Borromean Islands Tour: Explore Lake Maggiore's Gems

Experience the beauty of Italy’s Lake Maggiore with a 1-day hop-on hop-off boat tour around the Borromean Islands. Explore stunning palaces, gardens, and charming promenades at your own pace.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Isola Madre - Explore Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands at your own pace with a 1-day hop-on hop-off boat tour from Stresa. Get on and off the boats as often as you like as you admire the beautiful scenery of the lake and visit the superb sights on the islands.
    Starting season from March 19 st 2022, the date on which museums and gardens of…
What's Included
  • GPS commentary on board
  • Multilingual captains
  • VAT included
  • Shared transfer to the Borromean Islands
  • All fees and taxes included
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • On-board restrooms
  • Entrance ticket to the palaces and gardens of Isola Madre and Isola Bella (combi ticket euro 28)
  • Landing fee of €0.50 for each island to be paid locally
Additional Information

Spend a day island hopping around the Borromean Islands with a 1-day hop-on hop boat ticket around Italy’s Lake Maggiore. Departing from the lakeside town of Stresa Piazza Marconi, create your own sightseeing schedule using the boat as transport. See the elegant island palace and formal gardens of Isola Madre, admire the lush vegetation on Isola Bella…

Location
Navigazione Isole Borromee Lago Maggiore S.N.C.
Piazza Marconi
Departure from Ticket Office Servizio pubblico non di linea Every day from 9.30 to 18.00
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.8
(199 Ratings)
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David_b
Oct 10, 2024
Great day on lake Maggiore! - Islands were are great. Boat was comfortable and somewhat crowded but that is to be expected. We all enjoyed visiting the islands. The boat personnel were all very helpful.
Review provided by Viator
22ebiekid
Oct 7, 2024
Worthwhile experience - The 3 Islands were great - beautiful gardens, palace and fantastic weather on the day I visited. The hop on/off boat transport to the 3 islands was great and well worth the price which is a bargain. The only suggestion to travelers who don't speak Italian is to get to the Stresa dock a little early so you can find this particular service - there are more than one. And once you got dropped off on one of the islands, make sure you know you know which one of the little ports is your return port. There are plenty of english speaking folks working in the restaurants near the docks that will point it out to you..
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jerome_h
Sep 28, 2024
Barromea Islands - The islands were amazing. The palaces were so beautiful along with our gardens. We had a wonderful time and everyone was so friendly.
Review provided by Viator
Kirstywy6246js
Sep 20, 2024
The Borromean Islands a must see! - Easy way to visit the Borromean Islands - which is a must if visiting Lake Maggiore! The smaller boats are a lot quicker to move around the islands than the larger ferries so recommend taking one of these. Your really need 2 hours at each island so make sure you catch the earliest boat at 10.30am. Isola Madre and Isola Bella have stunning palaces and gardens to walk round. The gardens at Isola Bella are like nothing I've seen before, truly beautiful. You need to buy separate entrance tickets for Isola Madre and Isola Bella, but you can buy a combi ticket. Isola Madre is just the property and gardens, so no point visiting if you aren't buying an entrance ticket - but highly recommend. The gardens on Isola Bella are grand and spectacular, whereas Isola Madre gardens feels more natural and has a larger selection of plants from all over. The Isola Superiore dei Pescatori has some lovely restaurants for lunch and also a mini market down the back cobbled streets full of cute shops great for gifts.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
T4353lyjustinj
Aug 27, 2024
Relaxed and flexible - It all worked smoothly. We could comfortably explore the 3 islands at our own pace. Only the deposited meeting point is not quite right, Google Maps directed us to a gas station, however the terminal is right next to the official dock.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ewout
Aug 26, 2024
Highly recommended! - Highly recommended! I would go in the morning because the parking lots fill up quickly. You pass 3 Islands. Pay attention! You also have to pay on 2 islands if you want to see it in full. Isola Bella is highly recommended! Costs around €20pp but this island is worth it. The boat goes every hour so on this island this is perfect to combine with lunch, since you need an hour to see the castle completely and do not want to stress about missing the boat, plan for this island rather 2 hours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Corinev628
Aug 24, 2024
Beautiful trip with great views - It was a wonderful trip 🤎 the islands are definitely worth visiting. The boat trips go well if you know how it works. You have to be careful to find the right ticket at the right boat in Stresa. And pay attention to that every time you switch.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mendiluce2
Oct 7, 2024
Wonderful visit to three dream islands. - Very well organized compared to how difficult I found sailing in Lake Garda and Como. This little boat takes you to Mother Island. You catch the next one whenever you want, they sail every hour from one island to the other between the three Borromean islands. The next island is the Isola Pescatori which must have been fishermen's but today it is only u. Cluster of nice shops for tourists and restaurants. Maybe the least worthwhile one. And final use goes to Isola Bella where is the main palace and the most amazing gardens that you can see in your life (not comparable to Versailles) a spectacular palace and well maintained and furnished. Gardens cut off breathing. I had the bad or good luck to have a very rainy day and fortunately there were very few people. Admission for the two islands is 17€ and the boat 15€. It is absolutely worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Richertrips
Aug 8, 2024
Borromean Islands hop on-hop off with CMA - We had prepaid tickets on the Headout app, with QR codes, and arrived before the scheduled time to the parking lot of Stresa deck. There, we showed our tickets and got a paper handwritten ticket for the 3 islands. The boat arrived 15 minutes late and got really full, so they called another boat. Everybody got down on Isola Bella. The boats were scheduled to arrive to each island every 30 minutes but we never had to wait that long. Hop on-hop off is a good alternative if you prefer to travel at your own pace. We spent a lot of time in Isola Bella, had lunch in Pescatori (as everybody suggests, because there are much more options there) and stayed shortly at Isola Madre, where the palace is just a Villa and the gardens are more wild and natural.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christineku2123oa
Oct 12, 2024
Don’t expect a guide as stated on ticket - Trip not what it seems states an English guide no guide if this had been clearedr would have booked a different trip the islands are very pretty
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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December 2024
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