Boat tours: lakes Maggiore, Garda and Como

Lake Maggiore, Lake Garda and Lake Como

Get on board to discover the largest lakes in Italy!

In addition to being the three largest lakes in Italy, they represent a real oasis of peace for those who want to get away from daily stress without having to travel hours to reach the other side of Italy or even other countries.

The sound of the water, the enchanting landscapes, the richness of tradition and culture or more probably a mix of all this makes the three lakes an increasingly popular destination among Italian tourists, but not only.

Reaching Verbano, Lario or Benaco is really simple even from huge cities as Milan both by car and by train, but to fully enjoy the experience on the lake, you should certainly get on board the boats and surrender yourself to the wonders that each lake has to offer.

Tours by train and boat 2023

People living in Lombardy know this and often seek refuge right on the lake, because in few hours of travel, the feeling is to be thrown into another reality made of serenity and peace, with time that almost seems to flow more slowly.

This is the magic that the lakes are able to offer, this is the reason why the “Gite in treno”, are back again in 2023, born from the collaboration between Gestione Navigazione Laghi and Trenord, which with a single ticket at a special price allow you to reach the lake by train from any station in Lombardy and to explore it on board the boat and then go back to the original destination.

Depending on the chosen tour, you can get lost among the various treasures of Lake Maggiore, Garda and Como, so let’s immediately look into the offers lake by lake among novelties and appreciated reconfirmations.

Boat tours on Lake Garda

There are two proposals related to Lake Garda, important innovations for those who want to take advantage of this single train + boat ticket and thus get to know the largest lake in Italy.

• The first offered tour is called “Borghi Lombardi del Garda” and, as you can easily guess from the name, it allows you to explore some of the most interesting villages overlooking the Benaco, on the west shore. All you have to do is to leave by train from any station in Lombardy and reach Desenzano del Garda, from here then board a boat of the Navigazione Laghi and, with a daily free circulation ticket, choose which villages to visit between Padenghe, Moniga, Salò and Gardone Riviera.
• The second option for Lake Garda is a “new entry” for 2023, namely the “Sirmione Tour”. This journey allows you to reach Desenzano del Garda by train from any station in Lombardy and then by boat to reach Sirmione where you will be conquered by the known castle of the city, the alleys, the spas and the famous beaches.

In both cases, with the same ticket, it is possible to take the reverse route to return to the station which the train departed from.

Boat tours on Lake Maggiore

From Benaco we move on to Lake Maggiore, which welcomes us with two unmissable offers, perfect to enjoy the beauties of Verbano.

• Let’s start right away with the “Stresa e isole Borromee” tour: you can leave from any station in Lombardy by train to get to Stresa and then on board a Navigazione Laghi boat discover the Borromean Islands. A special way to let yourself be conquered by the charm of Isola Madre, Isola Bella and Isola Superiore.
• If you have already had the opportunity to visit the Borromean islands, however, you could opt for the “Laveno e il Maggiore” tour: starting by train from any station in Lombardy you can get to Laveno Mombello and then by boat, with the included daily free circulation ticket, immerse yourself in the history and in the greenery of the locations between Laveno and Isola Superiore (Intra, Villa Taranto, Pallanza, Isola Madre and Baveno).

Boat tours on Lake Como

Finally Lake Como offers a rich menu, which attracts more and more visitors thanks to its exclusive charm. In this case there are four offers as follows:

• The first tour has become an all-time great of the Lario, namely the “Tour del Primo Bacino di Como: starting by train from any station in Lombardy you can get off in Como where you can board the boat to visit the locations between Como and Torno (Cernobbio, Blevio and Moltrasio);
• With the second offer “Tesori del lago di Como”, you can arrive in Varenna by train starting from any station in Lombardy and then board the boat to navigate between the cities of Varenna and Lenno (Menaggio, Bellagio, Cadenabbia, Villa Carlotta and Tremezzo);
• If, on the other hand, you want to focus on Bellagio, the “Bellagio Tour” is the right choice for you: once you leave any station in Lombardy, in fact, you can get to Como by train, from here get on the boat to reach Bellagio and visit the wharves between the two localities (Cernobbio, Torno, Argegno, Lezzeno, Lenno, Tremezzo, Villa Carlotta);
• We continue with the “Tour del Primo bacino di Lecco”, which successfully made its debut in 2022, allowing you to arrive by train as far as Lecco and then navigate freely by boat between the cities of Lecco and Onno (Valmadrera, Abbadia Lariana and Mandello del Lario).
• The last proposal is “Il Viandante via lago”, which allows you to reach the Lecco side of Lake Como by train from any station in Lombardy (getting off at Lecco, Abbadia Lariana, Mandello del Lario, Lierna, Varenna, Bellano, Dervio, Piona or Colico). From here you can continue by boat, with a free circulation ticket, between the Lecco and Colico stopovers (interchange only allowed in Bellano).

"Boat tours" tickets: prices and where to buy them

As shown, there is certainly no shortage of alternatives and they are able to satisfy anyone’s needs, considering that with a single ticket at a special price you can get a return ticket by train from any station in Lombardy to the lake and navigation by boat on the chosen lake.

With regard to the prices, they can vary from tour to tour: starting from a minimum of 17.00 euros for the “Tour of the First Basin of Lecco” on Lake Como up to a maximum of 32.80 euros for the “Laveno and the Maggiore” tour on Lake Maggiore.

Discounted rates for children aged 4 to 13 are granted; to discover them and also read about all itineraries or buy the tickets directly online, we refer you to the Trenord dedicated page, precisely to “Gite in treno + battello”.

The tours are in force from April 1st until October 8th 2023, except for the “Tour of the First Basin of Como” which will continue until the end of the year.