Italy - Lake Como

[Anon751117000]

Hi all, my oldest teen would like to go to Lake Como next year. Italy was our agreed destination and this is where he seems to want to go (might have something to do with Star Wars). Can anyone give me tips on best websites to look at booking with, locations etc and any other tips or advice about this part of Italy. It would be myself and a 17yo and 11yo for a week. I prefer booking package deals to be honest but looking on Easyjet at their packages even for this summer are extortionate!

Lake Como isn't really a package holiday kind of place. Flights are cheap to Milan. Hire a car at the airport and then I would use booking.com to book hotels or apartments at a few different places around the lake. Eat out at the lovely lakeside restraunts. You would really miss out on the charm of the place if you stayed in a resort.

I'm not sure I'd take teenagers to Lake Como.... what would they do? It's very much older, well-heeled couples looking at beautiful gardens, going on sedate boat trips and staying in smart (expensive) hotels. I mean, it's lovely but I think kids would be bored rigid.
But if you do go, there are lots of flights to Milan Malpensa.
Lake Garda might be more suitable, tho.

I agree that Lake Garda would be better for teenagers. There are a few water parks and a theme park too.

OP do your children enjoy water sports? We love Lake holidays and the children do too, they usually do a bit of sailing, windsurfing and paddle boarding. Are they happy swimming in lakes?

Thank you so much, exactly what I need to hear. We could perhaps stay in Lake Garda instead and just visit any locations in Como they wanted to see! and yes they would love water sports.

Sounds like I might be bored rigid too! That's really helpful.,

Love Lake Como, we brought our 10, 12 and 14 year old and they loved it. It's not a package holiday though. We flew in Bergamo and rented a car. It was about a 90 minute drive to our accommodation. You can get a train though. We stayed in Cadenabbia but got the shuttle boat over to Bellagio. Lots of beautiful churches, restaurants and walkways. We drove to Menaggio too which was lovely. Nights were spent in our villa which had a spectacular view of the lake and Belaggio. Milan is about an hoyr away and we did the San Sero tour. PM me if you would like the name of the villa.

Villa Balbienello is where they filmed some Star Wars scenes and also Casino Royal. It's gorgeous. We stayed at Hotel Villa Marie in Tremezzo which is not far from there and you can take the ferry up and down the lake and across to Bellagio. There was a mini-tourist train that ran along that side of the lake. https://www.hotelvillamarie.com/en/home/ We had a room in the Annex. It was lovely to sit by the pool and look at the view, though the road is busy. You can drive across to Lake Lugano relatively easily. Como has a cable car I think.

We had a holiday flat in Como for years. Sold it before COVID and haven't been back since so my info is well out of date and my DC were younger than yours so I won't tell you all about the children's playgrounds!! Como is a lovely proper town with events, markets, fairs etc. We used to walk/cycle along the lake path every day as we always went to see the boatplanes. You can follow the club on social media - www.facebook.com/AEROCLUBCOMO. Easy to get to Cernobbio via Villa Olmo (often hosts a slightly odd art exhibition). There are 2 Lidos and an indoor swimming pool and a funicular railway. Como is on at least 2 train lines so we would go to Milan for the day and up to Lugano (Switzerland) - really easy. There are multiple boats so you can catch the rapidos up to Bellagio (gorgeous place!) and the slower ones are slow but stop off at many of the smaller villages/towns. If you are happy to drive Lago di Maggiore is beautiful and not that far. We never made it to Monza, so I am not sure what is open there normally. We would fly to Bergamo or the other 2 Milan airports - didnt always hire a car - coaches were about an hour to the central train station, then take the train up to Como. I stayed in this hotel a couple of times - very central Como, reasonable price, clean, a bit old fashioned but staff so friendly. A lot of European hotels don't have air conditioning - not sure when you are thinking of going. Como has a micro-climate - rains a lot and the thunderstorms are amazing! www.booking.com/hotel/it/tre-re.en-gb.html?aid=356980&label=gog235jc-1FCAYocTh-SAlYA2hQiAEBmAEJuAEXyAEP2AEB6AEB-AECiAIBqAIDuALigbm1BsACAdICJDY0NjE4ODE1LWFjOTUtNGFjMS05ZDc0LWI5NzFmOGRjZDhlMtgCBeACAQ&sid=7bc80be290c6c9d63e40b0288c48fc68&dest_id=-116052;dest_type=city;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hapos=7;hpos=7;nflt=distance%3D805%3Bht_id%3D204;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;sr_order=popularity;srepoch=1722695997;srpvid=6c4566ffc09c0497;type=total;ucfs=1&

Try Inghams, we got a good deal on a package there a few years back.

@Ailbhe123 @MissAmbrosia @socialdilemmawhattodo thank you for your detailed replies! Lots to read through and think about.

If you'd rather not hire a car, you can get trains to Como and then the boat to whichever town you're staying in. It's a beautiful place, and while not an obvious family destination, there's plenty for teens to do if they are active - hiking, cycling, watersports. I assume he'll be wanting to visit Villa Balbianello for the Star Wars connection! Bear in mind you need to book tour tickets for this in advance.

I'm actually an independent travel agent and I recently booked a trip to Lake Como for another client (and I've been myself). My business aim is is charge no more than want it would cost you to book it yourself, and I can plan you an itinerary etc. PM me if you want my website details for more information.