Welcome to
Freely

I always research heavily before booking a tour and this time I didn’t. I booked my trip 4 days before going to Lake Como. I briefly looked at a Vespa tour and this tour. I chose this tour based on the low amount of possible guests (up to 6) and the actual day being planned (a full day!). I booked it without reading reviews. It’s new to Viator and I just went for it. I’m so glad I did!

Edoardo the owner of the company sent me texts the week prior to confirm and introduce himself. He is extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the local area. I spent the week communicating with him and asking for travel tips to the Lake leading up to my trip.

The evening before and morning of the tour he communicated what time to meet in the lobby of the Sheraton. The bikes were there and ready along with Edoardo, promptly at 10am. After a brief introduction and explanation of how to use the scooter, we were off.

The scooters themselves are clean, new, and in great working condition. They are extremely fun to ride and at no point did I feel unsafe. I felt safer in the E scooter than I have on a Vespa before. This brings me to another point. It was a pleasure to be able to wear nice linens for photo ops in the tour and not worry getting dirty from a Vespa. I rode a Vespa once and ruined clothes from grease. There is no grease, gas or exhaust.

The day started by driving through small towns and stopping for beautiful pictures and stories about landscape, nature, and local landmarks. We continued on and even stopped at his villa for a tour and cappuccino made by his lovely mother. (I got lucky, because it was just me on the tour I had a very private and intimate experience).

We continued on to other sites and taking in the beauty of the lake and its people. We arrived at Villa Balbaniello which is stunning in its landscape. We didn’t go inside the villa as it is a 50 minute tour and I was glad we didnt. There was so much to see outside that I felt I didn’t miss anything inside. I also didn’t want to eat up 50 minutes of riding the fun scooter. Edoardo was very accommodating and let me decide what was more important to me in my sites and experience choices.

We took time after the villa to stroll a local market and have some gelato. Then it was back on the bikes to Tremezzo. Edoardo and I had lunch at the grand hotel Tremezzo. The lobster pasta wine and company was amazing. We sat and talked about how passionate he is about Lake Como having grown up here. It was so great to learn about its history and beauty from a true local who cares about the environment (which is why he chose electric scooters rather than gas filled scooters).

After lunch we had some time before catching a ferry to Bellagio. We rode up the mountain just a bit to a look out with the best views of the lake and mountains along with the village of Bellagio in the distance. We even visited another villa not on the agenda.

We took the ferry to Bellagio where we walked the cobble stone streets for just a few minutes. Bellagio is a tourist town. Yes it’s beautiful but after 5 min or so I was ready to leave. Plus the day was nearly done and we had a long journey back to the Sheraton.

The ride back is very different than the ride to Bellagio. The ride to Bellagio is filled with people walking and a lot more motorists. The ride back from Bellagio is picturesque and filled with fresh air. As you’re riding you can feel the wind get cold as you pass hidden waterfalls. We did stop on the way back to take photos of a stunning waterfall. I wanted to see that more than Bellagio and I’m glad we stopped. It’s right off the side of the road but it’s stunning to see.

We made it back to the Sheraton after 6. The whole day went from 10-18:40 (10-6:40). I never felt rushed. Conversation with Edoardo was awesome. I felt like I was with a local friend rather than a tour guide.