Hi — is it fairly straightforward to purchase a ticket at the Stresa ferry ticket office that permits you to visit multiple Borromean Islands over the course of a day? The Rick Steves guide mentions a Free Circulation ticket but when I look for a timetable on navigazionelaghi.it I only see a schedule of ferries to Isolate Bella. I also see all day island hopper excursions but these only seem to be available at 10:00 or 10:30 a.m. thanks!
Posted by
PacNW
81 posts
Hi Ruth,
Yes -- it's REALLY easy to purchase ferry tickets. I'd say you want to purchase your tickets no later than 30 minutes before the ferry departs (because they definitely keep to a schedule), but it was easy to read the schedule and figure out what ferry to take once we were there. Note that the ferries service stops all around Lago Maggiore, so it became much more clear (to me) to understand once I got there than trying to figure it out before.
Carrie
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34010 posts
it really is no trouble at all.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7886 posts
Here’s the two ferry schedule time tables for going north & south:
https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Locarno_Arona_24.pdf
https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Arona_Locarno_24.pdf
Isola Superiore is also know as Isola Pescatori (fishermen)
It is very easy. I do like to bring a Post-It with the departure & arrival locations and ferry date/time I am requesting (I like to stay overnight on Isola Bella). It simplifies the transaction. Otherwise, there is a different price if you aren’t going in a specific sequence to the islands. If you want to determine your own order of visits to the island, it costs more. There used to be a pricing tab for multiple options, but I don’t see it on their current site.
Note - there will be kiosks along the promenade. Ignore them (and anyone coming up to you near the ferry office). and purchase from the real ferry office which is in a large white building on the shore. You will walk through the archway of the building to reach the workers at the counter where you purchase your tickets.
Have a great time! I love Stresa!