25 August 2026 · Updated on 30 August 2026 · 9 min read · by Salimar Boat Tour

Lake Como Ferries 2026: Como–Bellagio €12.40, Day Pass €23.60 — Full Guide

Every public boat on Lake Como - the slow ferries, the hydrofoils, the little car-ferry shuttles - is run by one state operator, Navigazione Laghi. Good news: one timetable system, one fare table, one ticket counter. This guide explains how the network actually works in 2026, with fares verified on 25 August 2026, so you can plan the day without decoding three PDFs on your phone at the pier.

The 30-second answer

The mental map is simple: one long line climbs the western branch from Como to Colico, calling at the villages (Cernobbio, Argegno, Lenno, Tremezzo, Bellagio, then Varenna and the north); a second line links Bellagio with the Lecco branch; and in the middle sits the busy triangle of shuttles - Bellagio, Cadenabbia, Menaggio, Varenna - crossing every few minutes at peak, car ferries included.

Battello, rapido, traghetto: why the names matter

The battello is the slow boat: open decks, every village, the cheapest cruise on the lake. The servizio rapido (the hydrofoil) halves the time for a supplement - but you sit inside, tickets are sold at the counter only, and it skips most stops. The traghetto is strictly the car ferry on the central triangle. Mixing the words up is how people end up on the wrong pier: in Bellagio and Varenna the car ferry uses its own landing (signed Traghetto), separate from the passenger pier.

The routes that matter (times and fares)

Short hops across the triangle are the cheapest fares on the lake - a few euros each. Durations are indicative: the exact minutes depend on how many villages your run calls at.

Day passes and the money-savers

Arriving by train? Until 30 September 2026 you can add a whole-lake day pass to a Trenitalia ticket for Como San Giovanni: €23.60 adult, €14.80 for kids 4-14, valid on ordinary runs (rapids excluded) and usable within 3 days of the train journey. On the spot, the circular tickets work like hop-on-hop-off for the first basin: Como-Nesso €16.70, Como-Urio €10.40, intermediate stops allowed. Families: the Happy Family deal gives up to two kids aged 4-11 free with two full-fare adults. Over-65s pay a reduced fare on weekdays. Rule of thumb: three or more hops in a day and a pass beats single tickets.

Tickets: where to buy (and the queue truth)

Three ways: the pier counters (the official advice is to show up 20 minutes early - at Como's Piazza Cavour in July and August the queue is very real), the official online shop, or the NaviTap contactless system. Two quirks worth knowing: fast-service tickets are counter-only, and there are no seat reservations on ordinary runs - it is public transport, first come first seated.

Timetables and the last-boat rule

Timetables are seasonal (summer timetable in force from 1 July to 4 October 2026) and change several times a year - the box below always links to the documents currently in force. Before you leave the pier, write down the last return run of your route: missing it is the single most common mistake on this lake, and a taxi back from Bellagio is neither cheap nor guaranteed. In case of strikes, runs between 6:00-9:00 and 17:55-20:55 are protected by law. One 2026 curiosity that proves the point: this summer the lake's low water level even forced load limits on the car ferries (official notice of 6 August 2026) - a ten-second glance at the notices page before you go is never wasted.

Taking a car across the lake

Vehicles cross only on the central triangle (Bellagio, Cadenabbia, Menaggio, Varenna). Fares depend on vehicle length, driver included; foot passengers on the same boats pay the normal hop. In August the car queues at Cadenabbia and Bellagio can eat an hour of your day - locals often park on one shore and cross on foot instead. If you do bring the car, check the fare with the official calculator (tick Vehicles transportation) and mind the load-limit notices.

Ferry or boat tour? The honest comparison

Both are right answers to different questions. If the job is reaching Varenna for lunch, take the ferry and enjoy every minute of it. If the job is seeing the lake, a small boat turns the transfer into the day: our shared one-hour tour costs about three ferry tickets and passes the villas the big boats keep at a distance. And for the golden hour there is the sunset tour.

1 hour Lake Como boat tour · small group, prosecco aperitif★★★★★4.93(29 reviews)1 hour · More details ›€60 €48-20%per personBook

Small group sunset tour · 1 hour · with prosecco aperitif★★★★★5(1 reviews)1 hour · More details ›€80 €68-15%per personBook

Small group Bellagio tour · 3 hours · with prosecco aperitif★★★★★5(6 reviews)3 hours · More details ›€210 €105-50%per personBook

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Getting to the Como pier

Boats leave from the waterfront facing Piazza Cavour. The main boarding point is Pier 2 (Pontile 2), right in front of the square; Pier 1 is a short walk further along Viale Geno - your pier is printed on the ticket and shown on the monitors. Local trick: Google Maps shows boat departures in real time - open the pier on the map and you get the next runs with times and destinations, and it works for the smaller landings too, like Tavernola. It is five minutes on foot from Como Nord Lago station, fifteen downhill from San Giovanni; our own boarding point is two minutes further along the promenade, at Viale Geno 12. Full route options in Como to Bellagio: times and prices; budget planning in Lake Como boat tour prices.

Quick answers

How much is the ferry from Como to Bellagio? €12.40 on the slow boat (about 2 hours), €18.80 on the fast service (about 45 minutes). The official round-trip excursion ticket is €24.

Do I need to book? No: ordinary runs are turn-up-and-go. In July-August buy your ticket 20-30 minutes early - the counter queue is the real bottleneck. Fast-service tickets are sold at the counter only.

Is there a day pass? Yes: €23.60 for the whole lake when bought together with a Trenitalia ticket to Como (until 30 September 2026), and circular tickets cover the first basin with free intermediate stops.

Do ferries run in winter? Yes, on a reduced grid - and the central car-ferry triangle runs all year. Our boat tours run all year too, weather permitting.

Ferry or private boat? Ferry to move between towns cheaply; private or shared speedboat to actually see the villas and swim. Many visitors combine both in one day.

Fares and details verified on 25 August 2026 on the official Navigazione Laghi channels (toll-free 800-551801). Timetables and prices can change: the boxes above always link to the documents currently in force.

You are already at the lake — see it from the water

The best way to see the villas is from a boat: we leave from the pier in viale Geno, 75 metres from the bus stop. Here are the tours you can book right now.

1 hour Lake Como boat tour · small group, prosecco aperitif

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2 hour Lake Como boat tour · small group, prosecco aperitif

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€68 per person

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