Lake Como
Lake Como – A beautiful lake in Italy that offers a great variety of activities. On the lake, in the villages and in the surrounding mountains. By foot, bike, boat or water sports. Or just relaxing atthe beach or at a local restaurant.
It’s situated North West in Italy, north of Milan, close to the boarder of Switzerland. We arrived from Switzerland, via San Bernadino Pass and drove through Lugano.
As we crossed the boarder and aproached the lake the landscape opened up and we could see beautiful Lake Como over the red rooftops. We knew at once that this was going to be a great stay! We stopped next to the road and as we opened the door of the air conditioned caravan and the warm air embraced us like a warm hug. We could feel the cozy atmosphere of the small villages side by side along the shore. Doesn’t it look great!
Domaos – A perfect base for hiking, mountain biking or windsurfing
The first location for our stay was in Domaos, North West on Lake Como. A small village with several camp sites. We stayed at Camping Cardenia, a relatively big campsite with a snackbar and connection to the beach. The sanitary facilities was nice and clean, there was dishwashing possibilities, washing machines and it was easy to fill water, empty the toilet and gray water. 4 Amp. was normal electrical connection but for an extra fee you could get 6 Amp. After rigging the pitch we got time for a small bath before the thunder and lightning started. Our friends joined us in Domaos and we got pitches next to each other. Perfect! On our first day in Italy we celebrated with a pasta meal and Prosecco on the pitch. When in Italy… 🙂
Camping Gardenia – Shadow from the trees
The map shows MTB routes north in Lake Como – There’s a lot to choose from!
Route 7 – First one out
On day two we went for a bike ride in the sun on route nr 7. From Domaos, via Vercana, up the hills to Pighé and down to Trezzone and along the lake back to the campsite. 25 km, with a altitude shange on aproximately 866 m. We followed the road for a while and got to a church with a magnificent view over Lake Como!
5 bikes in a row
As we got higher and higher up the mountains the landscape shifted and it went from paved road to dirt road and no houses just nature overlooking the valley. The highest point on our trip was at Fassinelli 1109 moh. (Close to Monte Pighè. We went a bit down an continued on the trail that shifted to a path on the meadow and went alongside small houses and buildings.
Beautiful nature
We’re in heaven!
Enjoying the scenery of this nice mountain bike route
We followed a path and got a bit out of the route, towards Alpe Acquafresca, which lead us through a really narrow hiking path with meter high ferns (bregner) on both sides in a steep hill. I had the pleasure of getting out of balance and falling down between the ferns with the bike. After a bit of struggle I got back on track with raindrops and leaves all over me. Luckily i wore a helmet and sunglasses, and didn’t get bit by a snake. (We learn that in the ferns the snakes live :))
It resulted in 15 bites of some bug on my right arm and bruises all over my body.
A perfect start for the bikini season!
Riding trough ferns.
Picture taken seconds before i tipped to the right and rolled down
We continued the hiking path between trees and down a rocky path and got back to the mountain bike trail after a while leading to a beautiful site with a small place of worship overlooking the lake. Argigno above Trezzone. On the way down it started raining heavily with thunder and lightning and we rushed back to close the hatches of the caravans. As we got to the shore the rain had stopped and we could enjoy a bike ride back to the campsite along the lake. Theres snackbar at the beachfront and the small pizza place close to the campsite was perfect after a day on the bike.
The landscape opens up
We met two guys riding the same route.
The route led to a house of worship – placed on a perfect spot with a view.
Route 2 and 4
On day three we went for another bike ride, along route 2 and 4 from Domaos. Through the village of Gravedona, via Traversa, Dosso del Liro to a farm on the end of the route. A 30 km bikeride with an altitude rising on aproximately 854m.
Gravedona on Lake Como
L’Agriturismo La Fonte di Mariella
We stopped at L’Agriturismo La Fonte di Mariella up in the mountains. They offer accomodation and have a restaurant. A nice place to stop to get som refreshments on our bikre ride towards the top. They had donkeys, beehives and grew their own food. Heading back the rain and thunder approached quickly resulting in another refreshment on the way down cooling us down in the warm weather. After a swim and some refreshments overlooking the lake we had a barbeque on the pitch. There’s a supermarked right next to the campsite, with a great variety of food, making it difficult to choose what to eat and what to leave behind.
Menaggio and Varenna
On day four we drove south to Menaggio. We got to pitches at Europapark, the most narrow campsite we’ve stayed at. Almost didn’t get out of there in the morning! The facilities was bad and I couldn’t recommend this site for big motorhomes. We stayed here one night just to see the village and to take a boat over to Varenna.
We had a stroll along the seaside of Menaggio as we headed to the ferry. A two way ticket for two persons to Varenna cost 18,4 Euro. A tip for those with a dog of a certain size: You need to bring a gag for the dog on the ferry, or the captain may not let you enter the boat.
Varenna
Varenna is a small picturesque and traditional village, located east on Lake Como. For lunch we were lucky to find two tables next to each other with lake view.
After a nice meal we walked around in the narrow streets of the village looking at the architecture and small cafe’s. Really beautiful place! There was a small beach inviting overheated tourists to have a dip in Lake Como. Taking the ferry back you got to see the lake and villages from a different view.
Menaggio
Menaggio is a small village central in the middle of Lake Como with the possibility to access most part of Lake Como by boat. On Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi there’s a great view of the waterfront, and there are some stores, a mini market and a couple of restaurants to choose from. We went to Cafè Del Pess Menaggio for some refreshments. They have great service and mixes some great drinks. We got to talk to a really nice British couple who also used to travel by caravan.
The stone beach next to the campsite was perfect for a morning bath. After we physically managed to get the caravans out of the camping with a really small margin we went to Gadenabbia to take a ferry to Bellagio on the fifth day.
Bellagio
Bellagio is another beautiful village at Lake Como. It’s situated in the middle of the lake with a piece of lake on both sides. The stores and small cafes are located in narrow streets in an upgoing terrain.
On the way from Gadenabbia to Bellagio – Ring the bell for Bellagio!
We stayed at a campsite up the hill called Camping Clarke. It was the only campsite close to the village that we could find. The sanitary facilities was old-fashioned with spiders, but the campsite was a large green lawn and we could park next to each other on a small area. Enough to get one of the awnings out.
After settling down we jumped on our bikes and went downtown for lunch. The roads in the center is small and some of them there are not allowed to ride bikes or car, except to hotels or if you are physically disabled. Jet again it started pouring down and we had to rush back home. Luckily for us we have e-bikes, so the ride up the hill went quick! Still, we got soaked!
After a while the rain stopped and the large lawn at the campsite was perfect for enjoying a match of badminton while the dog keeps track of the progress.
Leaving Lake Como
The sixth day we left Italy. After discussing a bit back and fort we headed to St. Moritz in Switzerland to visit the alps. We took the ferry from Bellagio to Varenna and went over the Maloja Pass. The ferry cost 20,3 Euro for two persons in a caravan, one way, and saved us 49 km of driving.
Lake Como was beautiful and there are plenty of small villages and mountain trails we haven’t visited. The chance of us coming back is big!
If you havent visited Lake Como I absolutely recommend the area.
Så spennende å lese. Vi var ved Como-sjøen i juni i år på vår første langtur med Hjalmar-bobil. Artig å se at dere har hatt litt andre opplevelser enn oss. Vi støtte på heten og måtte avlyse en tur vi hadde tenkt oss: Nemlig med gondol opp fra Como og inn i fjellene derfra 🙂 Gleder meg til å skrive om alle opplevelsene utover høsten 🙂
Spennende å lese hvordan andre opplever de stedene man har vært på. Det kan jo være så ulikt 🙂 God skrivehøst!