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Italian Lakes Explorer

Glittering jewels of Lombardy
 
From Maggiore to Garda, via Como and Iseo, discover the stunning scenery of the Italian Lakes and the surrounding mountains on this self-guided journey by car (hire car included). You stay in magnificent lakeside hotels and have the option to take a trip on the famous Centovalli Railway.
Italian Lakes Explorer. 10 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
Italian Lakes Explorer. 10 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
 

Holiday information

 

A touring holiday of Italy's lakes

The glittering lakes that define Lombardy are part of a ravishing landscape of water and mountains fused together in glorious harmony. Some are admired for their grandeur and wide-open vistas; others for their serene atmosphere and the air of tranquillity that pervades the villages and vineyards that line their shores.
From the shores of shimmering Lake Maggiore, you begin a journey through some of Italy's most beautiful scenery, taking you via Lake Como to quiet Lake Iseo before a grand finale by the shores of Lake Garda. We cannot tell you which is the most beautiful or which most perfectly embodies the essence of the Italian Lake District, but at the end of the road, we're sure you will have found your own personal favourites...
 

Book with confidence

At present, we are only accepting bookings for Italy for travel from 15 September onwards. Our flexible booking arrangements, commitment to safety and financial protection mean that you can book with confidence, despite the current travel restrictions in place.

What we’re doing so you can book and travel with confidence >
Check the destination entry requirements >

If you have a holiday booking with us already, we will contact you before your balance is due (currently 4 weeks before departure) to advise whether or not the holiday can go ahead.
 
Gallery
 

Itinerary

The key to Inntravel holidays is flexibility. You can start on the day of your choice, and are free to add extra nights.
  • Arrival in Cannero on Lake Maggiore
    Night 1: at Hotel Cannero (the first of three nights here).
    As your first night’s accommodation is on the day of travel, Day 1 is your first day of exploration.
  • Explore Lakes Maggiore & Orta
    Begin your stay in Cannero with a visit to the neighbouring lakeside towns of Cannobio and Stresa – both are easily reached, whether you choose to drive or enjoy a boat ride. Cannobio is renowned for its lovely waterfront promenade, where fine 18th and 19th-century palazzi rub shoulders with former fishermen's houses, and for its colourful past as a smugglers' haven. Stresa, meanwhile, is home to the Isole Borromee, beautiful islands that shimmer like jewels on the lake and are known for their magnificent palaces and sculpted gardens.

    Slightly farther by car is beguiling Orta San Giulio, from where you can take a boat out across Lake Orta to the silent island of Isola San Giulio with its imposing Benedictine monastery, or another option is to cross the border into Switzerland to experience one of Europe's great train journeys, as the Centovalli Railway winds its way past waterfalls, ravines and forests, crossing a hundred delectable valleys and nearly as many bridges.
    The boat from Orta San Giulio
    Cannobio
  • Cannero to Lenno on Lake Como: 3hrs by car
    Driving east via Locarno – whose churches, galleries and castle can be explored on our self-guided town trail – you take in the glacial glory of Switzerland's Lake Lugano before arriving at Lake Como and the elegant San Giorgio Hotel, located by the water's edge.
    Locarno
  • Explore Lake Como
    On your full day in Lenno, sail or enjoy a gentle stroll to the illustrious, 17th-century Villa Carlotta with its priceless art collection, luxuriant gardens and straight-backed Cypress trees, or take a boat instead to picturesque Bellagio – known as 'the Pearl of Lake Como'.
    Villa Carlotta
    Bellagio
  • Lenno to Iseo: 3.5hrs by car
    The beauty of Bergamo beckons as you travel onwards, enticing you to take the funicular to its historic old town for lunch before continuing to the sublime Relais I Due Roccoli, set in the hills above Lake Iseo.

     
  • Explore Lake Iseo
    Admire extraordinary rock carvings in the Val Camonica or visit the earth pyramids at Zone. Alternatively, for a more relaxing option, why not take a boat over to beautiful, traffic-free Monte Isola for lunch?
    Enjoy the views from Monte Isola
    Explore the pyramids at Zone
  • Iseo to Gargnano on Lake Garda: 2.5hrs by car
    Tarry awhile amid the Alpine splendour of Val Trompia and Lake Idro en route to your final destination. Bordered by terraced hillsides of orchards and olive groves on one side, and glittering Lake Garda on the other, D.H. Lawrence found it difficult to tear himself away from Gargnano’s lemon-scented embrace, and by spending your last two nights at the idyllically situated Hotel Gardenia al Lago, you will begin to understand why.
    Gargnano
  • Explore Lake Garda
    Your last day can be spent criss-crossing the lake by steamer, perhaps disembarking at Malcesine for a cable-car ride up to the lofty ridge of Monte Baldo for a magnificent, bird’s-eye view over Lake Garda and its surrounding peaks.
    Monte Baldo views over Lake Garda
    Steamers on the Lake
 

Accommodation

You stay in four magnificently located hotels.
 

Extend your stay

 
Prices & travel options
All prices are in £ sterling (GBP). If you'd like to see what they equate to in your currency, use the converter. For general information on pricing, see the 'your holiday price explained' page.
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  • 10 nights: 11 April 2021 - 11 August 2021, 22 August 2021 - 14 October 2021, 09 April 2022 - 11 August 2022 & 20 August 2022 - 14 October 2022

    Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price Single room
    11 - 23 Apr 2021 £1445 £640
    24 - 30 Apr 2021 £1495 £640
    1 May - 24 Jun 2021 £1545 £660
    25 Jun - 1 Aug 2021 £1595 £635
    22 Aug - 11 Sep 2021 £1595 £635
    12 - 26 Sep 2021 £1545 £660
    27 Sep - 4 Oct 2021 £1495 £640
    9 - 23 Apr 2022 £1520 £675
    24 - 30 Apr 2022 £1570 £675
    1 May - 24 Jun 2022 £1625 £695
    25 Jun - 1 Aug 2022 £1675 £670
    20 Aug - 11 Sep 2022 £1675 £670
    12 - 26 Sep 2022 £1625 £695
    27 Sep - 4 Oct 2022 £1570 £675
    3rd & 4th person discount -£125 to -£130
    Single traveller supplement £125 to £130

    Includes accommodation, meals, travel between hotels and any other services integral to the holiday as described, plus a detailed information pack, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.

    Included travel: 10 days’ category B car hire (e.g. Lancia Ypsilon or similar with manual transmission)
    Please note: a 'one-way' supplement is payable locally if the hire car is returned to a different location from the pick-up point

    Driving time to the first hotel from: Milan Bergamo 2h, Milan Linate 1h45, Milan Malpensa 1h15, Verona 3h
    Driving time from the final hotel to: Milan Bergamo 1h30, Milan Linate 2h, Milan Malpensa 2h30, Verona 1h30

    Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.

  • Room upgrades (£ per person per night)

    Hotel Cannero, Cannero
    Superior with lake view: 11 Apr - 11 Aug 2021 £28
    Superior with lake view: 22 Aug - 14 Oct 2021 £28
    Superior with lake view: 09 Apr - 11 Aug 2022 £30
    Superior with lake view: 20 Aug - 14 Oct 2022 £30
    San Giorgio Hotel, Lenno
    Lake view: 11 Apr - 11 Aug 2021 £14
    Lake view: 22 Aug - 14 Oct 2021 £14
    Lake view: 09 Apr - 11 Aug 2022 £15
    Lake view: 20 Aug - 14 Oct 2022 £15
    Relais I Due Roccoli, Iseo
    Lake view: 11 Apr - 11 Aug 2021 £25
    Lake view: 22 Aug - 14 Oct 2021 £25
    Lake view: 09 Apr - 11 Aug 2022 £27
    Lake view: 20 Aug - 14 Oct 2022 £27
    Hotel Gardenia al Lago, Gargnano
    'Benaco' double with lake view (no twins): 18 Apr - 11 Aug 2021 £30
    'Benaco' double with lake view (no twins): 22 Aug - 14 Oct 2021 £30
    'Benaco' double with lake view (no twins): 09 Apr - 11 Aug 2022 £32
    'Benaco' double with lake view (no twins): 20 Aug - 14 Oct 2022 £32

    Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room

    Prices include an extra day's car hire
    San Giorgio Hotel, Lenno (B&B) Double room Single room
    11 Apr - 20 May 2021 £98 £164
    21 May - 25 May 2021 £110 £165
    26 May - 29 May 2021 £98 £164
    30 May - 02 Jun 2021 £110 £165
    03 Jun - 09 Jun 2021 £98 £164
    10 Jun - 18 Jun 2021 £110 £165
    19 Jun - 28 Jun 2021 £98 £164
    29 Jun - 10 Jul 2021 £110 £165
    11 Jul - 11 Aug 2021 £115 £170
    22 Aug - 14 Sep 2021 £110 £165
    15 Sep - 14 Oct 2021 £98 £164
    09 Apr - 20 May 2022 £104 £174
    21 May - 25 May 2022 £116 £174
    26 May - 29 May 2022 £104 £174
    30 May - 02 Jun 2022 £116 £174
    03 Jun - 09 Jun 2022 £104 £174
    10 Jun - 18 Jun 2022 £116 £174
    19 Jun - 28 Jun 2022 £104 £174
    29 Jun - 10 Jul 2022 £116 £174
    11 Jul - 11 Aug 2022 £120 £174
    20 Aug - 14 Sep 2022 £116 £174
    15 Sep - 14 Oct 2022 £104 £174
    Hotel Gardenia al Lago, Gargnano (B&B) Double room Single room
    18 Apr - 11 Aug 2021 £130 £185
    22 Aug - 14 Oct 2021 £130 £185
    09 Apr - 11 Aug 2022 £136 £195
    20 Aug - 14 Oct 2022 £136 £195
  • RECOMMENDED AIRPORT(S):
    Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate or Verona
    As an alternative to flying, we can arrange rail travel from London

    Travelling from the UK

    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Milan Malpensa. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    Travelling from outside the UK
    We have many years' experience catering for customers who live outside the UK, and will be happy to make tailored arrangements to fit with your plans.

    You have two options:

    1) Book your own flights to London, from where we can book flights and onward connecting travel to your hotel.

    2) Book your own flights direct to an airport appropriate to your chosen holiday. You can either make your own way from the airport to the hotel, or we'll be happy to book onward connecting travel for you. Please consult with us before booking your flights, so that we can advise you on the suitability of your proposed route and timings.
    Outward route Airline
    Aberdeen - Milan Malpensa (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Birmingham - Milan Malpensa (via Zurich) Swiss 
    Birmingham - Verona jet2,  Ryanair,  TUI 
    Birmingham - Verona (via Munich) Lufthansa 
    Outward route Airline
    Bristol - Milan Bergamo Ryanair 
    Bristol - Milan Malpensa easyJet,  Ryanair 
    Bristol - Verona jet2,  TUI 
    Outward route Airline
    Nottingham East Midlands - Milan Bergamo Ryanair 
    Nottingham East Midlands - Verona jet2 
    Outward route Airline
    Edinburgh - Milan Bergamo Ryanair 
    Edinburgh - Milan Malpensa easyJet 
    Edinburgh - Verona easyJet,  jet2 
    Edinburgh - Verona (via Paris CDG) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Glasgow - Verona TUI 
    Outward route Airline
    Leeds Bradford - Verona jet2 
    Leeds Bradford - Verona (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Liverpool - Milan Bergamo Blue Air 
    Outward route Airline
    London City - Milan Linate Alitalia 
    Outward route Airline
    Gatwick - Milan Linate easyJet 
    Gatwick - Milan Malpensa easyJet 
    Gatwick - Verona British Airways,  easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Heathrow - Milan Linate Alitalia,  British Airways 
    Heathrow - Milan Malpensa British Airways 
    Heathrow - Verona British Airways 
    Outward route Airline
    Luton - Milan Malpensa easyJet 
    Luton - Verona easyJet,  Wizz Air 
    Outward route Airline
    Stansted - Milan Bergamo Ryanair 
    Stansted - Milan Malpensa Ryanair 
    Stansted - Verona jet2,  Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Manchester - Milan Bergamo Ryanair 
    Manchester - Milan Malpensa easyJet,  Flybe,  Ryanair 
    Manchester - Verona easyJet,  jet2,  TUI 
    Manchester - Verona (via Munich) Lufthansa 
    Outward route Airline
    Newcastle - Verona TUI 
    Newcastle - Verona (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Milan Malpensa. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you for any of the options listed above except those operated by Ryanair. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service (£60 for India and Nepal). Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.

What is included
  • 10 nights
  • 6 dinners
    10 breakfasts
  • detailed cultural information
  • category B car hire
 
Reviews

If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?

We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >

All 9 reviews
  • Mrs C Wynne
    Huddersfield
    10 September 2019

    Over the years we have been on several holidays with Inntravel and have many happy memories of them all. This holiday certainly did not disappoint and the standard of all the hotels was amazing. We have to say that our favourite was Relais Due Roccoli on Lake Iseo both for the food, wine and ambience. We can definitely recommend this holiday and we look forward to planning another holiday with Inntravel next year.

  • Mr R Dobson
    King's Lynn
    01 September 2019

    This is a beautiful area and the hotels were all excellent. We felt it was well worth adding on an extra day at each hotel to give plenty of time to explore both on foot and in the car. 

  • Mrs J Holloway, Windsor
    28 July 2019

    A wonderful holiday travelling around the Italian lakes. The arrangements made by Inntravel were fool-proof and enabled us to see far more of the lakes than we would have done otherwise. We loved the hotel at Lake Maggiore and its location, from our balcony you could watch all the comings and goings on the lake as it is right where the ferries come and go. We had wonderful meals outside on their terrace right by the water. Lake Como is stunningly beautiful but everything is expensive reflecting I think its profile overall and everything highly manicured (not the Hotel though interestingly which has rules like something out of a bad 1970s English seaside hotel). Lake Iseo was a lovely contrast, less refined but more real and the hotel was amazing. At Garda we stayed at the sister hotel of the hotel normally used but we loved it, very Art Deco and right on the water. We were sorry we didn’t have time to spend longer there. All in all a great holiday.

  • Mr N Grimwade
    Wadhurst
    21 June 2019

    This was a wonderful holiday. All the hotels were well situated and enjoyable to stay at. Covering 4 lakes (5 if Lugano is included) in 10 days was amazing and relatively easy to do. A valuable aspect of the holiday was the opportunity to visit each area using the ferry boats (and public transport), which provided rest from the driving. The detail given about how to get from one place to the next was very good. I don't think we got lost even once the whole time! We got a real feel for the diversity of the area, crossing as we did the Swiss-Italian border more than once. This was an expensive holiday but real value for what we got. Our memories of our tour of the lakes will stay with us for ever and we hope to return some time soon.

  • Mrs C Simpson
    Wokingham
    07 June 2019

    Most enjoyable tour . Stick with small car for narrow lakeside roads and car parks. Try to avoid the Italian school holidays as very busy in popular towns and on weekend ferries.

    Our favourite hotel was the 4th. Amazing staff and setting. Food really good and a silver water boiler at breakfast to make tea properly, only place. Food and service not as good at sister hotel squashed on narrow balcony

  • Mr D McTeer
    Gloucester
    07 May 2019

    My wife and I had a first class holiday (apart from the weather!) and the arrangements made by Inntravel were excellent throughout. Hotels were excellent and we found the notes supplied for each stage of the holiday to be informative and extremely helpful.

  • Theresa Diggles
    30 April 2019

    A twelve day trip to Italian Lakes starting with a couple of days in Verona followed by a self drive trip taking in Lake Maggiore with lovely walks and visits to beautiful gardens on Borromean islands (Royal Horticultural Society members free) and Villa Taranto. On to Lake Como to visit Villa Balbianello (National Trust members free) and a ferry trip across to Ballagio with a fabulous walk around the town and a circular walk to take in the countryside and gardens at Villa Melzi. Moving to Lake D'Iseo, a small gem of a lake with visit and walk around Monte Isola - very quiet and lovely. Finally a few days at Lake Garda - very beautiful - albeit it a little more touristy than the other lakes. A wonderful holiday with exceptional accommodation - thank you Inntravel. 

      

  • Mrs K Isaacs
    Bristol
    01 September 2018

    Our first non walking holiday with you [Italian Lakes  Explorer combined with a stay in Verona] and we were not disappointed. The lakes all had quite a different feel to them. The hotels were well situated with friendly, helpful staff. 

  • Anon
    24 August 2018

    We thoroughly enjoyed the Italian Lakes Explorer Journey in SlowMotion. We visited four beautiful lakes at a relaxing pace with plenty of time to explore either on foot, by ferry, by car or by train. We were thoroughly spoilt with good food, lovely wines and some superb accommodation. Thank you once again to the Inntravel Team.
 

FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • If your holiday plans go awry because of Coronavirus, rest assured that we’ll do right by you. Since the start of the pandemic, our flexible booking policy and prompt issuing of refunds to customers who prefer not to defer their holiday have earned us high praise in the national press.
  • We sincerely hope that your holiday experience will be as enjoyable as it would have been before the pandemic – we’re not operating holidays if the key highlights can no longer be delivered – but, naturally, there will be some changes to ensure your and other people’s safety, not least taking tests before and after your holiday for many destinations.
    Your holiday experience: what to expect >
    Safety measures being taken by hoteliers & others >
    Entry requirements for non-UK destinations & for re-entering the UK >
  • The information that we send to you 2-3 weeks before your holiday includes practical information about each stage of your journey so that you can travel confidently from one hotel to another, recommendations for places to visit and eat out in each place, plus cultural information about the area. Where applicable, we also provide notes for a self-guided walking tour of most cities, and some large towns. Sample travel pack >
  • We can book a wide range of routes from the UK with a variety of airlines (but not, currently, with Ryanair). As well as being more convenient for you to book all elements of your holiday together, it also means that we’ll accept liability for your travel arrangements, so if things go wrong, such as the airline going bust, we’ll make suitable alternative arrangements for you. For Europe, there’s a £35 booking fee per person (£15 for children aged 2-11). For India and Nepal, the booking fee is £60 per person. More information on flights >
  • Absolutely! We are experts in tailored rail travel. Making use of sleeper trains or stopovers in cities along the route, we can get you from London to virtually anywhere in mainland Europe. We can even make arrangements to Mallorca, Sicily and Norway with a combination of ferries and rail. Please contact Abi and Lizzie to discuss your plans.
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.

    More information about the booking process >
    Information about accommodation, general practicalities and more >
    Booking conditions >
  • We can’t book flights that originate outside the UK, but if you wanted to book your own flights to London (or elsewhere in the UK), we can make all onward travel arrangements (including flights) from there. Alternatively, if you are booking your own flights to an airport in continental Europe that’s appropriate for your holiday, we can book onward rail travel and/or taxis. More information about how we can tailor holidays for customers outside the UK >
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can cost tens of thousands of pounds.

    You don’t have to take out our recommended travel insurance policy (if you live outside the UK you’ll definitely need to make your own arrangements, as the policy is only for UK residents), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies – including falling ill with Covid-19 while on holiday – and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.

    We'll ask you for the details of your policy (insurer, policy number and medical emergency phone number) so that we can help out if the worst happens while you are on holiday. It's up to you, though, to check that your policy covers the activities you'll be doing on holiday and that it is adequate for your own individual needs; we don't check alternative policies.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. If you’re a UK citizen, you need a full British passport to travel to Italy, but not a visa. If you are a citizen of another country, you’ll need to check requirements with the national embassy or your own consulate.

    Current information regarding vaccinations and travel health advice for UK citizens can be found through the Travel Health Pro website. You must make sure you have adequate insurance cover for illness, accidents and repatriation (see the insurance question). You should also apply for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) if your EHIC has expired (if you have a still-valid EHIC, you can use this until it expires).
  • The principal official language is Italian, though some regions have a second official language, such as South Tyrol, where German is widely spoken. The currency is the Euro. Italian time is GMT/UTC + 1. It uses Daylight Saving Time, so in summer is on BST + 1.
  • For information on the practicalities of travel now that the UK is no longer part of the European Union, visit www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein.

    At Inntravel we work in close partnership with our hoteliers, taxi drivers and other local suppliers to provide our self-guided holidays directly to you. We are entirely confident that you will continue to receive the usual warm welcome from them, regardless of what is happening in the European political sphere.
  • The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides up-to-date, country-by-country travel advice, as well as information on security, local laws, passports and visas for UK citizens.
    If you live outside the UK, see our essential travel information page for a list of relevant websites.
Last fetch time is : 7/25/2021 1:13:18 PM