Our last Italy stop on our great adventure was Lake Como. We had about 1.5 days there, not nearly enough, but it sure was a treat. We visited the village of Bellagio and had lunch there and then our time was over. We got to take a boat ride on Lake Como and I could imagine staying in this area longer and exploring further. The only downside to traveling and seeing a lot of locations is only touching the surface and not having time to see more. But we are glad we got to see as much as we did. Come along with me on the boat ride and see more of the beautiful villas of Lake Como.
We stayed in the Pontevecchio hotel while in Lake Como. It was on the far side of the lake and not right in Lake Como proper. It was spacious and comfortable and had a great breakfast, so no complaints.
There was still rain in the area, but we had some clearer skies the next day when it was time to meet the boat for the boat ride. This was the view from our hotel.
The first afternoon in Lake Como, we walked around and had lunch by the water.
It was beautiful even though it had been rainy and cloudy.
Stunning scenery!
Part of our group had a leisurely lunch by the water and it was very nice.
Sampling of some of the food we had in Lake Como. Delish!
Cathedral in Lake Como. Our tour guide, Dimitri, asked us if we wanted to tour the cathedral, that was on the schedule for us to do, but we all said no. We had seen so many churches by then, we just wanted to sit and relax and eat some good food.
The next morning we got in our bus and headed around the lake to meet the boat. We were all hoping the rain would hold off and it did. The clouds actually parted and we started seeing blue skies and a little sunshine.
What a treat it was!
We stopped at one point and our tour guide pointed out George Clooney’s villa. He’s the most famous person I have heard of with a house there, but I’m sure there are many more. I can’t blame them, look at this view. His house is the farthest one, the cream with gray roof.
What a view!
Lake Como selfie!
It’s truly a beautiful lake with the Italian Alps in the background.
I couldn’t get enough of all the villas dotting the shores of Lake Como.
Here’s our boat now! And get a load of that blooming wisteria. We were lucky enough to be there when it was blooming.
Gorgeous!
On the boat!
I could look at this scenery forever.
Another beautiful villa with wisteria.
This was my favorite villa that we saw. I have no idea who lives here, but I took pics from all angles.
Isn’t that stunning?
What a sight!
Moving along the shore.
Bellagio
We headed toward Bellagio, where we had a couple of hours to have lunch and walk around a bit. Not long enough, but glad we got to see it.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable last day in Italy and I’m so glad we did this extension. Every tour with Go Ahead has the option of a pre or post extension and Lake Como was it for this trip. There were 9 of us to stayed on for Lake Como and we all enjoyed it so much. I would love to go back for a longer visit one day and can see why everyone goes crazy for this beautiful lake.
Stay tuned for the next trip we are planning with Go Ahead! I’m going to invite all my readers along again, so I’ll be sharing that later this week. We are so excited to get another trip scheduled for next year with Go Ahead Tours. After taking two tours with them, we are sold on this tour company. Where will we go next? We do enjoy Europe and plan to see more.
What a wonderful adventure!
Rhoda –
I really enjoyed your photos of Italy! I am not familiar with Go Ahead Tours, but wondered how it compared with your trip with Viking?
We enjoy Viking River Voyages and have our third booked for January, 2026. They work well for our age group – 70s. We may be older than you & your spouse!
Thanks!
Hi Wanda, we’ve been on 2 Viking river cruises and 2 land tours with Go Ahead. They are different, but both have their good things. We loved Viking cruises and enjoyed the excursions offered, as well as the food and the service a lot. Go Ahead is mostly land tours and we loved those equally as much. They offer an overview of each area and excursions are set up for each region, so you get to see maybe even more than on a cruise. I loved how we moved to 3 different regions and got to see a bit of each. It’s never enough time to see everything, but it gives you an idea of where you might want to go back and spend more time. We love Go Ahead for that reason and will be doing another tour with them next year. They are affordable too, maybe even more affordable than Viking. We are 68 and 71, so almost your age too. We really like the ease of traveling with Go Ahead tours, since all we do is show up. They handle all the details and we don’t have to think about anything.
Rhoda, your pictures are absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip with us. Sure wish my hubby and I could have joined you as it would have been such a great time. Our Canadian dollar is getting worse so it makes it impossible to go on a trip. One US dollar costs us $1.42 Canadian. It’s just horrible. We sure wish we were Americans and could join you and Mark on all your tours. Sure would be a fun time.
Mary-Ann, I wish you could too!
Wow such beautiful places you both visited in Italy. It looks so lovely through the lens of your camera in your photos. Loved seeing them.