Lake Como Full-Day Tour: Walking, Boating, and Gastronomy Experience with Villa Views
4.8
73 Ratings
Varenna
Experience the beauty of Lake Como on a full-day tour that includes walking, boating, and gastronomy. Visit stunning villas, sample local delicacies, and enjoy breathtaking views of the lake.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
6 days
learn more
Highlights
- Villa del Balbianello - .
- I Giardini di Villa Melzi - .
- Chiesa di San Giorgio - The group will enter the church and be given a detailed description.
What's Included
- Scenic guided walking tour of Varenna
- Admission to the renowned Villa Melzi
- Exclusive entry to Villa del Balbianello
- Gourmet lunch at a local restaurant with multiple courses, wine, and coffee
- Knowledgeable, English-speaking guide throughout the tour
- Savor local flavors with a special tasting in a vintage mill setting
- Enjoy a 1.5-hour picturesque boat ride in an open-top Venetian taxi
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
Immerse yourself in the beauty of Lake Como with this comprehensive day-long tour that combines a walking and boating journey. Tour the gardens of Villa Melzi and Villa del Balbianello, and get a taste of the local cuisine with cheese, meat, olive oil, and wine samples. Discover the region’s Celtic past with a guided walk through Varenna. Enjoy a delicious lunch composed of fish starters and pasta at a local eatery. Experience spectacular views of Lake Como’s villas and gardens from a Venetian taxi during a scenic boat ride. Make a stop at Villa del Balbianello for photo opportunities and relaxation, before proceeding to Bellagio. Here, tour the stunning Villa Melzi gardens and cap off the day with a leisurely lakeside walk.
- A minimum of 2 adults per booking is required
- A maximum of 11 people per booking
- Dress code is casual, comfortable shoes
- A fair amount of walking is involved. The trail to the mill for the morning tasting entails a descent with some steep steps which must also be ascended on the return trip. Please make sure you are physically adapt and wear comfortable walking shoes.
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- The tour runs rain or shine. In case of bad weather conditions it is possible that the tour undergoes some slight changes and that the transfer to Villa Balbianello is done using public transport and not with the private boat taxi due to safety reasons
- Please Note: hotel pickup is not included for this activity, please get in touch in case you wish for us to organise it as an extra.
- We are following Italy’s Covid rules as they change. We do not ask for vaccination or tests to take our tours but suggest bringing with you a FFP2 mask in case it is needed on transports.
Location
Varenna
Our Tour starts in front of the Ferry Terminal Ticket Office in Varenna at 1030 am . Just look for the team with a LAKE COMO FOR YOU sign !
If you are arriving from Como, Cernobbio or Moltrasio please do get in touch with us for directions.
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel at least 7 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel between 3 and 6 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a 50% refund.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(73 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Madmadbreck
Oct 1, 2023
A must do Lake Como tour! - This is a must do if you are visiting Lake Como! You get to learn some of the history, eat yummy local food and drinks and get to tour two well known (and incredibly stunning) villas on the lake. Our tour guide, Martina, was delightful! She had great information and it was lovely to spend the day with her as our guide. It is wonderful to be in such a small group and it is a good way to see a lot without having to stress over the details. I would absolutely book this again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tatiana_t
Sep 10, 2023
Excellent - Every bit of it was excellent! Great guide!
Magnificent views!
Delicious lunch at a beautiful hotel!
Review provided by Viator
Eric_m
Jul 23, 2023
Tour full of postcard picture beauty - Our guide, Martina, led us on a day of picturesque views, interesting area history, and tasty food. Everywhere I turned, all day long, was a postcard picture view. We strolled, we boated, we dined. It was a lovely way to see this gorgeous area and I highly recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Taylor_g
Jul 21, 2023
The perfect way to start our Lake Como Trip - My husband and I arrived in Lake Como and booked this tour for our first full day. We thought it would be a great way to introduce ourselves to the lake, and it was exactly that!
Our guide was Pietro, and he was hilarious and knowledgeable and so fun to spend the day with out. Our tour had a total of 8 people. Two couples and a family of four with teenage daughters.
It started off in Varenna with an olive oil tasting, a walking tour, and a really lovely lunch. Pietro told us sooo much about the history of the town. After lunch we got on a gorgeous wooden boat that took us to Villa Balbianello. We were able to hop off, tour the gardens, and get back on to Bellagio. We toured all over the Lake and Pietro told us all kinds of history. A couple of days later we took another tour with another company that followed a similar route along the lake. There was SUCH a difference in amount and quality of information told to us! Pietro told us SOOO much more. We felt fortunate that we had been given so much more history and local lore on our this tour. How much we would have missed out on!
When we got to Bellagio we got off and toured the Villa Melzi gardens, and then said goodbye to our new friends. Truly, Pietro was a joy and it was the perfect way to meet the Lake/get our bearings for the rest of our stay.
It was soooo hot on the day of our tour, but we all still had a great time. It is a fair amount of walking and stairs, especially to the olive oil tasting/Villa Balbianello/Villa Melzi gardens. So, I would warn of that if you have trouble.
Highly recommend this tour at any time during your stay...but doing it the first day gave us so much info that was invaluable for the rest of our trip.
Review provided by Viator
Patrick_h
Jul 19, 2023
Great tour! - Great tour! Our Guide Martina was great! And you definitely feel like you’re getting the VIP treatment.
Review provided by Viator
Dianne_r
Jul 1, 2023
The fantastic history and views of Lake Como in a day - What an amazing day we had with Martini and Val . The olive mill tour and history was special and the boat to the famous villas was so fun . Loved that we had a few breaks and had a nice lunch and having all the admissions to sites set made it easy
Review provided by Viator
Jodi_w
Jun 30, 2023
Martina took great care of us! - Martina was a lovely and knowledgeable tour guide. She kindly pointed out the interesting details, both big and small, adding historical context for all we saw. She made sure our needs were met - food, water, and bathrooms. I strongly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Viator
Vadim_p
Jun 23, 2023
A must! - Outstanding experience. Pietro was a spectacular guide. He showed us every gem on Lake Como. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Michele
Jun 19, 2023
Lake Como dream tour - Our guide Pietro was incredibly knowledgeable and personable; we absolutely enjoyed this tour, lots of variety and worth the spend. Actually a dream way to see and learn about Lake Como in all its beauty and glory. We had great weather and there were only 4 of us and our guide, so it felt like a private tour. Most definitely the highlight of our visit to Lake Como.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephanie_l
Oct 26, 2022
small group tour with some amazing lake como views - This tour was great! It is an all-day tour but you see so much of Lake Como. The water taxi ride was the perfect form of transportation and a fun way to tour the lake with a small group. Also a great way to learn some fascinating history about the area.
Review provided by Viator