Lombardy · The Italian Lakes

Lake Como holidays,
with time for the water

Village life in Varenna, a waterfront stay in Bellano or private gardens in Mandello. Choose your lake base, then add Milan or a journey across the Swiss Alps.

Lakeside hotelsMilan combinationsScenic rail journeys

Northern Italy: lakes, mountains & art cities

Lake Como rewards a longer stay: boats between villages, villa gardens and lunches beside the water, with afternoons left for your hotel. Our three selected properties offer different ways to enjoy the eastern shore.

01 · Accommodation

Three ways to stay on Lake Como

Hotel Royal Victoria on the waterfront in Varenna

Village life & lake exploring

Royal Victoria · Varenna

A historic hotel in Varenna’s centre, with a seasonal pool and village restaurants close by. A rewarding base for couples who want to walk out for dinner and explore the central lake by boat. We help you choose between lake views and the different balcony categories.
Explore the hotel →

Hotel Meridiana directly beside the lake in Bellano

Small hotel & rail connections

Hotel Meridiana · Bellano

An eleven-room waterfront hotel with lake-view balconies in selected categories and La Dolce Vita restaurant. Bellano’s walkable centre and railway connections make this an appealing stop during or at the end of an Italian rail holiday.
Explore the hotel →

The pool and private gardens at Villa Lario Resort overlooking Lake Como

Gardens, pool & time together

Villa Lario Resort · Mandello

Nine individual rooms and suites in private grounds, with an outdoor pool, lake access and a private jetty. Choose between villa, boathouse and cave settings, then leave several days for the pleasure of being here. We arrange transfers and selected outings.
Explore the hotel →

02 · Multi-centre holidays

Across the Alps, or a simple pairing with Milan

Red Bernina railway train curving across a stone viaduct

14 nights · Scenic rail

Swiss Alps, Lake Como & Milan

Four nights in Zermatt, four at Muottas Muragl, four in Varenna and two in Milan. The Glacier Express and Bernina Express make the journeys part of the holiday.

From £4,850 per person

Guide for two sharing, including breakfast and rail from Geneva to Milan. International travel is additional.
Explore this holiday →

The glass-roofed Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan

Suggested 10-night twin centre

Milan & Lake Como

Start with three nights of art, design and restaurant evenings in Milan, then spend a week on the lake. Direct trains to Varenna and Bellano make this a natural car-free pairing, with your final hotel transfer arranged.
Explore Milan →

03 · Our insights

Lake days and memorable rail journeys

Lake Como

Varenna without a car

Boat outings, village life and how to enjoy a longer stay on the eastern shore.
Read the Varenna guide →

Across the Alps

The Bernina Express

Understand the Alpine crossing into Italy and how to make it part of a longer holiday.
Explore the Bernina railway →

Glacier Express panoramic carriages crossing a stone viaduct

Scenic rail

The Glacier Express

The route, the experience and which class suits the journey you have in mind.
Explore the Glacier Express →

04 · Smart add-ons

Give your lake stay a different opening

Milan is the straightforward city pairing. A second lake can also work on a longer holiday when its hotel and scenery add something distinct; there is no need to include all three.

Milan

Art, architecture and aperitivo before several days beside the lake.
Explore this destination →

Lake Maggiore

A different lake landscape, with the Borromean Islands and scenic rail outings.
Explore this destination →

Lake Orta

An intimate island landscape and a design hotel in Pella for a quieter finish.
Explore this destination →

Plan with ExpertoItaly

Tell us what you have in mind

Tell us whether you picture village restaurants, a waterfront room or several restful days in private gardens. We will recommend the right Lake Como hotel, room and arrival, then shape the wider journey around it.
Start planning your holiday

Travel Trust Association protection · Q8055
How our planning and support work

You are in good hands

      EXCELLENT  
   Based on 78 reviews 
    
 
 
 
   
 
 
       Posted on Google  
   
   Kay Wade 
 27 September 2026
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We can’t thank ExpertoItaly enough for the wonderful trip to northern Italy organized for us in August. We really appreciated that Antonio took time and effort to get to know the kind of travelers we are so as to create an imaginative, personalized travel plan and detailed guide packed with tips and information about the places we visited. His vast insider knowledge of his country contributed to our smooth and stress-free train journeys and to all that we learned and enjoyed about the cities we visited; about their respective histories, cultures, infrastructures, public spaces, peoples and more. We would recommend ExpertoItaly in a heartbeat!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Catherine Day 
 16 July 2026
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We’re recently home after a wonderful holiday in Puglia arranged with Antonio. Great pace, a range of always excellent accommodation and an interesting suggested itinerary. We would highly recommend Expert to Italy and look forward to planning our next getaway with Antonio.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Mike Girling (No nickname) 
 16 June 2026
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Just back from another delightful holiday organised from start to finish by the Italian "Expert" Antonio. After several discussions with him we decided to have an eleven day trip to the Amalfi coast and Ischia and thanks to his intimate knowledge of the area we had a most enjoyable and memorable time. Ischia in particular was absolutely wonderful. Antonios advice on the boutique hotels, guided tours, and places to visit were exemplary as were the drivers he booked to ferry us around. In addition to all the knowledge and advice he provides, this time, we encountered a  couple of problems of our own making, but a quick WhatsApp to Antonio and within 24 hours both problems were solved. So if you are looking for an independent holiday in Italy along with great support we have no hesitation in recommending Antonio
Mike & Diane
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Daniel Hockman 
 9 June 2026
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. ExpertoItaly is a brilliant company, and Antonio organised a wonderful holiday for us in Puglia a region we did not know. His suggestions were all fantastic. He listens to what you want to do and works your holiday around that. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone contemplating a holiday in Italy. Thank you so much, Antonio!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Elaine Yeoh 
 6 June 2026
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We engaged Antonio Cresce to plan and manage our 3 week holiday in Italy - covering towns in the regions of Puglia, Basilicata ,Calabria and Campania.

Our holiday was seamless and exceeded all our expectations, and I would highly recommend Antonio / Expert to Italy for all your holiday planning and needs.

From the point of choosing destinations, Antonio was collaborative and listened to everything on our wishlist . The towns he chose for us were exactly the places that we loved .. off the beaten track, charming and authentic Italy !

He picked our accomodation and again there was a lot of collaboration over our needs and we loved the choices .

The tours he organised were exceptional. I wanted to see wildflowers and orchids and he engaged experts to take me around the national parks . I would never have been able to source the contacts and organise the excursions as perfectly as it was done . Some of the best moments of our travels , ever!

Transfers were professional and seamless.
Antonio remained fully contactable throughout our trip for questions , help and any details we needed. We felt fully secure and confident that we had an agent travelling along with us at every step! It was a huge benefit as well having him in the rough time zones as Italy where he is based in the UK, so that any questions were promptly answered and sorted . This could have been more problematic if we had engaged someone from home in Australia with the big difference in time zones .

We appreciated his travel advice and recommendations, his work ethics , his professionalism and how he went over and beyond to make our holiday truly exceptional!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Judith Warren 
 29 April 2026
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Antonio is super helpful and efficient and he knows Italy. He arranged our three centre Italian holiday, booked all train tickets, taxis and hotels and suggested places we wouldn't have thought of. You can have an independent holiday without problems, even in a less touristy area, because he's organised everyone for you and he's a back up if anything goes wrong. Thanks Antonio, be in touch next time!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Anne Fenton 
 22 September 2025
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Antonio was a delight to deal with. He was knowledgable, friendly and very patient when we changed our plans several times! His choices of hotels were exceptionally good and he was very responsive when we had a little hiccup with the car rental. Highly recommend his services.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Teresa Oliveira 
 25 August 2025
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We used ExpertoItaly to help us with our two-week holiday in Sicily. We had a couple of interactions with Antonio, and were very fast to close on our itinerary and hotels. Everyting was very well organized and suitable to our requirements. Antonio chose very good accommodations: small beautiful, full of character and well located. He also booked our bus trips as we did not want to rent a car. That worked really well. It was a great help and gave us great confidence for our trip. We strongly recommend ExpertoItaly if you want customised holidays in Italy. We will use it again for future traveling in Italy!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   IzzieD 
 21 August 2025
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Antonio is an expert on Italy so if you are planning a trip then you should definitely use ExpertoItaly. He helped us plan the perfect family trip and we cannot fault any of his recommendations. From car hire, to the perfect hotels and apartments, he is highly knowledgeable and it doesn't stop with planning. He was on hand to be available if we needed his help while on the trip. His customer service is first class. Thank you so so much and we look forward to planning our next trip with you.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   David Wise 
 12 August 2025
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Antonio was really helpful in planning our trip to Italy. We wanted to visit 3 locations, he provided recommendations on accomodations which were great - really good locations for each booking.  He also coordinated taxis and trains and provided a load of suggestions for each location for places to eat and sites to visit.  He was readily available to answer any questions we had by email or WhatsApp. His assistance really helped us in planning this trip and saved us a lot of stress in trying to coordinate this ourselves. All in all we had a great holiday

Kay Wade

27 September 2026

We can’t thank ExpertoItaly enough for the wonderful trip to northern Italy organized for us in August. We really appreciated that Antonio took time and effort to get to know the kind of travelers we are so as to create an imaginative, personalized travel plan and detailed guide packed with tips and information about the places we visited. His vast insider knowledge of his country contributed to our smooth and stress-free train journeys and to all that we learned and enjoyed about the cities we visited; about their respective histories, cultures, infrastructures, public spaces, peoples and more. We would recommend ExpertoItaly in a heartbeat!

Catherine Day

16 July 2026

We’re recently home after a wonderful holiday in Puglia arranged with Antonio. Great pace, a range of always excellent accommodation and an interesting suggested itinerary. We would highly recommend Expert to Italy and look forward to planning our next getaway with Antonio.

Mike Girling (No nickname)

16 June 2026

Just back from another delightful holiday organised from start to finish by the Italian "Expert" Antonio. After several discussions with him we decided to have an eleven day trip to the Amalfi coast and Ischia and thanks to his intimate knowledge of the area we had a most enjoyable and memorable time. Ischia in particular was absolutely wonderful. Antonios advice on the boutique hotels, guided tours, and places to visit were exemplary as were the drivers he booked to ferry us around. In addition to all the knowledge and advice he provides, this time, we encountered a couple of problems of our own making, but a quick WhatsApp to Antonio and within 24 hours both problems were solved. So if you are looking for an independent holiday in Italy along with great support we have no hesitation in recommending Antonio Mike & Diane

Daniel Hockman

9 June 2026

ExpertoItaly is a brilliant company, and Antonio organised a wonderful holiday for us in Puglia a region we did not know. His suggestions were all fantastic. He listens to what you want to do and works your holiday around that. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone contemplating a holiday in Italy. Thank you so much, Antonio!

Elaine Yeoh

6 June 2026

We engaged Antonio Cresce to plan and manage our 3 week holiday in Italy - covering towns in the regions of Puglia, Basilicata ,Calabria and Campania. Our holiday was seamless and exceeded all our expectations, and I would highly recommend Antonio / Expert to Italy for all your holiday planning and needs. From the point of choosing destinations, Antonio was collaborative and listened to everything on our wishlist . The towns he chose for us were exactly the places that we loved .. off the beaten track, charming and authentic Italy ! He picked our accomodation and again there was a lot of collaboration over our needs and we loved the choices . The tours he organised were exceptional. I wanted to see wildflowers and orchids and he engaged experts to take me around the national parks . I would never have been able to source the contacts and organise the excursions as perfectly as it was done . Some of the best moments of our travels , ever! Transfers were professional and seamless. Antonio remained fully contactable throughout our trip for questions , help and any details we needed. We felt fully secure and confident that we had an agent travelling along with us at every step! It was a huge benefit as well having him in the rough time zones as Italy where he is based in the UK, so that any questions were promptly answered and sorted . This could have been more problematic if we had engaged someone from home in Australia with the big difference in time zones . We appreciated his travel advice and recommendations, his work ethics , his professionalism and how he went over and beyond to make our holiday truly exceptional!

Judith Warren

29 April 2026

Antonio is super helpful and efficient and he knows Italy. He arranged our three centre Italian holiday, booked all train tickets, taxis and hotels and suggested places we wouldn't have thought of. You can have an independent holiday without problems, even in a less touristy area, because he's organised everyone for you and he's a back up if anything goes wrong. Thanks Antonio, be in touch next time!

Anne Fenton

22 September 2025

Antonio was a delight to deal with. He was knowledgable, friendly and very patient when we changed our plans several times! His choices of hotels were exceptionally good and he was very responsive when we had a little hiccup with the car rental. Highly recommend his services.

Teresa Oliveira

25 August 2025

We used ExpertoItaly to help us with our two-week holiday in Sicily. We had a couple of interactions with Antonio, and were very fast to close on our itinerary and hotels. Everyting was very well organized and suitable to our requirements. Antonio chose very good accommodations: small beautiful, full of character and well located. He also booked our bus trips as we did not want to rent a car. That worked really well. It was a great help and gave us great confidence for our trip. We strongly recommend ExpertoItaly if you want customised holidays in Italy. We will use it again for future traveling in Italy!

IzzieD

21 August 2025

Antonio is an expert on Italy so if you are planning a trip then you should definitely use ExpertoItaly. He helped us plan the perfect family trip and we cannot fault any of his recommendations. From car hire, to the perfect hotels and apartments, he is highly knowledgeable and it doesn't stop with planning. He was on hand to be available if we needed his help while on the trip. His customer service is first class. Thank you so so much and we look forward to planning our next trip with you.

David Wise

12 August 2025

Antonio was really helpful in planning our trip to Italy. We wanted to visit 3 locations, he provided recommendations on accomodations which were great - really good locations for each booking. He also coordinated taxis and trains and provided a load of suggestions for each location for places to eat and sites to visit. He was readily available to answer any questions we had by email or WhatsApp. His assistance really helped us in planning this trip and saved us a lot of stress in trying to coordinate this ourselves. All in all we had a great holiday