Solo travel · Lake Como · Italy
Solo travel in Lake Como
How to enjoy Lake Como at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Jean-Christophe BENOIST, CC BY 3.0
Quick answer
Lake Como is easy to travel alone: ferries and trains link everything, walking routes are well signposted and eating alone at a trattoria is normal. Varenna and Como are the most practical solo bases thanks to their rail links. Many solo travellers base themselves in Como.
Key facts
- Base
- Como
- Getting around
- Ferry
- Emergency number
- 112 (European emergency number)
- Language
- Italian
Solo travel tips
- Base yourself in Como or Varenna for direct trains to Milan and easy day trips.
- Lecco has the lake's best-value rooms and frequent trains up the eastern shore.
- Walk the Greenway or a section of the Sentiero del Viandante for a structured day out on foot.
- Sit at the bar for aperitivo in Como's old town, the easiest place to chat with locals.
- Check the last ferry time before heading out; missing it can mean a long, expensive taxi.
Where to stay
$$ · Best for first-timers, budget, shopping and solo travellers
Como
Como is a small city with a car-free walled centre around the Duomo and Piazza San Fedele, a lakeside promenade to Villa Olmo and the Brunate funicular. It has two railway stations with fast links to Milan, so it suits travellers who want restaurants, shops and an easy arrival. The central-lake villages are about two hours away by slow ferry or roughly 45 minutes by hydrofoil.
- Good
- Best transport links on the lake; More restaurants and shops open all year; Wider range of hotel prices
- Watch out
- Far from the central-lake villages; Feels like a city rather than a lake village
- Nearby
- Como Cathedral, Brunate funicular, Villa Olmo, Tempio Voltiano
Great on your own
Garden · Tremezzina (Tremezzo and Lenno)
Villa del Balbianello
Arrive by water taxi from Lenno for the classic view of the villa from the lake, then walk back along the path.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- Couples
- Photo spot
- Architecture
Garden · Tremezzina (Tremezzo and Lenno)
Villa Carlotta
Visit in April or early May for the azalea and rhododendron displays, and allow at least an hour for the garden alone.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- Outdoors
- Nature
- Couples
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Neighbourhood · Bellagio
Bellagio old town and Punta Spartivento
Explore before 10am or after the last day-tripper ferries have left; the lanes are far calmer.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
- Views
- Shopping
- Photo spot
Waterfront · Varenna
Varenna and the Passeggiata degli Innamorati
Walk the passageway at sunset, when the light falls on Bellagio across the water.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Couples
- Views
- Photo spot
- Iconic
Experience · Central lake
Central-lake ferry triangle
A central-lake day ticket usually pays for itself if you make three or more crossings; buy tickets at the pier office or machines before boarding.
- Time needed
- Half a day or more
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Kids
- Views
- Couples
Viewpoint · Como
Como–Brunate funicular
On a clear day walk about 30 minutes uphill to the Faro Voltiano for a view stretching to the Alps and the Po plain.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Kids
- Iconic
- Outdoors
Meeting people
- Lunch on a lakeside terrace — Many trattorias in Varenna, Bellagio and the Tremezzina villages have terraces over the water. A long lunch of perch risotto and a carafe of white wine is the classic way to break a ferry-hopping day.
- Aperitivo in Como or Bellagio — From early evening, bars serve spritz, Negroni and local wines with snacks. Como's Piazza Cavour and the old-town lanes and Bellagio's lakefront are the busiest spots.
Sensible precautions
Lake Como is generally calm for visitors. Watch your belongings on crowded ferries and piers, take care on the narrow lakeside roads without pavements, and swim only at designated lidos because the lake gets deep and cold very quickly.
- Emergency number
- 112 (European emergency number)
- Staying connected
- Mobile coverage is good in the villages but patchy on some mountain trails; EU roaming applies to European SIMs.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Lake Como good for solo travellers?
Lake Como is easy to travel alone: ferries and trains link everything, walking routes are well signposted and eating alone at a trattoria is normal. Varenna and Como are the most practical solo bases thanks to their rail links.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Lake Como?
Como: A walled old town, the cathedral and the funicular at the southern tip.