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Two Perfect Days in Lake Como, Italy | The Trading Travelers
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Two Perfect Days in Lake Como, Italy

When mapping out our road trip through Europe after the completion of our house sit in France, Lake Como was almost left off the itinerary. We considered heading to Milan to get a feel for the city life in Italy before proceeding to the overpopulated island of Venice. Lake Como would mean going further out of the way, but the more we thought about it, the lake just sounded better than a city.

2 days in lake como italy

I can’t tell you how glad I am we made that decision! That is by far one of our best travel decisions we’ve made to date. And they are definitely not always good. Lake Como rests at the foothills of the Alps in Northern Italy close to the border of Switzerland.

It is absolutely one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever visited, with bright blue waters surrounded by snow-capped mountains and colorful, luxury villas. From the minute we turned the car onto the main road that zigs and zags around the lake for what seems like eternity, we were completely in love.

After 40 minutes of driving around the lake in amazement, we made it to our completely and utterly charming hotel in San Siro, the Hotel Sole. This is by far the best place we’ve stayed in Europe so far at €100/night (which is what we’ve averaged elsewhere in France and Italy). It’s a family owned and operated hotel and restaurant which made it feel more like a B&B than a hotel.

hotel sole 2 days in lake como

If you find the hotels a little too pricey, don’t forget to check out Airbnb! We took advantage of this a lot in Europe and found it much more affordable.

After a stressful (and expensive) 6 hour drive from France, we were starved and ready to settle in for the night. We decided to eat downstairs at the restaurant which had beautiful views of lake, and we were treated to the best (and most affordable) meal we had in all of Italy. I’m still dreaming of the gnocci with gorgonzola. SO GOOD!

2 days in lake como italy

After a wonderful nights sleep, I woke up to views of the lake outside of our window feeling completely spoiled. We hit the breakfast buffet where I indulged in all kinds of delicious pastries (and loads of Nutella) and headed out for the day. We spent the day visiting the popular lakeside towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna with a day pass on the ferry. I should also mention that we learned of the day pass for the ferry only after we had already paid the cost of a one way ferry ticket – nearly the same cost as a day pass! Don’t make the same mistake as us! Tip – you’ll be doing a lot of walking exploring all the quaint streets and alleys. Make sure you wear some comfortable shoes. Ladies – I recommend these if you are looking for cute and versatile travel shoes! Also, very budget friendly 😉

Lake Como is just as dreamy as the photos look, if not more so. Our only regret is that we didn’t spend more time there and instead packed up after just two short nights to carry on to the historic city of Verona.

About the Author Charlie and Brittany

We are Brittany and Charlie - we traded the 9 to 5 and the so-called "American dream" to live our own dream and see the world. We sold all of our belongings and left the US in August 2013. For 5 years, we lived primarily in Thailand and built our online business and location independent lifestyle while we traveled to over 30 countries. We’ve had house sitting gigs on 3 different continents and we’ve even appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters International.

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8 comments
Cost of Traveling Europe For a Month: Part 2 of 2 | The Trading Travelers says September 11, 2015

[…] I just say WHOA ITALY?! Maybe that’s where all of our money went ? That Lake Como is a beauty though. I’d say if you are looking to do Europe on a budget, stick to places like […]

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Stephen Garone says September 20, 2015

Nice photos. Looks wonderful!

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    Charlie and Brittany says September 21, 2015

    Thank you!! It really was beautiful!

    Reply
Bill Kendrick says November 25, 2015

We are spending 2 weeks in Valnadrera in April on a home exchange. If you had had more time at Lake Como what would you have done? We’ll also go to Milan and Venice. Any suggestions? We particularly like experiential hands on activities. Love your posts. Thanks.

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    Charlie and Brittany says December 9, 2015

    That sounds awesome! Honestly we didn’t have nearly enough time to explore Lake Como but if we did would have loved to do some trekking in the area. Hear its really great! Venice was beautiful but there were so many tourists it can kind of take away from the magic. We recommend getting away from crowds and getting lost in the alleys away from the main tourist spots. You’ll get some beautiful photos and really be able to take in the beauty of Venice!

    Reply
Krissy says February 3, 2018

Hello!!
Thank you for this post! I am currently trying to make the impossible decision of how much time to delegate to each stop on our trip — Lauterbrunnen/Lucerne, Lake Como, then finally Amalfi. Any suggestions?! We are mainly torn between 4-5 days in Switzerland & (just under 2) days in Lake Como, or steal a day of Switzerland and add it to Como?! 4 & 3?! Or conversely, if Amalfi will be similar to Lake Como, maybe don’t rush Switzerland?
These decisions are too hard! Thanks for your advice!

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    Charlie and Brittany says February 6, 2018

    Hi Krissy – That sounds like an incredible trip! Unfortunately, we have only been to Lake Como of those 3 so its really hard to say how much time to spend where. I would think Lucerne and Como would be more similar than Amalfi so I’m inclined to say split Lucerne and Como (4 and 3 like you mentioned) and still leave enough time for Amalfi. Either way though, I don’t think you can go wrong! I don’t think you will run out of things to do in either of these places.

    Reply
55 Dreamy Italy Bucket List Items You Should Steal - Our Escape Clause says March 5, 2019

[…] And not just Lake Como, but specifically, in the town of […]

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