Best Como Honeymoon Activities
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11 places sorted by traveler favorites
- Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.
Recommended Honeymoon Experiences (3)
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What travelers are saying
- TommoMelbourne, Australia50,436 contributionsComo Cathedral also known as Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta and is a Catholic cathedral, and is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It is known as the last Gothic cathedral built in Italy.
Construction began in 1396 , and did not finish until 1770.
Its a rather pretty churh with lovely sculptures on the facade and quite symetrical.Written February 17, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - SteviefullKidderminster, UK1,699 contributionsWe walked around the gardens and took in the view out over the lake and saw a sea plane come in to land, despite the weather being a little gloomy it was still a beautiful site. We didn't get to go inside the Villa as it was closed but what we saw of the grounds was enough to warrant a visit.
Obviously not worth coming to Como just to visit here but as part of a larger tour it should be part of your itinary.Written October 2, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - C_and_H_11Dublin, Ireland788 contributionsPiazza Cavour is a very nice place to stop awhile & have a coffee or drink at one of the restaurants nearby. There are lovely views across the lake, it's spacious & airy & a lovely place to spend some time before making your way to the the ferry terminal to see one of the other beautiful towns along the shores of beautiful Lake Como.Written July 15, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- TommoMelbourne, Australia50,436 contributionsThe Broletto, or the medieval town hall, sits right beside Como's towering Duomo.
The Broletto was built in 1215, but shortened in 1477 to make room for the enlargements to the cathedral
The Broletto generally opens to the public only during special exhibitions.Written February 17, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - LoveTravel299240St. Andrews4 contributionsThis was absolutely a highlight of our Italy trip. We had so much fun with Amy and we learned so much! We laughed the whole time! It was so cool to be able to learn how to cook like an Italian in such an stunning setting (the views from Amy's balcony are incredible!). Any the food? *Chef's kiss* We learned a ton in a short time. I would highly recommend this to anyone going to Como.Written March 6, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Aero3926Midwest362 contributionsIf you have been on a funicular, this is a typical experience although a bit crowded (tight standing room). There is some air-conditioning in the cars, but not strong. There is a little snack shop and toilet available at the bottom level. Lovely views from the top.Written November 4, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Lindsay WConway, SC20 contributionsThe bike tour was fantastic! Sergio took great care of us to ensure our safety and to make the trip so informative! I would highly recommend this trip for anyone in Como. Navigating the bike was easy and the stops at local sites were great.Written November 29, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Jamie E1 contributionWhat a spectacular day!! Marco was phenomenal and made our day so special. We made a friend for life. He was so knowledgeable as well as being so warm and welcoming..Best day of our 2 week trip! A must do while in Como.Written December 28, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Arianne1985Melrose, UK283 contributionsOkay, it’s not easy. You’ve read the reviews about some staff being rude, the chaos at the embarkation point and the queue for the ticket desk at Como in the searing sun. So, I’ll not repeat what’s already been said. Instead, let me share with you some tips so you can get the best from your day on the lake. We have an apartment in Como and spend around five months here each year (we’re British, by the way).
First, accept that if you visit in the High Season of July and August it’s going to be very hot and busy. On public holidays and weekends it’ll be busy in Como, Bellagio and Varenna because the Milanese come here for their days out. Second, and by far and away the most important point of all, buy your tickets online. Let me repeat that….. buy your tickets online! Avoid standing in huge, slow-moving queues at the Como ticket office in the heat without any shade. The only exception is the fast boat, hydrofoil service. These can only be bought at the ticket offices. More about the fast boat service later.
The online ticket website is fairly straightforward. We use an iPad because we had a slight hiccup with an Android phone recently when the tickets didn’t come through after the purchase (I’ll explain later the workaround if this happens to you). Normally, after having paid, an email arrives with the PDF tickets attached. You get a second email from the Italian bank that the company uses to process the online transaction - handy if the PDF doesn’t arrive! Open the attachment and save it to your phone. Show the ticket on your phone as you board the boat. It’s that simple. There are three of us but only one of us needs to show the ticket and the man / woman waves us all through. We buy return tickets as there’s no advantage to buying singles. Most of us will buy the standard adult ticket but there are different tariffs for senior citizens (only a slight reduction so don’t complicate matters if you’re unsure) and kids. Finally, there’s an option to buy a slightly more expensive ticket that allows you to jump on and off the boats to and from your chosen destination - good if you want to make a day of it. For this to work you need to understand where each of the main towns are positioned on the lake and the way that the boat services work.
For the former, look at a map. The boat services are divided into different zones. The lower basin is the bit down towards Como, the southern end of the western fork of the lake. Smaller boats cover this area but venture no further north. If you want to avoid the very worst of the crowds in High Season then taking a trip on these smaller boats is both fun, interesting and inexpensive. Everybody is desperate to head up to Bellagio and Varenna. They are indeed beautiful but overrun with tourists. So do the opposite of the hoards and maybe try the lower basin with the small boats?
Cernobbio is a pretty town, quiet with a lovely traffic-free area. You’ll find mid-priced and expensive restaurants there, some bakeries and ice-cream shops. You can sit outside by the waterfront and have lunch or dinner. It’s easy to relax on the numerous park benches in the shade of the trees while allowing your eyes to feast on the beauty as you look north up the lake. This will cost you very little for the round trip because the fare is regulated. You can sail as far as Torno on these smaller boats in the lower basin. Again, Torno has a quaint harbour area, some small bars and, if you walk up to the main road, a nice ice-cream shop. Just north of the harbour, along a little walkway and road past the school, you’ll descend to a very quiet waterfront with some benches overlooking the lake. We take our picnic lunch that we’ve bought from Como and enjoy ourselves there sometimes. These services are frequent, about every 30 minutes most of the day.
These smaller boats tend to leave from Pier No.5 (although there are some building works so this may change soon). There’s an LED information display showing the departures. Each trip has a number (like 322) plus the destination. If you’ve checked the online timetable or the paper version then you will read the number at the top of the column. This same number and destination appears on the side of the boat itself - the boats also have an LED sign. Simple? Yes, when you know about it! Top tip…. If you stand next the exit gate (either side) on the boat then you may be asked to move when it docks. I prefer to stand here or on the steps leading down to the front of the boats, picking up the breeze and enjoying an uninterrupted view. The area is marked with yellow paint on the floor so, if you’re standing here, you’ll need to shuffle along a bit when it docks.
We recommend these smaller boats if you want 80% of the lake experience at a fraction of the cost and less time. 20 minutes on the boat to Torno and then another 20 minutes back again is the sweet-spot for us and seems sufficient to say you’ve experienced the lake. Then you can spend your time enjoying the towns and cafe rather than cooped up with hundreds of other tourists on the boat to Bellagio.
Okay, but I hear you say that you are determined to head up to Bellagio and Varenna. Makes sense, so we’re we at the outset. They’re beautiful and the lake, at its midpoint where it splits, is magical. So there are a few things you need to know… The normal boats take a long time to get there. I think it’s over two hours from Como. That quite a long time on a boat. They serve drinks and they have aircon inside. The trouble is that they’re packed with us tourists and that brings out the worst in some people’s behaviour. You need patience to do the right thing and maintain your self-respect. It’s just a tourist boat, not the last ship leaving a war zone! Maintain your sense of perspective and dignity. Why not set an example, at least for your children to see?
These boats will take you up to the zone known as the mid-lake area. Here there are other boats that cross-cross the lake between places like Lenno, Villa Carlotta and Bellagio etc. There is a separate PDF timetable for the mid-lake boats which is great if you’re staying in these area but inapplicable if you’re travelling up from Como.
A word then about the fast boats, including the hydrofoil service. It’s fast, reducing a two hour journey down to thirty minutes. This service doesn’t stop at all the towns. The fare is more expensive but not prohibitively so. We tend to take the slow boat up the lake from Como, buying the ticket online and avoiding the huge queues in the hot sun. Then, immediately after we have disembarked from the slow boat in Bellagio, we go straight to the ticket office and buy the fast boat return ticket. This is important - we buy the return ticket immediately upon our arrival. The maximum capacity of the hydrofoil is much lower than the conventional slower boats. The ferry company will only sell as many tickets as the hydrofoil can accommodate for each journey. This means you must tell the ticket desk person which journey you wish to return with - and then stick to it. Once these tickets are sold out, there are no more. Of course, they also ensure the slower boats are not overloaded but they do this by simply counting folk on and off at each pier, so there’s no reservations for the conventional boats.
If you take the fast service then try and stay on the upper deck rather than dropping down to the lower one. It’s noisier down there and, although the hydrofoil lifts itself out of the water at speed, the spray will obscure your view from the windows. Thankfully, since Lake Como is a fresh water lake, there’s no sea salt to make the windows dirty. While the fast boat is……fast, it’s not as much fun. That’s why we slow cruise north up the lake in the morning when it’s not so hot and speed back in the afternoon. Makes sense?
Immediately opposite the pier in Varenna is a hotel with a bar, open seating on the street. If you need to kill some time waiting for the boat then take a table and enjoy a drink. You’d think it would be a tourist trap with high prices and poor service. But the prices are reasonable, the boys serving are polite enough and the inside of the hotel classic, traditional Italian. Importantly, buy some drinks and you can use their toilets (first floor for the ladies, second for the gents). Their loos are spotlessly clean. Don’t ask to use the loo if you’re not a customer though.
One of the nicest experiences on the public boats is to take one of the car ferry services from Bellagio to Varenna, or back again. You don’t need a car! You simply walk onto the car ferry deck, stand there in the open and enjoy the views as it slowly makes its way across. That’s more fun than the boat. Try it. Buy either a hop on, hop off ticket or a separate ticket just for the little journey to and from Varenna. If you’ve made it to Varenna and can’t stand the crowds then, just two miles or so north on the eastern shore is Bellano. This pretty town also boats a lovely promenade, several nice bars along the front and a short, but interesting, gorge that you can walk through for just €5 per adult. It’s only 30 minutes end to end but good on a very hot day! The waterfalls are pretty enough. This town is much quieter and we like it very much in the busy season.
Can I make a special mention about the employees of the boat service? Firstly, this is Italy. Italian culture is different from Northern Europe and the US. It’s not better or worse, it’s just different. Italians are, in our experience, generally very friendly, expressive and genuine people - refreshingly so. What you see is what you get with most Italians. Don’t get too upset if one of them barks at you. They hoot their car horns frequently, will shout at each other while sitting alongside each other at junctions in their cars and……might be a bit rude, perhaps very rude, when stressed out on a hot day at work with the tourists. As a rule, it’s not personal. I blame the fact that they really do drink many, many espresso. It’s the caffeine! By the way, if you ask for a caffe, or coffee, you will be served an espresso. Instead, a black coffee is an Americano. Most of the Como boat employees are very pleasant, some are indifferent and a few are grumpy or rude (special mention to the fellow at the Lenno ticket office, you know who you are!). Don’t let them get under your skin. I just try and kill them with kindness or, at the very least, remain cool and calm. This, in of itself, has managed to turn a few stressed out employees into quite helpful characters - like when the electronic PDF ticket didn’t arrive on my mobile phone (I showed the lady my bank receipt and she told me simply to tell the boat guy that her boss had said we should just get onboard and, because Italians will ‘flex’ the rules, he did indeed just let us on board).
These folk don’t earn big money, albeit they have great employment security. But many will need to find other work between October and March. Be patient with them, even if they shout at you. Whatever, you’ll overcome it especially having read my guide! A few final thoughts then. The waterfront in Como is being redeveloped. They’ve been at it for about 15 years (there’s a likely reason for this and it’s probably best not to discuss it here). It’s almost finished following a sudden surge of activity. It looks like they’ll be a new ticket office slightly further east beyond the Piazza Cavour so be aware of potential changes from what you’ve read above.
Spring and Autumn are the best times to visit this area of Italy. The weather is great and the crowds much less intense. If you think the ferry and boat services on Lake Como are stressful, try the island hopping services on Lake Maggiore. That’s worse, although the islands are truly beautiful. And last of all.
If you really cannot face any of this but you are keen to enjoy Lake Como….. hire your own private boat from a company in Argegno. Turano Boat Hire, I think. We hired a boat this year for four hours. The coat was around £160 plus a further £20 for the fuel we had used. We cruised past the Villa Balbiano (sic), where they filmed Star Wars, Lenno, Bellagio and killed the engine in a little bay at Varenna. We spent an hour having our picnic lunch on the boat (freezer blocks recommended) and swimming in the lake (take ten minutes to gradually immerse yourself to prevent body shock. The lake water is warm but the air temperature is hot and it’s the difference that matters to your body). We then cruised back. Their boats can easily accommodate seven or eight people, are new and so the cost isn’t huge when divided amongst you all. The family that run the firm are lovely too. Call them and they’ll reserve you a boat. Don’t forget to take ID. No crowds and nobody will be rude.
Anyway, well done for getting this far - it’s a long read. I wrote this review because I could see that many folk have recently had a torrid time and I thought my contribution might ease the experience for you. Lake Como is a magical place, the Italians are wonderful people and the food is amazing - so don’t let anything spoil this moment of joy with your family.
Arianne.
PS. The reason many of the most recent reviews are so, so bad is because the hydrofoil service broke down. They have several but they’re old. This year is one of the worst for breakdowns because strong rains have washed debris into the lake which has damaged some of the boats’ propulsion systems. They’re struggling to repair them and source the parts. Even our friend who works for the tourist board and who commutes on the hydrofoil has been catching the bus. It’s not nice, for sure - crowded, weak aircon, narrow and congested lakeside roads. But stuff happens, especially here. It might not be the height of Swiss or German punctuality or efficiency but, it has character in an otherwise increasingly grey and bland world. Do what we do….. shrug of the shoulders and say, “this is Italy”. And that’s why we’re here, because deep down we love it.Written July 23, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - dinaestherParkland, FL56 contributionsElsa was our hiking guide and spent three hours with us hiking up to the village of Montepiatto, going up the mule path. She was very knowledgeable of the area and hiking in general and also a lot of fun! Our particular tour included a very nice picnic of cured meats, cheese and fruit. We went down the mountain via another mule path and saw breathtaking views of the lake and the surrounding mountains. If you like an intermediate level hike, beautiful scenery and good companionship - this guided tour is perfect for you!Written September 10, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Passport6230172 contributionsAbsolute breath-taking experience even though it rained. I would recommend adding a 2-hour boat ride. It's a once in a lifetime experience.Written November 16, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.