Zurich to Lake Como - What to do & how to get there

To begin with, it would help to know which part of Lago di Como you want to visit? One of the easiest places for exploring the mid-lake area is the small town of Varenna, which is about an hour from Milan by train. From there you can easily take the Ferry across to Bellagio or other nearby towns.

Travel by train will be far easier and probably quicker. Lucerne is a wonderful and beautiful city, so spending at least a few days there would be good. Rather than "stopping" in Interlaken, I'd suggest you continue a bit further to experience the true alpine beauty of Switzerland in the Berner Oberland. Spending a few days in either Lauterbrunnen or Mürren would be perfect.

A bit more information on your trip would be helpful, such as the duration of the trip and your interests for sightseeing. You might also check your local Library and have a look at the RS guidebooks for the locations you're considering.

Consider taking the Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano, Italy. One of the most spectacular train journeys in the world.

From Tirano, there is a regional train to Varenna on Lake Como.

Thank you! We are planning on doing about a 10 day trip and we like hiking, beautiful views, good food (not expensive) and experiencing other cultures. Thank you for the tips on Switzerland, do you think we should split the trip to do half in Switzerland and half in Italy? How many days would you suggest for the towns near Lake Como?

This is a popular route, that seems to have a geographic problem called the Furka Pass. This pass kind of divides eastern and western Switzerland. The approaches to Lake Como come from east of this pass, while from the west they go to Lake Maggiore. The Berner Oberland (Interlaken, Muerren, Wengen) is on the west side of the Furka Pass. There is a rail line over (or under) the Furka Pass. It is scenic, the Glacier Express passes along it, but i does add time and expense.

So I propose this way. Travel by train from Zurich airport to the Berner Oberland. As others pointed out, Interlaken is not really it. You need to be in the mountains for hiking and the spectacular views, so Wengen and Muerren are best for this.

Then to Luzern, on the scenic Luzern-Interlaken Express train.

From Luzern, there is 1 direct train every day to Como, Italy, and many with a single change. This route uses a new tunnel about 30 miles under the Alps. If you want a more scenic route over the mountains, you can still use the older and slower route over the mountains by making more changes. Finally there is a daily boat-train combination called the Gotthard Panoramic Express that uses a boat to the far end of the lake (Luzern, or more properly the Vierstaetterwaldsee) to meet a train over the old route to Lugano, then another train to Como. https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/ideas/offer.html/zuege/gotthard-panorama-express

Como, where you arrive, is a small city on the southwest corner of the lake. Most people think of places like Bellagio, Menaggio, and Varenna in the middle of the lake when lake Como comes to mind. You can get to Bellagio either by bus or fast boat from Como city. You can get to Menaggio by bus from Lugano, Switzerland.

That is so helpful, thank you!

Another question -- would you recommend staying in Menaggio, Bellagio or Varenna? We have hotel points we can use to stay in Como which is great because it is free, but we don't want to compromise time if it is far from sights we would want to visit/enjoy in the other towns around the lake. Any advice would be welcome : )

Tough call. Free is nice. What hotel in Como are looking at staying with points?

we like hiking, beautiful views, good food (not expensive)

Hiking and beautiful views abound in the Berner Oberland. The only way we have found to have "not expensive" food in Switzerland is to rent an apartment and cook our dinners. At least that helps us afford the cost of the gondola lifts and trains.