Which tickets should I buy to get around?

Navigazione Laghi sells two things. The single ticket for one stretch; the fast service carries a supplement. And the unlimited-travel day pass, valid all day on all ordinary sailings in one stretch or on the whole lake. The car ferry has its own fare per vehicle, with passengers paying separately.

The right zone is almost always the centre of the lake, covering the Bellagio–Varenna–Menaggio triangle with Cadenabbia, Tremezzo and Lenno: it is where most of the day is spent. The whole-lake day pass serves only those leaving Como or arriving at Colico by boat, by which point a single sailing is already a long one. Tickets are sold at the pier offices and online on the operator's site.

The fast service requires a supplement even with a day pass. Specific conditions apply to dogs. Check seasonal timetables and Navigazione Laghi service notices before travelling.

The eastern shore has the Milan–Lecco–Sondrio–Tirano railway, with stops at Lecco, Abbadia, Mandello, Lierna, Varenna-Esino-Perledo, Bellano, Dervio and Colico; Como has two stations, San Giovanni on the line to Milan and Switzerland and Como Nord Lago for the Nord railway. Tickets are Trenord regional tickets: a fixed price per stretch, no seat reservation, valid on the chosen day. They are sold on the app and the website, at station machines and in some tobacconists. A paper ticket is stamped at the green machine before boarding; one on the phone is not.

From Milano Centrale to Varenna is a little over an hour, and it pays to take a train that does not stop everywhere. The ticket gives no seat. A bicycle travels free, on the trains the timetable marks and in the spaces provided, because the journey stays within Lombardy.

For Switzerland, the trains to Lugano and Zurich leave from Como San Giovanni: the Italian ticket is valid to Chiasso; beyond it you need a Swiss ticket, or an international one bought in one go.

The western shore has no railway and relies on two lines: the C110 from Como to Colico along the whole shore, and the C130 from Como to Bellagio via Torno and Nesso. The ticket is per stretch, in distance bands, sold in tobacconists and partner bars, on the company's app and, on many runs, directly on board by contactless card, which is the simplest way for a newcomer.

There are fewer runs on Sundays and in the evening. On the Lecco branch the buses serve the villages the train skips, and the Brunate funicular and the Pigra cable car have their own tickets, sold at the lower station.

A day in the centre of the lake from Varenna: train from Milan there and back, and the unlimited-travel day pass for the central zone, for the ferry triangle. Two tickets. A day in Bellagio from Como: boat out, perhaps the fast one, and boat back, or the whole-lake day pass if you want to stop at Lenno or Tremezzo on the way. From Como there is also the C130 bus, which is slower.

A week based in Varenna or Menaggio: buy the day pass on the days you roam and single tickets on the others. Anyone making several trips around Lombardy — Bergamo, Milan, the Bernina — should look at the regional day pass “Io viaggio ovunque in Lombardia”, valid on all regional trains, on urban and interurban buses and on the region's funiculars, but not on the lake's boats or on the Bernina line beyond Tirano; for the lake alone it is not needed.

With a car: park once and buy the boat day pass, which is the closest thing to a lake card. The car ferry between Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia is paid at the pier office, per vehicle — on board only where there is no office.