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Milan and Lake Como on a Budget.

Throughout 2024 I gave myself the challenge to visit a new country every month. However, each trip had to cost around £250 (total cost per person). Alongside the budget, I was trying it make all the trips through the year fit within a standard 28 day holiday allowance. So, I started with Romania and Bulgaria and then, in March, i took a 4 day trip to Italy 🇮🇹, and more specifically, Milan and Lake Como. I’ve been asked before if lake Como is expensive, and how to go from Milan to lake Como. So, here I will breakdown exactly how much I spent, what I spent it on and hopefully, all the additional details you would need to embark on your own budget trip to Italy.

There are a few things you should know before we get started. Firstly, I mainly fly out of Bristol (BRS) airport, as this is my local. Fortunately, it is also one of the cheapest airports in the UK. Secondly, every expense for the holiday is included in the £250 budget (flights, accommodation, transport, activities and food and drinks). Equally, one thing I do not include in the cost is the cost of transport from my house to the airport, and back. This is because, it is impossible for me to make it relevant to everyone, as everyone’s situation is so different. Finally, for this trip I travelled with somebody, so the costings are per person. Obviously, the only thing that is made cheaper because of this is the accommodation and any taxis used.

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Cheap Flights to Milan

My personal preference for travel times is early morning flights, so that you can make the most of each day. So, for this trip, we found flights leaving Bristol at 9.25am on Tuesday 19th March, with a return in the evening on Friday 22nd. This essentially gave us 4 whole days for the cost of three nights accommodation. We flew with Ryanair and easyJet, using just the ‘small bag’ luggage allowance. This meant the flights were a total of £44.24!

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that some people want the comfort of taking more luggage and knowing that they have a seat they like. Equally, I’m here to show you that the more efficiently you can be with your money, the more opportunity you have for additional trips because you’re not spending unnecessarily. This can make a massive difference to whether your trip to Milan and Lake Como is expensive!

Flights for this price are a lot easier to find and more common than a lot of people think. If you struggle to find these prices, and want to guarantee best prices on flights, check out my expert guide. Click here and use the code BLOG for another 25% off the marked price.

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Lake Como, Italy

Accommodation in Lake Como

For this trip, I stayed in a medium sized one bedroom apartment in Como, which had a full kitchen and facilities, bathroom, and large balcony. The apartment was about 20 minutes from the centre of Como on public transport. However, I always ensure the places I book are close to the transport links so it was easy to get to and from. This cost a total of £186.32 for 3 nights and I travelled with one other person so the cost per person was £93.16 for the trip. You will find cheaper options for solo travellers, although Como is not a cheap area and so, you should be prepared to pay a premium, especially in peak seasons. For example, in the summer, the accommodation I booked had increased to around £200 per night! So, the time of year makes a huge difference to whether a trip to Lake Como is expensive. I’d highly advise trying to look at shoulder seasons rather than peak seasons.

The only other costs to add in was a tourist tax in Como which was €3 per night, per person. This totalled £8.12 per person. This brought the total for accommodation to £101.28.

Some great places to check for accommodation are TripAdvisor. Or, if you’re happy to use hostels for even more savings, try Hostelworld.

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Arco della Pace, Milan

Activities

Day 1

After landing in Milan, we began walking to some of the sights as we were only spending the day here. However, we soon realised how big Milan was, so we hopped on some city bikes which are dotted around. You simply download an app and get a code to unlock the bikes! Therefore, we cycled around the city and went to a few land marks, such as; Castello Sforzesco, Parco Sempione, Arco Della Pace, Santa Maria delle Grazie and Duomo Di Milano. The cost of the bikes was €4.20 (£3.79) as they just charge you for your physical ride time. I also had to spend €1 (£0.90) to use a public toilet (this is common throughout Italy). We then caught the train to Como.

Day 2

Day 2 was spent exploring the Lake Como, firstly heading to Bellagio on the bus. The journey itself was gorgeous as the whole route follows the edge of the lake. But honestly, Bellagio is one of the most beautiful little towns I have seen in my travels. It is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys picturesque landscapes, floral alleyways, and cute architecture. When we arrived, we simply wandered along the water front area (Lungolago) and down to Punta Spartvento. We sat here, relaxing in the sun whilst I flew my drone around and then ate lunch on the lakes edge.

After meandering through the narrow winding streets of Bellagio, we caught a short ferry over to another stunning lakeside town called Varenna. The ferry cost €4.60 (£4.15) and doubled up as a nice activity as you cruise along the lake with the snow topped mountains looming in the background.
Similarly to Bellagio, we found Varenna filled with winding picturesque streets and alleyways. We also visited an incredible botanical garden called Villa Monestero, which cost €10 (£9.02). This garden follows the lakes edge and has some of the most incredible views on the entire Lake. Following this, afternoon we caught the ferry from Varenna back to Como, which was also stunning and cost €11.40 (£10.29).

Day 3

Although some people find it boring, I enjoy wandering and exploring. So, that’s what we did around Como on day 3. The weather was incredible so we stated with a coffee in the main square and then headed into the cathedral which was free to enter and walked you through some local history. We continued with a slow stroll along the lakeside to Tempio Voltiano. This is a temple on the side of the lake, where we enjoyed lunch as we watched water planes coming and going with the snowy mountain tops in the back ground. Following this, we continued walking along the lakeside and stumbled across two huge villa’s and their botanical gardens. These villas are called Villa Olmo and Villa del Grumella This was a lot of walking and took up most of the day. Then, at 5pm it was time to experience the famous apertivio in Como!

Day 4

For the fourth and final day, we spent time in another city, called Bergamo. Unfortunately, there were disruptions on the trains which meant we had to get a bus, so it actually took around 3 hours, instead of 2. Anyway, once we arrived, we wandered through the streets of Bergamo towards the old town or ‘La Citta Alta’. This is quaint little old town, situated on top of small(ish) hill, around 330 feet, but there are steps all the way up the hill. Once we arrived, we walked through the quirky streets and visited the Colleoni Chapel which cost $5 (£4.51). Also, the view overlooks the whole of Bergamo, which is where I sat for our lunch, overlooking the city. This ended our time as we had to go to the airport in Bergamo to fly home.

So, there is a lot to do around Milan and Lake Como that does not need make your trip expensive. However, it can be very easy to spend a lot of money in this area if you completely go with the flow.

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Lake Como, Italy

Food and Drinks in Milan and Lake Como

Day 1

As soon as we arrived in Milan, we found an incredible, famous sandwich shop called All’ Antico Vinaio, known for their BIG sandwiches. There are several of these sandwich shops around Europe, and it did not disappoint! The sandwich cost €9 (£8.12) but was enough to fill me up and I am a big eater! I also bought a 2 litre bottle of water for €0.34 (£0.30). Later, in Como, we went to the supermarket to buy some food for the trip. So, this consisted of 5 protein yogurts, 8 bananas, 400g jar pasta sauce, 500g tagliatelle, 200g bag of nuts, 750g loaf of bread, 500g pork mince, 400g sliced edam, 450g sliced chicken, 125g bag of mixed salad leaves, 6x 2 litre bottles of water. This was €32.48 split between 2 = €16.24 (£14.65). This food covered dinner for day 1 and lunch for day 2, 3 and 4.

Day 2

On day 2 we had lunch as mentioned above. Later, we ate dinner at a lakeside restaurant, which was actually really cheap. I ate a large calzone for €9 (£8.12) and a coke for €4 (£3.61). We also had to pay a €2.50 (£2.25) table charge each.

Day 3

Firstly, we stopped for a coffee €2.50 (£2.26) down a scenic street off the main square. For lunch, we ate food from the supermarket shop in day 1 (£3.66). Later, we tried the famous Apertivo which is served at certain times of the day (usually the evening) and is essentially some light bites served when you buy a drink. We paid €6 (£5.41) for the beer and enjoyed complimentary bites that came with it! There was also a €2 (£1.80) table charge and you should note that the snacks are by no means enough to replace a meal! So, next stop was proper food! We went to a pasta place because, well, Italy! However, I won’t recommend the place as it wasn’t great. Really, it was my own fault for trying to be ‘budget’ and it didn’t treat me well this time! The meal I had cost €18 (£16.24).

The only spends for food on the final day was a nice gelato which cost £4.06. As with the activities, Milan and Lake Como can easily be expensive, but it’s amazing how much value you can find if you’re careful with your budget.

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Duomo di Milano, Milan

Transportation in Milan and Lake Como

We didn’t spend loads on transportation as we did a lot of walking, and some of it doubled as an activity, so was included in that section. Also, transportation in Milan and Lake Como can be expensive.

On day 1 we caught a bus to the centre of Milan which cost €10 (£9.02). Other than this, we caught the train to Como which cost €5.20 (£4.69).

On day 2 there was the bus from Como to Bellagio costing €4.20 (£3.79).

Day 3 we didn’t spend anything and day 4 included the trip from Como to Bellagio, costing €8.70 (£7.85), and €2.50 (£2.26) for a bus to the station in Como! We also caught the bus from Bergamo to the airport which was free. To be honest I don’t know if it was supposed to be free but everyone just walked on and didn’t appear to show or buy tickets so I went with it.

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Boats on Lake Como, Italy

Conclusion

There it is. This is an example of what you can do on a budget in Milan and Lake Como. Truly, I’m on a mission to help people realise that travel can be so easily attainable with just a few tweaks to what we do. Letting go of a few home comforts and being sensible with how we spend money can open a world of opportunity! The overall breakdown of spending is below –

Flights – £44.24

Accommodation – £101.28

Activities – £32.66

Food & Drinks – £66.73

Transportation – £27.61

Total for 3 cheap days in Bucharest – £272.52

So I over spent by a bit but I wouldn’t be happy if I restricted myself just to save a few quid! Life’s all about balance and enjoyment. Equally, i think this was a very successful budget trip considering Milan and Lake Como are known to be expensive.

Let me know in the comments if you like this post or if you have any suggestions of things the community can do in Milan and Lake Como. Thanks for reading!

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