Sometimes as a traveler, you can’t pass up opportunities to see something close by. That’s how I felt this summer when I had the opportunity to take a cheap Lake Como Weekend in Italy.
I spent my summer working at an English summer camp and had a weekend to myself. When several of my coworkers invited me to come to Lake Como with them, I couldn’t say no.
Where is Lake Como?
Lake Como is an easy hour-long train ride from Milan, making it an easy trip to tack onto a few days in Milan. We were coming from Torino, so we had to take one train from Torino and another up to Lake Como. You can go to the Trenitalia website or download their app to see the most recent train times and buy tickets.
There are many different towns you can visit along the lake. Since Como is the largest one and easiest to get to, we just decided to spend our two days there. From Como, you can catch ferry boats to different towns along the lake.
Where to stay
As you can probably imagine, accommodation could get quite expensive along a beautiful lake in Northern Italy. However if you’re traveling on a budget, you don’t have to spend as much money as you might think.
We found Ostello Bello Lake Como and decided to book beds in their dorms. I had already stayed at the Ostello Bello Grande in Milan back in November, so I knew that this hostel would be quite nice. Beds start out at around 23€/night. The dorms are both co-ed and single gender, and sleep no more than six people.
The hostel is maybe a 3-minute walk from this …
and this …
Exploring the town of Como
Since we were taking a weekend to relax, we didn’t have the biggest agendas. We spent much of Saturday enjoying the lake and walking around the town of Como.
I got a little bit hungry, so we stopped for a tomato and mozzarella panini. It was under 5€.
Brunate Funicular (the incline) at sunset
In Como, there’s this incline that you can take sort of a mini train up. From the top, you have the most incredible views of the town and lake. Like any good blogger, I convinced my friends that sunset was the best time to go up there.
After shooting a lot of photos, we decided to have a little snack and drink.
Walking around the next morning
The next day, I had to teach an online class in the morning, so I spent my time exploring the area. My friends took advantage of their morning and caught a ferry out to the town of Bellagio. They came back saying great things about Bellagio, so I would definitely recommend getting out there if you can.
After I finished my Verbling class, I walked around the town and then took a walk over to Cernobbio. It’s a cute little town that you can either walk to, take a ferry to or take a bus to. I chose to walk there and take a ferry back.
Here are some shots from Como that I got on my walk to Cernobbio …
Thoughts about Lake Como, Italy
Before visiting Lake Como, I had this idea that it was this more stuffy place for people with money. While there are lots of nice hotels and restaurants, it is also possible to do a cheap Lake Como weekend. Our hostel was quite comfortable and right in the center of it all.
I only wish I had more time to visit the other towns along the lake. I suppose that will be saved for the next time I find myself in Lake Como, Italy …
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