Day Trips From Como: Bellagio, Varenna, Lugano, Milan and the Bernina Express

What the Boats Cost From Como

All three destinations use the same ticket system and the same piers. Cernobbio is band 1, Bellagio band 6 and Varenna band 7. A fast rapido service adds a supplement on top of the ordinary fare.

The network's minimum fare is $2.08 (€1.80).

One Ticket or a Day Pass?

The one-day unlimited ticket is sold by band: band 6 at $31.10 (€27) and band 7 at $34.00 (€29.50). Band 6 covers Bellagio, band 7 reaches Varenna. Do the sums before you buy.

A Bellagio return on singles is $27.70 (€24) against $31.10 (€27) for the band 6 pass, so the pass only pays if you also stop somewhere else in band 6, such as Tremezzo or Menaggio. The Varenna triangle is different. Como to Bellagio is €12, Bellagio to Varenna is band 3 at $6.35 (€5.50), and Varenna back to Como is €13.50, our sum €31 ($35.80) on singles against $34.00 (€29.50) for the band 7 pass.

On that day the pass wins and lets you get off anywhere. For the same triangle with a skipper, the four-hour boat tour with Bellagio and Varenna stops gives about an hour ashore in each village.

The Piers and the Timetable

Como's landing stages line the lakefront between Piazza Cavour and the funicular station. The boats to the mid-lake villages run to a seasonal timetable, and the times differ by run, so read it before you travel. The Como ferry page explains the network. Two warnings from the fare sheet.

The rapido costs more, $6.35 (€5.50) extra to Varenna, which surprises anyone who boards without checking the service. And on a day ticket, plan the day backwards from the last return boat you can use, not forwards from the first one out.

• Check the seasonal timetable before you travel, because published journey times vary by service.
• Boats leave from the Piazza Cavour lakefront, a flat walk from Como Lago station.
• The fast rapido adds $5.77 (€5) to Bellagio and $6.35 (€5.50) to Varenna on top of the ordinary fare.
• A one-day pass at $34.00 (€29.50) beats singles only if you stop in more than one village.

Lugano by Train

TILO's S10 line links Biasca, Bellinzona and Lugano with Como, runs every 30 minutes and continues to Como San Giovanni, the uphill station. That is all the operator publishes on its S10 page: no Como to Lugano journey time and no fare. Check the TILO journey planner or the departure board for your day, and board at Como San Giovanni.

If you would rather hand the logistics over, the Lugano and Bellagio day does both places as one booking.

Lugano With Bellagio in One Day

The Lugano and Bellagio day trip starts from Como rather than Milan, in front of Hotel Barchetta on Piazza Cavour. It uses an air-conditioned coach into Switzerland and the public boat service on the lake, with a bilingual tour leader and audio headsets. Lunch is not included, and the listing notes that the cruise runs on the public operator's own timetable, so the water section moves at the ferry's pace.

It costs $111.78 with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

The Bernina Express

The Bernina Express is the Rhaetian Railway's panoramic train over the Bernina Pass. It crosses 196 bridges and 55 tunnels, and the Albula and Bernina lines have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since July 2008. St. Moritz to Tirano takes about 2 hours 15 minutes, Chur to Tirano about 4 hours.

Two things matter for a day from Como. The train needs a ticket and a separate seat reservation, and the RhB page does not print the reservation price. And it does not leave from Como: its Italian end is Tirano.

So from Como the practical way is a tour. The Bernina Express and St. Moritz day runs about 12.5 hours with a guaranteed panoramic-carriage seat, about 2.5 hours in St Moritz, a stop in Tirano and a multilingual guide, for $214.38. The Bernina train and Diavolezza glacier day adds the Diavolezza cable car to 2,978 metres and a fixed lunch of pizzoccheri in a group capped at 10, for $226.99. Both listings warn that the view from the train can be reduced on afternoon legs from late October to late February because of the early sunset.

• No direct train from Como to the Bernina Express. It starts at Tirano.
• RhB requires a ticket and a seat reservation, and does not print the reservation price on its page.
• The St. Moritz day is $214.38 and the Diavolezza day $226.99, both about 12.5 hours.
• The Bernina Express listing requires a passport or valid ID to cross into Switzerland.

Como Lago is the lakefront station, a few minutes from the ferry piers, with trains to Milano Cadorna in about 60 minutes. Como San Giovanni is the uphill station, about 40 minutes from Milano Centrale. The regional fare is the same either way, $6.23 (€5.40) one way.

Pick the station nearer your bed in Como and the one nearer your plans in Milan. Milan to Como by train covers both lines, and Como San Giovanni station covers the uphill station. No tour is needed for this one: a regional ticket and your own feet do it.

Cernobbio is the day trip for a slow afternoon. The ordinary boat from the Piazza Cavour piers is band 1, $3.46 (€3) one way and $6.92 (€6) return, the cheapest way onto the water from Como. It suits anyone who wants to be on the lake without the run to the mid-lake villages.

For commentary instead, the two-hour golf cart tour of Como and Cernobbio drives out of town in an open electric cart with a driver and a seven-language audio guide, stopping for photos at Villa d'Este and Villa Erba, for $46.33. Every stop on that tour is a photo stop, not an interior visit. Our pick for most people is the public boat, and the cart for anyone who cannot walk far.

Match the day to the traveller, not to the most famous name.

• First visit, one free day: the Bellagio and Varenna triangle on the band 7 day ticket at $34.00 (€29.50).
• First visit, no wish to read timetables: the 4-hour boat tour with Bellagio and Varenna stops.
• Half a day only: the band 1 boat to Cernobbio and back for $6.92 (€6), our sum.
• Mobility limits: the golf cart tour to Cernobbio, two hours seated.
• Rail fans: the Bernina Express day, since the train does not start in Como.
• Two countries in one day: the Lugano and Bellagio day.
• City break inside the lake break: Milan by regional train for $6.23 (€5.40).

None of these routes is hard, but each has one trap. All six come from the published rules and listings on this page.

• Taking the wrong Milan line. Cadorna trains end at Como Lago, Centrale trains at Como San Giovanni. See Milan to Como.
• Boarding a rapido on an ordinary ticket. The fast boat adds $5.77 (€5) to Bellagio and $6.35 (€5.50) to Varenna.
• Booking the boat tour with a Bellagio stop for a small party: it runs at half length if fewer than 4 guests book.
• Expecting a long lunch ashore on a tour. Tour stops are fixed, about an hour in Bellagio on most listings.
• Leaving ID at the hotel on a Swiss day. The Bernina Express listing requires a passport or valid ID.
• Looking for the Bernina Express at Como station. It starts at Tirano.