Planning a family vacation to Lake Como and St. Moritz can be overwhelming, especially with young kids. Learn from our mistakes to make your European vacation smooth and unforgettable.
As industry professionals we often fall into the trap of ignoring our own advice. To get the best out of any trip, we tell our travelers to plan ahead, travel off season, stay off the beaten path and spend more time in one place. These recommendations are the foundation of our travel planning methodology and result in immersive, meaningful and unforgettable experiences for people who adopt them.
Our recent family trip to Como and St. Moriz via the Bernina Express was one such example of ignoring our own advice, but the experiences ultimately reinforced the importance of taking a slower, methodical and thoughtful approach to planning an itinerary. This is emphasized even more so when traveling with young children!
Our adventure started with a quick 4 day trip planned for Lake Como and St. Moriz with our two young children (3 and 5) along with our friends and their two daughters (4 and 9). The trip was planned for the first week of January, just after New Years. Here I will breakdown the lessons we learned when planning while giving you insight into some of the MUST do’s in this part of Italy and Switzerland.
1. Making Restaurant Reservations Ahead of Time Is Essential
This is an easy one to get right. Unfortunately, we made an incorrect assumption that because we were going to places with plenty of options, there would be plenty of availability for restaurants. This as we came to find out was not the case, especially with a group of 10!
We had a few occasions where last minute reservations were hard to come by and we certainly did not get our pick of the best places. Avoid this by making reservations ahead of time during your travel planning.
This way even if you change your mind and want to be spontaneous, you still have a backup plan which can accommodate your group. This is especially important when planning for a group larger than 4 or 5 people.
2. Purchase Lake Como Ferry Tickets In Advance To Avoid Sold-Out Routes
For those of you interested in seeing some of the beautiful villages of Lake Como it’s good to keep in mind that ferry tickets should be purchased in advance. Though there are many ferries in Como we found that the most popular routes to places like Bellagio and Tremezzo were completely booked until the late afternoon.
It’s best to have these tickets purchased in advance for you and your family during the planning stages. Otherwise hiring a private boat (again in advance) is a more exclusive option for those who want more flexibility and customization.
Thankfully when we found that the ferry tickets had been sold out for the morning of our “planned” excursion of the villages we decided to visit the hilltop town of Brunate via the famous funicular, just a short 5-10 min walk from Como’s city center.
This peculiar looking tram is a dedicated rail system which climbs straight up the hillside to the isolated village overlooking the lake. Even though it was a busy season here, the line for the funicular was much shorter than the ferry, so our group of 10 had tickets and were on our way within 20 min or so. This actually turned out to be a really fun experience for our three year old son who is obsessed with trains!
As we scaled the mountain towards the hilltop village the treeline gave way to a spectacular view of the City, the lake and most impressively the beautiful Swiss alps in the background. There are a number of really great hiking trails and notable sites such as the lighthouse which can be visited either by hike or 4×4 if planned. Keep in mind that the town center is a little walk from where the funicular delivers you, so plan for a good couple hours to really get the most out of the experience. Had we planned better, perhaps we would have made a lunch reservation here so we wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to descend back into town.
3. Keep Plenty of Space In Your Family Vacation Itinerary for Rest & Play
Though our children are just wonderful, they are still toddlers and like any toddler, they have a limited amount of patience and attention. With that in mind, our time in Como, though enjoyable and interesting, was not particularly designed around young children.
Walking around the bustling town center, shopping, visiting the Duomo and finally getting around on the ferry were all very interesting and fun for us, but at many points we found our children were exhausted, restless and at times a bit fussy.
We found our kids did best when we took them to the park to chase pigeons and play outside! Free time and space are a child’s best friend and can give us parents time to disconnect and rest too! Finding spaces where your kids can be kids while you enjoy a spritz or a local coffee is just one way you can be mindful about designing your trip in a way everyone can enjoy.
There are also a number of age appropriate activities and excursions which can be planned during different seasons. Some great examples of this in Lake Como would be our e-bike experience through the greenway which can accommodate young kids.
4. Consider Your Room Configurations To Ensure a Comfortable Stay For Everyone
Understanding the configuration of your room becomes a very important factor when traveling with children or a small group. In addition to our children and the other family, we also had my mother-in-law and our nanny in tow. This means that room assignments and bed configurations were very specific to accommodate everyone comfortably. Unfortunately our intermediary accommodation between Como and St. Moriz was less than what we really needed.
To split the trip up, we planned an overnight stay in a small town north of Lake Como called Tirano. This is where the famous Bernina Express departs for St. Moritz. After driving about 2 hours north, we arrived at our accommodation, which would have been perfectly fitting… had we booked another room. The quality of the place was great, but the images online were generous when it came to the size of the space. We booked the place without really taking the bed configuration into account—classic Family Vacation Mistakes—and the result was a lot less space than some of us were comfortable with.
5. Choose The Right Bernina Express Train For Your Family Vacation
We arrived in Tirano under the assumption that it was a little empty midway town where people just staged up for their trip into the Alpes via the Bernina Express. In fact this is why we decided to stay further out from the town center thinking there wouldn’t be any options to enjoy. We couldn’t have been more wrong! As we ventured into the historic village we found a place full of life, restaurants, boutique hotels and shops.
Street parking is free for those, like us, who need to leave their car during their alpine excursion and the closer you get to the train station the more the town comes alive! The square outside of the station is full of great restaurants, nice accommodations and beautiful public spaces. Had we known we would have stayed in town closer to the station, not only for the convenience, but for the experience.
The Bernina line is a beautiful stretch of rail which winds its way from Tirano, Italy all the way through Switzerland ending in St. Moriz. This stunning ride is a magical experience as you make your way through alpine passes, lakes, quaint villages and towering cliffs. What you may not know is that there are two types of trains that run the Bernina line.
The regional trains and the actual Bernina Express trains. The regional trains, though ticketed, do not guarantee assigned seating and are often very crowded leaving Tirano, so seating can become very limited (especially with a large group). In addition, they are designed like a normal train, so the windows are normal sized and though the route is beautiful, it does feel a bit like being on “any old train”.
The Bernina Express on the other hand has panoramic windows which give the passenger a much more scenic experience during their two hour journey. In addition, the seating is assigned so it’s easy to book a group sitting together if done in advance.
As you might have guessed, we mistakenly booked the regional train, so our experience was not quite as scenic, but for the kids it was just as magical! The ride through the mountains on this iconic red train was truly a wonder and is an amazing experience as you enter into the winter wonderland that is St. Moritz Switzerland.
Lesson here: book early and make sure you get the Bernina Express tickets, not the regional train — classic Family Vacation Mistakes!
More Family-Friendly Activities and Tips for Budgeting Your Trip in St. Moritz
St. Moriz is a beautiful place, especially during the winter. If you are an avid skier there is plenty to keep you and the whole family busy, as the slopes are just up the hill from the city center. There are a plethora of shopping and restaurant options here, but get ready because things do run a bit pricier in this part of the world.
We stayed only one night in St. Moritz and then made our way back via the Bernina back to Tirano and finished our day with a drive to Milan where we took our departing flight. Overall I would highly recommend this itinerary to anyone traveling with a family, but with a few changes.
Essential Tips for Improving Your Itinerary in Lake Como and St. Moritz and avoid Family Vacation Mistakes!
- Stay Longer: Four days in three locations was not near enough time to really enjoy each destination. We would recommend at least 3-4 nights in both Como and St. Moriz while perhaps keeping a 1 night stay in the center of Tirano during your transition between the two.
- More Free Time: In addition, to an extended stay, we would recommend building in more free time. Young kids thrive in an environment where they can be free to play without too much agenda. Building in time for play and discovery in a new place is a wonderful way to explore a new city while bonding with your children over your shared experience.
- Plan Ahead: This doesn’t always mean you need to contact every experience and accommodation yourself. You cannot expect to know the nuances of every new destination to be able to get all of the details right. Hiring a trusted expert such as a travel designer or advisor is a great way to make sure you’ve taken all of the details into consideration when it comes to tickets, reservations, room configurations etc.
If you’re interested in this incredible experience or have your own vision for your next sensorial family vacation, fill out our trip inquiry form HERE and let our destination experts work with you to ensure you get the most out of your experience!
