Venice to Lake Como: Go by Train, Bus or Car in 2026?

Getting from Venice to Lake Como is easier than it looks, but it will take either 3 hours by car or 6 hours by train (with a transfer in Milan).

Where you get off matters just as much as how you travel. There are 170 kilometers of shoreline, and crossing the lake from west to east takes about an hour, but up and down takes about 3 hours by ferry! So the wrong station adds an hour of buses or ferries to your day.

Below we break down all four options (train, car, bus, and plane), compare Frecciarossa, Italo, and regional trains, and help you pick the right arrival station for your town, based on our experience in the 8 biggest towns on the lake.

If you are still planning where to base yourself, our map of Lake Como shows how the lake is laid out first.

We took the train from Venice to Lake Como in May 2026, changing at Milano Centrale with 20 minutes to spare. We never got used to seeing the Alpine hills appear as the train pulled out of Milan.

Is the train from Venice to Lake Como worth it?

Yes.

The train is the option we would pick every time if you don’t have a car.

It is cheaper than a car once you count fuel, tolls, and parking; it drops you close to the ferries, and the ride itself is very comfortable (European trains are well-equipped).

We recommend taking the car instead if you plan to explore several towns on the north shore or if you want to explore the broader Lake Como region and not be dependent on ferries (visit different villas where ferries don’t run too often, have dinner in small hilly towns like in Tremezzo…)

Take the bus only if budget is the single deciding factor.

Venice to Lake Como summary
Option	Time	Cost (per person)	Best for
🚆 Train	6 hrs	€30 to €54 ($32 to $58)	Most travellers
🚗 Car	4 hrs	€40 to €60/day + fuel & tolls	Exploring the quiet shores
🚌 Bus	5h15	€13 to €22 ($14 to $24)	Tight budgets
✈️ Plane	Not practical direct	Varies	Arriving into Milan from abroad

High-speed vs regional: choosing between Trenitalia, Italo, and the local train

The key thing to understand is that this route uses two different kinds of train, and you book them as two legs.

You can book them in one go via Omio, the number 1 European transport booking platform.

Leg one: Venice to Milan (high-speed)

Two companies run it, and they are both very competitive, so the price difference is not that big.

Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa and its rival Italo both cover Venezia Santa Lucia to Milano Centrale in about 2 hours 15 minutes, usually with a stop at Verona Porta Nuova on the way.

Fares start from around €20 ($22) per person when booked early and climb toward €50 ($54) close to departure.

Our recommendation: book whichever is cheaper on your date. Italo often undercuts Frecciarossa, while Frecciarossa runs more frequent departures.

Second class is quite comfortable and perfectly good for this part.

We recommend the 2:22 pm train from Venice so you arrive around 7:30 pm (price is 58 euros for both legs).

We’d book the two legs together rather than juggling separate sites. It makes comparing Italo, Frecciarossa, and the regional connection much easier, especially when you need enough transfer time in Milan.

Leg two: Milan to the lake (regional)

This is where it changes.

Italo does not run the little trains out to the lake stations, so the second leg is almost always a Trenitalia or Trenord regional train.

These are cheap, around €5 to €7 ($6 to $8), but you cannot reserve a specific seat.

One nice detail worth knowing: some of the trains from Milano Centrale toward Como and Switzerland are the smart EuroCity Giruno services, which are a step up in comfort from the basic regional trains if the timing lines up.

The catch: because the two legs are separate, a delay on the high-speed leg can make you miss a regional connection. Leave at least 20 to 30 minutes between trains at Milano Centrale.

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Reaching the lake: choosing your arrival station

This is the part most guides skip, and it is the one that saves you the most time.

Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down Y, and there are five stations around it.

Getting off at the wrong one can mean an extra ferry or a long bus ride.

Here is how to choose.

Venice to Lake Como summary
Option	Time	Cost (per person)	Best for
🚆 Train	6 hrs	€30 to €54 ($32 to $58)	Most travellers
🚗 Car	4 hrs	€40 to €60/day + fuel & tolls	Exploring the quiet shores
🚌 Bus	5h15	€13 to €22 ($14 to $24)	Tight budgets
✈️ Plane	Not practical direct	Varies	Arriving into Milan from abroad

If your base is around the middle of the lake, get off at Varenna-Esino.

It is a ten-minute walk from the platform down to the Varenna ferry terminal, and from there ferries reach Bellagio in about 15 minutes, along with Menaggio and Tremezzo on the mid-lake golden triangle.

If you are staying in Como town itself, either Como station works, though Como Nord Lago drops you right on the water, and nearby Cernobbio is a short hop from there.

Headed to the quieter southeast arm instead?

Stay on to Lecco, which we cover in our Lecco guide.

For the peaceful northern shore around Colico and Gravedona, stay on to Colico.

For a fuller picture of the towns and how they connect, our guide to the best things to do in Lake Como covers each one.

Option 1: Train from Venice to Lake Como

The train is our most popular and most efficient way to travel between Venice and the lake.

Remember the two-leg structure: Venezia Santa Lucia to Milano Centrale on a high-speed train, then a regional train onward to Como San Giovanni, Varenna-Esino, or Colico.

Start to finish, expect 6 hours depending on your connection and final station, and a total cost of about €30 to €54 ($32 to $58) per person.

The stations you will book are:

• Venice: Venezia Santa Lucia (the main station in the historic centre, not Venezia Mestre on the mainland)
• Milan: Milano Centrale (change here)
• Lake Como: Varenna-Esino, Como San Giovanni, or Colico, depending on your town

If you book with Omio, they will take all the stress away from you having to look for tickets yourself. Omio is a very big European transport booking system that we have been using since 2018.

Option 2: Car from Venice to Lake Como

Renting a car makes sense if you want the freedom to explore the quieter shores where trains do not reach.

The drive from Venice to Como is roughly 340 km (about 210 miles) and takes around 4 hours without stops, mostly on the A4 motorway across the pre-Alpine plain.

The biggest advantage is freedom: you can drive directly to your accommodation, stop along the way and reach places that are awkward by public transport.

The downside is once you reach the lake. Many historic centres have ZTL restricted zones and parking can be limited or expensive. We would think twice about renting a car if we were staying in central Como, Varenna or Bellagio and mostly travelling by ferry.

A car makes much more sense if you are staying around Tremezzo, the northern lake, or in accommodation above the waterfront, where public transport becomes less convenient.

Parking colours in Italy:
White = usually free
Blue = paid
Yellow = restricted/reserved

Rental prices are typically €40 to €60 ($44 to $66) per day, before fuel and tolls.

Two honest cons to plan around.

• First, the A4 has tolls, and fuel in Italy is not cheap, so the “cheap” car option often costs more than the train for one or two people.
• Second, most lake towns have restricted ZTL zones and very limited parking, so you may end up paying for a garage and walking in anyway.

KEEP IN MIND: Italy uses line colour, and the rule is national:

• White lines = free parking: no charge, though sometimes time-limited with a disc.
• Blue lines = paid parking: pay at the meter or app and display the ticket.
• Yellow lines = reserved/restricted: only residents with a permit, disabled bays, loading zones, buses, or taxis.

As a tourist, you can only use white and blue.

Driving with Google Maps or Waze? If your mobile plan doesn’t include Italian data, we use Holafly for unlimited eSIM data.

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