
You do need time though so maybe it’s best to decide which villages you want to see. If you stay on the boat, it takes an hour to do the round trip. It may be standing room only for some parts and you may get a bit wet, so dress accordingly.
If you want to get to Bellagio though, that’s a 3 hour journey away by boat from Como jetty and a different boat.
For a special occasion.. go here at least once in your life if you can
You can only visit Passalacqua in Como if you’re staying there, and I can’t recommend it highly enough for a special occasion.
An historic mansion with beautifully kept grounds and gardens that include a pool, tennis court and an organic garden.
This property would be ideal if you were looking for a venue for a medium sized private function too.
It’s hard to describe the effect of the music, the smell, the views, the decor and the sense of place that Passalacqua has on you unless you’re there. Experience it yourself at least once if you can.
We loved it and would go back.
Passalacqua is located in Moltrasio, the third stop of the public boat taxi tour.
Please note, apart from the place we suggest for lunch below and of course Passalacqua itself, there isn’t too much else to stop for in Moltrasio!
It’s not that easy to walk around either, unless you arrive by car.
Save this place for a marvellous lunch idea
We all loved our lunch at Baia di Molstrasio lakeside restaurant a few minutes walk from the jetty. Please do book ahead as this place is always very popular.
Note a table inside by the window I feel is better than outside when the sun is out, even in early March, as it gets too hot!
If you’re staying in Milan then we recommend our hotel The Aethos Milan – The Yard.
Have a look at our post on that. If you need ideas for things to do and restaurants in Milan see our recommendations for Milan.
If you want to see more of our FOOD in Milan see this Tik Tok account for My_Food_Moods here. It’ll make you so hungry!
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Do also check our Monica’s Travel Tips page for new destinations and routes from Dubai. New routes being added all the time! You may also like the prints for sale at KAPILA GALLERY here.
