Lake Como in summer: the pool, the lake, and how to handle the heat
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June, July, August: for most people who book, summer is Lake Como. It's the season with the most sunny days, the pool open, the boats running at their busiest pace of the year, and it's also when the lake shows its most crowded side.
Here is what works better in these months than the rest of the year, and what's worth knowing before booking summer specifically.
The pool, in the middle of its season
This is the period when the shared pool is fully in its element: it stays open from April to October, and in high summer it's where hot afternoons end without ever moving the car. It isn't heated beyond its natural season: it's built for summer use, not a swim in March.
The garden around it is worth spending a whole afternoon in, between a swim and the shade of the trees, without really leaving the apartments at all.
In these months every apartment, Casa Emy included, has its own assigned spot at the pool with a parasol and a sun lounger: nothing to fight over with other guests.
Air conditioning: only in three apartments out of ten
The most important thing to know before booking a summer stay, the part photos alone don't tell you: air conditioning exists in only three of the ten apartments, Mimosa, Fiordaliso and Fior di Pesco. The others have independent heating for winter, but in summer rely on windows, natural airflow and the shade of the garden.
Anyone who treats cooling as a requirement rather than a nice-to-have, in the hottest weeks of July and August, should start with these three when choosing.
The lake at its busiest season
Bellagio and Varenna are beautiful, but very busy in summer: our guide to Lake Como through the seasons covers when it's worth visiting them. Here it's enough to know that, staying in Tremezzina, you can choose when to go, it's just a few minutes by boat, then come back in the evening to somewhere quiet, where all you hear is the lake.
We won't repeat crowd-avoidance tips here: they're already on our dedicated local tips page, built for exactly that.
The evening shuttle, summer only
Over the summer months a free evening shuttle runs between the villages nearby, useful for dinner out without moving the car and without relying on the boats, which thin out by evening. Times and stops shift season to season: ask us at check-in, we don't publish them here because they'd be out of date within a few weeks.
The trails, better early
Anyone wanting to walk up to the high meadows above Mezzegra can still do it in high summer, but midday heat weighs more here than in any other season: setting out early, in the first hours of light, is still the best way to reach the top without fighting the sun at its peak. The Greenway, lower and more shaded, stays walkable at any hour.
At a glance
- Pool: open April to October
- Air conditioning: only in Mimosa, Fiordaliso and Fior di Pesco
- Free evening shuttle: runs over summer, times at check-in
- High trails from Mezzegra: best in the early morning
Summer remains the simplest season for anyone who wants it all: the pool, long days, frequent boats to Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio. The price is midday crowds in the best-known villages, and for anyone who needs a cool room, choosing the right apartment before booking. Anyone after absolute quiet, barely meeting another soul along the lakefront, will feel more at home in spring or autumn: summer here is still a lively lake, not a silent one.
