How to Get From Milan to Lake Como:

The No-B.S. Guide

Right now, if you look up online “how to get from Milan to Lake Como”, you’ll question if you really need to put that much thought into it. And yes, it is easy, but if you don’t do a bit more legwork before you take off for the train station, you might end up in a standing-room-only train car, pissed off that you can’t read your book while simultaneously daydreaming out the window. 

Lake Como is massive; it has over 144 historic villages dotting its shores. Where you want to spend your day or week of luxury and when you plan to visit Lake Como determines exactly how you should leave Milan. 

Here is the ultimate breakdown on how to escape the fashion-concrete jungle capital for the lakeside views you’ve been dreaming of.

BEFORE ANYTHING:

Figure Out Your Lakeside Destination

Before you buy a single ticket, you need to understand that “Lake Como” isn’t just one single drop-off point. It’s a collection of gorgeous, distinctly different towns. Make sure you know where to stay in Lake Como, Here are my favorites:

• Lecco: A beautiful working city where you don’t need a loan from the bank to stay in. It’s a bit under the radar but has a great location right in front of the mountains. 

• Como Town: This is the actual city on Lake Como, with lots of locals going about their days here. Though it wasn’t my favorite place to visit, it is an easy destination direct from Milan.

• Varenna: A picture-postcard village on the eastern leg. It’s highly touristed but gorgeous, featuring a direct train line from Milan. A great option for obvious reasons!

I was genuinely a bit disappointed when I first got to Como City. A trip to Lake Como comes with some intense expectations, and when I got off the train and took a look around, it didn’t look too different from Milan. But this is just at first glance. I mean, I was expecting to see the water, guys!

Como City is a working, bustling city. If you step outside of this town and visit anywhere else, you’ll be greeted by terracotta rooftops, wine bars with gorgeous lakeside terraces, and views of a lake that has sparked many love songs.

Option 1:

The Train (My preferred method)

Crucial Train Tip: If you buy a physical train ticket, you need to validate it BEFORE you board. There are green or yellow electronic stamping machines near the tracks. Unvalidated tickets can cost you enough money to put you in a sour mood. 

Taking the train is cheap, fast, and generally takes about an hour or less (I was truly shocked at how fast we got to this fairytale land from the center of Milan). Average tickets range anywhere from €5 to €13. However, Milan has multiple train hubs, and picking the wrong one will add an hour of unnecessary transit to your day.

Start from Milano Centrale Station (reachable by subway lines yellow or green). Take a regional train (TreNord), or a EuroCity Train (Trenitalia or Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)) and get off at the station of Como San Giovanni.

•  ⏱️ Travel Time & Cost: 35 to 49 minutes. Tickets are around €5 to €16.

• 🏆  Best for: Travelers heading straight to Como Town

• ℹ️ The Details: Trains run roughly every half hour. You can take a high-speed EuroCity train (takes about 35 minutes) or a cheaper regional Trenitalia train (takes about 50 minutes). Seats are first come, first served for regional trains. If you want to guarantee a seat, make sure you buy a EuroCity ticket heading towards Switzerland.

• 🌍 Reality: Know that once you arrive at Como San Giovanni, you are not right on the water. It’s about a 15-minute downhill walk to the lakefront ferry terminals. Don’t let the taxi drivers trick you into paying a premium for a 3-minute ride unless you are hauling massive suitcases.

Take a Trenord regional train from Milano Cadorna to Como Nord Lago Station. 

•  ⏱️ Travel Time & Cost: 55 minutes and 1 hour 1 minute. Tickets are €5.20

• 🏆  Best for: Stepping off the train and instantly seeing the water, which means you’ll be steps away from the ferry dock, which is very convenient.

• ℹ️ The Details: This route uses the regional Trenord line. It takes about an hour, and it drops you off at the Como Nord Lago station, which is quite literally steps away from the lake and the main ferry pier. You cannot take a EuroCity train with this route.

• 🌍 Reality: This is my preferred route because when you step off the train, you are right on the water. This makes it incredibly easy to catch a ferry to your final destination if you are not staying in Como. This is also the preferred route when there are major sporting events going on. It’s much easier to avoid the crowds if you head straight to Como Nord Lago rather than Como San Giovanni.

When we arrived, we had just missed the ferry to Tremezzo and ended up needing to wait an additional hour because there weren’t any other ferries. (Mind you, we had a great bottle of wine and made use of it while we waited, but still.) Make sure you check when the best time to visit Como is, or you may spend the majority of your time waiting for ferries or buses.

The view pretty close to when you step off the train.

Start from Milano Centrale Station (reachable by subway lines yellow or green). Take a regional train (Regionale or Regionale Veloce, usually bound for Tirano) and get off at Varenna-Esino.

•  ⏱️ Travel Time & Cost: 1 hour and 4 minutes. Tickets are €7.40 each way

• 🏆  Best for: Going straight to the gorgeous mid-lake region or taking a quick ferry to Bellagio.

• ℹ️ The Details: This is a direct regional train toward Tirano that hits Varenna in about an hour. The stop is very short, about a minute, so make sure you have everything in your hands so you can deboard quickly. Also, if you want to make sure you have a seat, you can buy a first-class ticket on the Regionale Veloce trains for an extra 3 euros. 

• 🌍 Reality: Warning:This train line can get absolutely packed in peak season. We’re talking standing room only for the hour it takes to get there. Arrive at the platform at least 20–30 minutes early to secure a seat. Also, double-check for summer rail maintenance; sometimes Italy suspends a portion of this line, forcing you onto a replacement bus from Lecco.

It may seem to be the most obvious to go directly to Como city (I still suggest it), but in reality, heading straight to Varenna saves you from a potentially frustrating transfer in a busy city. Plus, you’ll be right at the foot of historic villas, botanical gardens, and the quickest ferry routes. If you need help with planning your itinerary, check out all the things to do in Lake Como, or make it easy on yourself and use my 3-day Lake Como Itinerary. 

Option 2:

Renting a Car (For the Brave)

If you follow me, you know I have a chaotic history with renting vehicles abroad—I once got involved in an almost terrifying shakedown for money after a 10-year-old on a scooter rammed into me and my boyfriend’s rental in the middle of Chiapas. So from now on, if we don’t have to drive, we don’t. But if the road brings images of freedom and happiness to you, by all means be my guest.

• 👍 Pros: Complete freedom. You can drive up into the dramatic mountain passes or check out secluded villas difficult to access along the western shore.

• 👎 Cons: The roads are terrifying. They are painfully narrow, winding, and ot lit up at night. Not to mention the locals that will be honking at you for driving slowly to keep yourself alive.

• 🌍 Reality: I second and third this statement, but just to be clear, every single travel thread on Reddit will scream this at you: Do not drive into Bellagio or the small lake villages if you value your nerves. Also, parking does not exist; you’ll just have to keep the car running for your entire trip to Lake Como. But if you do find parking, be prepared to pay with your newborn child. To make matters worse, there are these things called the ZTLs, which are traffic zones that will fine you if you’re not supposed to be there. If you must drive, consider a scooter?

Option 3:

Booking a Group Guided Day Trip

If the idea of navigating Trenitalia schedules or simply trying to lug your luggage on and off a train within minutes terrifies you, there’s also a guided group tour. I personally find these annoying and unnecessary, but to each their own. 

• ℹ️ The Details: For around $100, a private coach picks you up in Milan, drives you to the lake, coordinates a private boat tour, and drops you off at Bellagio.

• 🌍 Reality: It’s curated, low-stress, but highly touristy. You are locked into their timeline, meaning you can’t spontaneously stop at a cute bakery for a pistachio croissant because the group bus is leaving.

Option 4:

Say “Screw It” and Take a Private Car

We took the lovely scenic train route on the way to Lake Como, but decided we had enough adventure for the way back. No, thank you. We opted for a private car, and it was well worth it. The ease of not needing to drag our bags 20 minutes through Tremezzo, onto a ferry, up to the train station, and back to Milano Centrale was molto bene.

• 👎 DO NOT: Please do not walk up to a taxi at the Milano Centrale Train Station or Malpensa Airport and ask them to take you to Lake Como. Metered taxis will have an extremely unpredictable fee based on traffic conditions, road work, and whether the sun is up.
  

• 👍 INSTEAD: Look into NCC (Noleggio Con Conducente, meaning “rental with driver”). Check out Lake Como Transfers and Bellagio Taxi. They are small, locally owned companies that are incredibly responsive via WhatsApp.

• 🌍 Reality: Expect to pay anywhere from 130 euros to 250 euros. Or even as high as 500 euros for transfer sites such as Blacklane or Daytrip

We somehow convinced our concierge at our hotel to drive us to Malpensa Airport. It cost us a ridiculous amount (over 300 euros, I think), and our bags barely fit, but it was worth it. Below is a photo of where we were picked up.

Navigating the Lake: The Ferry System

No matter how you arrive from Milan, you will eventually have to deal with the Lake Como Ferry system (Navigazione Laghi) to hop between towns.

• The Fast Ferry (Hydrofoil): Gets you from Como Town up to Bellagio in about 45 minutes to an hour.

• The Slow Ferry: A highly scenic, 2-hour cruise that stops at almost every village along the route. Great if you want to drink a beer, sit on the deck, and stare at opulent villas (and try to spot George Clooney). We weren’t about to take this ferry while it was pouring outside.

• 🌍 Reality: Do not try to wing your ferry tickets at 11:00 AM in the middle of summer. The queues at the ticket booths can take over an hour. We actually missed a ferry while waiting in line trying to buy a ticket. If you can, check the schedules online ahead of time, or buy your hop-on, hop-off mid-lake tickets early in the morning to beat the rush

Lastly, I wouldn’t suggest the local buses if you can avoid them. They did the trick for us when we were in a pinch, but they don’t come on time, and if they are filled, they won’t stop for you. No matter how much you jump up and down and practice your newly learned Italian swear words.

I waited months for this trip and had crazy high expectations. Never a good start, but what can I say? I was very excited to get out of Macau and head to the land of pasta and wine. I just wish people had mentioned a few more of the realities of visiting Lake Como before I had arrived. It’s an incredible place when you figure it out, but no place is perfect ;).