Hello,
I am going for a wedding to Como in August. We are looking for a private group tour for apprx. 30-40 people that starts from Como city and takes us through at least Bellagio and couple of other towns. Something for 3-4 hours.
I've searched all over and cannot find anything. The tours I see online either start from Milan, or, if they start from Como then they skip Bellagio. But Bellagio is a must for us.
Appreciate any leads.
Thank you
It's just so easy to do by yourself, by riding the ferries. Then with such a large group, some folks could go back earlier, later, etc. You all won't be able to take over a restaurant , so folks will be eating in different places anyway.
I'd suggest seeing Villa Balbianello at Lenno, then onto Bellagio, then Varenna, then return.
Just make sure everyone has the time of the last ferry returning.
It's such a beautiful area, enjoy!
The wedding host is gifting the tour to select number of family members so we are looking for a private tour. Also, we prefer that guests take the private tour so no one gets lost or stuck (and also risk of missing the evening wedding events :)) The hotel is providing breakfast and lunch so meals are not an issue. Which is why we are looking for max 3-4 hours.
Realistically, I don't think 3 or 4 hours is enough time to go to "at least Bellagio and a couple of other towns". You can use ViaMichelin.com to get estimated driving times from Como to other places around the lake, but a tour bus that has to load and unload 30 or 40 people will be much slower than a car. ViaMichelin gives 52 minutes as the estimate for driving from Como to Bellagio, so the round trip on a big bus would probably chew up over 2 hours, and I have no idea how close a large bus could get you to the picturesque part of Bellagio. I suspect Bellagio isn't a suitable place for a drive-by bus tour, but I could be wrong about that.
Bellagio is a ferry ride away from the other towns and fancy villas most often mentioned as sightseeing targets. The ferry rides are fairly short in the mid-lake area, but there's the schedule to consider, and I don't know what you'd need to do to assure all members of your group were able to get on the same ferry.
It will not be simple to maneuver a group of 30 or 40 people through the narrowest (most picturesque?) streets of towns like Bellagio and Varenna.
I wonder whether a private boat trip up to and around the mid-lake area wouldn't be the most practical idea, given your time constraints. You could perhaps stop at one of the villas/gardens, but that would require careful arrangements, because they have timed tickets and I don't know which ones sell enough tickets per time slot to accommodate your group.
You should also research the terrain at any place you want to stop, if there are folks with mobility issues who will be participating.
Thank you so much. I am also realizing that private boat tours might work out better. The public transportation/ferry is a bit risky because I read that there can be long lines in August.
As context, there are 3 evenings with wedding events. (starting at apprx 4pm each evening). However, the mornings and early afternoons are open and we were thinking of providing our family members with one morning of local tourism on the house. The ideal schedule was that they leave Como at 9AM (after breakfast) and return by 1pm. Gives them time for lunch, nap, and getting dressed by 4pm. The one place everyone wants to get off is Bellagio. They want to wander around the town for a short while. But most of them are ok with skipping/seeing the villas from outside (water view might be best). Some will do it on their own after the wedding.
Thank you
