Europe 2026 - France, Switzerland, Italy
Lake Como
Campsite: Resort Le Vele, Lake Como - confirmed pitch 62, includes electric (15-18 August)
Day 1 - Saturday 15 August
Early rise for the 4 hour (on paper) journey to Lake Como, skipped brekkie and just had a cup of tea / coffee. The first 2 hours climbing incessantly through some of the most stunning scenery we have ever seen - the Susten Pass. I got some great drone footage.
All this climbing however was making us both quite nervous, what must go up, must come down at some point and our brakes. Finally peaked at nearly 8,000 feet and braced for the descent. It seemed to go on forever. High revving in second gear down hairpins and sheer drops was buttock clenching. He finally made it to the Gotthard tunnel - a 16km tunnel boring straight through the huge mountain which was thankfully open to avoid the next 8,500 feet pass.
From here it was a steady motorway decline into Italy and Lake Como. Como is a stunning lake which is packed at the best of times, but it was utterly rammed due to it being Saturday and Italian Ferragosto day - the Catholic Feast of the Assumption of Mary where everybody eats out and drinks heavily. My kind of day!
Temperatures were now soaring and Mel was suffering. The van touched 40 degrees inside with all windows open, no breeze whatsoever. Mel sat in front of the fan and I went for a swim and to read in the swimming pool for a couple of hours.
We went for a walk along the lake front at 8pm, came back for a few beers at the van and Mel knocked up a lovely pasta bolognese dish in the dark. We tried our best to sleep but the van temperature never dropped below 30 degrees all night. It was a struggle.
Day 2 - Sunday 16 August
We woke very groggy around 9:30 with the soaring heat starting up again. Couldn’t be bothered cooking in it, so had a cup of tea and coffee and made a packed lunch and walked to the lake. I found a shady spot under some trees, got my book out - still reading Flea’s autobiography - and read, swam, drank water, and ate the cheese and ham sandwiches. Lake Como is slightly warmer than Thun and slightly less pretty and clear, although Lake Thun is pretty much the clearest lake in Europe, if not the world.
Had a wander into the very pretty town of Domaso which is a 15 minute stroll walk, not much sign of life anywhere, I assume all of the Italians are hungover.
Went into an air conditioned cafe to bring my core temperature below dangerous levels and had a coke and a bottle of water. Then headed to Bar Paradise on the beach front for a cold beer. Lovely chilled spot, playing some cracking English 80’s tunes. Sat and read with all the cool dudes. Mel came down an hour later for a beer and a cheese and ham toastie.
We then saw huge cloud rolls rolling in over the mountain. Then a crack of thunder or two. Then flashes of lightning. It seemed far away at least. Within 30 minutes the wind had raised to about 80 mph and the trees were sideways. I left Mel at the bar and made a full on sprint for the 1.5km journey to the camp site in flip flops as the awning was still up. It was chaos - full on storm conditions and I had visions of the awning snapped off, ripping a huge hole in the van. Made it back just in time, had to get a Dutch guy to help me wind it in, then re-positioned the van as his very large, expensive Quechua air tent as it was collapsing. The rain was biblical and the wind at least 70mph. All of the hotel’s guests were watching our struggles from their balconies above, it must have been very entertaining to see! 😅
I stripped off in the van, put some fresh pants on, grabbed a beer from the fridge and spectated on taking down the huge electrical storm. Mel was marooned somewhere under a cover on the beach with an Italian towel seller and a Dutch couple. This went on for at least another hour before it passed. She eventually turned up, visibly shaking from the experience.
We booked a table at Ristorante Crys for 8pm, got ready and headed out in the rain. Went for a beer and an Aperol at Bar 4 where they strangely kept bringing us food out, we had to check it was free. We had a huge bowl of monkey nuts, a large bowl of crisps, a massive bowl of olives and then they brought a gorgeous tuna steak, how bizarre. The bill was indeed as expected - 34 euros, 8 for the Aperol and 6 for the lovely large dunkel beer.
Headed to the restaurant which was very authentic. I had seafood pasta and Mel, pasta with salmon. We also had a fine bottle of Italian white wine and an Aperol for Mel. We even went for a dessert of Sicilian Cannoli. All was lovely and the bill was 83 euros or £76.
Walked home in the rain, now thankfully much cooler - around 21 degrees and slept like a log.
Day 3 - Monday 17 August
First job was to clean up after yesterday’s storm. Went out to put the awning up - the left hand side bracket broke off. That is now both sides. Managed to cobble together a locking mechanism with zip ties. Then Mel went to open the fridge - but the fridge locking handle sheared off. A great start to the day. Decided on a hearty breakfast of cheeseburgers as they needed eating. Lovely. The small Camping Gaz canister is remarkably still going. I swear we have had it over 15 years. I am sure it is magic.
Mel had a lazy day around the site and I went to hire a mountain bike and explore the towns. Picked up the bike in Domaso town at 12:30 for £25 for 4 hours which should be enough. Area is considerably hillier than I imagined in the mid 30’s heat but I soldiered on, dripping with sweat. Got as far as Santa Maria in the south which is about 5km, some beautiful little spots but then spotted the oncoming storm from the north.
Luckily I had got the awning in prior just in case but decided to head back. Stopped at a bar for a small beer and as it was only 2pm and the storm didn’t develop as expected I headed north to the tip of the lake. There are some seriously expensive mansions this way and a custom made bike path.
Dropped the bike off at 4:30 and headed back to the site to relax and read with a Moretti whilst Mel got ready.
Headed up the road for a beer at La Sale Pub Birreria, which was a bit naff to be honest, music not our scene and run by a couple of kids who didn’t seem to care. And the Aperol Spritz was 11 quid.
Headed to the restaurant that we had booked for 8pm - all restaurants seem to start here at 8pm prompt which is a little bit odd. Pizzeria La Riviola was rammed and seemed touristy initially but the food was fantastic! We both had pizza, a seafood Pizza for me and a four seasons for Mel (she thought it meant 4 cheeses, bless her). Both were absolutely lovely, and even had chilli oil on the table which elevated it even more. It was all washed down with a litre of house white - divine. Strolled home and straight to bed.
Day 4 - Tuesday 18 August
Had a night lazy lie in until around 9:30, getting organised, cooker out, Mel prepping the eggs when she turned and knocked the entire 12 pack of eggs onto the motorhome carpet, all exploded into one big carpet omelette. Mel just laughed, or cried, I am not sure which…I just saw the absurdity of her picking it up through her fingers and plopping it into the measuring jug along with red carpet fibres and bits of mud. A huge clean up later and a walk to the supermarket for new eggs and Mel made me the best omelette ever! Deserved of a masterchef award. See the photo.
We tidied up the van which was looking pretty unkempt. A proper sweet box to be honest - it could do with Fumigating. Weather in mid 30’s already at lunchtime, decided to catch a bus to Menaggio.
Cracking bus service, literally turned up on the minute outside the lovely coffee shop where we had a cappuccino each for £4 total. Bus was £6 for both of us for the 35 minute journey south.
Menaggio is an exceptionally pretty little town with some gorgeous shops, bars, restaurants and hotels - indeed, the Grand Hotel Victoria was around £1,000 per night! I wondered if they were really happier though 😜.
Um yes to be honest as we are desperately in need of a cold bed in an air conditioned room. We thought we would treat ourselves to lunch at La Trattoria where Mel had a carbonara, I had a pasta dish with garlic and a lovely local beer and Mel a Moretti. It was nice but nothing special.
We had a good wander around and caught the bus back around 4:30 which was quite the drama with the very loud obnoxious Italian driver abusing every driver on the road, driving at breakneck speed through the narrowest lanes on Earth.
Dropped off at Happy bar for a beer and a Limoncello for Mel. She forgot to say spritz so it came neat.
We headed back to get 2 loads of washing on and then headed straight to the booked restaurant for 8pm - GEO District is the highest rated place in the area, a bit basic looking but the staff are amazing and welcome you by name - the simple things go a long way in hospitality. I had a pizza with Italian sausage, mushrooms and ham and Mel had the spaghetti bolognese. We also shared a litre of house white and a Moretti, Aperol spritz and a litre of mineral water. Again, all was fabulous. The total bill including service charge was €42. Fantastic!
We walked to Domaso for an ice cream each - £4 - and then to Happy Bar for a couple of perfectly made Aperol Spritz’ - total bill was 10 Euros! Crazy man! So cheap.
A lovely end to the night and a perfect farewell to Lake Como.
